Trip Date: October 16-17, 2021

Trail Overview

Trail: McGee Pass Trail to Big McGee Lake

Distance: 15.2 miles out & back

Elevation Gain: 2,844 ft.

Location: Eastern Sierra, CA.

Permits: Wilderness permits are required. Permits can be obtained here.

The Story

I had the opportunity to hike this trail twice this past winter, so this write-up will contain images from both trips.

The month is October. It has been several weeks since I’ve returned home from thru-hiking the John Muir Trail, making this trip my first backpacking trip this winter. We went to chase fall colors, and even though the trees were starting to change color, we were not quite expecting so much snow.

The first time I hiked this trail was earlier this summer when the wildflowers were almost past full bloom. @amberfayy invited me to go backpacking to Big McGee Lake and I was all for adding a new alpine lake to the list. I vaguely remember not being able to enjoy the lake til after sunset when the blood-sucking skeeters vanished.

When she invited me to go back in October, I was all for attempting my first winter backpacking trip. Unfortunately, we weren’t prepared for so much snow. We did in fact, make it just a quarter of a mile away from the lake when we decided to turn around. It was the longest day hike with a full pack that I’ve done in probably forever.

So when my friend @caseybear reached out a couple of weeks later, wanting to meet for the first time and go backpacking- I knew exactly where we could go, now knowing how much snow there’d be to better be prepared. It was Saturday, October 16 when we woke up at sunrise in the parking lot of McGee Pass trailhead.

Surprisingly there were a few other cars in the parking lot that weekend, but nothing like the extremely packed lot we arrived at earlier this year. It took us a while to warm up and get going, but I was excited to have finally met Casey and backpack with Taya once again. The first mile or so is pretty popular for fall colors as there are a huge amount of aspen trees along the creek, making for epic photo opts along the way. We later found out that half of those people were only there for the golden aspen trees and I couldn’t blame them, as I too was all heart eyes over the golden fluttering leaves.

It was pretty neat being able to compare the trail from that in the springtime. Such a totally different experience, if you ask me. The hike itself was not difficult. Being covered in snow, made it a little hard to navigate but nothing we weren’t prepared for. Just past McGee Pass, at 5.8 miles we arrived at an unnamed lake and decided to stop for lunch. With only a mile to go, we took our time making our way to Big McGee Lake. There was a small group of about 4-5 others who were also backpacking that weekend, proving that we weren’t the only crazy ones out there that weekend.

Having camped here last summer, I knew of the perfect spot that was big and flat enough for all 3 tents, with awesome views of the lake. The amount of snow on the ground, however, worried me a bit as I’ve never camped ON snow. Luckily, when we arrived the spot was open and the ground was dry.

We went down to the lake to filter water and get a closer look. None of us even joked about getting in the water that day, as I’m sure I remember ice chunks floating in the lake. Having started the hike just a bit after sunrise, the 7-mile hike didn’t take us very long- so we had time to hang out and chill by the lake before the sun started to set. It was probably around 5 PM when we lost all daylight, and started to get pretty cold. We enjoyed a nice campfire at sunset as the moon started to rise over the lake.