Spider Meadow overnight backpack

Spider Meadow lies at the headwaters of the Phelps Creek basin. It’s a wide valley at the point of the meadow with dramatic ridges on all sides except down valley. My plan is to set up camp at one of the many campsites in the area and enjoy the surroundings. The trail continues past the meadow and up over Spider Gap to points north so there’s plenty of opportunity for more exploration later in the day for those so inclined. The latest WTA trip report (as of this writing) from June 26 indicated that trail maintenance had not occurred on this trail yet this year but who knows if that will still be true by the time of our hike. In any case the trail is passable with some blow downs to navigate. There are a number of creek crossings, all manageable.

The road in is rough in spots but can be managed by a standard sedan if a little care is taken.

I did this hike many years ago as a day hike and at that time I recall dealing with some bugs, flies in particular so be prepared for that.

Note: The Pomas Fire is burning in the next valley to the east, about 3 to 5 miles away. According to the Forest Service the fire, as of July 1, was around 1800 acres and spreading slowly north and south within the perimeter of the 2015 Wolverine fire and is being actively fought. No roads, campgrounds or trails in our zone are impacted at this point and smoke is generally going north on the prevailing winds so there hasn’t been smoke in the area of the hike. I will however keep an eye on developments and if things change between now and then I’ll be prepared to switch to an alternate location.

Distance: 12.0 miles round trip.
Elevation gain: 1,500 feet in, negligible on the way out.
Pass: None required.
Privy: Nope. There is one at the Phelps Creek campground about 2.7 miles before the trailhead. Also I believe there’s a wilderness toilet (a wooden box in the forest) in the meadow area.
WTA Link: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/spider-meadows

Let’s try to be at the trailhead by about 9:45 AM and ready to hit the trail by 10:00 AM