[gcg]

Has anyone done the Snake Lake trail near Gold Lake in CA? I've seen it described as being somewhat difficult and wondered what others think.

 

[gcg]

In case anyone is interested, I'd judge it to be moderately difficult. Moderately steep, very poor traction, a ton of boulders and several ledges in the 2 to 2.5 ft. range to climb. These wouldn't normally be much of an issue but there just wasn't much traction available to get over them - very loose. We were warned by a pack of guys on ATVs not to try it but you know how that goes. About half way down, I was thinking maybe they were right. About a quarter of the way up I was sure they were. At the top I knew I was right.

The Lakes Basin area is really pretty and there are lots of trails that interconnect a dozen or two lakes.

 

[rubirobv]

In case anyone is interested, I'd judge it to be moderately difficult. Moderately steep, very poor traction, a ton of boulders and several ledges in the 2 to 2.5 ft. range to climb. These wouldn't normally be much of an issue but there just wasn't much traction available to get over them - very loose. We were warned by a pack of guys on ATVs not to try it but you know how that goes. About half way down, I was thinking maybe they were right. About a quarter of the way up I was sure they were. At the top I knew I was right.

The Lakes Basin area is really pretty and there are lots of trails that interconnect a dozen or two lakes.

I was intrigued by your post. Did some research on the area and it looks like a great trail. Did you find any campsites along the way? Where did you enter on to the trail?

RobV

 

[gcg]

I was intrigued by your post. Did some research on the area and it looks like a great trail. Did you find any campsites along the way? Where did you enter on to the trail?

RobV

There are campsites all over the area. I'm guessing, but there are probably 10 or 15 different sites. I've camped at the Gold Lake 4WD site before and it's pretty cool - right on the shore of Gold Lake and the only access is over a moderate 4WD road so it keeps the riff raff out. It also gives you a central location to explore the area from.

Today we entered at Gold Lake, took the trail I just described along the south shore of the lake, took the spur off to Squaw lake, took another to Little Gold Lake, which is stunning. There are a couple of campsites there and if you can get them, they'd be outstanding. We then climbed out to the ridge and Summit Lake. Next we dropped down to Little Deer Lake which is also quite beautiful. We back tracked and headed North to Oakland Pond and then dropped down to Snake Lake. From there we turned around and climbed back out (wife not too happy with me at this moment) and headed south along the ridge. We dropped down to Deer Lake (different from Little Deer Lake) and then continued south. We ended the day by climing up the Sierra Buttes trail toward the lookout. The last mile or so is by foot only. I've done that before and the views are really worth the effort, but we didn't have time today. Finally we took the road from there down to Sierra City and Hwy 49. It was a fairly long day but we had a great time.

I really do like that area and am planning on doing some more trips there. The Four Hills Mine trail looks to be an interesting one with some decent 4 wheeling, probably next on our list there.

 

[j3ff3ry_j33p]

NOT-Sweet!
Maybe it was difficult back in this thread's day ...difficult because that lake was filled with snakes! No Thanks for me!

We have those here but not in lakes; we have them as vendors that occupy our Active Topics thread but via being permitted to place multiple posts within under 5 seconds at a time...


I do not know if that is worse than a lake full of snakes , tho!



I will miss this trip, thanks.



:jeep2:

 

[dahreno]

There is Snake lake, I didn't think it was difficult the first time I found it, were were alone and just happened to come across it. I've been up and down several times now, I like it, it's a good trail to wheel.

 

[j3ff3ry_j33p]

goodness !

That is sure beautiful & I would absolutely love to experience that location. I really appreciate the pict and info, man.

Keep at least 2 wheels on the ground & take it easy :bounce2:

:jeep2: