Emmaline Lake
Directions: From U.S. Highway 287, take a left onto CO 14 for the next 26 miles. Upon reaching Pingree Park Road turn left and continue for an additional 16 miles. Turn right at Forest Road 145, go about 1/2 mile PAST the Tom Bennett Campground. On your left hand side you will see a sign for the Emmaline Lake/Mummy Pass trailhead. There is not an official parking lot and parking may be limited, you can always park at the campground or along the road if that is the case.
Description: Follow the Cirque Meadow Trail for about 3 miles until you the reach Cirque Meadow, hiking is fairly easy with only a moderate incline. There are 7 designated campsites here with additional sites another ~2 miles up the trail. Keep in mind you are not able to camp within 1 1/2 miles of the lake. After Cirque Meadow the trail enters the Wilderness Travel Zone up to Emmaline Lake. The hike becomes more strenuous for the remaining 4 miles to Emmaline Lake. **Follow the Cairn rocks, it is really easy to loose the trail** The entire hike is just under 7 miles from the trailhead to the lake.
Use: Dogs, Hiking, Biking, Backpacking, Fishing
Cirque Lake
I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks when we finally hit the road in early September 2017. The sky's were clear and my husband and I were eager to see what the fuss was all about. We had heard plenty about Emmaline and loved how dog friendly it was. To say many of our hikes and backpacking trips are dictated by whether dogs are allowed, is an understatement. Emmaline Lake did not disappoint and it was really helpful that the trail ran next to Fall River most of the way. Once you get to Cirque Meadow and the designated campsites, Fall River runs right through the meadow. Accessible fresh water makes backpacking that much more fun, especially with dogs.
Cirque Meadow on the border of our campsite.
It is just about 3 miles to the meadows and the trail to the meadows is easy and enjoyable to hike with heavy packs. We hiked in on a Friday afternoon, set up camp at Cirque Meadows and enjoyed the sunset over some red wine and Mountain House. I believe some people would call that "glamping". The next morning we rose to a hazy fog over the meadow, it was stunning and eerily quiet. We packed up our day pack with our fishing rods, rousted the dogs(and the husband) and set out for the lake.
The trail quickly rose from an easy incline to more strenuous slope for the remainder of the hike. Fall River still wound near the trail periodically, rushing with increasing urgency. The Cairn rocks from previous explorers became very helpful as we continued on and the terrain became rocky. There is a highly diverse landscape along this trail, moving from alpine meadows to dry high lands and finally to timberline near Emmaline Lake.
Fall River
The last mile or so is fairly rocky and we had to exercise more caution, it is easy to get distracted by the views. They only become effectively better the further you went and while it was a workout, it was well worth it. One of the biggest things we were looking forward to was fishing at the lake and we were not disappointed. On your left land side you first see Cirque Lake, iceburg blue and glinting in the sun. This lake freezes solid in the wintertime and as such the fishing is scarce so we didn't stop. The trail is almost purely rock at this point and it feels like the climb will never end but no need to fear because your almost there!
1/4 Mile before reaching Emmaline Lake
We ended up spending the entire day at Emmaline and it was a blast. We left the dogs to exploring for ground squirrels and we hit the water with our rods. My husband was fly-fishing with a Woolly Bugger and caught about 6 trout all decent sized. I was lure fishing and caught a smaller Brown Trout but had no other luck the remainder of the day. Instead, I enjoyed the afternoon reading in our hammock and taking in the scenery. What a view!
By late afternoon we started heading back to our camp in the meadow. It always surprises me how quickly the temperature drops once the sun dips behind the mountains. We were starving once we got to camp and quickly cooked up round #4 of Mountain House. At that point, you have to be pretty hungry to enjoy a fourth meal of freeze dried food. It reminded me of our dire need to diversify our food choices before our next trip!
All in all, this trip became one our favorites for 2017. It was so fun and always a blessing to be only a few hours away from an adventure such as this. Colorado is one big, beautiful place and we are lucky to be here. Travel on!
Kathryn
