| Location | Pinecrest, CA |
| Distance | 5.5 miles |
| Time | 2 Hours |
| Start/ Finish | N 38 11.459, W 119 59.514 [Midpoint N 38 12.201, W119 57.374] |
| Altitude | Start : 5600ft. Highest point : approx 6000ft |
| Terrain Description | Wet slippery rock, narrow rocky trails,
sodden meadow, some snow, stream running down the majority of the second
half of the trail ending with heavy forest with lots of fallen trees and
branches. Rating : Technical with a dog due to slippery rocks and logs This hike was based upon trail PC2 trail from the book "Emigrant Wilderness". I would not recommend it as a dog friendly trail at all. In summer the rock climbs would be OK for a fit agile dog but after heavy rains its much too dangerous. It does have some wonderful swimming holes if your dog like water. |
| Weather | Cool and Overcast |
The trail round the South portion of the lake is very narrow and it winds precariously along the tree line past countless moss covered holiday cottages. It is fairly easy to follow if you keep an eye out for the painted arrows. The trail was very damp and some of the exposed tree roots and rocks were very slippery indeed.
The latter half of the lake trail is strewn with large boulders like the one shown in the picture below. These can be very slippery even for four paws. Getting across this section requires some scrambling and jumping. This was no problem for Angus but he did cause me a few moments when he was pulling on the steep down hills. There was also a slippery plank crossing (covered with snow) and some steel ladder steps just to make things even more difficult. This whole section was also in deep shade so it was pretty cold.
The next section of the trail had been turned into a stream by the major storm we had mid week. It was very long before angus and myself had very wet feet. I didn't see any trail markers but it was easy to follow as we wound our way through trees and sodden meadows. Every now and then the trail would travel along side the river which was very pretty.
We eventually found a snow covered meadow for Angus to play in and try to eat
We got to within a few hundred yards of Cleo's bath when the trail took and abrupt right turn and the arrow pointed up a steep rock face. The rock face was impassible to man and dog due to the slippery lichen and possibly ice. We tried several times to climb it but it was just too dangerous. Not to be deterred we tried to circumnavigate the rock face but we just ended up in the forest behind. The forest had seen the worst of the recent storms and the floor was strewn with fallen branches and trees. It was no fun to try to hack our way through that lot. We admitted defeat and turned back.
We took a bit of a diversion on the way back to investigate the sound of fast running water. It was worth the effort and the climbing to get to a marvelous swimming area. Finding our way back to the trail was a real challenge and the GPS was worth its weight in gold for this purpose.
The way back was pretty uneventful. We did try to go home round the other side of the lake but we could find a safe passage over the rain swollen river. We were both pretty tired when we got back to the truck. It felt a lot longer than 5.5 miles due to the difficulty of the terrain.
