First Dinkey Lake 2011

Wilderness: Dinkey Wilderness
Trail System: 27E07
Latitude: 37.0950
Longitude: 119.0405
Elevation: 9,254 feet

The hike this year begins at the back end of the road that leads to Swamp Lake which should be reached in a truck or a very skilled driver in a standard car. At the end of the road you will find the Dinkey Lakes Trail head. The trail also leads to another 4 lakes in that area, but our destination was the First Dinkey Lake. It is approximately 3.5 miles in and climbs about 700 feet. The elevation at the lake is 9,254 feet and is heavily populated with campers, especially on the north shore. The mosquito were present this late in the year and you had to wear repellent to enjoy the day. Fishing was excellent with mostly brook’s and rainbow trout.

Day 1 – Hike in and fish
The trip starts in Fresno where we load up the car and drive up Hwy 168 until we reach the Dinkey Creek road. We follow the Dinkey Creek road until we reach the 9S62 road. The 9S62 road is mostly dirt and patchy pavement and last about 9 miles. At the end of the road, we get out our backpacks and hit the trail head. The hike is fairly easy most of the way with a few short steep sections and we reach our destination with 2 hours or so. Noting that there was no firewood and abundant people on the north shore of the First Dinkey Lake, we head to the south side where there is plenty of wood and very few people. After setting up camp, the guys fished the rest of the afternoon and then we topped the day of with a tri-tip and baked potato dinner.

Day 2 – Fish and hike out
The next day the morning started early. The mosquito were buzzing around my head promptly at 7:00 am which forces me to get up and start a smoky fire. After the others get up, we have some oatmeal and then pack up our camp. The guys spent much of yesterday on the south side of the lake fishing, we decided to grab our gear and head to the north side to do some fishing before we hiked out to return home. It was a beautiful day and a lot of the hikers had already left leaving the bulk of the shore to us. The guys fished the lake for a while but it was not a good time. John caught one fish and my brother Adam shortly gave up sitting on the shore and enjoying the sun. After about an hour of relaxing, we grab our gear and head back to Fresno. Next year, I think I would do this same trail again, but extend it a day to hit the other lakes in the area.

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