Hike: Winnemucca Lake and back
Where: Mokelumne Wilderness
Trailhead: Carson Pass trailhead off of Highway 88. Look for the bathroom!
Level: Moderate
Duration: 3 hours and 58 minutes roundtrip
Gear: CamelBak Aventura pack, UNIQLO Heat-Tech tights, REI Sahara Convertible Pants, Icebreaker Oasis Crew
, Triple Aught Design Artemis Hoodie, Ahnu Montara Waterproof Boot
, Black Diamond Ultra Distance Trekking Poles
, MSR Denali snowshoes, Black Diamond FrontPoint gaiters
Cost of Parking: $5 for a SNOPARK day permit ($25 for the season)
Mokelumne Wilderness is a pretty sweet gem off of Highway 88 near Kirkwood. Compared to its neighbor, Desolation Wilderness, it’s relatively unknown; I’ve rarely seen more than 10 other people on the trail.
Decided to make a quick snowshoe trip to Winnemucca Lake to ring in the winter when there was actual fresh snow back in December. Sadly, the tracks we followed are probably still visible.
We started off at the major trailhead for El Dorado National Forest off of 88 and made our way inward. At the time, there was about 2feet of powder, but it is probably sad and icy now.
Winnemucca was 98% frozen over and covered in snow.
All in all, fun trip and gorgeous weather.
