The water at Gem clogged our filter very quickly; Piute seemed better. The grandeur sights of the granite valley still made it a worthwhile trek. The trail runs along the north side. Awesome swimming, no bug problem (and I am eaten alive if there is one squito nearby), lots of crayfish and chipmunks to watch. No need to do any “on trail” portion after the two small lakes. Third day we hiked out on the 'high road' past Secret Lake (slightly a challenge to find the trail from the Lake back to Leavitt Meadows). Very crowded up to Camp Lake but pretty clear after that! (It was much clearer upon our return.) The northeastern section of ... as the Piute tribe of the Great Basin, on the east-ern slope of the Sierra. Lots of the smaller creeks still had some water for our two dogs. There were quite a few parties camping at Lane Lake, on a Friday night, and mosquitos were also present. Dude. Followed sign that said “Leavitt Meadows hikers” downhill trail at small split. We camped on the bluffs just East of Gem Lake thinking it would be windy to help clear the bugs. We encountered a group of hikers on our way to the lake that were abandoning their search for the lake. Did this awesome trail the week of July 17th. Emigrant is the show stopper of all the lakes, but all are wonderful. Has anyone been up here since mid - June and can speak to how the mosquito issues are? Definitely recommend getting an early start if doing this on a warm day, as the last climb from Cherry Creek to Gem Lake can get very hot. After gold was discovered in … 3 days, 2 nights. Hidden Lake was lovely and there were no other souls there. Complete this one counterclockwise for best view progression. It is bordered by Yosemite National Park on the south, the Toiyabe National Forest and the Hoover Wilderness on the east, and State Route 108 over Sonora Pass on the north. Once you exit the forest, you are now in find-your-own-route-land. You can camp there. Instead, you can get a great view of that same lake from the crest part of the trail The water at Gem clogged our filter very quickly; Piute seemed better. Bubo and Dakota had a … Reprieve really only came after passing the unnamed lake ~1.5 miles east of Camp Lake. Stayed at a different lake every night (6). Plenty of creeks to resupply water too. Has anyone been up here since mid - June and can speak to how the mosquito issues are? Epic, granite, water, wind and trees. Beautiful views but be warned as you hike in the bugs get worse and worse! Also, don't follow this GPS track exactly. Both Gem on Friday and Piute on Saturday were very busy--dozens of people camped at each place. More. From the south, the wilderness is accessible from Cherry Lake, along the border with Yosemite National Park. Only thing we weren’t prepared for was how dry the creeks were! I hope to come back soon and make it all the way to the lake with an earlier start and an extra day to spend there. We didn't even bother with breakfast, but just broke camp and got out of there as fast as possible. Emigrant Wilderness is located between Yosemite National Park and Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas. After all, we visit places like these to escape human impact and experience untouched wilderness - seeing things like rock cairns and handmade bridges can really ruin the experience! ... Piute Lake would make a great camp site. Wondering if a few weeks of warm weather has cleared them out some? All in all, super great! Great trail but the mileage is closer to 20...just hiked it yesterday (7-27-19). Gorgeous hike in with buddies, and camping at Piute. I just kept running. Lily and Cherry Creeks are both flowing but easy to walk across. We're going to try this again, but not for another couple of weeks! 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