8. Grouse, Hemlock, and Smith Lakes

Length:	5.6 miles round trip
Hiking time:	4 hours or overnight
High point:	8,700 feet
Total elevation gain:	1,750 feet
Difficulty:	moderate
Water:	available at the lakes; purify first
Maps:	USGS 7.5' Pyramid Peak, USFS Desolation Wilderness
Information:	Eldorado National Forest Information Center

Climb a forested trail to three magnificent lakes. Besides opportunities for swimming, picnicking, and camping, you'll be treated to expansive views of steep-sided granite Sierra peaks that pierce the sky at nearly 10,000 feet. You must obtain a permit for this hike. Call Eldorado National Forest Information Center for more information.

Take the paved road signed for Wrights Lake on the north side of Highway 50 about 46 miles east of Placerville and 17 miles west of the Highway 50/89 junction. Follow this road (initially signed 11N26), and go straight where a dirt road turns off to the right for Sylvia and Lyons Lakes (Hike 7, Sylvia and Lyons Lakes) 4 miles from Highway 50; stay straight again at another junction 6 miles from Highway 50. Look for a wilderness area parking lot on the right another 1.7 miles farther; you must park here if you will be backpacking. Day hikers follow the main road through the campground (bear right at two road forks) and continue another 1.1 miles to the signed trailhead, where there are often self-serve day hike permits.

The path skirts a lush meadow surrounding a marshy area, which may be populated by cattle in late summer, and then begins a gentle climb. You'll hike past lodgepole pine, red fir, and an occasional Jeffrey pine as intermittent views tantalize you with northward vistas of rolling hills of forest and granite. After crossing some granite slabs (look for rock ducks, or cairns), the path encounters a small stream at 0.9 mile and then reaches a trail fork at 1.1 miles. Hike 9 to Twin and Island Lakes goes left; you go right, as indicated by the sign for Smith Lake.

Cross more granite, then ascend an increasingly steep slope through the forest to reach the grass-lined shore of Grouse Lake at 1.8 miles, a good spot for a rest or perhaps a swim in the shallow waters. Several adequate campsites lie near the lake's east and south sides.

Once past Grouse Lake, the trail crosses a seasonal stream, passes through a wet area, and begins a stiff climb. Look for views down to Wrights Lake at 2.2 miles, just before reaching Hemlock Lake at 2.4 miles. Mountain hemlock trees grow in abundance here, nicely complementing the steep granite rising from the north and east shores. The small lake offers two campsites.

However, the splendor of Smith Lake awaits. Continue up through a forest of mountain hemlock, then ascend bare granite slopes that require careful attention to the rock duck guides. Finally, 2.8 miles from the trailhead, you reach Smith Lake, where high walls of exfoliated granite surround the lake's deep, cold waters on three sides, leaving open views to the north. This lake, one of the prettiest in the Sierra Nevada, is well worth the effort. Backpackers should search for a level stretch of granite to sleep on.