Kern Valley Hiking Club +

This will be a quick up and down conditioning hike. Very strenuous.
NOT for beginners, slow or weak hikers.
App. 5 miles. Fire roads and trails.
Great short hike to test your strength for backpacking.
Bring your pack.
NOTE:
We will be hiking through private property near the peak and if you feel uncomfortable doing so, you can just turn around at the boundary.
Meet at the usual starting point for this hike. If you have not done it before, I can meet you at the Highline/ Water Canyon Rd. intersection at 6:40am but you need to let me know if you want to meet there.

NO DOGS ALLOWED ON THIS HIKE
15 ESSENTIALS YOU MUST CARRY ON ALL HIKES
Besides the obvious 1 1/2-2 liters of water, lunch, snack, warm jacket/wind breaker, rain gear if needed, warm hat and gloves, the following is a must to have in your day pack:

1. Map of the area, even if you are using a gps
3. Headlamp or small flashlight with extra batteries.
4. Knife or utility tool such as a Swiss Army knife
5. Fire starter. You can make your own with cotton balls and Vaseline or

Esbit fuel cubes.
6. Emergency space blanket
7. Emergency water purifier or filter.
8. Light weight base layer (Thermasilk is very light weight)
9. First aid kit
10. Extra food (2-3 power bars)
11. Waterproof matches (or regular matches or lighter kept in zip bag)
12. Sun screen
13. Small plastic trowel and toilet paper (in zip bag)
14. App. 2’ duck tape.
15. Whistle to scare away bears or to be found if lost.
Every hiker needs to carry these items on all day hikes. No sharing.
*** PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY *** No one in the group is a guide or in any way responsible for your comfort or safety. Please be prepared with adequate gear and supplies for the trip. Please remember that going out into wilderness has risks associated with it and you should be aware and prepared to address any changes in weather, road conditions or to look out for/avoid random acts of nature, including insects, wild animals and natural hazards. It is your responsibility to evaluate the difficulty of any activity you participate in, and decide whether you are prepared by having the experience, skill, knowledge, equipment, and the physical and emotional stamina to safely participate.
*** WAIVER OF LIABILITY *** The Organizers and members in this group are not professional leaders, guides, or mountaineers. The function of the member or organizer is only to organize the trip. Each person who shows up for a trip/meetup (and their guest or guests) is responsible for his or her own safety. By attending a hike, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you and any guests that you bring are aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with the activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the Organizers, Members of the Southern Sierra Hiking Club Meetup Group from and against any and all liability arising from your participation in the group activities.

We will meet at the Forest Service Work Station on Greenhorn Summit (http://www.summitpost.org/greenhorn-summit/539389) at 9:00am for the TH for the Unal Trail (http://www.summitpost.org/unal-peak/540706) (Trail of the Bear). This is a lovely easy 3.2 mile RT loop hike with 730' elevation gain through the forest to Unal Peak (6838').

Bakersfield Carpoolers meet at the Shell Station on Comanche & the 178 @ 7:30am. We will leave promptly at 7:45am to meet the rest of the group @ the Park & Ride next to the Lutheran Church on Rte 155 at 8:15am.
Lake Isabella carpoolers meet at the Park and Ride near the Lutheran Church lot at 8:15 pm. We will all meet at the trail head at 09:00am.

*** PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY *** No one in the group is a guide or in any way responsible for your comfort or safety. Please be prepared with adequate gear and supplies for the trip. Please remember that going out into wilderness has risks associated with it and you should be aware and prepared to address any changes in weather, road conditions or to look out for/avoid random acts of nature, including insects, wild animals and natural hazards. It is your responsibility to evaluate the difficulty of any activity you participate in, and decide whether you are prepared by having the experience, skill, knowledge, equipment, and the physical and emotional stamina to safely participate.

*** WAIVER OF LIABILITY *** The Organizers and members in this group are not professional leaders, guides, or mountaineers. The function of the member or organizer is only to organize the trip. Each person who shows up for a trip/meetup (and their guest or guests) is responsible for his or her own safety. By attending a hike, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you and any guests that you bring are aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with the activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the Organizers, Members of the Kern Valley Hiking Club Meetup Group from and against any and all liability arising from your participation in the group activities.

By RSVPing you and those you bring with you as your guests ARE agreeing to the above statements.

This is usually the first hike of the season I do in the High Sierras. Horseshoe Meadows road opens at the end of May but some of the other roads further north may still be closed so this is a perfect hike to get started on the Sierras.
Starting out at Cottonwood Pass T/H, hike to the pass and then take PCT south bound to Trail Pass and then hike back out, crossing Horseshoe Meadows. Lots of beautiful views along the way, Olancha Peak, Kern Peak, Langley, New Army Pass, Cirque Peak and Wollyback, which I am climbing with Steven and others the next day, so I will be camping up there Friday night.
It is a long hike, app 11 miles, but NOT super hard.
Meet at Cottonwood Pass t/h at 9am
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No dogs allowed
15 ESSENTIALS YOU MUST CARRY ON ALL HIKES
Besides the obvious 1 1/2-2 liters of water, lunch, snack, warm jacket/wind breaker, rain gear if needed, warm hat and gloves, the following is a must to have in your day pack:

1. Map of the area, even if you are using a gps
3. Headlamp or small flashlight with extra batteries.
4. Knife or utility tool such as a Swiss Army knife
5. Fire starter. You can make your own with cotton balls and Vaseline or

Esbit fuel cubes.
6. Emergency space blanket
7. Emergency water purifier or filter.
8. Light weight base layer (Thermasilk is very light weight)
9. First aid kit
10. Extra food (2-3 power bars)
11. Waterproof matches (or regular matches or lighter kept in zip bag)
12. Sun screen
13. Small plastic trowel and toilet paper (in zip bag)
14. App. 2’ duck tape.
15. Whistle to scare away bears or to be found if lost.
Every hiker needs to carry these items on all day hikes.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY *** No one in the group is a guide or in any way responsible for your comfort or safety. Please be prepared with adequate gear and supplies for the trip. Please remember that going out into wilderness has risks associated with it and you should be aware and prepared to address any changes in weather, road conditions or to look out for/avoid random acts of nature, including insects, wild animals and natural hazards. It is your responsibility to evaluate the difficulty of any activity you participate in, and decide whether you are prepared by having the experience, skill, knowledge, equipment, and the physical and emotional stamina to safely participate.
*** WAIVER OF LIABILITY *** The Organizers and members in this group are not professional leaders, guides, or mountaineers. The function of the member or organizer is only to organize the trip. Each person who shows up for a trip/meetup (and their guest or guests) is responsible for his or her own safety. By attending a hike, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you and any guests that you bring are aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with the activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the Organizers, Members of the Kern Valley Hiking Club Meetup Group from and against any and all liability arising from your participation in the group activities.
By RSVPing you and those you bring with you as your guests ARE agreeing to the above statements.

Come join us exploring awesome Convict Creek and McGee Creek area.
Participants choose either backpacking Convict Creek OR car camping at McGee Creek. When signing up, you will be added to the wait list. Please state in the comments whether you are wanting to backpack or car camp.

Our Backpacking Plan:
Friday, June 20 camp at McGee Creek campground to acclimate. Campsite fee is in addition to the permit fee. Campsite fee determined by how many people are in the site.
Saturday, June 21 we will be hiking to base camp at Mildred Lake. Meet at Convict Lake trailhead, time TBD.
Sunday, June 22 we will be exploring Dorothy lake, Pam may be fishing, you need fishing license to fish.
Monday, June 23 we will exit and go home.

This backpack trip is approximately 10 miles round trip (not including Dorothy Lake exploration) with an elevation gain of about 2,326 feet.
This hike will be at 7,600 to 9,800 feet above sea level.

Pam obtained a backpacking permit for 4 people. Two spots are taken leaving two openings. People may obtain their own permit directly from Recreation.gov (link below) if they would like to join us. Additional permits will be released on Saturday, June 7 at 7:00am sharp. Permits will be gone by 7:01am. Please let us know in the comments if you are wanting to join us.
https://www.recreation.gov/permits/233262/registration/detailed-availability?type=overnight-permit&date=2025-06-21

Our Car Camping Plan:
Forest Service requires Friday and Saturday night stay for campsite reservations. Pam and I each have a campsite for these nights. We will be leaving camp early Saturday morning to start our backpacking trip. We should have room to add one additional person to our two campsites, or you can book your own campsite. Link below.
Friday, June 20 and Saturday June 21 camp at McGee Creek campground. Campsite fee determined by how many people are in the site. $43.00 @ night, unless you have a pass.
Saturday, June 21 No Host hike McGee Creek trail OR hike Convict Creek trail as a day hike.
Sunday, June 22 exit and go home.
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232238

Trail info on AllTrails here:
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/convict-creek-trail-to-mildred-lake

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/california/mcgee-creek-to-horsetail-creek

It's a beautiful place. Here is the weather report link:
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=37.56438000000003&lon=-118.78567999999996

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*** PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY *** No one in the group is a guide or in any way responsible for your comfort or safety. Please be prepared with adequate gear and supplies for the trip. Please remember that going out into wilderness has risks associated with it and you should be aware and prepared to address any changes in weather, road conditions or to look out for/avoid random acts of nature, including insects, wild animals and natural hazards. It is your responsibility to evaluate the difficulty of any activity you participate in, and decide whether you are prepared by having the experience, skill, knowledge, equipment, and the physical and emotional stamina to safely participate.

*** WAIVER OF LIABILITY *** The Organizers and members in this group are not professional leaders, guides, or mountaineers. The function of the member or organizer is only to organize the trip. Each person who shows up for a trip/meetup (and their guest or guests) is responsible for his or her own safety. By attending a hike, or any other event organized by this group, you are acknowledging that you and any guests that you bring are aware of the risks, dangers and hazards associated with the activity and freely accept and fully assume all such risks, dangers and hazards, and further agree to release and discharge the Organizers, Members of the Kern Valley Hiking Club Meetup Group from and against any and all liability arising from your participation in the group activities.

By RSVPing you ARE agreeing to the above statements.