Emigrant Wilderness: Crabtree to Bear Lake (2025)

Dates: September 13-14, 2025

A quick backpacking trip with friends out in Emigrant Wilderness again. The short hike in and out let us have a late start to the day and spend more time at camp.

Day 1: Crabtree Trailhead to Bear Lake (4.4 miles, +700 ft elevation gain)

Since the hike to the lake was so short, we left the Bay Area at a comfortable 9AM and drove to Sonora to get lunch. We accidentally ordered too much food for lunch since we didn’t realize the full size sandwich was not two ~4 inch halves, but actually four sections of a foot long sandwich. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious but we were way too full after. Thankfully there was still another hour of driving afterwards to get to the trailhead to let us digest.

The trail was quite sandy and dusty, and every step kicked up a good amount of dust. We took a short break at Camp Lake before getting to Bear Lake. The front side of Bear Lake was quite busy, which we expected given the unlimited permits in Emigrant and the shortness of the hike. We went along the edge of the lake and found a nice secluded spot with a fire ring and a nice granite slab next to it.

Camp Lake

We ate an assortment of cured meats with cheese on tortillas, dehydrated meals, and our left over lunch sandwiches for dinner. With all the time at camp, we were able to get a campfire going and just relax next to it. After the sun set, we laid on the granite slab next to the site and stargazed before heading into our tents for the night.

The busy Bear Lake.

Hachiware resting by the fire.

Stargazing never gets old.

Day 2: Bear Lake to Crabtree Trailhead (4.4 miles, +200 ft elevation gain)

In the morning, we got the fire going again to warm up and do some cooking. I carried in two sweet potatoes wrapped in foil that we cooked in the fire, and we also reheated some quesadillas that we also brought along. We had a lazy start to the day before retracing our steps from yesterday back to the trailhead. The hike out was ever faster and we were able to get back to the bay in time for a quick stop at Meadowlark for ice cream. :) 

Fog over Bear Lake.

Strawberry on strawberry lemonade diablo.

This trail is a good one for anyone just getting into backpacking, but I’d definitely recommend trying to go further to another lake if you want more solitude.