Snow Lake, Gem Lake, Lower Wildcat Lake & Upper Wildcat Lake — Friday, Aug. 1, 2025

Seventeen mile forest service patrol to Upper Wildcat Lake for the usual duties. Cleaned out campfire rings (no fires allowed), picked up trash and TP (please bury it very deep), and moved some logs off the trail. Lakes are beautiful, please remember to recreate responsibly and truly leave no trace. Road in to parking lot is great, about 40 cars (1/4 full) at 7:30 am on a Friday.

Snow Lake: Incredibly busy per usual, saw 200 people on the trail and we were past the lake for most of the day. Pretty easy trail up, just a bit of a climb, never too steep, and then down into the lake. There are some rocky parts, but no other obstacles across the trail. A little bit of noise from helicopters working out of alpental until going over the ridge at 4400 feet.

Gem Lake: Another kick up gets you to a gem of the alpine lakes wilderness, incredible colors and lovely temperature. Pushed off a couple logs on the trail up to Gem, should be a little better now. More talus here, I definitely appreciated wearing thicker boots. Gets up to nearly 5000 feet as you come over the ridge into Gem Lake. Found two fire rings (bad) and way too much TP in bushes. Here is definitely where the bugs are the worst, swarmed pretty quickly once you stop moving.

Lower Wildcat Lake: After Gem, drop down a thousand feet to Lower Wildcat, which we stepped straight past as it does not compare to the other lakes here. The trail down had some logs on it and lots of rocky sections. Shortly before the lake, there is some brush, but not enough to hinder. Felt pretty comfortable in shorts, and benefitted from blueberries right next to the trail! Absolutely delicious.

Upper Wildcat Lake: From lower wildcat, go back up 300 feet in short order. If you're looking for solitude, this is where to go. Saw two other people here while eating lunch, and they left shortly. The lake to ourself was great, except for the fire ring by the shore we destroyed. Little bit chilly temperatures, but definitely warmer than some of the other lakes I've been in recently (like thunder mountain lake). Super refreshing when you know you still have 8 miles to hike. Highly recommend the trek out here, barely had any bugs while eating lunch, just a couple of flies. 

Did some deadfall removal/cleaning on the way back, and saw five sixths of our total hiker count while returning. Lots of pikas, birds, and butterflies outside today. Bigger animals avoid the populated areas but I did see a shrew! Garmin logged 17 miles and 5500 feet of elevation gain.

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://www.strava.com/activities/15314097560