Bourland Meadow Trailhead - Emigrant Wilderness

[mschnaidt]

I'm hopefully planning a trip next week into Cherry Creek from the Bourland Meadow Trailhead. I'm wondering if anyone has road condition info to the trailhead on 3N16. I spoke with the Summit Ranger Station, they said 3N1 is open and clear but did not have current info on 3N16.

Thanks!

[Eman]

I'm also interested in road conditions for Bourland meadow trailhead. Can i drive to the trailhead in a Honda Accord ?

Eric

[BillyBobBurro]

Not sure if the honda accord will enjoy the ride to the trailhead. About 3 or 4 years ago I drove up to that trailhead to meet friends and we ended up using my 4wd truck to shuttle folks without 4wd to the trailhead. That was only about a mile of shuttling. Keep in mind this last winter was a bit hard on some of the roads.

[balzaccom]

BillyBob is right--the road ain't great to begin with, and this winter? Who knows. I would call the Summit Ranger Station in Pinecrest and ask them that question. They would know, if anyone does.

Summit Mi-Wok District -
Highway 108 Corridor
Phone: (209) 965-3434

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/stanisl ... ecid=81651

[maxr22]

I called them 2 weeks ago about bourland and the ranger reported that the road was blocked by downed trees approximately 4 miles from the parking area. If you end up calling them to double check, would you report back? I'm looking to cross the Cherry but probably not possible to do safely.

[mschnaidt]

I drove to the Bourland Meadow Trailhead on Monday (7/17). The Forest Service had cleared the road of the fallen trees a few days prior. I parked a couple hundred yards from the trailhead due to a snowbank which will be gone in a couple of days. It's melting fast.

Forest Road 3N1 is in good shape. 3N16 is better than expected. The road has plenty of rocks and ruts but overall is ok. Most cars should be able to navigate it if driven carefully. There are a few sections that might be an issue. An Accord could probably make it but might scrape bottom in a couple of areas.

[Schleppy]

Going up 3N16 was a white-knucking, hour-long cringe in my two-wheel drive VW. One I don't care to repeat this season (I was at Bourland Meadow TH this week).

I'm not new to washed out dirt roads, but 3N16 in '23 is a bit much. Scraped numerous times despite using lots of caution and getting out to move rocks. 4x4 not necessary, but some of those runoff gullies are exceptionally difficult to navigate without a solid amount of clearance.

[levi]

Hmm. My Volvo wagon has 6" of clearance and it's long... probably ill-advised to attempt to get to Bourland Meadow in the next week based on what you experienced, @Schleppy? Such a better approach to the best lakes than Crabtree, sigh.

[Usedpuckbag]

High Sierra newb here but I just left Hyatt via Bourland Meadow TH. Still in Long Barn. Full TR coming this week. Here's some quick info:

Driving a Chevy Cruze - 6 inch ground clearance and 104 inch wheelbase.

The eroded sections of 3N16 were manageable but did require passengers to exit. The boulders and stones in some of the dry creek areas tickled the under carriage. But ultimately the front and rear of the car were never close to getting hung up on the berms and high points around the erosion cuts.

Go slow, try to lighten your load (ie: have your folks get out n stretch them legs), and have said passengers aim you through the right spots. There's 4-6 spots where you have to think twice. The worst two are early along 3N16 - they get less tricky as you move up the mountain.

As a contingency, there's multiple points where you can pull off and park on 3N16 early and hoof it to the TH.

Another note: prep to get to the TH and move out fast. Mosquitos and flies are BRUTAL and don't improve until you hit the ridge almost a mile in. All those cattle and wet areas had minimal breeze. Very odiferous. But it gets better.

Safe travels

[Schleppy]

Hmm. My Volvo wagon has 6" of clearance and it's long... probably ill-advised to attempt to get to Bourland Meadow in the next week based on what you experienced, @Schleppy?

My car has 5.5" clearance. You'd likely be able to manage, but I don't want to understate the difficulty and time. It will take much longer to navigate than if you were in something with 9". It took me a little over 2 hours to get from the 108 to the TH, with the last hour on 3N16. By comparison, Summit Station to Crabtree takes max 40 min.

The eroded sections of 3N16 were manageable but did require passengers to exit. The boulders and stones in some of the dry creek areas tickled the under carriage. But ultimately the front and rear of the car were never close to getting hung up on the berms and high points around the erosion cuts.

Go slow, try to lighten your load (ie: have your folks get out n stretch them legs), and have said passengers aim you through the right spots. There's 4-6 spots where you have to think twice. The worst two are early along 3N16 - they get less tricky as you move up the mountain.

Yeah, it's doable with a reg clearance two-wheel drive car, but the extra time and potential of vehicle damage weigh into it for me. I already fouled an emissions sensor with an unremarkable undercarriage rub–– $800 part + labor. One can get unlucky with where a protrusion decides to strike the underbelly.

Throw in the extra 1.3 hours for travel along with the slow pace moving through some of those blown down sections/washed out meadows, the access prop seems diminished. The way out also takes the same extra time so it's really almost 3 hours of extra driving. Also isn't fun if physically tired or with dimming light after the trip. Another consideration.

Such a better approach to the best lakes than Crabtree, sigh.

Given that 1.3 hours is 2.5 trail miles (both in and out), I used Crabtree this last weekend and was up canyon on the West fork at about the same time as I would have been had I used Bourland to reach the lower in the canyon. Also didn't need to worry about driving out at dusk. Both THs have their merits, but a lower clearance vehicle changes the equation.

As for the lakes, Hyatt is faster from Bourland than Crabtree, but also rougher. Big, Pinagree, and Yellowhammer (and all others) are easier and faster approached through Pine Valley, in my opinion.