3 Day Solo Backpack | Hoover Wilderness | Robinson Creek Trail Loop 2020

October 1st to 3rd, 2020
#themountainsarecalling #hooverwilderness #solobackpacking

The Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains run 400 miles north to south and approximately 70 miles east to west and I’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to exploring this massive mountain range. Although I’ve driven through the city of Bridgeport, California many times, I’ve never stepped inside the Hoover Wilderness. At the time of this trip countless forest fires raged all over California. If not for these fires, I may have never driven this far north to backpack in this portion of the Sierras. The Hoover Wilderness inside the Inyo and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests lies northeast of Yosemite National Park. Typical of this range, the trails run through sage brush covered foothills, aspen groves and a variety of evergreens, mingled with alpine lakes and streams all cast in the shadows of massive ancient granite peaks. The surroundings are familiar, but there is something new to see after every turn.

My trip was sort of spontaneous in that only three days prior, my permits to hike in the Cottonwood Lakes area were cancelled due to the amount of smoke in and around that area. I called the White Mountain ranger station in Bishop, Ca and spoke to the always friendly Stan, and he said, “Head north, those trails should be open!” When I spoke to the ranger in Bridgeport, they told me, “Yes, our trails are open, they’ve been so since September 1st.” My previous 3-hour drive turned into a 7 hour, but I was happy to have a place to explore, take pictures, fish and even do some watercolor painting. My original plan was to hike to Peeler Lake on day one and then figure it out for the next two days. Fortunately, I ran into a couple dudes at the Robinson Creek trailhead who asked if I was doing the Robinson Lakes Loop. I told them I wasn’t aware of the trek, but was happy to alter my plans if it was doable in three days. They told me they were going to try it, but it was around twenty-five miles. Anyway, I was hooked on the loop idea. The 2 hikers were nice and getting back into the sport so I was in better shape to make the 8-mile trek to Robinson Lakes on the first day. We hiked together for an hour and then we parted ways. I never saw them again, but I’m going to assume they stopped at Barney Lake for the evening. Blowing past Barney around 4:30 pm, I made it to Robinson by 8:00 pm, setup camp, ate and went to bed. I took my time the next morning to break camp, eat and paint a little before hiking another eight miles to Peeler Lake where I spent my second night. Halfway through day two, I stopped to fish Snow Lake at just over ten-thousand feet. I caught a beautiful Brook trout and ate it for lunch. An hour later, I crested Rock Island Pass and worked my way down to Kedrick Meadow. Reaching Peeler Lake around 5:00 pm gave me plenty of time to set up camp and try my hand at some more fishing. Unfortunately, the fish were uninterested in my Panther Martin’s or even a green mosquito dry fly. So I had regular backpacking dinner and went to bed by around 9:00 pm. The last day was another 8 miles back to the truck and then to a bacon cheeseburger with a side of Texas Toothpicks, a mixture of deep-fried jalapenos and onions. I’d love to end every hike with that type of reward.

This was an amazing trip with gorgeous views and very warm temperatures for and October backpack. Anyone looking for a moderately challenging 3-day backpack trip should add this to their list. On second thought, no don’t go to the trail, this was trip I’ve ever been on.

Music featured in this video:
Laurel
Roy Williams

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/MoE4lsf1la/

Mountain Air
Cody Francis
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/vOWgi7FbrL/

You may also follow me on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/eric_coleman_outdoors/