Rachel McCullough Trip Reports - Hiking and Camping

We Hiked One Mile to Go Backpacking and It Was Plenty

Aug 31, 2026

By: Rachel McCullough

What: A one-night backpack with a car shuttle

Where: Smith Lake, 6,094 ft, in the Lakes Basin, Plumas National Forest. In at the Smith Lake trailhead off Gold Lake Highway, out at Upper Jamison Creek Campground in Plumas-Eureka State Park

When: August 2026

Who: Gretchen Selfridge and me, with her husband Tom and their dog Sevey on car shuttle duty

A mile of trail on the first day doesn't sound like the start of a backpacking trip. But when it's 100 degrees out, and that mile ends at a lake you can swim in all afternoon, it’s a good max. A good max for humans, that is, since we quickly found out that the max dog miles that day would be zero.

Sevey made her position clear. She went from pure excitement and tail wagging from the moment we parked to nowhere to be found once we got out. We finally found her under the van, hiding in the shade. She and Tom were supposed to walk in with us and spend the day at the lake, but we got the hint. Sevey would not be hiking. Tom and Sevey drove to cool off at their Upper Jamison campsite by the creek (our final destination), and Gretchen and I braved the heat.

Since it was so hot out, swimming and resting in the shade at Smith Lake was the entire itinerary. As was watching an osprey look for dinner. One other party camped at the lake that night, and a handful of people hiked in to swim during the day. A few overnighters passed through to Jamison and the surrounding lakes. They were apparently more heat-tolerant than we were, since we had changed our minds on Jamison Lake due to the heat. On the second day, the biggest excitement was the 2 minutes of rain that came from the only tiny cloud in the sky. It was confusing but more than welcome in the heat.

Even though most of the hike out to the Upper Jamison campground was downhill, somehow we still suffered in the heat and were more than relieved to see Tom waiting for us with an air-conditioned van and a very happy dog.

This trip I tested out a Nemo Hornet 2 tent, which I checked out from the Tahoe Mountain Sports rental fleet to see whether it should replace my ageing Big Agnes Seedhouse 2. My favorite part and biggest difference from the Seedhouse 2 were the double doors, which allowed me to unzip the fly on both sides and look at the stars all night. It was also easy to set up and super lightweight, so it is a definite possibility for me to buy.

The Lakes Basin is in the Lost Sierra, the stretch of Plumas and Sierra counties that is full of lakes, granite, forests, and what used to be solitude. It's still a lot quieter than backpacking destinations in the Tahoe area but has gained popularity since Covid. But on an August night during a heat wave at Smith Lake, busy meant one other tent.

Oh, and if you have kids to introduce to backpacking, this is the trip. I said that about my Yosemite high camp trip with an actual kid too, but the benefit of this one is that it's closer to home. A mile in, a bear box at the site, a lake to play in all day, and a mile hike out (no need to shuttle like we did).

Thanks to Gretchen for planning our route!

Here's a photo tour:

Smith Lake to the left, and a reminder that we would have detoured to Mt. Elwell had the heat been less intense.

Smith Lake, the afternoon we walked in.

Camp, a mile in. There's a bear box, which is one less thing to think about. Make sure you put rocks on the holes on the bottom so rodents can't get in.

Set up, and then hang out. Easy!

The Nemo Hornet 2, from the TMS rental fleet. Perfect choice for this trip. Yes, my tent was also yellow (hornet colored, actually). This shows the fly door open, ready for star-viewing.