Gallagher Head Lake, Esmerelda Basin, Boulder-De Roux

We (including kids ages 7-11) just returned from a wonderful 3-day midweek hike counterclockwise around Esmeralda Peaks, with one night each at Esmeralda Basin (note: wta.org misspells this "Esmerelda", so try searching for that) and Gallagher Head Lake. We encountered several hikers at the Esmeralda trailhead destined for Lake Ingalls but no hikers on our trail. We did encounter one car north of the lake and one group of motorbikers while we were camped at the lake, but the bikers left quickly and none of these vehicles marred our trip.

There are several good campsites at Esmeralda Basin. They're all at the turnoff 2 miles into the hike where there's a sign on a tree for the Esmeralda Basin trail. There's a small stream near near the campsites although it's almost dry; I'm not sure how much longer it will be usable. The toilet in this site is essentially full. An old mine, including some equipment, is located just above the campsites.

The vistas as you cross Fortune Creek Pass are starkly beautiful. It was a little breezy up there but we enjoyed stopping for a while and taking the 2-minute walk up a small hill. Shortly after you get down to the 4x4 road and then start ascending again, the road splits, but don't worry; both roads rejoin each other a few minutes later.

When you read that Gallagher Head Lake is shallow, believe it; right now it's less than a foot deep (everywhere, as far as we could tell) and very muddy. But it's still a decent water source, it's filled with frogs that kids love to play with, and it's possible to get wet (I found a nice log to sit on) if you want. There's a nice campsite on the south end of the lake with a toilet marked by red tape. The road access is probably to blame for the few cans, bottles, and pieces of broken glass that we found in and around the firepit, but none of those are a huge problem.

The lake is to easy to find and leave, but to clarify, it's to the east of the road (the Falcon guidebook shows it to the west). Also, from the campsite there is a trail that leads directly to the DeRoux Creek trail #1392 without requiring you to return to the road.

There are wildflowers along all the route although they are past their prime. We found some huckleberries around both campsites and some incredibly sweet thimbleberries (see photo) about two-thirds of the way down from the lake to the DeRoux campground. Bugs were not a big problem -- just a few mosquitoes and flies.

We chose to do this trip counterclockwise because it made for a shorter first day and it saved the better campsite for last. However, either direction would work well; probably the most important consideration is to avoid being at the lake on a weekend if possible due to the motorized access.