Forbidden Universe
Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyCosmos on August 14, 2019, 02:14:56 PM
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My Expedition Of The Wright's Lake Area In The Crystal Basin On - 8/4/19
Their is no more of a majestic region of the sierras then the Crystal Basin which borders the Desolation Wilderness separated by the mysterious Crystal Mountains a sub mountain range. I have spent years working with this area hiking, exploring and tracking bigfoot. I always ask myself the same question as to why these creatures are so domineering here in comparison to other locations.
For example a man a few years ago went to camp up by the enchanted pools only to be pelted with rocks. He thought it was an animal till he looked out the front of his tent and in the moonlight a massive creature stood outside his tent as it stepped out from behind a tree. Then you follow my journeys and I was once chased by something that took down a deer so I called out to it then an hour later it ran up the trail after me breathing down my neck.
Their is no way to travel into this wilderness other then on foot but the common dominator in all of this is that this is a land of lakes and remoteness. The Desolation Wilderness has over fifty bodies of water including one of the first lakes that was damned off in the 1800's. The Crystal Basin on the other side of the Crystal Mtns. has dozens of lakes also. What I normally like to do on occasion is hit the trails or go primitive visiting such lakes in search of tracks and other experiences I can add to my journeys.
This is not an area you can take with a grain of salt you can disappear out here folks have gone missing. If you start to do research you find out that there are some really scary experiences. The squatch up here are not shy and if you do extreme things like I do your going to have close encounters and real encounters not the Finding Bigfoot bullshit. There is so much to explore while there are some really good trails there are places their are no trails and you just have to explore.
They use to call this the Devil's Basin besides it being home to three different native tribes its an area full of meadows, granite slabs, top jeep trails in the country, beautiful alpine lakes, 10k foot peaks, ponds, patches of forest with a variety of foliage and trees. Its like a lost world up here and in this case we would be exploring the basin just below the Crystal Mtns. teetering the edge of the Desolation Wilderness which has no roads to even get close to it meaning you have to work to get to where you want to go. No less all of this is part of the ElDorado National Forest a forest with more bigfoot happenings then anywhere in the country all attributed to the fact that the conditions here are perfect in sustaining life of all kinds including a lost tribe of Sasquatch who do live up here and really do not like humans encroaching on their lands.
Tammy and I this time around would focus on the Wright's Lake area which resides below the Crystal Range and is a gateway into the Desolation Wilderness. You can park up at Wright'S Lake then set off on a grand adventure of course you need a permit to do so if you cross that boundary which we had. Wright's Lake is very unique but its also a very bustling area filled with cabins, hikers, fisherman and other outdoor recreational events. While I would focus a little on Wright's I was more interested in some of the smaller lakes in the area which are good Bigfoot research sites. With views of course of Blue Mtn, Mount Price and Pyramid Peak nearby.
I am trying to get my puppy all his shots before I could take him out due to the shelter making mistakes I had to restart him all over on one of his boosters so sadly I was not able to bring him with me. However, I would be bringing my other dog who is almost 13 and he loves the outdoors. He is one of the best dogs I have on my team little yes but very alert and a strong hikers. Bringing dogs can help on bigfoot jaunts although these creatures do not like them so you do have to also be careful.
The last time I was hiking in the basin was when I climbed Devils Peak having a bigfoot encounter. I remember I met another paranormal group who told me they have all this equipment to UFO watch and seek out Bigfoot and instead all they did was get drunk never leaving camp. Then I leave to go climb Devils Peak come back and they were gone. I get so tired of the lack of dedication that people have shown me in this field. They all want fame, fortune and the attention of people online but they are not willing to put in the man hours to conduct this type of research. This is why I limit my team to maybe one or two other people and generally my canine friends and it has worked for me.
So we geared up packed our backpacks with nuts, beef, protein, fruit snacks, pizza and a bunch of other stuff. Then we headed off early so we could hit the basin at sunrise to make our debut return to one of the hottest bigfoot regions in the country taking on the Devils Basin once again and our adventure begins here.
Wright's Lake & The Crystal Basin
I wanted to focus on other lakes or sites of interest close to Wright's and trust me their are allot. But the main sites are Beauty, Dark and Barrett Lakes. Since Tammy told me all about Beauty Lake and when I realized where it was I said you can count me in so we definitely wanted to start our project here. Its about a ten mile drive from the highway on this curvy road to get back here to park at the trail head.
There also is actually a road that almost goes up to Dark Lake you can park then do a complete circle of various lakes on foot. I work hard to put these adventures together we GPS coordinates and everything so we can hit locations that I think would be good candidates for bigfoot tracks or just overall good journeying. So when I put things together I always try to hit a few lakes which makes things more fun on our hikes.
We began to ascend through the forest at times climbing granite slabs other times it would level off and we would get good views of the basin and the Crystal Range. There are some really big trees while you head up to Beauty there are also some primitive trails people blocked with tree limbs. The landscape is very unique here you might hit a patch of forest then a big open area with granite slabs and a tree here and there.
Just at over a mile maybe a mile and half we did reach Beauty Lake not sure why they call it this but it is a nice place. Its heavily surrounded by the forest however on the west end of the lake you can see the Crystal Mountains in the foreground other then that views are very limited and its hard to adjust where your at if you decide to go around the entire lake which btw is a difficult feat. But the lake is like a mirror and its a cool place to check out.
We decided to hike around the entire lake although half of the lake is very inaccessible. Tammy and I climbed rocks, over dozens of large trees and through mud. Their are some parts of Beauty Lake folks do not get to see and well there is a trail it does not go all the way around. Its so primitive on the back side that you will never see a human its just a forest full of trees and massive rocks. When I was at the lake I thought I heard a strange vocalization but its hard to know for sure lots of people go to the basin to explore daily.
I noticed before I had gotten to Beauty Lake we found this rock smothered in blood like someone fell on it hitting there head. Its hard to know for sure but its a bit morbid then again maybe its not blood maybe someone was drinking some kind of reddish colored juice. You have to be careful hiking up here lots of rocks and thinks to trip over. Which was the case at Beauty Lake the obstacles we kept coming up on were getting to be tedious and we busted our ass to go around the lake. Their was not any good areas to search for tracks either. Lots of fallen trees, brush, rocks, decomposed wood etc etc.
I also found two locations near the lake that had giant holes like something had been digging. I know they have bears here I seen a sign that lately they are having issues with them and this could be because campers at the Wrights Lake Campground are not locking up there food so they are attracting more bears then ever before. I did not see any signs of bears but they sometimes dig so maybe these deep holes were caused by them looking for roots, bulbs or something else they got wind of.
We did have breakfast on Beauty Lake it just took some work to get to the other side where we found this nice open area where we could sit down right on the lake. I enjoy to relax in between I am busting ass climbing and exploring. Our day had only just begun then Tammy and I went west through the forest ending up at a place known as Barrett Pond. However, if you can make it all the way five miles in you can camp at Barrett Lake and they have some other lakes nearby we just simply did not go that far.
This pond resides along the Barrett Historic Jeep Trail which is a five mile jaunt. The lake sits about a half mile maybe a mile from the entrance gate to the jeep trail. Honesty, it would be better to hike it there are fallen trees over the road, boulders and other things which could damage your jeep. I crossed the jeep trail to get to this place its nothing major believe me but people miss it all the time because they are to busy navigating there jeeps on this rugged jeep trail.
When I arrived at Barrett Pond there was dragonflies and butterflies everywhere. There was a set of ducks swimming around to diving for fish perhaps. I did not see many fish small small ones though which probably were very young trout. They probably never get very large because of predators that eat them like the birds. Tammy pointed out something strange it was this thing that would swim up to the surface for air then back down. It was eating small fish or minnows rather. I could not figure out for the likes of me what this thing was.
Then I finally got a better look but it was some kind of water bug it had a huge oval body, crab like claws or legs and a white belly like a fish. It had some weird symbol on its back to just very strange. But it would surface for a bit then eat a small minnow then swim or scour the bottom. I see all sorts of things but this was really weird so I took a photo of it. I like to see unique things in nature it would get old all the time if all I seen were deer or something lol.
This lake is a big marshy trees have fallen in it kind of like Beauty Lake. Its not very deep out in the middle maybe 2'. I did walk around it did not take very long and was surrounded by a dozen butterflies. Lots of nature up at this lake or pond very easily missed by jeepers. But no less we had a nice breakfast at Beauty and a nice snack break at Barrett.
We hiked down the Jeep trail for awhile and I thought man at least the Rubicon Trail is in better shape then this. This jeep trail has giant loose boulders just sitting in the middle of the trail, fallen trees and there are some parts it just drops straight off a 4' ledge. I get it jeeps are great for this kind of stuff but not even sure a jeep could navigate this what do you do if you do not rock crawl over a boulder or slide off it? You either will roll it or damage the undercarriage. Its just not in good shape even to hike on at times I went into the woods.
I hiked the Rubicon for miles once that jeep trail gets more attention then Barrett which resides in the southern Crystal Basin. Then when I had made it off the jeep trail there was a gate across the road with closed so maybe at one time this was a great feature to enjoy in the area but not anymore. Its in bad shape and someone would need to clear the tree and move aside some of the boulders which I see as dangerous because all they will do is roll around they are just loose sitting in the road.
Not far from the historic jeep trail is actually Dark Lake there is a wooden sign on the eastern end of the lake. I am not sure why they call it this but it appears people were fishing everywhere and catching some good stuff. This is a larger lake then it looks on the map I did not even hike around the entire thing. Its a bit touristy to be honest with you. If you hike on the north end of the lake you can follow this primitive trail but it goes right along summer homes and cabins. Its a bit invasive if you ask me considering folks are sitting on there porch and have personal things on there property and here I am just hiking past it all a few feet away.
There is a road above those cabins we could have taken that took then hiked past it all and around the lake. This lake was the bluest and clearest of all the lakes I been to so far. There are little docks behind each summer house. If you head NW along the shoreline once you get to the last summer home and past you finally get to see the Crystal Mountains which overshadow the lake. Its not a marshy lake like the others no grass growing in the water or fallen trees and it gets deeper then the others.
I did not feel like I was getting privacy here but ill tell you what if I owned a summer home on this lake I would not complain having a dock to fish off of and views of the mountains. But I would not stay long just long enough to get some good photos of the lake to incorporate it into our Wright's Lake addition. I did find a small trail which goes west along the north shore but we turned around as it climbed high above the lake and was super rocky. Plus there were people fishing from it which again left us no privacy or even room to get around them so we turned around took the summer home road back down to the entrance to the Barrett Jeep Trail.
Tammy and I begin to head south we then climbed back up towards Beauty Lake. I wanted to check out this unknown pond. Unfortunately we never found it well we did but it was dry. Some creeks up here and ponds are seasonal. I can see eventually Barrett Lake being this way but no less these little secret lakes and ponds are important for finding tracks of the bigfoot kind so I had to backtrack and check. I was a bit sad to have to hike another extra mile only to find out the pond was dry but then again it is out in this basin with very little shade.
Tammy and I hiked back to the truck then I drove around the west side of Wrights Lake. There is an entire community back here cabins and summer homes everywhere its crazy. You cant get up here in the winter so I assume most folks come here in the warmer months. Its just odd seeing homes so deep in the wilderness up here. The road on the west side is not even that great its super narrow and at times you have to ride over granite slabs. Even once you get to the north side and it becomes very primitive there still are a couple homes nestled back in the woods.
I took the road till a tree stopped me from going any further that fell over the road. I could not fit under it which was fine since I parked walked a few hundred feet to this hidden pond just north of Wrights Lake. Its a bit off this dirt road and small like 75' across. Barrett is probably just a little bit bigger only this pond had no fish or ducks. It was just very marshy and at one time it was four times larger. I know this because these water plants grew a 100' in every direction and the ground was still a bit muddy. So its apparent that the pond is drying up as we are in the middle of summer. Despite being in the middle of summer we had such a great winter that its not brown up in the basin everything is green, wild flowers everywhere and there still is plenty of water up here flowing.
I turned around and on the NW part of Wright's Lake I pulled down this narrow dirt road. There was some foundation in the woods maybe remnants of the ranch or a summer home who knows. In the 1800's there was a historic ranch here at Wrights Lake. They provided beef and dairy for the miners of Virginia City and other boom towns. People really have no idea but the Desolation Wilderness and Crystal Basin are west of Lake Tahoe. Their use to be a wagon trail that ran through here so the farmers raised food for the miners. The meadows around Wrights Lake were lush, green and definitely full of fresh water so it was the perfect area to own a ranch back in the day.
When I got down the end of this dirt road I parked a few feet from Wright's Lakes shoreline. There was canoes, rowboats and kayaks all over the place. There was folks out in the water swimming, boating and diving in the water. This is a busy yet very large lake I seen some man swim the entire length of the lake crazy huh? But people love swimming here its not a deep lake and its clear no matter where you swim. They stock it so it has some great fishing too if your into that. I wish I brought my fishing pole but I left it home damn lol.
There was this big granite rock I sat on and I ate a nice lunch. I had fruit snacks, pizza, nuts, pudding and a chocolate protein bar. I spent about an hour enjoying Wrights Lake this was a nice little inlet that I could park at sit on a rock eat lunch enjoy the breeze and nearby was Blue Mtn. I did not appreciate some of the people giving us dirty looks like the man with his son leaving his kayak in front of my truck so close that the one was touching the front. When I went to back out of the road the kayaks front end hooked underneath my bumper and I was dragging it down the road lol. I don't know it seems some folks here did not want me here most of the people here own summer cabins they are wealthy and they acted like I could not enjoy the lake when Wrights Lake is a public area.
I ended up driving on the east side of the lake eventually where we would park and take this lovely loop trail. The trail would take us along Silver Creek and through open meadows. We even found a sign which talked about the ranch that was here and the sign stated that the site we were standing on use to be where this ranch was. It said there are remnants of the farm but I never really found any on this hike. There is this bridge also that spans over the creek but due to storms the bridge was out. It did not matter I crossed it on the way back and its fairly stable its just missing railings on one side of it lol.
There is a parking area though on this end of the lake one trail is a loop which is gorgeous because it goes through meadows, forest, marshland and along the creek. The other trail goes up into the Desolation Wilderness where you can access quite a few lakes including the Enchanted Pools. For awhile we were on the trail when we seen the split one way goes up to Twin Lakes the other way goes to Hemlock Lake in the Crystal Mountains. We ended up veering left rather then right since were going to take that trail a couple times to pack in and camp eventually but for now we just wanted to focus on Wrights Lake.
The loop trail is nice because you can hike along the northern shoreline of Wrights Lake and its nice and open. You can get some good views of the entire lake and oh man the meadows are so green. There are big open views of the Crystal Mountains to the east. There are lakes up in those mountains you just cant see them but if you hike up into them there are quite a few then if you go over the mountain range you can go into the Desolation Wilderness.
This was a nice trail it was nothing primitive but it gives you great views of the Crystal Mountains, Silver Creek and Wrights Lake. So for about a mile maybe two we took a stroll along the creek. Unlike most creeks this time of year that are very low Silver Creek had some areas 8' deep and they were straight dropoffs clear to the bottom. Its a deep creek and its flowing on the back side of Wrights. I seen some folks traveling via kayak through some of the creeks channels. There is also a small pond or lake back here but it was marsh so I could not get to close was sinking down into the mud and I was not even near its shoreline.
When I had gotten back to the truck I decided maybe to hit a few more ponds and a place called Dry Lake. The first pond was just off the road as you leave Wrights Lake to the south. I ended up having to turn back because the forest had to many obstacles. I am telling you this place is like a jungle fallen trees, big rocks etc. There are all sorts of hidden lakes up here if you can find them I got about three quarters of a mile then decided to turn back because the truck was running with Tammy in it. Even when something is less then a mile away it can take a long time to get to it if you have to climb rocks, cliffs and go through brush.
I figured rather id go out to a place called Dry Lake. I have to say this is a creepy little place not sure what it is but I took this narrow dirt road for a few miles then parked. There is no trails to this lake but it is listed and does show up on maps. So Tammy stayed back I told her id check it out see if its even worth us hanging out here. I went through the woods came out into this open area or primitive camp site. To my right was this ravine then to the left some mountains and below that a dense forest. I could not even see the lake yet it said it was .2 to .3 miles away so close right? Well yes and no!
I went down into the ravine pushing through the woods mind you these are creepy dark woods its almost sunset and I am alone not on any trail. The woods are in fact so thick that you can get turned around and it all looks the same. I thought there is no lake back here it seemed that way the woods are so dense you can only see a few feet out in front of you then all of sudden I come out into this big clearing or marsh. I had found Dry Lake of course it was not so dry but rather its this giant marsh with tall grass growing in it and wet lands. Towards the center of the marsh is the lake itself there were no plants growing so I have to assume that is the heart of the lake and then as it gets shallower the grass grows everywhere around it.
I took a few photos did not spend much time here then followed the shore a bit looking for bigfoot tracks. I did not like it back here I felt watched the woods were very unfriendly it was nothing like the Wright's Lake area. I just got a bad gut feeling being alone back here so I did not stay long. It was very swampy and marshy back here woods surround the entire lake primitive woods so if you get lost you really will get lost because there are no trails in the area to intersect with.
I decided the lake was a no go bigfoot does not drink from here its just a lake and marsh. My feet were soak and wet decided to wrap it up for the night. So I begin to climb rocks push through brush and forest eventually coming out onto the dirt road. Problem is I came out onto the road far away from the truck so then I had to hike up the road. You wont see this lake from the road there is a few hundred feet of unfriendly dense forest with rock formations etc in the woods so very few would ever even know this place exist.
I felt a sigh of relief to get back to the truck now the only thing left to do was offroad out of this place back to the paved road. I think those were some of the spookier woods I ever been in and who knows bigfoot could have been in a tree looking down at me which id never even known about it lol. Dry Lake was not so dry and I expected to see a swamp monster back here truthfully. Its super isolated and there were no humans back here. The road is a few miles nearly at the base of the Crystal Mountains surrounded by very dense forest so much more probably remains to be seen and this is miles before you even get to Wrights just a little dirt road turn off you take back to this place.
I think at this point I felt pretty complete yeah I did not see Bigfoot or find any tracks but I got to be a part of it and I spent half my day going primitive which is something few folks will do up here. As a matter in fact I have read many reports and statements from folks who will NOT leave any of the trails or public rods in the area out of fear for what lives in those woods. The problem is when I am in a place like this alone anything could get me a mountain lion from behind or a hungry bear. This is the wilderness which folks seem to forget and it takes balls to do what I do knowing what happened to me on some of my other expedition. It all looks the same if your a couple degrees off you can overshoot your destination and in this case I was off a little ending up a quarter mile down the dirt road instead of where I had parked my truck at.
When you leave the Wright's Lake Crystal Basin area there are these overlooks where I stopped. Its at the top of this canyon almost you can hear the river flowing and if you look to the south you got about a 50 mile view of mountains and national forest. I found up on these cliffs this crevice or rather it was a cave with a crevice next to it. I so bad wanted to climb up into it but you would need gear this is on a cliff a 100' if not more up. The sierras are full of caves, caverns, lava tubes and crevices. Anything and I mean anything could be living in these types of places especially Bigfoot. I have found some dense and caves in the Desolation Wilderness before its a rock apes paradise really. Some of these places remain hidden undiscovered problem is what happens if you find a unknown cave and you go in only to find an entire family of Bigfoot like creatures what do you do? Do you think they are going to let you go so easily? I don't!
Therefore, the search continues our next project up here will be at a place called Bloodsucker Lake its full of leeches and will actually check out a few more hidden ponds nearby. My goal is to do the entire area see as many lakes, ponds and places I can see within the basin and on the other side of the Crystal Mountains in the Desolation Wilderness.As far as my bigfoot research goes I have experienced quite a bit up here and so the journey continues. I wont experience things every time I explore this area I mean its also a right time, place type of thing and it depends on how crowded it is. Quite a few joggers, backpackers and people enjoying some of the lakes. Which pushes such creatures back until the winter when the gates are closed and there is no accessibility to humans.
But anything could be living in those Crystal Mountains I have heard some tales and I want to experience it myself. So our next project will be Bloodsucker Lake to the SE of Wrights and it will have its own case since its a good jaunt. These other locations in my report are close to Wrights Lake you can hike on foot to them all in one day like we did. But there are more primitive lakes down more rugged trails to see and some are not on trails you just have to bushwhack and rock climb in the forest to get to them which is not an easy task.
But I cant wait to see Bloodsucker, Hemlock, Smith, Grouse, Secret, Island, Twin, Boomerang, Umpa, Maude, Tyler and Gertrude Lakes. Some of them will require hard work they are not on trails I could spend hours climbing to get to them because they sit up by some peaks but we will work with this area and we will eventually camp a few times here where we can place cams doing more extensive research up here. While Wrights Lake seems to attract quite a few folks some of the other places mentioned do not which is why I spent time trying to explore and find them. The best places to journey are the ones less people know about and those are the areas your going to find good bigfoot evidence at.
I look forward to my return it was so beautiful up here wild flowers, creeks flowing, waterfalls, open basins, lakes and great views. Its always an adventure plus you have the Rubicon River that flows through here and some other cool places. If you do research like I do then you will find it strange at how many people have terrifying bigfoot encounters back here and its nothing new its been going on for years. The place is like a lost world carved by glaciers, volcanoes and its lush. Anything could be living back here and when I say anything I mean these bigfoot like creatures which I have had encounters with previously. So my search for the truth will continue and soon real soon will be back to work more with this area and next year do a few camping trips up here all alone in the wilderness miles from nowhere. We will produce some good stuff so show your support for us because we got our work cut out for us.
On the way home I drove around Lake Tahoe Tammy and I stopped to have dinner. We tend to do that sometimes after a hard day of research and work. Just think I might take some of you out to dinner if you actually showed up, hiked and helped me out. But folks nowadays rather watch this on TV and its all fake. I do not live inside the box I live outside of it so my need to explore, climb, journey etc pumps through my veins. I love to smoke my bud and drink brews while exploring do not care what others think. I smoke the best bud you want to help me you can smoke all day long for free 420 all top of the line pure herb.
I am a believer in enjoying the finer things in life even when I am in the middle of nowhere. I am always having a great time and in turn I produce some really great stuff just something to think about since I am getting ready to bring on more people on my team which is very rare so apply within because this is a rare opportunity. Keep in mind you wont get on my television show if you do not prove your worth meaning dedicated research and hard work for The Paranormal & Ghost Society. There are perks for being a member of our scientific adventure team so do not miss out because you will miss places like these and experiences that will throw you for a loop trust me! But you have to actually be a part of it and more then often I do this by myself that is why soon I am going to be leading my own paranormal adventure TV series through a major network its because I earned it and worked for it. Nobody handed me anything not even my experiences I had to climb cliffs to get here or there to see and witness the things I have!
This area is golden so if you snooze you lose I am the man you go primitive with other folks have tried and failed or were chased out of here by a squatch one guy pissed his pants near Twin Lakes cant say I blame him there is some crazy shit living up here in those Crystal Mountains. Not saying everyone experiences that but I am saying they are up there and we have to still exercise caution including dealing with wildlife. Where there is allot of water in the sierras your going to find these creatures and so our research continues! I love the Devils Basin and the Crystal Mountains more so there is only a couple gateways into the Desolation Wilderness and this is one of them which is all the more reason to explore because there is just so much to see and you cant see it all in one lifetime. No less a great start for the month of August and will be returning this month again to conduct more research so hang on tight! I look forward to returning!
Peace,
Lord Rick
PGS Founder
PS This report is a rough draft subject to renditions and will be final once it gets added on our site in a couple years!