Emigrant Wilderness: Granite Dome Loop (2025)

Dates: August 30 - September 1, 2025

I spent the Labor Day weekend backpacking with some new friends out in the Emigrant Wilderness, doing a 38 mile clockwise loop around Granite Dome, starting and ending at Kennedy Meadows (AllTrails). This was my first time in Emigrant Wilderness and the landscapes did not disappoint. With the self-issue, no limit permits, I will definitely be back here.

Day 1: Kennedy Meadows to Sheep Camp (9.6 miles, +3000 ft elevation gain)

We left the Bay Area around 5:30 AM and got to the trailhead just past 9 AM after a quick stop at the Summit Ranger station to pick up a permit. Most of the first day was uphill, passing by the Relief Reservoir and heading up the canyon along the Huckleberry Trail to Sheep Camp. We got a taste of all the classic Sierra views that would continue into the next two days: lush forests, hints of meadows, and the never-ending granite walls and staircases. We had sunny skies with small patches of clouds throughout the entire holiday weekend.

Hiking past the Relief Reservoir.

Sheep Camp was a nice place to set up for the night; there were several other groups there but it was not too crowded. Water access here was no problem with the creek running right through the middle.

Day 2: Sheep Camp to Salt Lick Meadow (16 miles, +1700 ft elevation gain)

We started hiking around 8 AM to get the majority of the remaining uphill out of the way in the morning when it was cooler and give us more time to relax at Emigrant Lake. The best views along the loop were just about to begin.

The environment was ever-changing; as we climbed higher we began passing through the first of several alpine meadows we would see over this loop. The grassy meadows, cut by meandering streams and surrounded by the granite mountains, were a joy to walk through. After strolling through this first meadow on the east side of Emigrant Lake, we walked along the edge of the lake and had a rest stop on the west side. While lounging in the sun and dipping into the lake, we saw a helicopter hovering off to the west. Not sure what it was doing, but if it was SAR hopefully whoever was out there was fine.

After our lunch break we started uphill again, passing by the Buck and Deer lakes.

The last couple miles of this day felt like a bit of a slog; not really difficult in terrain or elevation, just that we had already been moving for quite awhile this day. We debated on where would be a good place to set up camp. Spring Meadow looked good on the map and there was water flowing there when we passed, but it was marked as not for camping. Instead, we pushed on a little further to Salt Lick meadow where we found a nice spot off to the side to set up camp. 

Along the way to Salt Lick, we filtered water from a slightly stagnant pond, planning for the creek that flowed through it to be dry since this was already quite late into the summer. We got enough water to last for the night and the next morning before we got to Upper Relief Valley (just a couple of flat miles away). When we got there, we were indeed right about the creek being dry.

We got to camp around 6:30 PM with plenty of light left to set up everything and eat dinner. The golden light of the sunset over the last half mile of hiking and the meadows was truly beautiful. 

In the middle of the night I got up to also take some photos of the stars over the meadows. It was nearly dead silent, and I was surprised that I could hear water flowing off to the east side of the meadow despite seeing a non-flowing creek in the middle of the meadow. I guess if we really did run out of water or didn’t fill up right before getting here we could have found the flowing section in the morning.

Day 3: Salt Lick Meadow to Kennedy Meadows (13 miles, +1100 ft elevation gain)

We once again started hiking around 8 AM after a good amount of time lounging at camp, talking and eating breakfast. We tried our best to dry out the condensation in our tents as the sun rose, but everything was still pretty wet when we headed out. Our first stop was to get some water in the lakes at the next meadow.

Upper Relief Valley.

The Upper Relief Valley was genuinely breathtaking; I could not get enough of the sight of the expansive field of grass and mountains in the distance. We filtered some more water from the lakes in the later half of the valley while we let our tents dry out from all the condensation in the morning. 

As we continued on downhill, I was still constantly in awe of the landscape around us. Even though I’ve seen similar sights before, for some reason the views on this trail were just doing something for me that I can’t really fully explain. We stopped by the edge of the creek near the end of a major descent to take a dip in a swimming hole and cool off.

On the way back we made a detour to the edge of the Relief Reservoir to take one last dip into the water. The water level was much lower at this time of year, and we were able to find a nice flat slab of rock to get into the water from and dry off on. The rest of the hike back to the trailhead was relatively uneventful, and I finished off the hike with an It’s-it ice cream sandwich from the Kennedy Meadows store.

Thanks again to Tommy for arranging the trip, and Jessica and Jane for being great backpacking buddies!