| |
| Golden Trout Lakes Trail, CA | | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 3 labels |  |
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
|
| | Golden Trout Lakes Trail, CA | | | |
|
|
Golden Trout Lakes Trail, CA
| | |
|
| Hiking | 5.20 Miles |
2,361 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.20 Miles | 9 Hrs | | 0.58 mph |
| 2,361 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This would be the final day hike of my 13 day car camping trip in the Eastern Sierras of California. I had been here 5 years ago on a similar trip to hike up to Kearsarge Pass and had enjoyed that hike and camping at the scenic little campground in Onion Valley. I chose the hike to Golden Trout Lake for this trip just to try something different. This trail starts from the Kearsarge Pass trailhead and follows that trail for about 0.4 miles before forking off to the right. The morning of the hike was at or below freezing and the wind was blowing hard so I suited up with full winter clothing and gloves including a balaclava face mask topped by a heavy knit cap. I had gone about a mile when I encountered a solo backpacker coming down the trail. He was returning from a one nighter to do some photography at some high lakes on a side canyon off the GTL trail. He admired my balaclava and said he had one just like it. We parted with him warning me that the trail was difficult to follow. I would find that his warning was actually a bit of an understatement. He would be the only other hiker I would see until returning to the trailhead.
After about 0.7 miles the trail starts a steep climb straight up a slope made slippery by loose dirt and rocks. There is no single trail and side trails forked off to who knows where about every 20 feet. The wind was gusting so hard down the slope that I was concerned about getting blown over backwards. So I kept my head down hugging the hillside following what appeared to be the most traveled path. It ended up leading me directly to the base of a cliff high up the slope. Grasping a small ledge in the cliff face to avoid getting blown down the slope, I took a peek at my GPS and determined that I should have taken a sharp left about 2/3 of the way up the slope to reach a cliff top which spanned the canyon. When I got to the location shown by the GPS track there was no sign of a trail so I bushwhacked through some brush for about 50 yards and finally came upon the trail. The reward for my effort was a stunning view of Onion Valley and the mountain peaks to the west of the valley. Trail finding and the wind continued to be a problem throughout the remainder of the hike. It became more of an off-trail experience where you just follow what appears to be a path of least resistance going in the general direction of your destination. Scenery and solitude were rewarding but this was probably my least favorite of the day hikes I had taken on this trip. Gold Trout Lake was more like a glacial cirque surrounded on two sides by steep boulder covered slopes and only a few small wind twisted trees on one side.
The hike back to camp went quickly being all downhill with no path finding required. Reaching the trailhead at 5pm I encountered a PCT through hiker getting ready to head up the Kearsarge Pass Trail to continue on towards Mexico. He had started from Canada in June. The wind was still blowing hard and it was getting cold but the young man seemed enthusiastically oblivious wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He ended up camping in the site next to me planning to leave early the next morning. We swapped stories of our backpacking experience and I charged up his smartphone on my car booster battery. He stocked up on some trail food from abandoned food caches left by other PCTers in the bear boxes in the parking lot. You'd think he discovered gold.  It ended up being one of the coldest nights of the trip. When I got up before sunrise to make some breakfast and start packing for the trip home I discovered the 4 inches of water left in my 6 gallon water jug had frozen solid. I got the spare jug out of my car to pour some water for coffee and spilled some on the table top. The water ran only 8 inches across the sloping table top before freezing solid. Hot coffee and a hot breakfast eaten directly out of the frying pan with it still sitting on the stove burner got me going and I was soon on my way. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
