SEPTEMBER 2009
 |
| KERMSUH LAKE |
 |
| MEADOW ALONG THE WAY TO KERMSUH LAKE |
Kermsuh Lake is a twelve-mile round-trip hike accessed from the Christmas Meadows Trailhead than can be done as a day-hike or a backpack trip. When I visited, I just made a detour on my way back down from the Ryder Lake area where I had camped the night before. The first four miles of the hike from Christmas Meadows are fairly level and follow along Stillwater Creek. However, once you leave the main trail and cross Stillwater Creek to head for Kermsuh, the trail becomes very steep. After about a half-mile of tough climbing, the trail levels out and takes you through a very pretty meadow. It is then only about a mile-and-a-half to Kermsuh Lake.
This is a very beautiful lake located in the corner of the West Basin. If you have the time and energy, there is a small lake about a half-mile past Kermsuh that looks like it would be very scenic. I was too tired from hiking in the Middle Basin the day before to want to go up to it. There is also a network of ponds showing on the other side of the Basin that might be worth exploring if you are camped in the basin. It appears to be the least visited of the three basins reached from Christmas Meadows, so it may be a nice place to get some solitude. I only saw one group of hikers in the basin while visiting over Labor Day Weekend.