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Trail Rating:
Camp Rating: 
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Camped at trailhead in Woodchuck Basin. Creek was still running so water was no problem. Rode trail up to ridge line, easy to follow, but we were stopped at the crest as there was a snow bank on the backside. Was a great ride thru forest and meadow up on to the more exposed upper slope revealing views down into the valley and the high peaks to the east. Next day we rode a loop off of Stanislaus Meadow trailhead that was much more challenging. We rode the trail heading south to Bull Run Lake (we bypassed the lake spur) and came back around past Mosquito Lakes. Finished on part of the Emigrant Trail that parallels hwy 4. 80 percent of this loop is brilliant. Forest, meadows and creek crossings galore. 20 percent is ROUGH granite outcroppings to work over. Your horse needs to have excellent feet and be in top shape. There were a couple high risk pick your way thrus, and a couple of places too steep to ride over safely so we got off and let the horses jump up thru the rocky ledges. One note - we would not have wanted to have gone the other direction on this loop. Would have been mighty tough trying to come down what we hopped up and over. Approximately 7 miles took almost three hours to complete. Tough ride but an awesome day in the high Sierras. |
