One last Sierra trip before the winter: Iceland Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, October 25-26th

my manager asked if i could work until 6 on friday which would put jacob and i into berkley after 7. so that should work. get up there before midnight.

Temps were mild. I at 61 was one of two people in our other wise young group who hiked in shorts and a ss shirt. Temps in the low 70's at the most, we did sweat some. When we made camp Saturday afternoon about 4 or so, I took a quick dip in the lake, dried off and put a light jacket on. So I'd say that late, was in the 60 something range by then, light breeze about dinner time. Most of us slept on a tarp, one couple used their tent, I had mine, but since others were in the open I did too and was comfy. Enjoy the trip.
Duane

Wish I could make this one guys, but I doubt my doctor will release me to go hiking yet, only been 2 months since the broken ankle surgery, the brain says yes, but the ankle says we're staying home on this one, enjoy, look forward to the trip report.

Jack

I would like to go if possible. One last trip of the year sounds great!

I could pick up people at BART in Walnut Creek or Dublin Friday. I can fit 3 in my truck. PM if interested.

Hey Jay,
Jacob and I are going to be driving through Berkley and picking up Dylan around 7 or 7:30. Then heading through Dublin. We could meet up if you want to carpool. If you were planning on leaving earlier then get in touch with Andrew.

Are we planning to meet at a campsite friday night?

Hi all-

I've been following this thread since it's inception, and had been very interested in joining, but haven't posted as I wasn't able to commit until today.

At this point, however, I'm not sure I will be heading up Friday after leaving work, or before dawn on Saturday. Have you guys worked out where you plan to camp on Friday night? Just inside the wilderness boundary beyond Kennedy Meadow?

There is a non-zero chance that my girlfriend, Amy, and/or our border collie Roscoe will be be joining me.

Does anyone have any concerns about Roscoe coming? Dylan can vouch for him having good trail manners and being a friendly pup, as we have backpacked together (in Emigrant, out of Kennedy Meadows, in fact!) earlier this year.

Thanks for putting this together, looking forward to the trip and enjoying the company of fellow BPLers.

-Scott

I think the campgrounds at Kenendy Meadows are closed, idk if we could still camp in them or not. Anyone know a good place to stop along the way?
It would be nice to all be together in the morning.

I don't have a problem with dogs but I can't speak for anyone else.

Hi everyone,

I just got back from an awesome 5-day trip in Yosemite. Sorry for the slow response to everyone's PMs. I drove back via Highway 108 and it's gorgeous up there right now. The aspens are definitely past their peak, but there's plenty of fall color left and the weather was fantastic, so this weekend should be awesome.

Including a few "maybes" in the list, we are up to 12 people right now. The group size limit is 15, so there's still a spot or two open for you if you sign up soon.

Two comments:

(1) The weather. Right now the weather is supposed to be good all week except for Saturday and Saturday night. (Figures.) Here is the current forecast:

Saturday: A chance of rain and snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 43. Breezy.
Saturday Night: A slight chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 27.

It is very likely that the forecast will change, either for the better or the worse. Either way, everyone that is coming should be prepared for rain and snow. This time of year, you should pack a little more insulation than you think you need. If you have a fully enclosed shelter, this is a good trip to bring it.

(2) Camping. I agree that camping together on Friday night would be ideal. It would give us more time to socialize and we could get an earlier start on Saturday (the days are short right now, it's best to use as much of the daylight as you can.) However, as far as I can tell all of the campgrounds in the Highway 108 corridor are closed for the season. Anyone have any good ideas for a place to stay?

Scott, hope you guys can make it. Border collies are welcome as far as I'm concerned. I'm probably driving up Friday night with a bunch of people, but as mentioned above we haven't figured out the camping situation yet.

I'm in regardless of weather. I don't know the area so I can't suggest a place to stay Friday night but seems to me even a big enough turnout to fit cars for parking could suffice for the night? If it had some level areas for sleeping… I'm East and possibly North from most people interested in the hike and have ample room in my vehicle if anyone has a need. If the weather is iffy on snow I may drive my globe warming suburban since it's 4×4.

There are closed campsites just off the highway. What if we just camped there? Just grab our stuff and walk in. I have been to closed national forest campsites in winter where there was nobody around and no signs indicating that we weren't allowed to camp there… but kennedy meadows could be different.

There is also pinecrest but that's still a drive from kennedy meadows.

David Wage emailed me and said there are dispersed camping areas up the road from kennedy meadows. Just a flat spot off the highway. That could be hard to find in the dark.

i'm in. look'n at fri evening. will bring wine.
can we not maybe use the top of the pass for the night ?

v.

I was thinking Sanora Pass also but there should be plenty of side roads & lots near KM. I will be driving up Friday night– see you all early Saturday morning at KM.

OK. I just called the ranger station. We are allowed to stay in any campgrounds that do not have a closed gate as long as we pack out all of our trash. There is also camping available at the trailhead. The ranger suggested that we stay at Brightman Flat campground since the camping area at the TH is quite small. So anyone who wants to join, let's plan on meeting at Brightman Flat campground on Friday evening. I'll be driving a tan Honda Element but it should be obvious where everyone is camped since I doubt anybody else will be up there.

Final meeting point is the trailhead parking lot at Kennedy Meadows. Let's make the meeting time 9:00 AM and we'll start hiking at 9:30 AM.

That's a little early for people driving up Saturday morning but I don't want to wait too long since there isn't much daylight this time of year. If you show up late you can catch up to us on the trail or at Iceland Lake.

For those of you arriving later than the main group, our final destination is off trail.

Look out for lower relief valley. It’s sort of a meadow, but brushy. There is cow crap everywhere. You will be going uphill and pop out of the trees and see the open brushy meadow to your left. The trail follows trees on the right side of the meadow. You have a view of massive granite

When you see the first opening of the meadow, start heading straight across. The first part of this meadow is the least brushy. You will end up hitting a stream. Right across this stream is a flat area with a fire ring. Start following this steam and heading southwest (your right). The stream will eventually branch out. Follow the branch heading south away from the meadow.

This will lead you up a drainage that turns into a mini canyon. It’s a nice little walk with occasional route finding and boulder hopping.

Eventually the canyon will become wide into a valley. Follow the drainage as it turns to the east (your left). It leads up to the outlet of the small unnamed lake near Iceland. This approach is very wide and there are lots of ways to go up, but I recall doing some light scrambling and butt sliding on flat granite so be careful if it’s wet.

While walking up this approach, stay to the left side of the approach. If you go to far to the right you will end up at ridge lake as the unnamed lake and ridge lake share the same drainage outlet.
When you get to the small unnamed lake it’s a short walk downhill to the forest near Iceland.

Julie and I will be in Sonora on Friday night, but will plan on meeting at the trailhead by 9am.

Looks like the chance of snow is increasing (edit: updated forecast)

Friday Night
A slight chance of rain after 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 35. South wind 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Saturday
A chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 41. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Saturday Night
A 30 percent chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 26. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday
A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 38.

I was hoping to be able to make it, but it would not be the responsible thing for me to do right now.
Have a great trip; looking forward to sweet pictures and to seeing you/ meeting you some other time.

I have room in my car for one more. I am leaving Santa Rosa after work at 6:00 pm (unless I can get off early) and I should be in the east bay around 7:30ish. Or if you have a larger vehicle and know a safe place for me to park. Just let me know.

Sounds like some interesting weather.

Angela and I are in! We're going to try leaving the Bay Area before rush hour, but will likely end up sitting in traffic.

So my wife and I are going to leave the Bay Area around 2PM. We'll be at Brightman Flat around 6PM for anyone who is gonna join tomorrow night. I'll bring a big box of firewood to burn.

Here is the latest weather forecast:

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. South wind 9 to 11 mph.
Saturday: A chance of rain showers after 11am. Partly sunny, with a high near 47. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 21 to 26 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Saturday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 42.

So be prepared for wind & rain & probably some snow. I'm packing rain pants and a Gore-Tex rain shell. If you have a flat tarp, this would be a good trip to bring it in addition to your normal shelter so we can set it up and stand under it if the weather sucks. I'm driving our 4WD car but I'm not too worried about driving in snow or the pass closing because the forecast is for rain below 7,000 ft. If it's really bad when we get out there, we can always camp in Relief Valley where there is more shelter and more firewood available. It'll be a good time either way. See everybody out there soon!

Wellll, a lot can happen while a person is out of phone range for a week. Turns out that right after I headed out for my Cherry Creek Canyon trip, my parents got two weeks' notice to pack up and leave because their rental is being sold. They need help, and I don't feel right going out of town again right now.

I'm sorry to miss out on meeting you folks. Also sorry to miss checking out a new route into Iceland Lake, but I can't complain too much since I just had seven fantastic days of exploration in Emigrant. I hope you all have as much fun out there as I did!

(And if we get another drought year, maybe this won't have to be the last Sierra trip… I think last year I did three "one last trip" trips before the season actually ended.)

Sounds like a great trip. I thought about going, but the climb from Kennedy (in one short autumn day) is a bit much for me.

Re: "we can always camp in Relief Valley where there is more shelter and more firewood available"

FYI, I think there are no fires allowed above 9K in Emigrant. I saw a nice new "No Wood Fires" sign on that route up the Ridge Lk outlet when I was there last summer. On the bright side, it did give me more confidence that I was on route.

Y'all are going to miss the World Series games this weekend!

Y'know, you're right–when I did my Granite Dome trip, the ranger made a point of emphasizing no fires above 9k.

Have fun out there!

Here in our microclimate it dumped on the highway and stayed dry fifty yards over.
And up there ?

Ps. As bummed as I was to miss this trip, I felt crappy all weekend so better that I stayed home.