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Post by mrdanner on May 5, 2020 8:58:07 GMT -8
Hello all!
My son and I are planning a road-trip to Gore Creek Campground on July 1-2. I have never reserved a campsite like this before because I always camp in the backcountry, but my son is very new and staying close to the car makes him feel more comfortable.
But, being just before July 4th weekend, not many sites are now available. So I chose site 23, started the reservation process and when I got to the cart, it said 0 cars. I will have my car.
I'm asking on here if that means I cannot have my car, or is that only for extra cars? Are there certain campsites there that I cannot park a car?
Thanks!
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Post by mrdanner on May 5, 2020 10:46:21 GMT -8
Actually, I just figured it out. Eight of the campsites at Gore Creek Campground are walk-in sites, but there is a central parking lot for all of them. So the 0 cars meant I can't back into the site with my camper. We booked campsite 19, and we're hoping that the snow in the mountains is reasonable or gone by then  |
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Post by cweston on May 5, 2020 11:01:47 GMT -8
That's a lovely car campground, if a little close to the freeway. It's certainly a good location as a launch point for a lot of great hikes.
They are pretty serious about bear awareness there: make sure you follow all the posted precautions or you could run afoul of the campground host.
Where are you planning on hiking? There will almost surely be quite a bit of snow yet in the high country on July 1, but below tree line may be pretty-much snow free. (I haven't been paying attention to Snotel, etc this spring, so I'm not sure what the trend is.)
The Gore Creek trail is quite gentle...it gains relatively little elevation in the first 5-6 miles. The Deluge Creek trail is immediately steeper, but also climbs to bigger views and is more scenic, generally. Let me know if you want more info about hikes in that area.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on May 5, 2020 13:01:33 GMT -8
Yeah I’ve encountered that (Chaco Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains) The other glitch to be aware of especially at popular times is whether your site is still available when others aren’t because it’s an accessible site. Those are restricted to plaque holders but the reservation system doesn’t block anyone from making the reservation, just somewhere warns proof of need will be required at checkin or you’re subject to removal were a plaque holder to show up needing the site. A potential disruption I want to avoid.
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Post by mrdanner on Jun 10, 2020 11:28:51 GMT -8
So sorry I disappeared. Things got crazy weird in life with all this virus stuff. Back to planning now.
cweston, thanks for the info! I was hoping to take both main trails from the campground, one to Deluge Lake and the other following the creek, then left turn uphill to Gore Lake. Have you been on those two hikes from Gore Creek Campground? Are there other hiking options from the campground?
High Sierra Fan, thanks for the tip. I didn't see any notice about site 19 being accessible. I just checked my order receipt and didn't see anything about it being an accessible site, so I hope it's good.
Question... are those campsites tent only, or could I get away with setting up one hammock and a tent? It looks like there are a ton of trees around there, but not sure how feasible a hammock would be there. I'm so much more comfortable in a hammock.
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Post by cweston on Jun 10, 2020 12:40:40 GMT -8
cweston, thanks for the info! I was hoping to take both main trails from the campground, one to Deluge Lake and the other following the creek, then left turn uphill to Gore Lake. Have you been on those two hikes from Gore Creek Campground? Are there other hiking options from the campground? Yeah, I've done both those trails (as part of a loop that connected the two via the trail-less Snow Lake drainage). I have no idea how old your son is...those are both non-trivial dayhikes. Gore Lake must be about a 13+ mile round trip (?), although the gain is fairly moderate except when you turn left into the hanging valley of Snow Creek. Deluge Lake is shorter, but the lake is at higher elevation than Gore Lake. Deluge is the more scenic of the two, IMHO: both the lake and the actual trail. The Gore Creek trail offers more opportunity to lazily futz around the creek, though, if your son is into that. Gore Lake:  Deluge Lake (from Snow Pass):  Those are the only two trails directly from the campground, but the Bighorn, Pitkin, and Booth trailheads are all very close. If you go all the way to the lakes, Booth and Pitkin are about the same length as Gore and Deluge lakes, but Booth and Pitkin have the advantage of having scenic falls that serve as a satisfying turnaround point for shorter hikes--maybe about 3 miles in? (They're also the two most populous trails in the area.) Question... are those campsites tent only, or could I get away with setting up one hammock and a tent? It looks like there are a ton of trees around there, but not sure how feasible a hammock would be there. I'm so much more comfortable in a hammock. The campground is in big trees, but, as I mentioned, is also pretty rigidly managed in terms of policies and enforcement. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the disallow hammocks (because so many front-country campers don't know how to rig them in ways that don't damage the trees.) |
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Post by mrdanner on Jun 11, 2020 18:44:43 GMT -8
I have no idea how old your son is...those are both non-trivial dayhikes. Gore Lake must be about a 13+ mile round trip (?), although the gain is fairly moderate except when you turn left into the hanging valley of Snow Creek. Deluge Lake is shorter, but the lake is at higher elevation than Gore Lake. Deluge is the more scenic of the two, IMHO: both the lake and the actual trail. The Gore Creek trail offers more opportunity to lazily futz around the creek, though, if your son is into that. My son is 19, but it seems now that he might not be coming with me. I'm most certainly up for non-trivial hikes and actually look forward to them because they are likely a bit less travelled. I talked to someone else that said there will almost certainly be snow at both lakes. Even in early July? As long as I'm prepared, I'm good with that. I wish I could find average temps for Gore Creek Campground. Thanks so much for the pics and all the info! |
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Post by cweston on Jun 12, 2020 7:04:18 GMT -8
OK, now I feel stupid If you want a *really* non-trivial day hike, you can loop from Deluge Lake, over Snow Pass, via Snow Lake, and down to Gore Lake. That's got to be approaching 20 miles, some of it offtrail (but it's pretty easy off-trail.) I did it as a 3-day hike with camps at Gore Lake and Snow Lake. I talked to someone else that said there will almost certainly be snow at both lakes. Even in early July? Yeah, I doubt that those lake basins are completely snow-free until late July/early August, if at all, most years. I just checked: those pics I posted above were from July 15-16, 2014. If you care enough to bother, you could research the 2014 snow year and see how this year compares. (The SNOTEL data I've seen indicate a below average snow year this year, but local conditions can vary considerably.) Snow Lake still had a lot of snow at that time:  |
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Post by mrdanner on Jun 12, 2020 7:36:03 GMT -8
If you want a *really* non-trivial day hike, you can loop from Deluge Lake, over Snow Pass, via Snow Lake, and down to Gore Lake. That's got to be approaching 20 miles, some of it offtrail (but it's pretty easy off-trail.) I did it as a 3-day hike with camps at Gore Lake and Snow Lake. That would be amazing, but likely above my skill level right now (at least in backcountry Colorado). And my son is terrified of bears, so backcountry camping would make him uncomfortable. Although bears are serious business, I hope he starts calming down about the dangers. Your photos are amazing and really help a lot. Thank you for so much info. |
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jun 14, 2020 13:25:12 GMT -8
Although bears are serious business Bears are primarily a problem around mountain towns, where they're accustomed to rummaging through trash. You'll be lucky if you see on in the backcountry. Only real issue I've encountered was one to woke me up by tripping over one of they guy lines to my tent. I didn't actually realize it until the next morning when I found a my water filter a few yards away from where I left it, with a few tooth marks in it. |
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