 For the cyclists among us, Sonora Pass is famous for that nice stretch of climbing above Kennedy Meadows that goes up to over 9000 feet at a 26% grade. If you can ride that, you can ride just about anything!
 This area is one of the largest and easiest to access Wilderness areas from the Bay Area, and the information station at the Summit Ranger Station at Pinecrest Lake is a great place to start. They have maps, they give advice, and they require neither fees nor reservations. Trails go off in every direction, and all of them lead to beautiful places. The one in the photos at right is the stairway to heaven, past Grouse Lake to Groundhog Meadow.
Camp Lake and Bear Lake:
 From the trail head at Crabtree Cabin, behind Dodge Ridge, this is a nice five mile hike that is easy to get to, easy to hike, and has both fine fishing and lovely scenery! The downside? Yeah, you will probably be joined by more than a few people, especially on the weekends. But you can always keep going--there are campsites along the creek above Bear Lake (No camping allowed at Camp Lake...go figure!) or go cross country following the cairns and plastic ribbons up the ridge to Granite Lake. Or follow the creek up to Y Meadow Dam Lake. Or...this is a great place to explore! Whatever you do, don't miss the view on this trail. When you get to the top of the first ridge, walk 100 yards or so down the trail to Grouse Lake...and the whole Emigrant Basin opens up in front of you. under 10 miles. rt. Lost Lake, Sword Lake, and Spicer Reservoir: We took this trip in June of 2010, a snowy year that meant many other trails would be covered with snow or under water. So was this one. But the hike is still great. In fact, it's probably better when the conditions are a little difficult. The trail is easy enough from the County Line trailhead that it can get overrun in the middle of summe
 r. But with the late snows, we had to break our trail from the Wheat's Meadow trailhead, and we had the place to ourselves. The first two miles were a simple climb up and down the ridge, and then we had two miles of wandering up the Dardanelles Creek watershed in the snow. The trail was either under snow or under water, but we managed to navigate with map, compass, and a lot of stopping and looking around. Once you're there, the lakes offer amazing views--we camped on the western rim of Lost Lake, and admired the views of Spicer, the Dardanelles, and the rest of this part of the Sierra. Definitely one to keep in the back of your mind. And did we mention that nobody else was there? Try that in the middle of summer! 8 miles rt, depending on the trailhead used. Here's the blog entry: Spring Trails
Leavitt Meadows and the West Walker River: This is one great area--now part of the Hoover Wilderness as of 2010 and just amazing scenery. Plus, the permits are available on a self-serve basis at the trailhead! We worked our way up the West Walker River trail, then forded the river (in early July of 2010 this was no laughing matter!) and climbed up to Fremont Lake. From there we went through Walker Meadows and then camped at Cinko Lake---which is the photo we have include here on the right.
 It won't have this much snow when you get here---we were the first people into the lake this year--and that was over 4th of July weekend. And then past Cinko Lake, along the Pacific Crest Trail to Cascade Creek...down the creek to the West Walker again, and up into Long Canyon. (
 If you wanted, you could also take the PCT up to Harriet Lake and beyond. over Dorothy Lake Pass into Yosemite.) 30+ miles.Long Canyon is a very tough, steep climb for the first mile or so...but there are both views and waterfalls...and then it opens up into a stunning meadow, shown at left. At little later in the year, we would have continued on to Bear Trap Lake...but it was too snowy for us. And on the way out, we also stopped at Roosevelt Lake and took the scenic (and mountainous) route back through Secret Lake. All good places to camp...but these lower lakes will certainly have more people than the high country. Here's the blog entry: West Walker River Trip Report
Twin Lakes to Benson Lake and Matterhorn Canyon is a longer hike--we took seven days to finish the 50 miles. And it leaves from Twin Lakes Road off Highway 395---but the closest pass is Sonora Pass, so we list it here.
 This one has it all: stunning vistas, wonderful fishing, great lakes, and just a little too much traffic to be on our all time favorite list. But you owe it to yourself once in this life to walk up Matterhorn Canyon towards the Sawtooth Range...seen in the photo below right, or stumble down wide-open Kerrick Canyon, trying to turn your head as you walk to take it all in. And when you add in the wonderful fishing in Smedberg Lake for rainbows, and Matterhorn Canyon for brookies...well, it's a great trip. That's Crown Peak to the left.  Remember that the first seven miles up out of Twin Lakes to Peeler or Crown Lake (depending on which direction you take the loop) is a brutal 2500 foot climb. And after that we think the two toughest climbs are from Crown Lake to Mule Pass, and from Benson Lake to Seavey Pass. Both of those are downhill if you do the loop counterclockwise...which is why most people do it that way. Wonderful places here. It's a fifty mile loop, which explains all the groups of boy and girl scouts earning their merit badges here. Here's the blog trip log: Matterhorn Canyon and Benson Lake loop--a trip report
Crabtree Cabin to Lower Bucks Lake: This is one of our favorite all time hikes---starting out at the same trailhead as Bear Lake and heading deep into the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness.
 But instead of heading north, this trail veers east at the junction, and then plunges down into Piute Creek. And then climbs up again to Piute Lake. And it does this a couple of times as it works across Gem (photo at left), Jewelry and Deer Lakes. There is good fishing in Deer Lake, and the trail never gets too steep.  Every time you think you might need water, another lake comes into view. And the scenery is really great--a kind of mini-Yosemite, with the same kinds of granite features you'll further south in the national park, but on a smaller scale. Bucks Lakes sit in a stunning valley walled with white granite--and have lots of nice fish to catch. That's Lower Bucks Lake in the photo at right. Around 25 miles rt. Here's a blog entry The Lonely Backcountry Lakes of the Emigrant Wilderness
Crabtree Cabin to Wood Lake and Beyond: If you like to explore beyond the established trails, then this hike is for you. You start at the same trailhead as Bear Lake, but this time you go right down the dusty volcanic slopes to Grouse Lake.
 This isn't a great lake for camping, as it is choked with lily pads in most places--but as the photo at left shows, it can be beautiful at sunset. The best spots are on the southern shore. Beyond Grouse Lake is heaven--a series of amazing climbs and trails that lead first to Cherry Creek, then to Woods Lake. And from Wood Lake you can really go cross-country! It's an easy hike to Karl's Lake
 (there is a use trail, but we found our way without needing it at all--photo is at right) and then you can just lake hop for days, through Leighton Lake and beyond. Wood Lake has excellent fishing, and the whole region just begs to be explored more...You can even extend this trip by heading north out of Wood Lake, and connecting up to the trail at Bucks Lake...and return via the route above. 20 miles rt to Wood Lake...and then explore!Crabtree Cabin to Pingree, Yellowhammer, and points beyond: If you really want an adventure in this region, follow the trail up past Grouse Lake into Louse Canyon, and then follow a series of "ducked" routes to some of the most remote and beautiful lakes in the Sierra.
 Our route went up out of Louse Canyon to Resasco Lake the first night. Then Pingree, Big Lake, and Yellowhammer the next day, ending up at tiny but wonderful Five Acre Lake. The stretch of "trail" between Pingree and Big Lake traverses the single biggest expanse of granite we've ever hiked, and we'd do it again in a heartbeat. That's M in the middle of it in the photo at left. Simply stunning.
 And from Five Acre Lake there is a nice cross country route will take you up to Red Can Lake and then Leighton and Karl's Lakes, where you will run right into the trail above---from Wood Lake back out to the trail head. Next time, we'll spend more time at Red Can Lake, and less time trying to find a nice campsite at Yellowhammer, where the rustic farm buildings may be old, but they are also out of place in the wilderness. 30+ miles
 Clark Fork and beyond: Tlhe Clark Fork Trailhead off Highway 108 does a great job of getting you into the mountains quickly--and the trails here are not so popular. The very nice people at the Summit Ranger station are helpful, and it's easy to get the free permits they issue. In short--this is a great fallback destionation for lots of reasons!
The trail up the Clark Fork itself is another good hike for early in the season, or early in your hiking career. It's just about four or five miles to the waterfall, and only one of those miles is steep. At the top, you get the view of the waterfall, and then you can have the rest of the canyon to yourselves. There is decent fishing in the creek, and enough use trails to wander around for a day up to Clark Fork Meadow.
It's beautiful, peaceful, and easy.
The only real downside to this hike is that there are range cows here, with cowbells on their necks. So your peaceful evening can seem a bit like a downhill ski race in Switzerland....clang, clang, clang! The waterfall at right is the highlight of the hike...unless you count the isolation. We do. 10 miles, depending on where you stop to sleep.
 Beyond...to Boulder Lake: As noted above, the trails in this area connect beyond these initial destinations. If you hike to the junction with Clark Fork, and turn left instead of crossing the creek, you can hike up to Boulder Lake. Eventually that will take you all the way to the Pacific Crest Trail. In the middle of the summer this is a busy place, because Boulder Lake is only four miles from the trailhead. Don't be misled. The first 2.3 miles are a gentle stroll along the Clark Fork. The last 1.7 miles are a very steep climb up to 8,000 feet. And this is on a south facing slope, so you can expect it to get hot on a warm day. (There is water in the creek, though.)
As you climb, the views get better. That's St. Mary's Pass, and Sonora Peak in the photo above, taken just a short distance from the top of the climb to the lake. And while the lake itself is quite small, and the camping sites are very well-used, it's still a nice place to stay. Particularly if you are going to spend the next couple of days working your way around the Carson Iceberg Wilderness high country.
Lake Eleanor/Cherry Lake: It's always hard to pick the perfect destination for a spring hike---especially considering the weather can change pretty quickly. But this hike works well, because it's at a lower elevation, and later in the summer is too crowded to be much fun. That's because during the summer, this is a very short hike, because the road across the dam is open, and you can drive to within about a mile of Lake Eleanor. But before Memorial Day, you have to hike from the near end of the Dam at Cherry Lake, and so the hike is closer to six or seven miles, round trip.
 Lake Eleanor is a great destination early in the year---because there AREN'T that many people willing to make the hike. If you want to add more miles, you can continue up to Laurel Lake and Lake Vernon---but be prepared to play it by ear, and by the snow levels. Those are each higher than Eleanor, and thus snowier.
That's Lake Eleanor at left, in mid-May of 2011, which was a very snowy year. And yes, the next day it snowed six inches right here--just enough to worry the mosquitoes! 7 miles, unless the road is open. Then it is no miles at all!
Sonora Peak and St. Mary's Pass: we would normally list this in our dayhike section, except that it's a great trailhead for the Pacific Crest trail as well. You can follow the PCT up to Ebbetts Pass, or use some of the lesser trails to connect to Clark Fork or Boulder Lake (see above.) And the climb up to Sonora Peak is not hard--it's just long and steep. While it may look forbidding, just take your time and slowly work your way up. You will be rewarded with some of the best views between Tahoe and Yosemite! From here the PCT will take you hundreds of miles in either direction!
Day Hikes:
Pinecrest Lake and Cleo's Baths: The hike around pinecrest lake is a pleasant stroll, and in the summer time the temperatures might just get warm enough to encourage you to take a dip in the lake.
 You'll pass cute cabins, warm rocks, and inviting water all along the hike. And if you are feeling a bit more adventurous, you can take the use trail (marked with a sign and painted arrows these days) to Cleo's Bath--a series of deep pools in the creek that feeds the lake. This is a tough climb up the rocks of a moraine, so be prepared to scramble and maybe even scrape a knee. When you get there, you can relax in the cool waters of the creek--unless you go too late in the year. By August Cleo sometimes has to take dust baths, as the water dries up. 6 miles.Sardine Falls: Just about 2.5 miles east of Sonora Pass, this is a fun hike.
 There is no real trail, nor is there a marked trailhead. But if you are paying attention, all will work out. As you come down the pass, keep your eyes open to the canyon on your right. Soon you will see the falls...and if you stop your car and open the windows, you will hear them roar! Drive down to the meadow, park, and follow the use trails and double track (you'll likely have to wade a couple of times) and you can walk up to the falls. Lovely and fun. Photo here is from July 0f 2010 (a very snowy year) taken from the highway just above the meadow. 4 milesYou can just barely see the waterfall in the notch at the bottom of the canyon. If you click on the photo, it will take you to the Picasa page where you can zoom in...
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