Big Margaret Lake 2006
Wilderness: Ansel/John Muir Wilderness
Latitude: 37.4594
Longitude: -119.0518
Elevation: 9,754 feet
Day 1 – Hike in
The Margaret Lake trail head is located off the Onion Springs road behind Lake Thomas A. Edison. The road is pretty rough in some spots and requires 4-wheel drive to get there. Once unpacked, we start hiking towards Frog Lake which will be our base camp for this trip. It takes us pretty much the entire day to get there but we finally accomplish the task. After making camp and getting some food, we crash for the night.
Day 2 – Fish the lakes
Day two greets us with sunshine and we enjoy the first half eating breakfast and tending to our blisters. After dressing and having a meal, we head off towards Big Margaret Lake to do a little fishing. On the way, we come upon a lake called Fern Lake. It is a small lake right off the trail and we were able to catch some fish there of decent size. After fishing as much as we could, we ventured off down the trail to a vista overlooking Bathtub Lake and Big Margaret Lake. We decided to head towards Big Margaret first and get our fill of fishing there first. After fishing Big Margaret Lake, we next hit Bathtub Lake and have our fill of fishing there. Around 3:00 p.m. we head back to camp going cross country over the mountain rather than the trail back to Frog Lake. Once back in camp, we bathe up, have a shot of whiskey and eat some food. Night and sleep follow quickly as we head in for the day.
Day 3 – Climb the peak
After catching a quick meal on day three, we head towards Saddle Mountain. It is the closest named peak/mountain to us and provides a nice challenge as we make our way to the top. Half-way up, we come upon a large indention in the side of the mountain. It looks like the side of this peak exploded leaving a large crater. We hike around the edge of it and finally reach Saddle Mountain. Once up there, you understand why it is called Saddle Mountain. It has a big “Saddle” shape to it. After poking around a bit and eating lunch, we head back to camp to fish Frog Lake.
Day 4 – Hike out
The last day is always the hardest. Everyone is bummed that we must return home, but it was a good trip with lots to see. Until 2007…
