Maggie Lakes

Lower Maggie Lake

Nothing says Happy Birthday like a trip into the Golden Trout Wilderness. Talk about beautiful scenery this place has it all. This pristine area encompasses 304,000 acres in the Kern Plateau at the Southern end of the Sierra Nevada. Miles of hiking trails stretch in all directions. Streams and lakes dot the landscape, with 2 wild and scenic Rivers (The North and South Forks of the Kern). The area is named for California's prized state fish, the Beautiful Golden Trout which is native only to these waters. A true backpackers paradise the densely packed pine forest's bring an assault to the senses. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday and the sights and smells brought back old childhood memories of my parents taking me to the lots to pick our yearly tree to decorate. Thursday August 9th I turned 38, to celebrate I packed my gear and headed north.There are multiple access points into the wilderness. All overnight stays require a permit. (No permit is needed for day hikes). If entering from the Inyo National Forest side you can obtain your permit here from Recreation.Gov. If entering from the Sequoia National forest side fill out the permit application and mail or fax it in to the appropriate ranger office. Permits can be picked up in person, faxed or received back through the mail. Here is the Forest service website for more information. As with all my posts you can click on any picture to enlarge it and letters in blue have working clickable informative links.

Before hitting the Summit trail to Maggie lakes we decided to car camp for the night at Quaking Aspen Campground.(Named for the Quaking Aspen Trees that grow in the area).Which is located off Hwy 190 at 7200' elevation between Camp Nelson and Ponderosa. Only 10 miles south of our TrailHead. This would serve 2 purposes, first being we won't have to wake up super early Friday morning for the 3 and half hour drive out and second it would be a good place to acclimate for the night at higher elevation. I really enjoyed this campground. The restrooms and grounds were clean. Views exceptional. There was plenty of hiking trails leaving out of the camp to the surrounding area. It accommodates small RVs with a max length of 26 feet, and each sight is outfitted with bear lockers for food storage. We enjoyed a little exploring of Freeman Creek flowing just a few  yards from our site. I'm already planning a return visit with the wife and kids.

Meadow by the creek behind our campsite

Our camp site at Quaking Aspen

A great feature of this campground is the very small town of Ponderosa is right around the corner just 2 miles up the road. We had burgers and beer at the Brewers family lodge and market. (Pet Friendly). They even seated Lacy dog with us on the Patio and served her a burger patty on her own plate. The staff was awesome and the market is stocked with any last minute supplies that you may need.

Ponderosa Brewers family Lodge

From Quaking Aspen Turn left out of the Campground head back down Hwy 190 less than half a mile and turn right onto North Road(21s50). Follow North Rd about 10 miles to the Summit TrailHead. PARK HERE. 

Summit TrailHead parking sign

North of Maggie Mountain lies a series of 3 Gorgeous alpine Lakes (Maggie Lakes), and when I say Gorgeous that is an understatement. Surrounded by Thick conifer forests, granite peaks and stunning meadows its basically heaven on earth. The Lowest and most commonly camped at lake sits at just over 9000' elevation. The upper Lake is the Largest and the middle lake is the smallest. Both upper and middle require a small off trail trek to reach. 15 min or less Hike to the upper and 5 minutes for the middle. Both definitely worth checking out as you most likely will have them all to yourself. A helpful hint getting to the upper lake is easiest by following along the stream from the lower lake. It will lead you right to it. Nearby if your feeling extra adventurous you can Summit Maggie and North Maggie Mountain. A Sierra club register is currently at North Maggie. The only reason I did not Summit on this trip is I had my dog and it was her first backpacking trip, that would have been too much for her.

Lower Maggie

Middle Maggie

Upper Maggie

My only Bummer was that I only caught 1 fish. I attribute this to the water being very warm and I doubt the trout would be to active in those temps. Perfect swimming conditions though. I did take advantage of that. Fishing regulations here at the lakes in the Golden Trout Wilderness require artificial lures with barbless hooks only. Season is open Last Saturday in April through November 15th. With a 5 trout limit. Fly Fishing will probably land you your best shot at taking home the prized Golden. Also if you have time I've been told you can pull small Golden's out of Mountaineer creek on your way in or out. I will include way points locations in the map for you, should you like to try your luck at the creek.

This little beauty was released unharmed

Unless it's a super secret location I include a map plus GPS track and Google earth KMZ files for you to download at the bottom of every blog post. This makes it very easy for you to follow my exact routes. 

Heading out from Summit Trail

Dan and Lacy with big smiles

Getting to the Lakes from Summit Trail (8,265') is the shortest route.The trail is very well maintained and easy to follow. Very few spots leave you looking around just a little bit for trail, however most of those spots are marked with ducks. Its always a good idea to bring a map and compass or GPS, but most likely you will not need it unless your planning a lot of off trail stuff. The trail starts off heading west and downhill for 1 mile until crossing Mountaineer creek. This is only 1 of the 2 reliable year around water sources before reaching the lakes so If you have not topped off your water due so now. The next reliable water source is about 8.5 miles in at Pecks Creek watershed.

Mountaineer Creek Crossing

After Crossing mountaineer you will begin your first of 3 really good uphill pushes. At around 2 miles in we came across this very interesting Lean to shelter complete with camp fire ring.

Lean to Shelter

Also very close to here you get a peek down into the Alder Creek Drainage. This makes for a great photo opportunity. As you can see from my picture below. The only downside was it was a tad bit smokey that morning from a controlled burn that was taking place nearby.

Alder Creek Drainage view point

Crews have been hard at work clearing downed trees

Endless Forest

Cruising through this area keep an eye on those views to the east you will get some amazing sights of the Great Western Divide and the Surrounding San Joaquin Valley.

Continuing on you will drop down into Jacobson Meadow at 3.7 miles in. I found this meadow to be really neat. If we didn't have so much farther to go I would have made this my lunch spot. In fact all the meadows we came across were so refreshing the wild flowers were in full Bloom.

Behind the downed tree is a nice bench to rest on

Jacobson Meadow

Passing Jacobson's you start a small climb before once again dropping down into another meadow (Mowery Meadow). Basically you can consider this the halfway point at 5 miles in. If water is needed you can head down a ways into the meadow along the "Not so maintained" Mountaineer creek trail(32e10).  If you keep following this east you should find plenty of water. Otherwise you must wait 3 miles until reaching Pecks Creek. Here at Mountaineer creek is one of those spots I mentioned above where you can find small Golden's in the creek. Might just make a great excuse to run out of water :).

Those Wildflowers are much better looking in person

Back to the grind uphill you go on a good push 6.5 miles in you will pass the junction for Griswold trail(31e18). I've not hiked this trail but have heard its steep and treacherous and not maintained. All things that interest me. I'm a glutton for punishment when the reward is taking the path less traveled. This was actually on my original agenda from a different loop trail but changed my mind once I knew I was bringing my pup. Notice how the junction for Griswold kind of looks like a cross in the photo maybe a subtle warning of don't go here. Or maybe now the trail is once again maintained, guess I wont find out until I return.

Junction for Griswold

Griswold Meadow

Not too far from the Lakes now you have another pretty good uphill followed by a big downhill jaunt into the Pecks Canyon watershed at 8.5 miles in. This creek should by all means be flowing and is your second reliable year around water source. From the start of the trail I carried three and a half liters and did not need to refill, however my hiking buddy did. He started with 2 liters and it was not enough for him. Good thing I always carry more than I need. This is a very important rule all hikers should strictly adhere to. I can't stress enough how important it is too carry extra water and know for sure where the reliable fill up sources are located. After passing Pecks creek there is a junction, head left toward Maggie. Going right will lead you to Pecks Cabin this is private property.

Junction sign after leaving Pecks

 I found the next mile into the lake to be the only part of the trail where you had to pay attention where you were going as a few spots on the trail gets faint but again not by much. When all else fails follow the stacked rocks. Note: I'm not a big fan of these all backpackers should know where they are going and how to navigate through the backcountry with proper map skills. Prior Research and knowledge out here is your best friend. At around 9.5 miles in you have just arrived at Lower Maggie. Brace yourself the beauty of this place is the real deal. Immediately upon arriving there are multiple camp spots along the lake complete with nice fire rings. There are also a few dispersed campsites at the middle and upper lake should you want to venture just a little further. However most folks stop here. I found myself drawn to the middle Lake. I think that one was my favorite. Summit trail does not end here, you can continue north to frog lakes, twin lakes and even much farther to Summit Lake and beyond.

Our campsite

My piece of paradise 

This was such an awesome way to spend my birthday. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present. I absolutely love the Golden trout Wilderness. There is so much more of it yet to explore. I can't wait to get back out there, and hopefully next time catch that ever elusive Golden Trout. Thanks Dan for joining me and special thanks to my beautiful wife who lets me take off on my journeys at a moments notice. 

Obligatory Selfie

Download GPS Track (GPS Units)

Download KMZ File (Google Earth)