Emigrant Wilderness

This place is a gorgeous example of the beauty and magnitude of mother nature. I recently took a weekend trip in to Wood Lake and the scenery is almost as good as Yosemite, but you have ¹⁄₁₀^th the crowd. I highly recommend anyone looking for a secluded getaway in nature to consider this area. My trip started at the Crabtree Trailhead and ended at Wood Lake.

Go here if you want to see what Yosemite Valley would look like without glaciation. It’s amazing and without all the Yosemite crowds. I like going to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite, then driving around via 395 and 108 over Sonora Pass. Jaw dropping views along the way. Then you can backpack, car camp, or motel your way in Emigrant (which is in Stanislaus National Forest).

The Emigrant Wilderness is a great for backpackers who love nature and hiking. I’ve been there a half dozen times and its been amazing every time. No crowds once you are 5 miles+ in. Lots of firewood for huge bonfires at night. The stars, shooting stars, and Milky Way are every nighters. Fishing is easy… when the water is flowing. There is a lot of mosquitos in spring and early summer. Watch out. I’ve had many dinners in my tent. My favorites are Bear Lake, Gem Lake, and Waterhouse Lake. Gem Lake is probably one the prettiest places to be during sunrise/​sunset. Wilderness permits are free but don’t go during hunting season… less fun.
Oh…dogs are ok.

Can you say intense? This park is completely for hikers who love the wilderness and want to avoid the crowds. This place is intense because it has no bathrooms, no lodging, no restaurants… nothing. It is the wild. You got to pee behind a tree, you need to bring a tent or sleep outdoors, bring food and water… better yet bring water purification tablets if you are hiking to a lake so you can lighten your load.
We came during the July 4^th weekend, which was miserable and rewarding. Miserable because we didn’t bring 100% DEET (didn’t think we needed anything that powerful), but apparently, the mosquitoes hatched 3 days before we came so the place was SWARMING. I barely took any pictures because I would get 5 bitten on my finger. My bf and I both got 40 mosquitoes EACH after the two day trip.
We hiked to a lake that was 10 mi away in the heat while swatting away the clouds of mosquitoes (wearing a long sleeve shirt DOES not help…). We got to the lake, put up our tent and slept. The bf went fishing in the morning, but I stayed put because of the little blood suckers.
Overall, the trip was fun, just because we felt like we were super hardcore to hike 20 miles, to live in the wild and to fight the mosquitoes. Would go again with 100% DEET.

Just as awesome as Yosemite without all the crowds! GREAT place to backpack… and best of all FREE wilderness permits!
Trip 1 (Loop): Crabtree trailhead to Camp Lake, Piute Meadow, Grouse Lake, and Pine Valley. ~14 miles. 3 days, 2 nights.
Trip 2 (Out-​and-​back): Gianelli trailhead to Powell Lake, Lake Valley, Chewing Gum Lake, and Whitesides Meadow. ~10 miles. 3 days, 2 nights.
Trip 3 (Out-​and-​back): Gianelli trailhead to Powell Lake, Upper Relief Lake, Granite Dome, Y Meadow Lake. ~25 miles. 4 days, 3 nights.

Emigrants Wilderness is a great place for backpacking and/​or day hikes. I’ve been here twice and have couldn’t have been happier with my experiences. It’s just as far as Yosemite minus the ridiculous crowds. Those times I’ve went, I can count the number of people I’ve run into on two hands. Sure, it doesn’t have the falls like Yosemite, but it’s got the solitude.
You’ve got some awesome alpine lakes from runoff, granite mountain tops and cliffs, and fantastic valley views. You can hike 2 or 10 miles in and get similar experiences. In my opinion, Emigrants Wilderness and Stanislaus National Forest offers a wide range of hiking and camping activities for both the recreational and outdoor enthusiast.
For those of you who do decide to go, here are a few more postives for you: no bear issues like in Yosemite and it’s FREE. Of course, if you want to camp in Emigrants, it is designated wilderness so that means poop in a hole you dig, pack in/​pack out, camp away from the trail and water sources, and everything else associated with leave no trace. Please, I’m begging you. Let’s keep it as nice as it is.
The address above is for the Summit Ranger District, which is where I tend to gravitate towards. There’s tons of other places you can look into as well and have just as much, if not more fun. Look into it.