Easy access from Sacramento and the Bay Area… Hike in 8 miles to a base camp at Gem Lake while horses carry your gear. Spend several days or a week “day hiking” to endless lakes, mountain peaks and waterfalls… returning each night to the same comfortable camp.
Getting to the Trailhead
Planning and Permits
This trip is located in the Emigrant Wilderness on the Stanislas National Forest. Wilderness Permits are required and can be picked up at the Summit Ranger Station in Pinecrest, California.
We will arrive in the afternoon to explore Pinecrest, pick up our permit and do a short warm-up hike. We will “car” camp or rent rooms for the night.
Crabtree Trailhead is serviced by a very affordable Aspen Meadow Pack Station The cost is $200 per person (maximum of 75 lbs. of gear, food, and drinks) for the “drop camp”. Camping gear must be dropped off at the loading dock very early in the morning. The Packer will transfer our camping gear and backpacks to a drop point near Gem Lake.
After dropping off the gear, we will eat breakfast and then head over to the trailhead to begin the hike.
All Trails is a great web applications to plan and do backcountry adventures. Click here to view a map of the route on AllTrails.com…
We will hike about 8 miles with light weight “day packs”… just carrying the essentials. We will meet up with the Packer and then encounter our dropped gear. From here we move a short distance to our camp and home for the week.
Day Trips from Gem Lake
The following trips can be completed in one day from Gem Lake:
- Pingree Lake
- Hyatt Lake
- Buck Lakes
- Long Lake
- Wire Lakes
- Wonderland of Rocks
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