The Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback (Road to Tevis #130)

I’ve been wanting to go into the Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback since my mother did when I was a child. When I moved back to California in 2020, I decided to go, but fire and flood and life got in the way. Last week I finally did so, riding my mare River on a 27.5 mile loop from Shake Camp up thousands of feet to lower Blossom Lake and back along rugged trails. It was a beautiful and challenging ride. River did fantastic, learning exactly how to place her hooves on steep trails covered with rocks and tree roots. I took tons of videos and pictures that I will share in this post, along with a description of the trail and how to access it.

Above: The final feet of our 14-mile trek to lower Blossom Lake.

Above: The Balch Park Pack Station, and, in the final picture, the first set of public corrals at Shake Camp, just a quarter of a mile past the pack station. They have water in spigots right next to the pens, and hitching posts.You can see my mare River in the far right pen.

Planning my ride in the high sierra

Venturing into Sequoia National Park and Forest and the Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback was an obvious choice for me. I live in Springville, CA. There are two pack stations that provide trains into the GTW within 38 miles of my house. The Golden Trout Pack Station is just over 37 miles east, and probably the easier if longer drive, as most of those miles are along a good, if windy, road. The Balch Park Pack station is just under 25 miles away. Closer, though the road is much narrower and there can be logging trucks.

The Balch Park station is right next to Shake Camp, which has public corrals. I don’t know if the Golden Trout Pack Station does. I’m sure one could park a trailer there or nearby though! Maybe I will investigate some day. Shake Camp is handy though, and familiar. I have hiked all the closer trails. It was an easy choice.

Fire caused a long delay

I started planning in early September 2020, wanting to take Fantazia up for several days. (Perfect COVID-friendly activity!) However, the Castle Fire had been burning in the Golden Trout Wilderness since mid August. It was far enough east that Shake Camp was still open, but I thought it best to wait. Instead, I decided to take Fantazia to a friend’s place in Paso Robles. That was great too! (Read about it in my Conditioning in Deep Sand post.)

Then on September 12th the Castle Fire crossed the Tule River and swept through Sequoia National Park and Forest and Mountain Home State Demonstration Forest, where Shake Camp and the Balch Park Pack station lie. I got an evacuation notification for my parents’ place on my phone and headed home. I took my parents’ dogs and horses to our place, far enough down the road to be safe from fires if not from smoke. We hunkered down to weeks of purple air.

(Read my post on (not) Riding in smoke from wildfires.)

The Castle Fire was part of the Sequoia Complex Fire that burned over 175,000 acres and killed hundreds of trees, including giant sequoia that were hundreds and thousands of years old. Shake camp was closed until 2022, although we hiked to and through it, parking beyond the gate.

Above: Scroll though the slideshow to see evidence of the fire that swept through the area five years ago. There is a lot of new growth, but you can still see the devastation.

And then came the water

I could have gone up in summer 2022, but Fantazia was laid up and Jazz, the horse I had leased to ride in the meantime, was still very green. In December 2022, it started raining… and snowing higher up. In March 2023, Springville make national news as a focal point in a state swimming under flash floods (see also this article). The 2020 fires and the Pier Fire in 2017 had left much of the mountain slopes eroded and water ran out of control.

(The floods made my trails very interesting! See a video.)

Both roads to Shake Camp were washed out. (Highway 190 to the Golden Trout Pack Station was also closed to the public till fall 2023). There was no public access in summer 2023, and no access at all until they patched the roads up enough to get a vehicle through. Too bad, because Jazz was ready! I ended taking him up north and riding into wilderness in the Marble Mountains and Mt. Shasta.

Yet again, lack of a suitable horse kept me from the high sierra in 2024

By last summer the roads were open, but I didn’t have a horse. River got a pectoral muscle injury at Cache Creek Ridge and was on vacation till December. Fantazia was recently pregnant. I ended up training Dillon and going to Spain and the East Coast to compensate for my lack of endurance mount!

We did go up to Shake Camp to hike last year, and that certainly helped. The trails are not easy, and it was good to be familiar with many miles of them.

Finalizing plans this summer, finally!

About a month ago my brother Brendan and his friend Josh hiked to Blossom Lakes from Hidden Falls, a campground that is slightly nearer to the trailhead but doesn’t allow horses. I’d been talking about going into the Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback for ages, so he mentioned that the trail was passable. Just a few fallen trees that he said a horse could go around.

I got serious and started building routes on Gaia. I wanted to do a single day, because River has not been doing that much lately. At most, I would stay one night. After many changes of plan, I ended up driving up Thursday in the morning, doing a short ride to get River used to the terrain and familiarize her with the beginning and end of the trail, and then staying the night. My main adventure would be the next day!

Trail plans for riding into the wilderness

I planned to take the Summit Lake trail from just past Redwood Crossing. (I’m not sure what the trail to that point is called!) I would then take the Windy Ridge Trail to the Blossom Lakes trail until it ends at lower Blossom Lake. This means riding out of Mountain Home State Demonstration Park, into Giant Sequoi National Monument, through the Golden Trout Wilderness into Sequoia National Park, and back into the GTW. And back…

Above: I planned the route on Gaia. Shake Camp is at the bottom. The trail starts there, in Mountain Home State Demonstration forest, and goes through the Golden Trout Wilderness (in Sequoia National Forest), Sequoia National Park, and back into the wilderness. According to Gaia, it was going to be 25.1 miles with 5,935′ total elevation gain. I printed out the above map and laminated it, just in case my phone died.

Starting point: Shake Camp

I got to Shake Camp around 9:30AM. I left home at 8:05, but had to stop at the Ranger Station (Western Divide District) for a campfire permit and at Gifford’s in Springville for ice. It’s a very slow windy drive up the mountain.

I put River in a pen when I arrived, just to shake off the rough drive while I set up her water and hay. Then I saddled up and headed to the pack station to talk with Tim Shew. I had spoken with his wife Dianne a few days previously. They operate the pack station, and are familiar with the trails.

Checking in with the experts at the pack station for trail condition

Tim said the trail was clear to Summit Lake, which is about 7.5 miles up, in Sequoia National Park. Beyond that he couldn’t say, but was somewhat relieved to hear that Brendan had been up recently. When I asked Tim to recommend a 5-8 mile ride for that day, he told me about a new-to-me trail down to Hidden Falls and back to Shake Camp via Redwood Crossing in the GTW, so I planned on doing that, plus a shorter loop.

Then I would enjoy the afternoon amongst the Sequoia! Brendan and Josh and their older sons surprised me with a berry-picking expedition. The horse corrals have tons of Whitebark Raspberries next to them. I just popped them in my mouth, but my brother saved enough for two cobblers!

Above: Many redwoods! (Giant sequoia). I used River to demontrate their immensity after our ride. In truth, these are not particularly big specimens… but they are still huge! You can see the fire damage.

Rough Terrain Training on Thursday

My goal for Thursday (beyond just enjoying a nice ride) was to familiarize River with the terrain. Doing the last 2.5 miles into camp would make it a lot easier on her the next day, when she would be tired. We ended up doing 9.11 miles in 3 hours with a total of 1,722′ elevation gain.

First, I tried to do a trail that was marked “Loop trail, 2 miles.” It took me 3.25 miles. I lost the trail several times, despite running into a woman shepherding many children on horseback and following their hoofprints. I ended up following logging roads for an extra mile until finding the trail down the hill.

Above: The hard-to-follow loop trail had some gorgeous giant sequoiaalong the way!

After that I passed by the trailer to get my saddle bags. River had never worn them, and though she’s always been fine with me putting anything on her, I thought it best to test. We then rode the new-to-me trail down to Hidden Falls. There was a tree across it; luckily it was light enough for me to push downhill.

Above: First picture shows the tree I had to shove off the trail. In the second, you can see the river at Hidden Falls Campground. Finally, a section of the River Trail from there to Redwood Crossing.

I had just walked the River Trail from Hidden Falls to Redwood Crossing with my partner earlier that week, so I knew what to expect. (See my view from the saddle as River went up it.) The narrow trail goes along the (north fork of the middle fork of the) Tule River, with some steep drop-offs. It’s technical, but nothing very difficult (as long as you do not object to steep places!)

Teaching River to negotiate rocky terrain

The trail from Redwood Crossing (of the Tule River) is only about 2.5 miles to where I was parked, but it contains some of the most tricky terrain. I let River take her time. She is great about looking, tilting her head to both sides to see all shadows and objects. I dismounted and led her in the roughest patches.

Above: River thinking carefully before stepping through rocks in the Golden Trout Wilderness. I let her go as slowly as she wanted–which was very slow! You can watch a video of her negotating the rocks in the first picture here. The second photo shows what is probably the most dangerous piece of trail we did. (To better appreciate it, watch this video.) On Friday I rode River both ways and she did great.

Above: River’s second time negotiating (first with me in the saddle) one of the scarier parts of the trail. Watch how careful she is!

All in all, River showed me that she would learn to be a capable and careful backcountry mount. When we got back to camp, I hosed her off and gave her some mash. Then I had a beer and sat dozing in my chair until my brother and Josh and their sons showed up. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Riding into the Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback

My goal the next morning was to be in the saddle by 5:30, so I got up to feed River at 4:30. Well, I still didn’t start until 5:45. River recognized the trail and moved more confidently than she had the day before, despite heading away from camp. It was chilly–I actually felt cold and wished I had brought gloves!

Above: Scroll through the slideshow to see parts of the first five miles into the Golden Trout WIlderness. In the first picture, you can see sun striking Moses Mountain. Can you stop the deer in the fourth picture? In the final picture, River walks through a wet meadow.

I had hiked the first five miles and knew that, after Redwood Crossing, it was comparatively easy going. We could even trot a little bit! Around the five-mile mark, we took the right fork north east onto the Summit Lake Trail. It was all new to me.

Climbing up to the first ridge

The trail quickly because steep and rocky, progressing up to the ridge nearly 2,000′ in about three miles. In one of the steepest parts of the trail, I looked up and saw a black bear coming down! (Watch the video of my initial sighting.) Luckily he went off the trail-imagine coming around a switchback to find ourselves face-to-face with a bear!

Above: Some pictures of the trail that climbs to Summit Lake. I was very glad to be riding and not walking. It was slow going, but River did most of the work!

Above: River’s reaction to seeing her first bear! (Unless she saw some overnight at Shake camp!) She handled it very well. She saw it again after going up two switchbacks. (You can also get an idea of the trail in this video.)

Summit Lake

It took us three hours to ride the 7.5 miles to Summit Lake… and I did all of them in the saddle! River wasn’t too tired though. She only drank a bit of water, instead trying to eat all the aquatic grass she could grab. We took a 15 minute break, and then continued.

Above: Summit Lake in Sequoia National Park. It’s around 9,350′, so by that time we’d done most of the climbing.

Not far from the lake, the trail splits into Cyclone Meadow Trail and Windy Ridge Trail. In theory you can get to Blossom Lakes trail also by heading north through Cyclone Meadow to the Windy Gap Trail. It’s probably beautiful, but I wasn’t sure if it would be passable.

Above: Slideshow of trail signs. Let me tell you, it is very reassuring to come across a trail sign in the middle of the wilderness. Sometimes they point to a destination rather than naming the trail, which can be confusing, but at least you know you are on a marked trail.

The Windy Ridge Trail

Brendan and Josh had described the Windy Ridge Trail that goes from Summit Lake through Windy Gap to the Blossom Lakes trail as a “nice stroll.” That’s because there isn’t much elevation change. However, what is not-too-difficult for a human when it comes to rocks and tree roots is much trickier for a four-legged horse. Of course, River had a learning curve. She was much faster and more confident on the way back! But it will never be a fast trail.

Above: Some footage of the best parts of the Windy Ridge trail, where trotting was possible. I let River trot whenever she wanted to, and the trail looked safe. She was quite smart about only going faster when it was clear.

What slowed us down most, though, was a giant fallen tree in Green Meadow. I don’t think my brother remembered it as a problem because humans can easily walk under it. A horse cannot though, and the meadow is so lush that you cannot see the creek that runs under the tree nor the rocks all around.

Above: The Windy Gap Trail through Green meadow. In the first picture you can see the trail leading down to The Tree. In the second, you can see the tree spanning the trail.

First I tried to go round on the uphill side. That was a terrible idea, because it was steep and the creek was in the way. It was surrounded by big rocks. A horse that couldn’t see where she was stepping could easily jam her leg into a hole between rocks. We went back down.

We managed to get around downhill, though it was very difficult. There were fallen trees and rocks hidden in the grass. If it hadn’t been so beautiful I would have gotten quite cranky. Fortunately we made it without injury and continued down the trail.

Above: A lush green section of the Windy Gap Trail.

The Blossom Lakes Trail

I had been thinking that Windy Gap wasn’t much of a trail. That’s because I had yet to experience Blossom Lakes Trail. Maybe it’s better lower down, but it was nearly invisible in the last mile from where we joined it to the lake. If you’ve ever hiked on backcountry trails, you’ll be familiar with the phenomenon of trails being quite visible while you’re on them, but disappearing as soon as you get off and try to find them again.

River and I must have criss-crossed the trail twenty times in the last 3/4 miles. Thank goodness for having mapped it out on Gaia! It’s very rocky along the final ridge and the trail disappears time and again. Yes, I knew the general direction. I was not going to get lost. But the difference between following the trail and flailing around can amount to a LONG time and a lot of work.

Above: You can see how we wandered back and forth across the Blossom Lakes Trail (pink). Notice how it is just inside the Golden Trout Wilderness. Sequoia National Park is on the other side of the boundary line. I was so focused on finding the trail, I did not take any photos or videos of this stretch!

Lower Blossom Lake

We finally made it to lower Blossom Lake at 11AM, after riding 13.97 miles. (The first video in this blog shows the last few yards with views of the lake!)

Above: Lower Blossom Lake, finally! It was gorgeous and made the entire trip worth it.

River loved the lake. She wanted to walk in and eat the aquatic grass (and possibly roll, so i didn’t let her). I gave her some Purina Active Senior and rice bran and let her rest for 25 minutes while I had a granola bar and took pictures of flowers.

The way back

It had taken us five hours and fifteen minutes to get to lower Blossom Lake. I knew it would probably take less time to get back for a number of reasons. First, we knew the way, most importantly around the obstacles. Notice I said WE. River would remember every turn. Second, River was more practiced at negotiating rocky terrain. She was already moving much more confidently. Third, it was mostly downhill. This would make it harder for River to do some big steps (it’s more difficult for her to see), but I would lead her down all the switchbacks. I expected that would compensate for her having to look twice in some places.

Still, I wanted to get back by 4:30, so just in case I mounted up and headed south at 11:30.

Above: Watch how we make our way around the big fallen tree that cost us over 20 minutes the first time we encountered it. This time I knew the best way around (approximately), and if I hadn’t stopped to take a lot of pictures it would only have added a few minutes.

Above: Views from the Windy Ridge Trail are gorgeous.

It was definitely easier going back. We made it to Summit Lake at 1:10, in an hour and forty minutes. River trotted every time the trail was decent. More importantly, she walked much faster. She had learned how to think ahead!

Above: Our second stop at Summit Lake. River had been grabbing grass the entire way. She prefers drinking from water that isn’t moving too much, so she liked the lakes rather than the streams.

The final stretch

It took us two hours and 15 minutes to get back to camp from Summit Lake. I led River the three miles down the steeper part of the trail, with all the switchbacks. This allowed me to take a lot of pictures of flowers, until I told myself NO MORE!

Above: Scroll through the slides to see many wildflowers!

Above: On the left (first picture), River waiting patiently as I took pictures of flowers. On the right, River drinking preparatory to a good roll back at camp.

Some stats

I mounted River at 5:43AM. We got back to the trailer at 3:32PM.

My Garmin watch battery died at 25.03 miles. At that point we had 5,256′ total elevation gain acording to Garmin. By comparing with the trail on the way out, I know we had 2.5 miles left back to camp.

I started recording on Gaia after half a mile. According to Gaia, we rode 27 miles with a total of 4,740′ elevation gain.

It was probably closer to 6,000′, given the planned Gaia route.

It was certainly a tough ride and took as long as a slow 50-mile race.

Above: The first picture is the planned route from Gaia. The black on is the stats from mt Garmin. The final image is the actual route I recorded with Gaia. My watch has better satellite precision than my phone, but both are less accurate with tall trees in the vicinity.

My watch automatically syncs with Strava, and I’ve made the activity public (though you may need an account. It’s free!) View my trail and details on Strava.

Recommendations for riding into the high sierra

I am not an expert… go to a packing station for that! But I have learned a few things in my excursions into the wild. Here are some tips.

Get a good navigation app

I use Gaia and pay for the premium version, which allows me to select the private property layer (this also means US government owned land though technically much of it isn’t private property).

Caltopo is also excellent; I particularly like its fire layers. I don’t pay for the premium version, but I might switch from Gaia, because Gaia is getting more expensive. Probably not though. Gaia is excellent.

There are other maps. Some, like Avenza, are based on pdf map files. I think you can do this with Caltopo, John Parke gives up Caltopo pdf maps that I cannot figure out how to get into Gaia or Garmin, but could probably get into Avenza.

Whatever you choose, learn how to use it before you do a challenging ride. Know how to read topography.

Carry the appropriate devices

You cannot use an app without a charged cell phone. I carry a mini Anker power bank (an older version of this one). Don’t forget cables! I use a multi-port one.

Ideally, you will have a way to text via satellite. I upgraded to an iPhone 16 for that reason, but you can also buy a dedicated device such as the Garmin In-reach (which also has navigation) or a Spot. The downside of those is that they require subscriptions. (Ends up cheaper to have a phone with satellite texting.)

I’ve never carried a signal flare, but it would be a good idea.

Carry appropriate gear

Water!

Water is most important. Besides my hydration pack, I carry a LifeStraw bottle, which can filter any water. It’s great with mountain rivers. If I am not positive my horse will be able to reach water, I carry a collapsible bucket that can be dropped into hard-to-access creeks.

Rope!

If you are riding a horse, you probably have one… you certainly should! Besides my lead rope which I loop around my horn, I carry a long thin rope. I have many latigos attached to my saddle, and at least one length of bailing twine.

Knife!

You should never be without a good pocket knife.

Electrolytes!

I carry plenty of Huma gel packs for myself. Sometimes I carry a syringe with Endura-max and Kaolin Pectin for my horse. (I am not enthusiastic about getting salt into the earth but…)

Food!

Generally, I carry granola bars and nuts for me. (I did carry a Wagyu hamburger when I rode Jazz in the Marble Mountains!) For my horse I carry a bag with feed. River had Purina Senior Active and Max-e-glo rice bran. There is a lot of grass in the high sierra now, but it’s still nice to give them something extra. When I remember I bring carrots.

Emergency supplies!

What I carry:

1. Thermal blankets
2. Celox
3. A tourniquet
4. Gauze
5. VetRap

This is very much influeced by the Stop the Bleed course I did as part of my Oklahoma Emergency Medical Response training. You probably don’t need all this stuff. I have never used a tourniquet. But you never know and these things weigh very little. They live in my hydration pack.

Gun

I carry my SW .38 special whenever I ride into hard-to-access places for two reasons: to scare off wildlife and to put my horse down if necessary. Although I don’t worry about humans, I suppose it would work for bad people too. (I have a concealed carry permit in California.)

Plan, plan, plan!

Use your navigation app to plan your trails. It’s easy to create routes. Once you have them, run them by someone who knows the area. This could be the local ranger station, a friend who hikes or rides the trails, or a pack station.

When you are pretty sure you’ve chosen a route, print the map. I laminate my printed maps.

Get a printed map of the region, just in case your phone dies. You can order them or pick them up at the local ranger station. It’s a good idea to stop at the local ranger station anyway, to tell them you are going in and to get up-to-date information.

Understand where you are going

You may be riding through state forests or parks, national forests, parks, or monuments, wilderness, or BLM land, sometimes all in the same ride. (I hit all but state park and BLM on my venture into the Golden Trout Wilderness on horseback!) They all have different rules about permits, activities, and what you can carry in and out.

As a general rule, you will need a campfire permit if you want a fire or even to use a stove no matter where you are. You always need a permit to stay overnight in the wilderness. Sometimes yo need a permit just to enter wilderness (I needed one at Mt. Shasta.) You can generally carry a gun as long as doing so complies with state law.

Check the rules for the places you plan to go and do your best to comply. Sometimes it can get confusing!

On precise locations:

It’s hard to tell exactly what type of land you are on. I rode through a state forest, a national forest, a national monument, a national park, and a wilderness (which overlaps with Sequoia National Forest). The higher part of the Windy Ridge Trail and the Blossom Lakes trail follows the boundary of Sequoia National Park and the Golden Trout Wilderness. There are signs on some trees that say “boundary.” Usually there are no signs so you can only sort of guess where you are.

True, if you have a good app (and premium subscription), it will tell you where you are, most of the time, contigent on satellite accuracy. The US Forest Service provides an excellent map (access it on this page) that you can add as a layer in Gaia, load into Avenza,

Tell other people where you are going

Because I almost always ride alone, this is especially important. I share my location with my brothers (one is CHP and both hike extensively), but of course that is no good with no cell service. It is more important to tell people (family, friends, pack station operators, rangers) the trails you plan to take. You can even share the gpx files.

Make sure your horse is ready to tackle difficult trails

This is of utmost importance. Your horse needs to trust you, listen to you, and be well-enough trained to navigate tricky terrain. Read my old post on the Prerequisites for riding the Sierra Nevada to see what I believe are the essentials.

River demonstrated her readiness many times over the two days we were in the high sierra! Watch the video above where we make our way around a fallen tree to see how good she is about leading and NOT stepping on me no matter what. More videos below! I am quite proud of how well she did. (especially with the bear! You cannot train for that 😉

Above: River backs smoothly out of a bad place! Backing is an essential skill for backcountry riding.

Above: Steps! River carefully walks down some steps that have been carved into a fallen sequoia.

Above: Riding though a wet meadow with rocks. River thinks carefully and I let her choose her path when possible.

FAQ

Can you camp with horses in the Golden Trout Wilderness?

Yes. The Golden Trout Wilderness allows camping (with and without horses). Riders should follow Leave No Trace practices, use highlines or hobbles, and check current fire and grazing restrictions before their trip.

You need a permit to stay overnight in any wilderness.

What trails are best for horseback riding in the Golden Trout Wilderness?

Not what I rode in this trip! A week later I rode to Hockett Meadows from Shake Camp, and the trails were much better.

There are a lot of other places to enter the GTW. Popular horse-friendly trails include the Blackrock Trailhead into Jordan Hot Springs. I’ll add more when I get a chance.

Do I need a permit to ride horses in the Golden Trout Wilderness?

Yes. Wilderness permits are required for overnight stays, including horse pack trips. Day rides typically do not require a permit, but group size limits and wilderness regulations still apply.

Are water sources available for horses in the Golden Trout Wilderness?

Yes, many streams and meadows provide natural water sources for horses. However, availability depends on season and rainfall. Use your mapping app (with topographical layers) to plan ahead. Ask the rangers and local pack stations. Carry a collapsible bucket to scoop water out of hard-to-access places.

Don’t forget riders also need water! See above for what I carry.

When is the best time for horseback riding in the Golden Trout Wilderness?

The best months for horseback riding in the Golden Trout Wilderness are late June through September, when snow has melted from higher elevations. August is perfect, because you escape the heat from lower elevations. Early summer offers lush meadows, while late summer and fall provide cooler temperatures and fewer mosquitoes.