Golden Trout Wilderness Trip Report
Following the disappointment from last year’s Click’s Creek Trip, Avery, Aaron, and Morgan set out for redemption- journeying to the Golden Trout Wilderness in Inyo National Forest. Maya, Ellen, and Luca joined them on their trip with the goals of catching a golden trout and summiting Mount Langley (14026 ft).
With the stage set for adventure, there were many questions to be answered: Would Avery and Aaron finally catch the elusive golden trout? Could the group overcome elevation sickness to summit a 14er? Can one catch a golden trout while wearing a tuna dress?
Day 0:
Avery, Aaron, and Morgan set out at 5AM to make the 7 hour drive from the Bay Area to the Cottonwood Lake Trailhead. As they made their way down I5 and eventually over to US-395, they could see the temperature steadily rising. By the time they got to Lone Pine to charge the Tesla one last time before heading to the trailhead, it had reached a scorching 105.
While in Lone Pine, they stopped by the Eastern Sierra Visitor Center. At the visitor center, the rangers told them that they would be totally unaffected by the Whitney Portal fire. The group left feeling reassured, but not before Avery and Aaron bought commemorative Golden Trout patches to celebrate their future success. Morgan thought this was a bit preemptive.
With another 45 minutes to wait for the Tesla to finish charging, the group sheltered from the extreme heat in the air conditioned Museum of Western Film History. At the museum, they learned about the history of Lone Pine and how it had been the backdrop for many Western films. The most memorable exhibit was a large statue of a trout named Gunga Din after the movie scene painted on it’s side. They left the museum resolved to catch a Gunga Din of their own.
After Lone Pine, they headed up Horseshoe Meadow Road ascending from 3000 ft to 10000 ft at the trailhead. As they climbed, they could see the temperature dropping and by the time they reached the top it was in the 60s. There they set up camp and Aaron finally got to try out his new tent after missing it by 30 min on the last trip.
Around 6:30 PM, Maya, Ellen, and Luca arrived at the campsite after having overcome some earlier car issues. The crew was now complete and ready for the adventure of the next day!
Day 1: To Cottonwood Lakes!
The group got up bright and early, eager to head to Cottonwood Lakes and catch a Gunga Din (or as Maya began calling it: Gunga Dinnah). Guru Maya led a session of morning yoga. All limbered up, they hit the trail, but not before Maya took Aaron’s patch for safekeeping saying that she would give it back when he had earned it by catching a golden trout.
set up at the cottonwood lakes trail campground 
morning yoga 
cottonwood lakes trailhead 
golden trout information
Starting off at 10,040 ft they began making their way up to the lakes. As they hiked, they met several different groups returning from the lakes, all with different reports on the fishing conditions. Some groups said there were tons of fish that could be seen jumping out the lakes, others said they didn’t see any, one group said they caught a bunch but it was a mix of browns, rainbows, and golden trout. Avery thought this last report was suspicious.
After hiking for about a mile, they came across a meadow with a stream running through it. Avery raced ahead to check it out and found baby golden trout swimming in it! Encouraged, the group pressed on ahead feeling better about their chances of snagging a Gunga Din.
our first glimpse of baby golden trout 
mt langley? 
taking a snack break 
at the junction to muir lake
The crew decided to take a detour and stop off at Muir Lake for lunch and some fishing. Eager to be the first one to catch a golden trout, Avery, Aaron, and Morgan broke out their rods and started casting while Ellen, Maya, and Luca started lunch. Alas, there was no fish to be found.
hiking past an unnamed lake on the way to lake 3 
arrival at lake 3
After lunch and another couple miles of hiking, the team made it to their destination, Cottonwood Lake 3 (11040 ft)! They found a nice campsite with several good spots to pitch tents. As soon as he dropped his pack at the campsite, Morgan took off for the lake with his fishing rod while the others set up camp. Avery followed shortly behind him after pitching the tent.
The fishing was on! Morgan, per usual, was the first to get his line in the water and the first to catch a golden trout. Shortly after, excited shouts could be heard from camp as Avery snagged her first golden! After several selfies with the beauty, Avery released it back into the lake as it was not big enough to be Gunga Dinnah.
Avery’s first golden trout 
released back into lake 3
Wanting to get in on the action, Maya, Ellen, and Aaron headed down to the lake to join in on the fishing. The pressure was on. Would Maya catch a golden trout before Aaron and keep his patch for herself? Unfortunately for Maya, the handicap of wearing a tuna dress proved to be too much and Aaron was the first to bag a golden trout, retaining the rights to his patch.
Maya and Aaron fishing in lake 3
Aaron’s first golden trout 
Sweet success
Luca came down to the lake and the team showed Luca and Ellen how to cast. Sadly, beginner’s luck was not on their side and they both ended unsuccessful in their bid for a golden trout. It wouldn’t be called trout clout if it was easy. While that was happening, persistence paid off and Maya snagged herself a fish earning her golden trout clout and proving once and for all that the tuna dress can catch fish.
The team headed back to camp for an early dinner. Luca broke out all the luxury food items he had been carrying (filling a whole bear can for three days), including chocolate from Kazakhstan, olive oil, a whole egg, cola gummies, and a salmon packet. After dinner, the group played some Mahjong as some feisty chipmunks began nosing around the perimeter of the campsite.
After dispersing the chipmunk raiders, everyone decided to take a short trip to Cottonwood Lakes 4 and 5 (11,186ft) for sunset. As they reached Lake 4, there was a big school of trout grouped up by the outlet of the lake. Avery and Morgan both caught one, but the school dispersed so the group headed to lake 5.
fishing at Lake 4 
by the outlet 
caught on his first cast
They could see some big trout lurking in Lake 5. Morgan, Avery, and Ellen tried hard to catch one, but the trout ignored their lures. Avery got hooked with her own lure. Ellen got hooked on fishing. She said that she was giving up on Mt Langley to achieve the fishing dream the next day with Morgan and Avery.
As the sun faded, the group headed back to camp resolved to return the following day.
Back at camp, the stars were out and Aaron and Ellen both saw shooting stars. Everybody went to bed to rest up for the next day’s adventure.
Day 2: Mt. Langley and Gunga Din
While everyone else was peacefully sleeping (or at least cozy in their sleeping bags trying to get some rest), Luca and Maya woke up at 4:40am to head out for Mount Langley (14,042 ft). This would be Maya’s first attempt at a 14k peak.
Equipped with flashlights, Diamox, water, and most importantly Pop-Tarts they trekked around Lake 4 and 5 before beginning the climb up Old Army Pass. The Pass ended up being much less precarious than they had initially feared looking up at it from the lake the night before. They followed the gentle switchbacks up the slope, carefully crossed one small snow patch, and were greeted by a happy colony of marmots sunning themselves on a rock near the top. Luca was especially enamored given the scarcity of wildlife in his hometown.
Back at the campsite, the rest of the crew awoke to the sounds of woodpeckers. Avery shared the fun tidbit (which was later fact checked on the car ride home) that the tongue of a woodpecker wraps around its brain and holds it in place to prevent the woodpecker from getting concussions while it pecks. After breakfast, they headed out to Cottonwood Lakes 4 and 5 determined to catch a big’un and have lunch trout ready for Maya and Luca when they returned from Langley.
At Lake 5, Aaron, Ellen, and Morgan spread out and began casting while Avery provided fishing support and advice. The action was slow. The group could see golden trout swimming, but they were showing no interest in the spinners they were throwing. Morgan decided to switch it up and try throwing out a trout magnet.
Finally, the group heard a victorious shout. Aaron had hooked a fish! Avery scrambled to action and hopped back to shore from the rocks where she was instructing Ellen to help Aaron land his fish. She picked up the stringer from Morgan.
Aaron catches Gunga Din 
Gunga Din 1 and gold faithful
Aaron’s fish turned out to be a beauty! It was clearly over 14 inches long, making it the groups first Gunga Dinnah. They strung it up in the shallows to save it for lunch.
Meanwhile, on Mt Langley… Maya and Luca hiked a gentle uphill trail, but the high altitude and sandy trail made it surprisingly challenging. Eventually, they reached a wall of large rocks that marked the final ascent. There was no clear path and despite his better judgement, Luca let Maya take the lead.
After scrambling randomly up the pile of rocks, they hiked the last bit to the summit where they celebrated with strawberry Pop-Tarts and a pleasant conversation with a dad and son from Reno who were hoping to one day make it to Everest basecamp.
Luca took the lead on the descent after Maya’s questionable sense of directions had led them on a bonus adventure with an extra scramble on the way up. They followed the well marked trail back down around the wall of rocks. The rest of the route home was uneventful, except for an emergency pit stop to take care of some very necessary business that had been building up all day. A few pounds lighter, they continued on their way back to camp.
Now that they had lunch caught, the next goal was to get Ellen her first fish ever. Thinking they might have better luck at Lake 4, Ellen and Aaron went back to the outlet from the previous night.
Again they found a school of more than 20 trout. Ellen got a hit on her very first cast. Fish on! It was official now- Ellen had trout clout!
Unfortunately, only Aaron was around to photograph it and the resulting pictures were not good, a fact that was discovered only after the fish had been released.
Morgan and Avery found some deeper water on the east side of Lake 5 and had some fun snagging smaller, but still beautiful goldens.
Morgan catches a fish by dangling his lure in front of it 
tada
Aaron and Ellen headed back to Lake 5, deciding that if Ellen was going to catch another trout to get a good photo it might as well be a big one. They went out to the opposite side of the lake from where they were originally and found a good spot overlooking a deep section of the lake. There they spotted a big trout and Ellen was on it. She casted out and it hit right away. It was a Gunga Din! Ellen successfully reeled it in and was ready for the action shot.
It’s a big’un! / old faithful delivers 
Gunga 2
Since quality hadn’t worked last time, Aaron decided to go with quantity and took a bunch of pictures. The fish had been pierced through the eye by the hook so they decided that they would keep this one for lunch.
Chaos ensued when the fish got loose and flopped around on the ground. Aaron got hooked in the sleeve while trying to get it. Ellen was too squeamish to help Aaron recapture Gunga. Ultimately, Ellen unhooked Aaron and then Aaron dispatched Gunga 2 with a rock so they could take him back to cook at camp.
After meeting back up with Avery, they spotted some a pair coming down Old Army Pass that were so small they looked like ants. Thinking they might be Maya and Luca ants, they waited to greet them only to find out it was different hikers. After consulting the clock and doing some math, they calculated that Maya and Luca must have taken New Army Pass home and were probably already back at camp. They decided grab Morgan (who had continued to fish) and head back for lunch.
Maya and Luca were not at camp when they got back. Avery taught Ellen how to gut and clean a fish. Ellen got the fish filets all prepped and ready to cook. Now they just need Maya and Luca. Aaron was starting to get a little anxious that they weren’t back yet and began discussing the possibility of a search party when two Maya and Luca shaped ants appeared on the horizon.
With May and Luca back, it was time to feast! Using Luca’s luxury olive oil they fried up the fish fillets and seasoned them with not one, not two, but three different kinds of spice mixes that Maya had brought in the anticipation of catching fish. Yum!
fish fillets 
fried in olive oil
After lunch, Avery, Morgan, Ellen and Luca headed back Lakes 4 and 5 to catch some dinner Gungas. Aaron and Maya decided to stay behind and nap with Maya being tired from summiting a 14er and Aaron being tired from reeling in the big lunch trout.
At the lake, Ellen showed that the student had surpassed the teacher as she caught Gunga #3 (old faithful never disappoints) with Avery catching Gunga #4 shortly after. As the wind picked up, Avery, Ellen, and Luca headed back to camp.
Gunga 3 
Gunga 4
Ellen and Luca try for a few more Gungas in Lake 3, but only caught some small trout that they released. Luca cleaned and prepped the fish for dinner. It was quite the spread. In addition to the fresh trout, there were mushrooms with matcha soba noodles, miso soup, beans with hot sauce dots, and the backpacking classic: instant potatoes. Feeling the food comas, the group cleaned up and headed for an early bed time after a long day.
Day 3: Patches
The day started with some dry lightning against the dramatically cloudy sky. As they packed up, Maya awarded Aaron his Golden Trout patch. The crew broke camp and were on the trail by 6AM trying to get an early start to have time for the long car ride back.
They went out along Lake 3, stopping to take a group picture.
With that they continued on to Lakes 1 and 2 on the way back to the trailhead. Storm clouds began rolling in as they crossed through the meadow in between the two lakes. The rest of the hike proved uneventful and they made it back to trailhead just in time as the first rain drops began to fall when they reached the car. Another successful trip in the books!
dramatic clouds over lake 1 
meadow between lake 1 and 2 
hiking out
Trip Superlatives
Most fish caught: Morgan
Biggest fish caught: Ellen
Most fish caught while wearing a tuna dress: Maya
Most luxury food items packed: Luca
Most matching brother-sister commemorative patches: Avery & Aaron
Highest elevation poop: Maya & Luca