Anyone ever heard of this area?

[tacklejunkie]

I'm trying to find out some info on a place I went 10 years ago. I cannot find info on "margeret lakes" or "lake" and the surrounding lakes in the area. I've googled but find nothing.

I don't think it is the eastern sierras, as we drove up the 99 for 5 hours to get there. I know the area we were in was considered "the sierras" but I don't know what portion of the Sierras it was.

On the way there, we passed Shaver lake and we stayed a day at a campground by a creek just north of Huntington lake. While at this campground we fish salmon eggs on treble hooks for a couple of fairly large trout. I think the campground was known back then as "badger flats", and was located just a few miles north of huntington lake.

After staying here for a few days, we headed northward more and came across a small log cabin hotel type of place called "mono hot springs" that a river ran directly through. I think the river was called the san joaquine river and just above it on the hill there by the bridge were the hot springs. We found fish in the river and big long black snakes under the rocks after bathing in the hotsprings outlined by rocks.

Once we finished messin' around here we continued northward more for what seemed like 50 miles maybe, on a one laned road. We finally arrived at edison lake and found it to be huge and lifeless. We then left there for our real destination.

after a very long 4x4 dirt road to the west of edison lake we came to the Margeret Lakes trailhead. We'd leave the truck and bring the 40lb backpacks up the 8 mile trail to 11,000 or 12,000 feat at the summit by the arches, then back down into the back country to some incredible lakes. Some of the names of the lakes were Margret, bathtub lake, coyote lake, rainbow lake and I forget many more. We must have visited 20 little lakes in our 2 week stays in the area on just the backpacking part of the trip alone. We mostly stayed at Coyote lake because it had good camp sites and was protected from the harsh winds.

The fishing at that "Coyote lake" was as wide open as I've ever seen trout fishing. I Remember having 7 fish between my uncle and I on our stringer in just about a half hour.

I also remember there was a creek running into coyote lake that came from a very large open valley between some crazy beatiful mountains. I caught a fish there that I knew was different from a rainbow trout from the markings the fish had on it. I Ran and showed the fish to my uncle before releasing it because we already had enough fish. I'm not sure what that fish was as it was 10 years ago, but looking back on it now I'm sure it was either a brown trout or a brookie because it was no rainbow trout.

I have pictures of this place somewhere. I'm not positive where they are as the pics are at least 10 years old and probably burried in one of my family member's junk.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has ever heard of any of these places. Everyone I ask has never heard of them? Someone on here has to have been back there before? I'd love to go again but I guess I need to find the local ranger stations and call them up to see if I need wilderness passes and all that? I wonder if there might be a waiting list to get passes to get back to the margeret and surrounding lakes that I used to go to? It's probably too late for this summer but I'd like to start planning for next year.

I also remember when we returned from our two week backpacking trips back there that the bears would pull the back window out of my uncles truck without braking it. They would just tear out the weatherstripping and the window would be whole! We never left any food in there but they always broke in anyways :LOL: They were smart! We could tell it was bears though because they would leave pieces of hair stick to sharp stuff in the truck.

[TaftMan]

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/LakeMargaret_0000.asp

http://kevingong.com/Hiking/200209LakeMargaret.html

http://www.monohotsprings.com/

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.434522,-118.99601&spn=0.098687,0.288391&t=p&z=13

stuff i found

[tacklejunkie]

Here is a map of the general wilderness. It's seriously just south of mammoth mountain. I remember when we were at one of the lakes back there we could actually see mammoth mountain.

The pass we hiked over I forgo the name of but it had a huge arch near the peak and it was waaay up there like 11,000 or 12,000 feet. The trail was 8 miles to Margret from the trail head.

Man what a place that was. I gotta get back there one day. Not a soul around for miles and some of the best scenery I've ever seen. That place was beautiful and adventurous enough to remember very small details 10-12 years later.

It was somewhere in this vicinity, north and a bit west of edison. You can see a few of the larger lakes in the pic but there is many more lakes and ponds than you can actually see on this map pic.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/edison2.jpg

Taftman, I believe that is the correct Mono Hot Springs in your link. That place is awesome!
That was a ways before edison down the crazy forest road. I'd suggest anyone check out Mono Hot Springs (or rather the resort's surrounding areas) if they ever get a chance!

I'm not positive if that's the right margret lakes as the site says the trail is only 5 miles and the other one says 4.6 miles or something. This hike was 8 miles and took like 1.2 days with 40lb backpacks. The elevation climb was simply unreal at the age of 12-15, so I could only imagine how much tougher it would be now at 26.

[sky]

Deleted: Outdated info

[tacklejunkie]

Yes I Remember Florence as well.
There was just a little shop at that lake and that's all I can remember about it.

The roads back there were pretty nutty, but often found themselves along side awesome meadows. We learned from my uncles friend what type of mushrooms were edible in the area and picked some really great tasting wild mushrooms for dinner one time. Chicken mushrooms and some other big fat toadstool looking one with foam for gills. If we picked the wrong ones they could kill you so we had to be shown which ones were right. My uncles buddy who showed us was polish and said his family had a long history of picking wild mushrooms.

I don't remember much about Edison other than it was a rocky shoreline I could barely see across the lake it was so big. We didn't stop there for more than 5 minutes.

I know there is water in some of those lakes still Sky. There was TONS of lakes back there in those hills behind Edison. We took some 4x4 trail to the west of there and hike up northward over that huge pass.

One time at Coyote lake, some pack mules in a train of about 20 with a bunch of people showed up. They were shooting guns and getting drunk the whole night and really just ruining it for us, but thankfully they only stayed the weekend and we were up there for 2 weeks living on rice and fish. I'm sure you can pack mule into the area but I always liked the backpack way after seeing all the lazy drunks ruining our weekend in a place where nobody should even be.

Your pic of the road to (what looks like the road to edison) Edison looks just like it. Those huge mountains with snow in the background might even be those mountains of which we climbed the huge pass that we had to go over to get to the lakes.

[sky]

Deleted: Outdated info

[slief]

Are you sure the ski resort you saw in the distance was Mammoth and not Sierra Summit? Sierra Summit is right next to Huntington Lake along the highway.. I used to go to summer camp on Huntington lake and back packed to a number of lakes up there though I cant remember the names as that was too many brain cells ago (early 80's).. I was a lucky kid and got to spend the entire summers up there at Gold Arrow camp.. Needless to say, it is beautiful country up there and those back country hike in lakes can be great fishing.. I wish I had the motivation that I had as a kid.. Now a days, camping consists of a 39' motorhome roughing it.

[tacklejunkie]

Yes, I remember clearly my uncle saying "That's the back of mammoth mountain right there".
On google earth, you can see mammoth mountain just to the north west of Edison lake. (and the lakes above edison that we hiked to)

I believe from the peak with the arch, we could also see (or was it almost see) Mt Whitney from there too. It's like we were in the exact middle of the sierras I think.

BTW,
do I possibly know you from the runryder forum? :LOL:
What's your name on there? I'm from Simi originally.

[slief]

BTW,
do I possibly know you from the runryder forum? :LOL:
What's your name on there? I'm from Simi originally.


Hahh.. Yep that is me... I'm the owner of Zoom's Heli... My user name is now Zooms Heli but my shop manager uses that account. It was originally slief if I recall but Mark changed it.I dont spend much time on Run Ryder these days as I have not been flying much of late.. Been fishing, camping and duning in my spare time. I sold most of my Heli's but kept a couple. One of these days I will have to dust them off and bang some sticks! What was your user name there? You still flying?

Best regards,
Scott

[tacklejunkie]

Crazy man! Small world out there..
You're the owner of Zoom's Heli!?
I was "caseyjholmes" on runryder. I believe we've actually met a few times before as well. I've bought Mikado and Raptor parts from your shop before. I also used to fly with Tim (3DWasp) and his dad in Simi Valley once in a while. There's a slim chance you and I have even flown together once. Was it you there with Tim and his dad that one day I flew my Lepton?

I don't fly anymore right now. I got P.O.'d with my sponsor at the time (aero-model inc) and kinda jumped out of the hobby and sold all my heli's. I still have my old video website up though. I'll be back into it one day I'm sure, but probably not quite as much as I was before.

Good to hear from you man. Hope all is well and maybe one day we can hook up for a heli chat while some fish pull some drag for us. :Cool:

[adiablo420]

Lake Margaret - El Dorado Natl Forest

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Highlights:
great hike to beautiful little lake
Near: Kirkwood, CA
Scenery:
Distance: 4.8 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 450 ft
Hike Time: 2.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Trail Condition: OK, but a few difficult spots
HikeType: Out and Back


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary: Lake Margaret is one of the prettiest little lakes in the Sierra Nevada that you'll ever see.

The trail is moderate, and difficult to follow in places. There are many spur trails taking off from the main trail. Try to stay on the main trail and look for signposts to guide you. Near the end, at a creek/log crossing, the trail becomes very indistinct, and you may need to search around to pick it up again.

This trail becomes quite busy on the weekends. Weekdays or early in the morning is the best time to visit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trailhead: From Hwy 88/89 junction, drive 12.2 miles west on Hwy 88 to the marked Lake Margaret trailhead (0.2 miles past the Caples Lake dam). (Lat:38.72256 Lon:-120.0859)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trail Guides for Lake Margaret - El Dorado Natl Forest:
100 Classic Hikes in Northern California
by John Soares and Marc Soares (The Mountaineers)
California Hiking
by Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown (Foghorn Outdoors)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best Seasons: Fall, Summer,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
User Groups: Hikers, Dogs,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ranger Contact: El Dorado National Forest, (209) 295-4251

[tacklejunkie]

That sounds different for some reason. Either that or the place has changed quite a bit. The hike was most definitely 8 miles back then. We started from a dirt road and it took like a day and half to get there, not just a few hours.
It must be way different now. I will have to go see again for myself eventually.

Can you find anything on Coyote lake? if it's near that Margaret you just posted then that's the one for sure. I know how to get there by picture memory.


Check this out, I think this is the coyote lake place. The mention it "takes a determined 4x4 vehicle" to get there. Dang you can drive right on in there now? I bet the place is trashed! We had to hike for (what seamed like) days over some crazy high elevation peak to get back there and out years ago.

I don't remember the 4x4 trail, but I do remember those pack mules that one time which makes me wonder if they even had the 4x4 trail to the lake back then.


location:
Central Sierra California
Fresno County
off of Hwy.168
way way back on FS Rd# 8S10

Hike up & see the views. All the way across to the Eastern Sierra. Wildflowers in mid summer. White sand beaches, created from decomposed granite, on opposite side of lake.http://www.totalescape.com/destin/lakes/coyoteW.html


I think this is a map of the area. I will get this and figure it out for when I get the chance to go again. http://www.totalescape.net/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=37_38&products_id=37

[Ronira]

Dude Kirkwood is up by Tahoe. El Dorado county is where I grew up. It's quite a bit North of where you seem to be talking about. There are tons of small alpine lakes up there.

[tacklejunkie]

Yeah, here is were I stayed for two weeks living out of a backpack :Cool:
I'm about 98% certain this was the place.
there was either brooks or browns in that inlet creek.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/4142291
It says something about the Mammoth Minarets in the background. See the link for a pic.
I will definitely return one day to refresh my memory.

You can also see "Big Margaret Lake" off to the right in the map on that link.

[Ronira]

Yep, way south of kirkwood, never hung out in the Mammoth area. Sounds like a cool place. Hey dawg do me a favor, go to fishsniffer online and ck out the feature artical on the Middle fork of the American trout fishing. That's where I worked as a whitewater and trout guide.

[tacklejunkie]

And on google.. (with commentary!)
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/margaretcoyoterainbow.jpg

[Ronira]

How long to drive there from here I wonder. Guess I can google it.

[tacklejunkie]

Yep, way south of kirkwood, never hung out in the Mammoth area. Sounds like a cool place. Hey dawg do me a favor, go to fishsniffer online and ck out the feature artical on the Middle fork of the American trout fishing. That's where I worked as a whitewater and trout guide.

This?
http://www.fishsniffer.com/dbacher/080811americanbrowns.html

[Ronira]

Yep, that's 11 miles from my old house dawg. That's the river I wanted to show you.

[adiablo420]

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/adiablo420/lakemargaret.jpg

found it for ya

[sky]

Deleted: Outdated infohttp://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/attachment.php?attachmentid=6715&d=1219390901

[FishermanStu]

i guess if you guys are talking about this place i might as well rep my lake. mammoth pool reservoir. if you guys know the place thats cool. not many do. its a little north of edison. however it sits at about 3500 feet. its way down in the san juaquin valley. if you really want a hike jump on the french trail. takes you right along the river. i do NOT recommend this hike for anyone. BUT if you do have the manliness for it i would suggest i trip to hells half acre. NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

o yeah and that is most def. the back side of mammoth. on the road into mammoth pools i think it is the 49 or something there is a place called mile high lookout and it has a map of all the things you can see from there. with Bi Nocs you can see the lift on the backside. and if you get a vista into the san Juaquin Valley and catch a glimpse of Fuller Butes i climbed up to the top of those things. also not recommended without a trail map as i was bush wacking it in 90 degree temps.

P.S. Minerets Pack station is where to go if you want to do the river.