Golden Trout Wilderness

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Golden Trout Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness protected area located forty miles east of Visalia, California within Inyo National Forest. It is four hundred seventy four square miles in size and was created by the US Congress in 1978 as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The wilderness is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Elevations range from 3, 680 feet to 12,900 feet.

Recreational activities include day hiking, backpacking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and mountaineering.

The wilderness encompasses the Kern Plateau, a large tableland with sprawling meadows, narrow grasslands along streams, and forested ridges and flats. The centerpiece of the plateau is Kern Peak (11,510 ft) which has far-reaching vistas of the middle and upper Kern River drainage and much of the far southern Sierra, including Olancha Peak, the southern Kaweah Range, the mountains of the Mineral King area, and the Dome Land Wilderness of the far southern Sierra.

The wilderness area is bordered on the northeast and northwest by the high peaks of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Cirque Peak is the high point at 12,900 feet.

The Great Western Divide 's southern extension is within the wilderness and has several peaks above 11,000 feet including Florence Peak, which reaches 12,432 feet.

Waterways include the main stem of the Kern River, the South Fork of the Kern and the Little Kern River.

Visitors to the wilderness should employ Leave No Trace ethiss of wilderness travel to minimize impact to the environment.

Contents

[edit] California state fish

The golden trout is California's state fish[1] and there are two distinct native subspecies protected in this wilderness. One is the South Fork Kern golden trout and the other is the Little Kern golden trout. Pure-strain Little Kern trout are restricted to isolated populations above natural fish barriers in the Little Kern drainage area and are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act.[2]

[edit] Recreation and restrictions

There are 379 miles of trail including the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which stays above 10,000 feet elevation for most of the 25 mile route through the Golden Trout Wilderness. Permits are required for all overnight use and there is a quota in effect for the Cottonwood Pass Trailhead.[3]

Other restrictions include a ban on fires along the PCT between Cottonwood Pass to the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness and also at the Rocky Basin Lake area.

[edit] References

Adkinson, Ron Wild Northern California. The Globe Pequot Press, 2001

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The golden trout (Salmo agua-bonita) is native only to California and was named the official state fish by act of the State Legislature in 1947. Originally the species was found only in a few streams in the icy headwaters of the Kern River. Stocking of wild and hatchery-reared fish has extended its range to many waters at high elevation in the Sierra Nevada from El Dorado and Alpine Counties southward. It has also been planted in other states. Source: State website. retrieved 18 May 2008
  2. ^ California Dept. of Fish and Game list of endangered fish, #30
  3. ^ List of wilderness areas of Inyo National Forest with quotas.

[edit] See also