Emigrant Lake

On a crystal clear day, we thought we had good timing to hike Grizzly Peak as it gleamed in the morning sun. But we found the road up to Grizzly Trail icy so we parked below and hiked the last 3/4 miles up to the TH. One look up the trail convinced us this was a plan B day. The morning sun glared off the icy trail and we deemed it unsafe in our hiking shoes.

Plan B was a version of a walk I had done the previous week at Emigrant Lake. Three thousand feet below the icy mountain we found the wind-swept lake. So instead of fighting the strong wind crossing the dam, we headed down the boat trail towards the diminished lake. The receded waters revealed a makeshift trail at the base of the dam that became the remnants of an old asphalt road.

We were walking and exploring territory that’s normally underwater!

We began to feel the sun through the wind as it rose in the sky. So we hiked up to the top of a peninsula that “normally” jets out into the water for our group photo with the lake as the background.

From there we headed up the trail to the Pioneer Cemetery. We read many headstones dating back to the original 1849 pioneers and many more. This historic place became our resting place for lunch.

After lunch, we headed back across the dam now with the wind at our backs.

Our group of 17 seemed content with plan B…” turning a lemon into lemonade.”

Both hikes added together we did 3.6 miles with 500′ of gain.

Next week we’ll climb Songer Butte at Emigrant Lake…weather permitting.

Hike Leader: Rich Stickle

Photos By: Linda, Patricia, Randy