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2-night/3-day trip from west side

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:36 pm
by I_Hart_outdoors
Hi everyone,

I stumbled upon this site while searching for good hikes and absolutely love all the information! You guys do a great job giving advice, trip reports, and other vital information.

That said- I am looking for a good backpacking trip to do in September with a group of 5. I have been looking at Mineral King, Sequoia, and Golden Trout wilderness, but have had problems finding a 2 night trip (~18-20 miles total) with good fishing spots. For reference, I did Thousand Isand Lakes out of Mammoth a couple years ago and that was near (if not) perfect. Unfortunately I just don't have time to drive to Mammoth this time around.

As I say below, I would prefer to start from the western side, as I am from Bakersfield, but would make the trip to Lone Pine if the perfect trip arises :D

Help and advice would be much appreciated! Let me know if you need any more info!

What level of backpacking experience do you have?
Level 2- Some backpacking trips, using trails


What terrain are you comfortable/uncomfortable with?
Up to Class 2

What is your main interest?
-Lakes and Fishing (#1)
- Big Mountain Scenery (#2)

How many days/nights is your trip, not including travel to trailhead?- 2 nights, 3 days


No dogs!
How many miles did you want to do a day, any layovers? 5-8 miles depending on the terrain

Did you prefer a loop or out and back trip? prefer a loop, but would be fine with a out and back.

Is there a particular area in the Sierra that your most interested in(Yosemite, SEKI
western sierra start or eastern start ect.)?
- Sequoia/Mineral King
- Golden Trout
-Southern part of Kings
-Potentially Inyo

I prefer a western start, but would be willing to make the trek to Lone Pine if thats all that avaliable (and I've had problems finding trails I like on the western side)

Re: 2-night/3-day trip from west side

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:42 pm
by maverick
Hi I_Hart_outdoors,

Welcome to HST!
Lost Lake out of the Horse Corral area is a great trip. It is 8.7 miles to beautiful
Lost lake where there are bear boxes. From this basecamp location you can go
visit either Sheep Camp, Ranger or Seville Lakes.
Here are two TR from this area:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7681&p=56967&hilit=lost+lake#p56967" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5154&p=31819&hilit= ... ake#p31819" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: 2-night/3-day trip from west side

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 11:34 pm
by windknot
I'm not too familiar with Mineral King, but from what I've read it doesn't look like a trailhead best suited for a 2-night trip.

Maverick's suggestion of Lost Lake in southern Kings Canyon is a good one. In my report that he links I didn't mention the fishing, but I found fast action for brookies at Lost and Seville, and slightly slower action (but slightly larger fish) in Upper Sheep Camp.

It's difficult to find a true 3-day loop on the west slope unless you go somewhere like the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness which has a lot of lakes close by each other and several trails linking up. From Bakersfield though this is probably a farther drive than Lone Pine.

If you do end up going to Lone Pine, the Cottonwood Lakes have great fishing for goldens. It's more like 10-12 miles total, but you can hike in on day 1, spend a ton of time fishing on day 2, and hike out on day 3. Some of the better golden trout fishing I've ever had was at the Cottonwoods, and much less effort was required to get there than at every other lake that I would consider had better fishing for goldens.