Crabtree Trailhead to Deer Lake
Info
Dates: August 29 to September 2, 2008
Forest: Stanislaus National Forest
Region: Emigrant Wilderness
Total mileage: 22.6 miles
Elevation gain: 1240 ft.
Trailhead: Crabtree / Major highway: 108
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult
Nearby lakes: Piute Lake, Gem Lake, Jewelry Lake
Restrictions: Wilderness permit required (free); group size limit: 12 people; small campfires are allowed
Likes: rocky campsites close to lake, zero contact with other backpackers, very remote
Dislikes: a lot of switchbacks
Summary
Being my second backpacking trip, this one was quite an adventure. It was the longest trip in days (4 nights) and in mileage (22.6 miles). From what I remembered, there were tons of switchbacks which didn’t treat my feet so well. It didn’t help that my mountain boots were kids’ size. Every time we were descending, my feet would slip down so that my toes kept rubbing against my shoe. This caused both of my toenails to eventually come off (after the trip). I know, gross. Lesson learned: I bought amazing adult mountain boots (Lowa) and also actual backpacking socks and sock liners. I’ll create a page with all my gear later.
We were also not mentally prepared for the difficulty of this trip. We planned to get to Deer Lake in one day, but ended up staying a night at Piute Lake (somewhat midway) on Day 1 and then again on Day 4. We had so many blisters (not having proper boots played a huge part in this), and we got lost (read below) which took up a lot of daylight time. Not doing this trail before, we did not want to continue on to Deer Lake with the possibility of not finding it before sunset. We did bring a little extra food for an extra day but also put a lot of faith into catching fish (I wasn’t vegan back then). We did catch a lot of fish and had very yummy meals.
On top of all of this, on the way to the lake, we got lost….twice…..without a GPS. Just a map and a compass. This had to be one of my scariest moments in life. We didn’t see any stacked rocks from previous backpackers and couldn’t make a clear trail in this rocky area of the trail. AND THEN, during this, I lost Jon. There were a lot of large boulders and when we got lost, we kind of spread out a little to look for signs. In the midst of worrying about being lost, we didn’t pay attention to where we were in relation to each other. I freaked out, screamed his name, blew my whistle. Didn’t hear anything, so I started running, tripped and fell on a bush and got scraped. And then Jon appears –he heard my whistle. Yeah, this was kind of a disaster. Lesson learned: we bought a GPS receiver (eTrex, but an older model)
So this trip taught us so much about having the right gear, preparing for anything, and knowing our limits.
Day 1
Overnight Stay at Motel
Stayed at our go-to motel in the area, El Dorado Motel.
Day 2
Crabtree Trailhead to Piute Lake (8 mi total)
Drove to Crabtree Camp Trailhead, 27 miles, 46 mins. Same trailhead we go to for Bear Lake.
Camp Lake, 2.6 mile mark
Since this trip was just me and Jon, and we've been in this area before, we easily breezed by Camp Lake (2.6 miles in). This time, Bear Lake was not directly on the trail.
So, this was our 2nd backpacking trip now. We did not upgrade our gear that much from our first trip so this was quite ambitious. There were tons of switchbacks.
High above on a mountain...
And then down, down, down, in the meadows.....
Passing a pond full of lily pads.....
Oh, and then up a mountain.... again....
Unplanned Overnight Stop: Piute Lake, 8 mi mark
We did not plan to stop here but my feet were killing me. After 8 miles of going up and down mountains, my feet gave up.. And having kids' boots probably didn't help. (Remember, this is the trip I lost two toenails!)
It wasn't the biggest lake we've seen, but it was still beautiful and peaceful. The campsites were more shady and surrounded by trees and logs. Not really my favorite, but my feet were happy....
Day 3
Piute Lake to Deer Lake (3.3 mi)
After my much needed break, we were ready to get back on the trail and start heading to our main destination. Boy, was it beautiful.
About to go up and down that mountain.
The good thing about this route is we get to pass by several other lakes. The next two lakes weren't that big, but was still fun to take short breaks to admire their beauty. Oh, and it was a perfect time to pull out the map to make sure we don't get lost!
Gem Lake, 9.5 mi mark
Jewelry Lake, 10.5 mi mark
The scenery doesn't get old.
Finally, Deer Lake! (11.3 mi total)
11.3 miles of switchbacks, two dead toenails, and many blisters later, we finally arrived at Deer Lake. Holy crap, it was beautiful. There was NO SIGHT of humans. Incredible what a couple miles of effort can reward you with. Our campsite had the best view of the lake.
We stayed here for two nights and I'll never forget it.
Day 5
Back to Piute Lake
The condition of my feet didn't allow me to hike all the way back to the trailhead in one day, so we had to stay at Piute Lake another night. Was not ideal since we were already low on food, but because we caught a couple fish at Deer Lake (this was before I became vegan), we were okay to stay another night.
Day 6
Long Hike Back to the Trailhead
22.6 miles later, we're back to civilization. Would love to do this trip again someday.