TR: Hoover Wilderness, Sept. 14-16

[tweederjohnson]

Hi Folks,
Did a quick two-nighter in Hoover Wilderness last week, starting at the Green Creek Trailhead on Thursday, September 14.

Quick Info:
Mosquitoes: 0-1, I got a couple bites on my shoulders while fishing at Hoover Lakes on Friday, but fairly consistent wind kept them away.
Temperatures: Very windy on Thursday and Saturday - a daytrip up to Summit Lake on Friday was calm and beautiful. Both nights were cold and windy.
Fishing: Flyfished at East Lake and both Hoover Lakes and didn't catch anything (I'm a terrible flyfisherman...still don't really know what I'm doing and the wind didn't help my cause). Got bites at East Lake but couldn't land anything. I chucked some lures at East Lake on Friday afternoon and had a great hour or two where I was catching 12" brookies every couple of casts.

I left the Bay Area at 5am on Thursday morning and was on the trail by 10:30am. Weather was cool and crisp at the trailhead but by the time I reached Green Lake, the wind was blowing pretty fiercely down the canyon. I stopped for a snack and fished a bit at Green Lake but didn't catch anything and was anxious to get to East Lake and find a campsite, so I pressed on.

Green Lake.jpg

East Lake.jpg

After exploring the East Lake outlet area and observing some of the beautiful fish just on the other side of the small dam, I headed further up the trail towards the central area of the lake and found a nice site on the rocks near the ponds that were no doubt part of the lake earlier in the season. I set up camp and flyfished (a real struggle for me in the wind) and had a really tasty Poblano Corn Chowder from Packit Gourmet for dinner that I would certainly get again. I slept poorly that night on account of a minor elevation headache and heavy, cold winds that gusted throughout the night.

Friday was a beautiful day that consisted of a dayhike to Summit Lake where the wind stayed away for most of the day. The transition from the volcanic rock of Hoover to the white granite of Yosemite that shows itself on the far side of Summit Lake was a striking sight. I chatted with a nice couple for about an hour at Yosemite side of Summit Lake and made my way back down to Hoover Lakes where I flyfished in the thankfully windless conditions for a while, but still didn't catch anything. After staying for too long at the Hoover Lakes, I ended up bypassing (regretfully) Gilman Lake on the way back to my camp where I spent a couple hours chucking lures and finally catching some fish.

Gilman Lake.jpg

Upper Hoover Lake.jpg

Summit Lake.jpg

Brookie.jpg

Brookie2.jpg

My friends from Summit Lake who happened to be camped nearby paid me an after-dinner visit and shared some delicious Apricot Brandy with me that made for a great nightcap before bed. The wind stayed away for most of the night but picked up again early in the morning and got me out of bed earlier than I would have liked.


I took my time eating breakfast and packing up (and fishing to no avail) before heading out at 10am and making it back to the trailhead by noon for the long drive back to the bay.

All in all I had a great time and was glad to sneak in a final trip of the season.

[balzaccom]

That;s a nice area--but the wind seems to like it a lot. Some of the windiest conditions I've ever had in the Sierra have been right around there...

[Tom_H]

Nice TR. Thanks!

[wildhiker]

Nice report and photos. My experience in this area is also very windy. Last trip there, the wind was blowing so fiercely at East Lake that we had two foot high breakers on the shore! We made it through the night, but retreated in the morning.
-Phil