This article features three trails accessed off Highway 108 that you may want to check out for either fun day hikes or as a beginning point to explore further into the Emigrant Wilderness for a multi-day backpack trip.  Before taking any of these trails, you can stop at the Forest Service's Summit District office at Pinecrest for a variety of maps and field guides, or you can talk with the desk clerk to get the latest road, weather, and trail conditions to make your trip more enjoyable.

Gianelli trailhead/Burst Rock

The Gianelli trailhead is most easily accessed from Crabtree Road (4N26), which takes off from Highway 108 about a mile west of the Pinecrest Lake turnoff.  Follow Crabtree Road up to Aspen Meadow and continue straight on road 4N47 for four more miles of bumpy driving to the signed Burst Rock parking area and trailhead. 

     The Burst Rock trail offers expansive views of the granitic splendor and lakes of the Emigrant Wilderness.  Within minutes of leaving the trailhead, you can enjoy views across the deep gorge of the South Fork Stanislaus River canyon.  You can also see rugged volcanic peaks such as Leavitt, the Three Chimneys, Castle Rock, Cooper Peak, and cliff-like East Flange Rock.  Some noteworthy destinations further along the trail include Powell Lake (1.8 miles), Lake Valley (3.1 miles), and Whitesides Meadow (5.7 miles).   Beyond that point, many lakes and scenic vistas beckon.

Eagle Pass

     The Eagle Pass trail is accessed from the Eagle Meadow Road (5N01) -- a right turn off Highway 108 about 14 miles east of Pinecrest.  Follow 5N01 for 7 miles and park just before Eagle Creek at the pullout for the signed Eagle Meadow/Cow Camp trailhead.  This hike traverses beautiful Eagle Meadow, includes a few stream crossings, and ascends 1,470 feet to craggy Eagle Pass 3.7 miles from the trailhead. 

     Once you reach the pass, vistas to the north are extensive.  You can see the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and sometimes as far as the Desolation Wilderness.  Lingering wildflowers may still be blooming at this high elevation even as the summer wanes.  The descent (down to Cooper Meadow and the headwaters of the South Fork Stanislaus River) leads hikers another mile down a sagebrush hillside.