A short video showing how this group of people enjoyed Maggie Lakes this summer season. Looks like they camped near the lower lake and enjoyed swimming in the middle one. Did they climb Maggie Mtn near the end? Better watch to find out.
Check out a four day adventure in and out of the Golden Trout Wilderness. Apparently not many people venture off on to where they went. Do you recognize any of the places seen in the video?
Head over to the maps section to create your own custom topo maps thanks to CalTopo. Zoom in to the area, calculate distances, elevation loss/gain, and so much more. Need a simple topo map of the area with trail mileage? CalTopo can do that too. All for FREE! Another cool feature is to export the map as a JPEG or Geo-referenced PDF. Yes, you can print out beautiful hard copies too. Check it out!
Looks like a few users headed down the Forks of the Kern Trail to do some fishing. Curious what they found? How about how small or big were the catches? Check it out in the video above.
Enjoy the videos of a few users heading into the Golden Trout Wilderness to do some fishing. Do you have an idea where they went?
Trip reports have been shared with GTW from user Matthew Hengst over at First Church of the Masochist website. Full on stories and plenty of photos to follow his fast pace journeys into the Golden Trout Wilderness. Curious how he did a loop trip from Jerkey Meadow TH to Coyote Lake? How about a speed adventure to summit Tower Rock that looks over the Kern River? What about following, knowingly or not, the long faded path up to Hockett Peak? Check out the links below to read the adventure.
Trip report from Jerky Meadows up the Kern and looping back to the south and descending Deep Creek after climbing Coyote and Angora. Deep Creek was badly burned and isn’t anything near what it once was.
http://www.firstchurchofthemasochist.com/2018/05/memorial-day-massacre-2018-jerky.html
Cottonwood to Little Whitney area to climb Tower & Overlook
http://www.firstchurchofthemasochist.com/2018/06/overlook-mountain-tower-rock-golden.htmlAnother climbing Hockett via Jerky a few weeks later
http://www.firstchurchofthemasochist.com/2018/06/hockett-peak-from-jerky-meadows-sierra.html
Thanks so much for your reports Matthew. Hopefully see more from you in the future. Keep on hiking!
If you have any reports you would like to share, please head over to the contact us page. It is a great way to give back to the outdoor community who enjoys trips into the GTW. Thanks!
Backpacker Mark and his daughter headed out for a 4 night and 5 day trip from the Jerkey Meadow TH. Curious as to what they found along the way? Here is his report.
On Thursday June 14 my daughter & I headed out from Jerky Trailhead for a 5-day backpack trip into the Golden Trout Wilderness.
- Day 1 we hiked 5.6 miles to Little Kern Bridge.
- Day 2 we hiked 8 miles to Kern River along the Trout-Willow Meadow cutoff trail (there were not opportunities to refill water bottles along this section of trail). Just after the junction with the Round Meadow trail we entered into the burn scar from the Oct 2017 Lion Fire. Downed trees were across the trail all the way to Willow Meadow. Then from Willow Meadow heading north on the descent to Kern River we again ran into downed trees across the trail (good water at spring just north of Willow Meadow).
- Day 3 we hiked back from Kern River to Trout Meadow Station where there is a spring with a piped gate valve spigot.
- Day 4 short hike back to Little Kern bridge
- Day 5 back out to Jerky Trailhead.
Thanks for sharing Mark. Good to know about the trail conditions as well as where you guys found water. I am sure others reading will benefit from this report.
Have you been out to the Golden Trout Wilderness this season? Care to share what you found along the way? No matter how short or how long, it would be great to have as it benefits all the visitors to this site. Head over to the “Contact Us” section and submit one today!
Curious as how the fishing is going when the snow packs were low again? Well a local resident Chuck Stokke brings you a fishing update from the Kern River on Father’s Day. He discusses what baits were tried and which one was successful. Check it out to see what worked!
A couple users headed out for an overnight trip. They started at the Clicks Creek TH and went over to Alpine Creek. Here is the report.
Just got back from a two night camping trip into the GTW. FIRST NOTE: The Kernville Ranger station has relocated but they have not left any indication on the old building to help find the new location.
From a local newspaper: “The new Kern River Ranger Station is located at 11380 Kernville Road, Kernville, and is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.”
Our trip was for my buddy to fly fish for Golden Trout on his new Tenkara rod, and for me to photograph the area. We started at the Clicks Creek Trail head, (*be warned, it is easy to park at the ‘wrong’ trail head and this means you will walk an additional 1.5 miles on the Clicks Creek trail, don’t tell my hiking partner though! 😉
Our destination was the Sage Brush Gulch area. Hiking in, we met a fly fisherman on his way out, a very kind chap who gave my buddy some flies and good tips. Down at the Little Kern we met four young guys camping and fishing at a great spot by the confluence of Apline Creek and The Little Kern, we hiked further on up Alpine Creek and set up camp.
On our first evening, we saw a healthy looking adult Sierra Gray Fox, he sauntered by on a trail across Alpine creek about 50 feet away, he seemed unbothered by us and our sleeping Dogo Argentino/Boxer. The fly fishing only produced a 6 incher who jumped off the barbless hook, but my buddy was happy to get a fish on. We saw a beautiful 10 -12 inch Golden Trout in Alpine creek in a deep pool, so they are in there.
The hike back out is not to be underestimated but actually wasn’t too bad, worst part was the Mosquitoes swarming by the water sources, bug spray and continued movement solved this for us. Driving back down to Johnsondale bridge we encountered a herd of about 100 cows being walked along Western Divide HWY to a new pasture, the cowgirl gave us a wave as we drove slowly by.
Nighttime low temps were a cool but manageable 45f-ish, days were 79/80f. It was a great trip, although my dog injured his foot on a rocky section near the river. (Lesson here : make sure your dog’s nails are trimmed safely short before heading into back country, and even then, do you really want to take your precious domestic pet / family member into the wilderness? Even though he loves it, I am not sure I will take him again, other than on day hikes. Was glad I packed first aid for him and a spare boot for any paw issues.)
Thanks for the report!
User Scott Williams headed up to Summit Lake and beyond for two nights. Summit Lake is located on the Sequoia National Forest side of the wilderness. It is about a 7 mile adventure to get there. The photos above are from his trip. Here is what he had to report:
Backpacked up to Long Meadow out of Shake Camp and spent two nights. Beautiful weather and surprisingly no bugs. Stream is only about six inches deep and can be easily crossed without getting wet. Took a day hike up to Summit Lake. One very large tree down before the last creek crossing. Not passable by stock. Doesn’t look like anyone has camped at Summit Lake in awhile. If you make it all the way to Summit Lake, hike up the extra 100 feet over the pass towards Cyclone Meadow. Well worth the extra effort and probably more scenic than the lake.
Thank you so much Scott for sharing a piece of your adventure. Now readers have an idea of what to expect when heading out to Summit Lake. Thanks again!
Have you ventured out to the wilderness recently? Care to share your report with others? Make sure to visit the Contact Us portion of the website. You also head over to Facebook at post there too!
