Yosemite Forum

Plans changed from Chain Lakes to Cora Lake as a base camp, and a day hike to Isburg Pass. So we crank along a nice road for 14 miles, then get into a horrendous road with potholes galore for the remaining 14 miles. Enough to discourage us from ever coming back.
Sunday afternoon we get to the trailhead. Take off for the 5 mile climb to the Cora Lake, struggle a bit to find anything that resembles a camp site. Locate a spot way off the beaten path and somewaht critter free.. Set up camp, eat and call it a day. We came from Tahoe, so we got into a campsite around 8:30 PM. Had a few mosquitoes to battle with but not too bad.
Monday - We take off for Isburg Pass. It is obvious there has been some very serious rain, the trail is showing torrents of water running down it. Mosquitoes are horrendous, even in the driest places we came across they were hanging in the air. My partner in crime(Works at REI) had a Picadarin based repellent that was beyond excellent. Repelled all the critters at a distance, the more aggressive would come up hover for a second or two and just fly away.
The hike from Cora Lake to Isburg Pass was 5 1/2 mile hike with a 1500 ft elevation gain. Isburg Pass is absolutely incredible and a must do.. pics to follow.

Ha! Sounds like an adventure. We did this a few years ago, then went into Yosemite for a night, then back out through Post Peak Pass....

Wonderful area...but we didn't camp at Cora Lakes, since we saw they were a major horsepacking destination....

I find myself wondering if you were really at Cora Lakes. There are two, and more than a dozen obvious fire rings scattered around the deeper one. We camp on the ridge between the two lakes when we visit.

I must be used to worse roads - I think Beasore is a cake walk. don't visit Dinkey's main trailhead via Rock Creek road if you think that was horrible... Car eating potholes lurk in the shade, then there is the rutted, winding last mile to rip apart the suspension...

balzaccom wrote:Ha! Sounds like an adventure. We did this a few years ago, then went into Yosemite for a night, then back out through Post Peak Pass....

Wonderful area...but we didn't camp at Cora Lakes, since we saw they were a major horsepacking destination....

We definitely saw horse stuff, but as we progressed around the lake, there was a lot less evidence. The pictures suck. My real camera died, my partner in crime forgot his camera, so we used my iPhone. The pics are Ok, but nothing worth publishing.

AlmostThere wrote:I find myself wondering if you were really at Cora Lakes. There are two, and more than a dozen obvious fire rings scattered around the deeper one. We camp on the ridge between the two lakes when we visit.

I must be used to worse roads - I think Beasore is a cake walk. don't visit Dinkey's main trailhead via Rock Creek road if you think that was horrible... Car eating potholes lurk in the shade, then there is the rutted, winding last mile to rip apart the suspension...

We were definitely at the lower lake, it is the first lake on the Granite Creek trail head. We did see an illegal campsite. I suspect if we had kept going we might have stumbled across what you are talking about. But running/racing10+ miles around Tahoe, and supporting our running team for 72 miles on Saturday, took a lot out of us.
As far as the roads go, I suspect the later afternoon shadows were a big factor in seeing and dodging potholes. On the way out we hooked up with 3 guys in a pickup, enjoying an adult beverage along the way and the higher sun showed us nice route out.. While we enjoyed ours at the end of the hike, we did not partake on the road, but had a blast with their company, and I suspect that made the way out a little smoother.