Shakespeare wrote that “all that glisters is not gold,” and that’s certainly true of golden trout, the California state fish that evolved over many millennia in the Kern River drainage. Not all golden trout in the high Sierra are pure goldens. Over the course of many Sierra wilderness trips, I have caught some fish that I believed might be genetically pure golden trout and others that were clearly rainbow-golden hybrids. In search of the real thing, there was only one way to know for certain that I was leaving behind fool’s gold: venture into the heart of the Golden Trout Wilderness and pursue the unaltered specimen in its natal streams on the Kern Plateau of the southern Sierra.
In the first week of July 2019, I led a group of six people on a 35-mile loop through the central section of the Golden Trout Wilderness, starting and ending at 10,000 feet elevation in Horseshoe Meadow. We had mules to carry our gear and pack-station staff to handle most of the chores, leaving us free to hike with day packs and seek out golden trout in the streams these fish call home.
The Trail to Treasure
We reached our trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow on the eastern edge of the wilderness by driving from Lone Pine in the Owens Valley and rapidly gaining 6,000 feet in elevation in a mere 24 miles. On the way out of town, there are excellent views of Mount Whitney, and at the summit of the road, there are panoramic vistas to the east of Owens Valley and the White Mountains, famous for their ancient bristlecone pines.
Before setting out, we took some time the first afternoon and on a moderate hike the next day to allow ourselves to acclimate to one of the highest trailheads in the Sierra Nevada. After that, the experience was exceptional. For anyone accustomed to the crowds of Yosemite or the numerous hikers on the John Muir Trail, the first thing that strikes you when you enter deep into the 300,000acre Golden Trout Wilderness is the near absence of people. Yes, you will encounter hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail at some of the main passes, but once you drop down into the central and western sections of the Golden Trout Wilderness, you will have the area mostly to yourself. It is an overlooked area, larger than both the Ansel Adams Wilderness and the Emigrant Wilderness, that offers seclusion and serenity that are hard to find in more popular backcountry destinations in the Sierra. And due to its location at the southern tip of the Sierra Nevada range, snow in the Golden Trout Wilderness melts earlier, and thus trails open sooner in the season. The best time to visit this high alpine country is from the middle of June to mid-July, when many of the passes to the north are still closed by snow.
There are two primary destinations for the angler who wants to catch native golden trout: Big Whitney Meadow and Little Whitney Meadow. A good option for a shorter trip would be to hike the seven miles from Horseshoe Meadow to Big Whitney Meadow, where you can set up camp for a day or two and enjoy excellent fishing for golden trout in the upper reaches of Golden Trout Creek, then hike out the way you came in. If you had four to six days available, you could do a loop of approximately 35 miles that takes you through several meadows and allows you to fish different creeks that hold native golden trout.
Our group opted for the latter option and camped for two nights at both Little Whitney Meadow and Big Whitney Meadow. Golden Trout Creek flows through each of these meadows, but from Little Whitney Meadow you can also reach Volcano Creek and its population of pure golden trout. We had both meadow camps entirely to ourselves, with abundant golden trout swimming a stone’s throw away. Those who make the effort to reach this hidden jewel in the Sierra are transported back in time to an era when it was possible to find a wilderness hideaway and have it to yourself.
Catching the Native Species
Golden Trout Creek originates in glaciated lake basins and springs above 10,000 feet where the Golden Trout Wilderness borders on Sequoia National Park. By the time the creek reaches Big Whitney Meadow, it is a meandering stream with sufficient f lows and depth to support a healthy population of golden trout. Other tributary streams (some called “stringers” on maps) add to the flows and size of Golden Trout Creek by the time it travels roughly six miles farther south to Little Whitney Meadow.
The first place I fished was Little Whitney Meadow, at an elevation of 8,400 feet, where Johnson Creek flows from the north to join Golden Trout Creek. I rigged up my 3-weight rod, put on a leader with 4X tippet, and chose a size 12 Humpy dry fly to see if I could coax any fish to the surface. Success was immediate and continuous: I caught roughly fifteen fish (not that I was counting very carefully) in the first hour. The next day produced roughly forty fish in three hours. It was exhilarating after the long journey and exertion to be standing in the home of the golden trout and catching one after another of these small, but exquisitely beautiful trout on dry flies. These aquatic gems ranged in length from four to eight inches, with the larger ones needing nine years to reach their maximum length. What they lacked in size, they more than made up for in their sublime beauty and their reckless abandon in attacking my offerings. I was dazzled by the chromatic display of each fish: the buttery golden sides, the gaudy red slash on the lateral line, the deep olivegreen of their backs, and the symmetrical parr marks on the sides. One theory about the origin of their spectacular colors is that these trout evolved to blend in with the lemon yellow and orange tufa in the local streambeds to provide them with camouflage from predators. What is clear is that golden trout represent one of the masterpieces of nature’s rich and varied palette.
The outstanding fishing continued when we reached Big Whitney Meadow, at an elevation of 9,500 feet, which is close to the headwaters of Golden Trout Creek. I found that making some slight gear and technique adjustments improved my success rate: adding more 4X tippet to keep the leader plus tippet at least 8 feet in length, switching flies to find fish favorites such as a size 12 grasshopper imitation, and using more stealth in exposed areas to keep myself better hidden from the trout. Some areas required more technical casts, such as pools where I had to cast over the fast current and get a short, drag-free drift in a narrow window of slow-moving water along a deep eddy When executed properly, there was a fish on every cast. Not that fish counts are so important, but I kept a rough tally and figured I caught and released about fifty fish in a few hours.
I introduced some of the other people on the trip to fly fishing, and after rudimentary casting instruction, these novices were able to catch fish. Of course, we practiced strict catch-and-release fishing with barbless hooks and made sure to return the fish to the water quickly.
I had hoped to fish Volcano Creek, a tributary that also has pure golden trout, but high flows made the creek unfishable early in the season after a record winter snowpack.
Golden Trout: Origins and Threats
The California golden trout, whose scientific name is Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita, evolved from coastal rainbow trout that migrated approximately twenty thousand years ago to the upper reaches of the Kern Plateau and became isolated due to barriers that formed from geological processes. The species that we were catching is officially known as the Golden Trout Creek (GTC) golden trout, which is referred to simply as the California golden trout and is endemic to Golden Trout Creek, Volcano Creek, and the South Fork of the Kern River. Within this population, the Volcano Creek strain of the GTC golden trout is considered to be the most genetically pure. Not doing as well is the South Fork Kern River strain, which faces challenges from hybridization with hatchery rainbow trout and predation from brown trout. Preservation efforts tend to focus on the extremely reduced population and shrunken range of the GTC fish in the upper reaches of Golden Trout Creek and a few miles of Volcano Creek. Fisheries biologists estimate that the population of GTC golden trout may have decreased by 95 percent, compared with historical numbers from as recently as 1965.
“California golden trout are likely to become extinct in the wild in the next 50 years,” according to the 2017 report, State of the Salmonids II: Fish in Hot Water, jointly produced by California Trout and the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. The report identifies these main threats to golden trout: climate change, alien species (hybridization with hatchery rainbows and predation from brown trout), and damage to meadows and stream habitat from historical and ongoing land-use practices such as cattle and sheep grazing. It points out that California golden trout “are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, primarily from reduced snowpacks that result in lower stream flows and warmer water temperatures,” but also because their genetic adaptations to the local environment have been compromised through hybridization. Stream temperatures are also rising due to the loss of streamside shading from grazing of riparian vegetation. One way to mitigate for climate change is to reestablish native plants and trees such as willows and cottonwoods along the stream corridors, then build fences to keep cattle away from the restored riparian areas.
Trout Unlimited submitted a petition in 2000 to list the California golden trout under the federal Endangered Species Act, but after a 10-year review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined that the species did not merit listing. The USFWS conclusion was based on their belief that existing conservation actions and protections afforded under a multiagency conservation strategy for golden trout were sufficient to ensure survival. For its part, the State of California has designated the California golden trout as a Species of Special Concern.
Most visitors to the home of the golden trout are surprised to learn that livestock grazing is still allowed within a federal wilderness area. Cattle have been grazing in the area that is now the Golden Trout Wilderness for over 150 years. Cattle grazing was “grandfathered” in when the Golden Trout Wilderness was established in 1978 and has been managed since then by a permit system administered by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Two of the four grazing allotments (Whitney and Templeton) in the wilderness were suspended in 2001, and studies showed that resting these meadows resulted in improved riparian and in-stream habitat. Environmental impact reviews of the Templeton and Whitney allotments have been delayed by the USFS at least three times, with the latest plan calling for an assessment to be done in 2022 prior to a decision being made about whether or not to allow future grazing. The extra time has been a boon for the meadows, allowing the ecosystems to continue to rebound and letting scientists conduct more research on the effects of grazing on trout. Although the USFS does not have the authority to curtail livestock grazing solely because of wilderness designation, the agency does have the ability to make changes to livestock grazing programs to reduce unacceptable impacts such as compaction of soils, collapse of stream banks, and elimination of riparian plant cover.
The subject of cattle grazing in the Golden Trout Wilderness continues to be a hotly debated issue, pitting conservation organizations on one side and ranchers on the other. In 2012, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funded a partnership between CalTrout, Trout Unlimited, and American Rivers to evaluate meadow resources in the Golden Trout Wilderness and prioritize meadows for restoration. These partners have done a detailed assessment and prioritization and hope to begin meadow restoration work in coming years.
The Noah’s Ark Moment
One story from the prolonged drought of 2012 to 2016 highlights in dramatic fashion the perilous status of native golden trout. When Volcano Creek nearly dried up completely during the recent historic drought, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife launched a fish rescue in September 2016 to capture and remove golden trout trapped in some of the remaining pools of the creek. The team netted 52 fish, transferred them to metal milk cans, and kept the water cool using battery-powered aerators while they were being packed out 15 miles by mules. The captured fish were transported to the American River Trout Hatchery near Sacramento, where technicians monitored them, often around the clock. After nine months at the hatchery, the 48 surviving fish were taken back by mules and successfully released in their native stream. With all the threats to golden trout, that arduous rescue is probably not the last one that will be needed as the effects of climate change become more pronounced.
Other Treasures
It is not only fly fishers who will reap the rewards of a visit to the Golden Trout Wilderness — there are countless attractions to lure any nature lover to this unique area. Being in this high alpine terrain early in the summer after a record-setting winter meant that we experienced a profusion of wildflowers. All along the trails and in the wet meadows, we found myriad blooming flowers: snow plant, lupine, evening primrose, shooting stars, and various hues of penstemon. One of the most unusual pine trees in the Sierra range, the foxtail pine, grows only on this far southern flank of the Sierra and in a small population in the Klamath Mountains. The only pine tree in California that can claim to live longer than the foxtail pine is the bristlecone pine, which is a close relative and is found only 20 miles away in the White Mountains on the eastern side of Owens Valley. Foxtail pines thrive at around 10,000 feet elevation, have bright reddish brown to orange bark separated into blocky plates, and can live more than two thousand years.
The Golden Trout Wilderness also offers fascinating geology, such as the Malpais lava flow, which occurred only 5,000 years ago and deposited rocks across an extensive area near Little Whitney Meadow. From Big Whitney Meadow, there are spectacular views of granite spires such as 12,900-foot Cirque Peak and the rugged crests of Siberian, Cottonwood, and Trail Passes.
A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On
As we were sitting around the campfire at Big Whitney Meadow on the last night of our trip, the ground started shaking violently, and then we heard the branches of the trees above our heads banging against each other. It took a moment to register, but then it dawned on us: we were experiencing a major earthquake! The shaking continued for 20 seconds, and after calm returned, we started speculating: was that the Big One that just hit Southern California or the Bay Area? However, we later learned that what we experienced was the 7.1 Ridgecrest earthquake, with an epicenter about 150 miles southeast of our location.
Later that night, I stepped away from the campfire and looked up at one of the clearest views I have ever seen of the Milky Way, which John Muir once described as “a moraine of stars.” The stars in the dark night sky spread over the vast meadow, where the tiny stream continued to provide sanctuary to an exquisitely hued trout that was keeping its tenuous hold on existence. Under my feet, the earth was still shaking occasionally from aftershocks. The cosmic display and tectonic show provided powerful reminders of the mystery of creation and my good fortune to be in this magical place at that moment, where like miners of yore, I had found a form of pure gold.
Planning and Equipment Tips
Based on your fitness level, the first decision to make is whether you want to venture into the Golden Trout Wilderness by foot or with assistance from horses and mules. If you have the physical conditioning to carry a 45-pound backpack and possess excellent wilderness skills and experience, you can certainly plan a trip on your own. For those who have retired from backpacking, a good option is to hire the services of a pack station. The types of trips run the gamut from expensive, all-inclusive trips featuring a dedicated camp cook to drop trips where the packer hauls your backpacks to a base camp, and you fend for yourself after being dropped off. Whatever type of trip fits your conditioning and budget, you’ll need to do thorough research and planning to ensure that your trip is safe and enjoyable. As for which fly rod(s) to bring, a four-piece 2-weight or 3-weight rod paired with a floating fly line is all you need for the small, but feisty golden trout in the creeks. The lighter, the better.
If You Go…
If you are interested in hiring the services of a pack station, two that offer trips into the Golden Trout Wilderness are Rock Creek Pack Station, http://www.rockcreekpackstation.com, and Golden Trout Pack Station, https://goldentroutpacktrains.com.
The primary trailhead for accessing the Golden Trout Wilderness from the east is Horseshoe Meadow. Consult guidebooks and maps to find other trailheads and determine the exact routes and mileage.
A good topographical map is of course a necessity. Tom Harrison’s Golden Trout Wilderness covers the area. You can find it at https://tomharrisonmaps.com/shop/golden-trout-wilderness.
You will need a wilderness permit, which you can obtain from any Sequoia or Inyo National Forest ranger station. You can find an overview of the wilderness and permit requirements at https://cid=21878.
Finally, a good guidebook for the area is Hiking California’s Golden Trout Wilderness: A Guide to Backpacking and Day Hiking in the Golden Trout and South Sierra Wilderness Areas, by Suzanne Swedo (FalconGuides, 2004).
— Frank Eldredge
