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Hello!
I'm about to head to SKEI for a 6 days loop around Five Lakes, with camps at:
- Cliff Creek (or Pinto Lake)
- Little Five Lakes
- Big Five Lakes
- Lost Canyon
- Monarch Lake
Does anyone knows what's the tree situation up there?
The few pictures of sites I've seen don't look too promising (but then I've been on a few SEKI hikes where I was fully expecting to be on the ground and had no issue finding a spot to hang).
Thanks!
Looking at the maps on Gaia there is a good chance you will be above the tree line:Quote:
Originally Posted by ptyx42
* Pinto Lake is about 8700'
* Little Five Lakes is around 10400'
* Big Five Lakes is around 10100'
* Lost Canyon is around 9600' (Assuming the Campground around where Big Five Lakes Trail and Lost Canyon Creek meet)
* Monarch Lakes 10300'
I can't say for sure since I haven't been there -- I also should indicate that I am just getting started as well, so I am by no means an expert. But I might suggest you check satellite images where you plan to camp, if you haven't already. I didn't see any recent burn areas show up in Gaia from USFS data, so whatever you see on the satellite images should be at least a rough indicator of what to expect wherever you are planning to camp.
I would love to hear how it turns out for you. Good luck, and have fun!
I'm glad to report I got 4 nights out of 5 hanging - which is better than what I expected.
The group was 5 people: 3 tents and a hammock, so we were looking for largish established camps with convenient trees for me.
Cliff Creek: (**?)
Didn't stop there, but it looks like there were plenty of good trees and tent spots, so tentatively a good hanging spot.
If you do stay there on a clockwise loop, be aware that Cliff Creek to Little Five Lakes in a day is going to be rough. Plenty of water in the creek.
Pinto Lake: **
Great camp, good trees - although they're the big Sierra trees so take the longest straps you have (7' is short there). The lake itself is overrun by algae and vegetation, but you're camping alongside the creek so that's not an issue.
Little Five Lake: **
Enough trees, but not near the very established spots that was left so we picked something a little bit further from the lake. Lake has plenty of water, but is silty so not the best spot for a swim.
Upper Big Five Lake: ***
We found a good camping spot between the two lakes. Great views, easy access to water, private. Enough trees for me, but would be competitive with more than one hammock (and again, big trees).
There is also a very large established camp between the lakes (at the end of the small .2 miles SE fork on the NatGeo maps) which had plenty of trees for larger groups. I didn't go and explore the western end of the trail, but there might be something there as well.
Lower Big Five Lake: (**?)
Didn't stop, but enough trees around it should be ok.
Lost Canyon: ***
There are a few spots right at the fork going to Soda Creek trail, but if you go about a mile west in the canyon there is a large established spot right on the creek with plenty of trees, easy access to the creek, and still within the forested part of the canyon (which is gorgeous). I slept at least 10 hours there right on the creek - best night of the trip (it's also a bit lower in altitude, which doesn't hurt).
Monarch Lake: X
Ground. But not a terrible place to have to go to ground (I slept ok).
There are enough big boulders out there it ought to be possible to hang with a bit of creativity, but they don't have any cracks to anchor. The only spot I found had a 5 feet drop if anything slipped during the night: pass. On the good side there is water, the ground is dry, fine gravel, temperature was nice and despite the frenetic fish activity at sunset I woke up bite-free. It's not a great tent site either compared to the rest of the trip.
If you plan for it (early start), I'd recommend skipping Monarch Lake and go from Lost Canyon back to the car in one day.
Great hike overall!
How long was the trail? I just got done with the Rae Lakes Loop around there.
30 miles. I did Rae Lakes last year, and this loop felt a bit easier (but not dramatically so).Quote:
Originally Posted by Pippi
Gaia link