Then there is the one section of bouldering that is sketchy at best, and outright treacherous if you have a heavy pack and a large dog like we did. Then there is a trail but it is thin and meandering. Huge risky rocks to scramble through and multiple steep inclines. Golden Trout Products is a Trademark by Starwood, Jim, the address on file for this trademark is 2539 W Dorothea Ave, Visalia, CA 93277 Worst trail ever, if it even is a trail. One theory states golden trout’s beautiful golden color is mainly to attract mates. Titcomb Basin (driving directions and hiking map), in the heart of the Winds, is already the kind of place that backpackers dream about.Head to Elbow Lake, a granite-ringed tarn at the end of an 18-mile trek from Elkhart trailhead. Wet, freezing, bruised, bloody and shaken, S&R stated this trail is not safe and definitely one of the hardest trails to navigate. Don’t be fooled by the short distance, this is a serious trail. Golden Trout Ale is a Blonde Ale - American style beer brewed by Mammoth Brewing Company in Mammoth Lakes, CA. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/golden-trout-lake-loop Score: 77 with 64 ratings and reviews. Lakes 1 and 2 hold golden and brook trout, while only goldens are found in lakes 3 and 4. After hiking for hour upon hour, through snow, rain, wind, sleet and flatulence, crossing over the Canadian border twice and apparently passing over some place in Uruguay, we made it to our first night’s camp. Beautiful area with very few other people. Sadly the fish’s colors fade at lower elevations, so if you want to see a brightly colored golden trout, your best bet is to fish on the high end of their habitat’s elevation. This trout is usually found in clear, cool waters at elevations higher than 6,890 ft. The book focuses on fishing in Mammoth Lakes and the surrounding area, with tips and tricks from local experts. The Cottonwood Lakes and Golden Trout Wilderness in the Eastern Sierras are one of those places that helped to grow my love for adventure travel in California. Even though the Ghostman always startles you at first, he’s said to be good luck. While pursuit of High-Sierra gold is the allure of a backcountry trip into the Treasure Lakes, proper fishing gear and technique are only pieces of the puzzle of success. Golden Trout Lake Loop is a 8.2 kilometer lightly trafficked loop trail located near Independence, California that features a lake and is rated as difficult. SierraWild.gov - Golden Trout Wilderness; USFS - Golden Trout Wilderness; Nearby. Hard. It is 303,511 acres (1,228.3 km 2) in size and was created by the US Congress in 1978 as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. This trail is barely defined and straight up incline with precarious terrain. You’d probably like it, even though it’s really hard, steep, sometimes not so clear. Never made it to the lakes. Scratched our heads on several occasions to try to find the trail. As the sun slowly set like a comet crashing into the evergreen canopy above, our fourth member, G-Dubs, triumphantly arrived in camp. I ended up falling down the side of the waterfall, losing the trail and being lost until 9pm when search and rescue came to get me (5 hours later). I am close to 60, in good shape and an experienced hiker and hated this. The only reason I gave it 3 stars was because of the views, but those views can be seen from the Kearsage pass trail which is so much nicer. The morning of our departure greeted us with bluebird skies and a half-foot of fresh spring snow. Starts off like most trailheads and at .7 mile disintegrates into a loose dirt hill that is long hot and steep. Steep uphill the whole way to the lakes but trail was much better than expected and in places where it disappeared it was clear which way to go. Our golden trout hatching program was the sole source of this fish throughout the Sierra Nevada. Triumphant because not only was he carrying a pack the size of VW Bus on his back, but he also held what at first looked like a large purse, but thankfully turned out to be a canvas bag from The Gap filled with beer. Later that night, as we sat around watching the sun melt over the Sierra Nevada, G-Dubs told us about the legend of the Ghostman of Lake Tellanyoneandwe’llkillya. Creative Fields. Early the next morning, as Clark’s Nutcrackers swooped in to snatch up any crumbs we’d left from breakfast and our crew sang Little Feet’s classic, “There’s a Fat Man in a Bathtub with the blues,” we made our final decent to the goldens. How to Leave No Trace When Recreating Near Water, Plan Your Trip for the Kids Fishing Festival. Golden Trout Pack Station is the exclusive outfitter for packing and fishing the upper Kern River. Come to think of it, make that three feet—this is a fishing story, for crying out loud. Golden Trout Lake Loop, Independence: Address, Golden Trout Lake Loop Review: 4/5 Follow Following Unfollow. Not very well marked, very steep, significant sections of scrambling over boulder fields and sandy/rocky scree. The Season is in full swing and our wranglers are working hard and playing hard. Barely marked, steep, climbing boulders or loose gravel most of the hike, Hiked for 2 hours and barely made it to 1.3 miles then turned around. Trying to see how the snow is thinking about doing it this weekend, beautiful place, little traffic, hard climb up, Junction Meadow Via Kearsarge Pass and Bubbs Creek Trails, Manzanar Japanese Relocation Site: Manzanar Trail, Onion Valley, Kearsarge Pass, Forrester Pass, Shepherds Pass Backpacking Trip, Onion Valley Campground to Rae Lakes via Kearsarge Pass, Kearsarge Pass Trail to John Muir Trail Loop, Onion Valley to Mt. Per times, dangerous. “Okay, okay, now stop squealing like a girl,” said Billy Ray, the trip organizer after I delightedly accept the invitation. EXTREMELY HARD! Due to its beauty and popularity with anglers the California golden trout has been widely stocked outside of its native range, especially in the high lakes of the Sierra and Rocky Mountain Ranges. From the west, various roads stem from Hwy 190 near Giant Sequoia National Monument. Transplanted by miners and other strange smelling folk across the High Sierra. Once you get to the beginning of the trail, the hike is a nice little workout until you reach the final location of Golden Trout Lakes. Should be rated extremely hard! Golden Trout Creek is thought to have once formed the headwaters of the South Fork Kern River but, due to volcanic activity thousands of years ago, it was diverted west near Tunnel Meadow and now flows directly to the Kern River. Golden Trout Fun Facts. Backpacked with my kids (9 & 11) and wife to the upper lakes and had a great time. The ideal habitat for a golden trout is clear cool lakes and streams above 6,600’, but above 10,000’ is your best chance at catching one. The Troutfitter in Mammoth Lakes is the largest fishing store and guide service in Mono County. Dan Franklin Westminster, CA, USA. Taxonomy. By late afternoon, we’d made it to Lake Tellanyoneandwe’llkillya. The creek has about 14 miles of fishable water from just below Rocky Basin Lakes at 10,500 feet to above Volcano Falls next to the Kern River at 7,500. Golden Trout in the Wind River Range. In Mammoth Lakes, you can hike to higher elevation lakes out of the Mammoth Lakes Basin or Sherwin Range. Not sure where to start when planning your trip? 0. 6.2k. The Golden Trout Lakes trail (Trail #89) is located up Portal Creek in the Gallatin Canyon near Big Sky. Beer reviews and ratings for Golden Trout and other craft beer. It was discovered in the 1980's that the Golden Trout Brood stock within the lakes were actually Golden-Rainbow hybrids that had become contaminated by the presence of rainbows within the hatchery. The meadows is the next section which we tried to stay of the vegetation. For day hikers, Kearsarge Pass is the main destination (4 miles), and the four scenic lakes en route, with other options being to descend a little way into Kings Canyon National Park to the Kearsarge Lakes, to climb the nearby summit of Mt Scott (off-trail), or to take a much less traveled path to Golden Trout Lake, in a side canyon north of Onion Valley. Offices. All Rights Reserved. Amazing surreal lakes. Average “6- 12.” World Record: 11.25 lb, 28” golden landed in Wyoming in 1948. Landing that first one was a thrill I’ll never forget. Golden Trout Creek: Starts at the headwaters of Big Whitney Meadow and Rocky Basin Lakes. Whitney via Kearsarge Pass and John Muir Trails, Mount Rixford from Onion Valley Campground. The Ghostman is an old, gray haired guy who always wears a flannel shirt, jeans and a trash bag when it rains. Getting There To reach Lower Golden Trout Lake, park at the North Lake Trailhead. Extending from the western foothills all the way to the eastern high desert, the Golden Trout Wilderness can be reached from both sides of the Sierra Nevada range. The Hike The trail to Lower Golden Trout Lake starts in a forested area and works it's way westward and uphill for the first 1.4 miles. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. Springville, California tourism, offering a unique family vacation in central California. Last update: 12-03-2020. There’s something mysteriously alluring and downright magical about golden trout. The trail is primarily used for hiking, camping, and fishing and is best used from April until September. This trail has spectacular views but also some challenging terrain and very thin trails that disappear and reappear quickly. And calling it a trail is generous, it was more of a mountaineering route. Golden Trout Pack Station offers horseback riding, fly fishing, hunting, and During the spawning season of 1918, we collected golden trout eggs from Cottonwood Lakes for the first time. The trail leads to Piute Pass and into the High Sierra Backcountry.. While the view at the top was pretty, the other trail nextdoor is much more defined with wayyyyyyy prettier views and water to play in. The last section is steep but better marked to lake one. We have summer backpacks, sleeping bags and pads, fishing gear and camping... Rick’s Sport Center has been a destination for trout fishermen for almost 30 years. Oncorhynchus aquabonita Also called Volcano Creek, Little Kern, Mountain or Roosevelt trout. Now primarily found in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, the Wind River Range in Wyoming and the Golden State’s Sierra Nevada. Golden Trout Lakes trail is a 5 mile out and back hike to a beautiful alpine lake in the Gallatin Range of SW Montana. A friend and I did this home last week and were separated. So it was with the shear delight of a boy landing his first monster Alpers trout that I accepted an invitation to join a group of Eastsiders on their annual spring trek to the Eastern High Sierra in search of golden trout. Named official state fish of California in 1947, the golden trout was once transplanted as far as east as New York. Laurel Lakes CA 4×4 trail, off roading Mammoth Lakes and the Inyo Mountains, and golden trout This little gem of an off road trail is no secret, carvings in poplar trees downstream from Laurel Lakes for instance, in what is known as Laurel Creek, are dated from the 1930’s. With a full pack and a new trail dog, the 3.1 miles up took 5.5 hours including breaks and lunch for us 50 somethings but should be faster if you are younger and pack lighter. It seemed like all that long, lonely night the wind whispered through the pine trees those famous words of John Steinbeck: “Any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming.”. The South Fork Kern River is a designated Wild Trout Water. Golden trout have few natural predators besides man, although some folks believe there are no true wild goldens left — they’re all just some form of rainbow, brook and golden hybrids. Has anyone does this trail this year. Where To Catch Golden Trout. Ghostman seems to always appear out of nowhere and the best chance you have of seeing him is when he’s shore casting from his favorite point on the lake. Despite its limited distribution, there are two recognized subspecies of golden trout. The upper Kern River Fly Fishing offers unique access to Go California golden trout are native to two stream systems on the eastern side of the Kern River: Golden Trout Creek and the South Fork Kern River (Tulare County). 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