Esmeralda Basin (Esmerelda) — Thursday, Jul. 24, 2025

This morning I started hiking with my dog at about 9am on the Esmeralda Basin Trail towards Fortune Creek Pass. There were plenty of cars in the parking lot but they must've been going to Ingalls Lake because I didn't see another soul the whole way up to the pass.

The trail is dusty throughout, and sometimes rocky (the type that can be a problem for the ankles, not the knees). A couple trees down but not hard to step over. One large fallen tree is blocking a switchback but the shortcut is well established so it must've fallen a while ago. There are still a good amount of wildflowers, though they're past the peak.

In the first half of the hike it alternated between sun and shade. But the farther up we went, the trees were fewer and further between. Less and less shade, until the last half mile where there was almost no shade at all. Lots of little streams to cross which was great for my dog to drink from. There were so many she could afford to be picky and only drank from the clearest ones. The last stream was just after the turnoff to Lake Ann, about a quarter mile before the pass. We arrived at the pass at about 11:15 and sat down for a little snack.

We started heading back down at 11:30. On the way down we passed two pairs (one with an unleashed dog) headed up with overnight bags. We heard some birds but saw no notable wildlife (I had been concerned about rattlesnakes but we didn't see any).

Arrived back at the car at about 1:30. The high temp was supposed to be 73 but we were done before then. If we had been on trail later in the afternoon I probably would've put my dog's booties on her, because I imagine the sun was really baking the ground. I tracked 6.98mi and 1625ft of elevation gain. This trail reminded me a lot of Navaho Pass, but much easier.