Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite National Park, California, USA

July 2020

Getting There and Logistics

The Hoover Wilderness Robinson Creek Trailhead, located in Twin Lakes just outside of Bridgeport, is the best access point for this lollipop loop into NE Yosemite. While this route contains over half its miles in Yosemite National Park, overnight permits must be reserved through Hoover Wilderness. This is because the trailhead entry/exit is outside of Yosemite. Any trips that begin/end in Yosemite must be made following national park reservation guidelines. From June 15 – October 15, there is a daily quota for each trailhead for overnight visitors. Bear canisters are required for overnight travel into both Hoover and Yosemite. While traveling throughout any Wilderness area, all rules and regulations must be followed, including fire restrictions. More information can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/detail/htnf/passes-permits/

We made the 5 hour drive from the Bay Area and spent the night at Robinson Creek Campground to help with altitude acclimatization, securing one of the last walk-in sites. Early the next morning, we drove to the end of Twin Lakes and paid the $15 overnight backpackers parking fee at Annette’s Mono Village. Bears frequent the area, so any scented items were stored in our extra bear canister and stashed underneath our car. To access the Robinson Creek trailhead, we walked straight through the campground (there are no signs) along a road with an open meadow on our left. The wilderness trailhead sign is posted next to the fire road after the last campsites disappear.

The Route

Trip Report and Route Description

The wide trail meandered through a forest of large Jeffrey Pine while maintaining a gentle incline before emptying out into a meadow with views of little Slide Canyon and the Sawtooth Range. In about 3 miles, the trail climbed for another mile up easy switchbacks through groves of quaking aspen, until it reached photogenic Barney Lake. This is a very popular destination for dayhikers to enjoy swimming, picnicking, and taking in the views. (Scroll down to check out our photos of Barney Lake from the hike out, as the incoming storm clouds made for dramatic effect!)

After a quick stop to adjust our packs and eat a light snack at the lake, we continued along the right side of the lake towards the beginning of our loop. This part of the trail has full sun exposure, so we were glad to be hiking it in the morning hours. Wildflowers lined the trail and clustered around the runoff creeks, so the going was slow because of all the photo ops!

We crossed Robinson Creek and began our partially shaded climb along the trail, staying within earshot of the creek. 1.5 miles and several switchbacks later, we came to a fork in the trail that would begin our giant lollipop loop over the next few days. We hung a left, gradually climbing just over 1.5 miles to the scenic Robinson Lakes and Crown Lake. The views became more majestic as we neared 11,364′ Crown Point. Colorful wildflowers continued to line the trail, and the clear blue water beckoned our aching feet.

We soaked our feet in the cold waters of Crown Lake then began an intense 1000′ climb over 1.5 miles up to Mule Pass. We had left the crowds behind, enjoying the feeling of solitude on the empty trail. As we climbed, we observed alpine songbirds defending a nest, tiny frogs and fish in glacial runoff creeks, and wildflowers as far as the eye could see. Patches of snow lined the trail the further we climbed. We reached a high meadow, navigated our way across a large flooded meadow, and eventually made it atop Mule Pass.

At 10,470′, Mule Pass is located just below Slide Mountain. This is the boundary of Yosemite National Park. We soaked in the expansive views from the pass, noting our destination in the distance. We had planned to camp in the valley below the Sawtooth Range, but a group of backpackers advised us that the camping near the tarn below the Finger Peaks was amazing. This area was about 4.5 miles further along. It would be a push, especially on our first day at altitude, but we were willing to try! The trail descended through lush pine forest to the base of what I call “upper Slide Canyon” and a beautiful meandering creek. The sounds of running water accompanied us for the remainder of the hike. It was getting late and we were hungry for dinner, so we stopped to boil water and soak our dehydrated meals. We usually start night 1 with our favorite meal to share, the Backpacker’s Pantry Three Sister’s Stew. We lumbered along for another 30 minutes while the food soaked and decided to eat on some rocks overlooking a verdant meadow. The trail disappeared a few times due to some flooding in the meadow, but we eventually climbed our way up to the unnamed tarns below the Finger Peaks. It was windy, so we found a spot to pitch our tent in the shelter of some big rocks and settled in for the night. We woke several times to see the amazing star-scape, including Venus and the moon rising above the Sawtooth Range.

It was a chilly morning when we awoke, so we packed up after finishing a quick breakfast of Poptarts and dried fruit. Even though 10,650′ Burro Pass was only a half mile away, our bodies moved slowly as we sucked air, still not used to the low oxygen at higher altitude. We had been taking Diamox for a few days, but acclimating has always been a struggle for us flatlanders. Reaching the top of Burro Pass, the wind whipped up Matterhorn Canyon and felt refreshing. With Matterhorn Peak directly in front of us, we took tons of photos and relished the views of the canyon.

The descent into Matterhorn Canyon was unreal… it felt like we were in another country. We didn’t see another person in the entire canyon. In fact, it wasn’t until early evening that we saw another human on the trail! We took our time hiking down the 5+ mile long canyon (it was all downhill, after all), stopping several times to splash our feet in the water and cool our knees. Once again, the wildflower displays were fabulous and the cascades plentiful. The day warmed up and by the time we hit the PCT at the Matterhorn Creek crossing in a large, flat meadow, it was downright hot. Thus began our 4.5 mile ascent up Wilson Creek canyon towards Benson Pass. We were surprised to see a plethora of small trout in the creek! The combination of Diamox, heat, and perhaps dehydration (although I was drinking a ton of water and electrolytes) had me feeling quite weak, so after a few miles of switchbacks we lumbered over to the creek to rest. To our delight, we found some great potholes to “swim” in and took almost an hour cooling off in the refreshingly cold water.

We returned to the trail and continued our climb up to 10,140′ Benson Pass. Hungry for dinner, we boiled water at the crest and let our dehydrated food soak for about 20 minutes before scarfing it down on some rocks halfway down the other side of the pass. We reached Smedberg Lake in about 2.5 miles, and set up our tent on a ledge overlooking the water just before dusk. There were several solo campers scattered around the lake, which was to be expected now that we were on the PCT superhighway. That evening, while falling asleep, we heard a small mammal (a weasel or pine martin perhaps?) fiddling with our hiking poles. By the time we got out of the tent it had chewed through the straps and gnawed off the foam handles on 3 of them!!! Lesson learned–from then on we stored our poles inside the vestibules. The mosquitoes were relentless at dusk and dawn, later noting that this was the worst spot for the little blood suckers on the entire trip.

We set out early the next morning and spotted a family of Sooty Grouse (aka forest chickens) on the trail. Instead of following the curve of the trail, we opted for some fun off-trail navigation and ventured toward the outlet creek for Smedberg. It was a little tricky going down some steep granite slabs and required some minor bouldering. However, we were treated to a nice waterfall and the chance to fill our hydration bladders with some delicious water. After chilling in the sun for a bit, we met up with the trail and began a long, steep, and arduous 2000′ descent to Benson Lake. At 7581′, Benson Lake would be the lowest point on our route, not counting the trailhead. Taking the 0.4 mile spur trail to the lake itself led us through a marshy forest full of leopard lilies, butterflies, and (no surprise here) mosquitoes.

Often referred to as “the Riveria of the Sierra”, Benson Lake sports a long sandy beach and gorgeous mountain views. Luckily, we had the entire place to ourselves! We couldn’t help but chill in the sand for over an hour after taking a dip in the icy cold water. We reluctantly left the lake in the afternoon, and climbed steadily in the heat towards 9150′ Seavy Pass. I neglected to fill up my hydration bladder at the tarns along the pass, so by the time we left the PCT and descended down to Rancheria Creek, I was thirsty. We filtered the cool water and emerged into some of the loveliest meadows I have ever seen. It was iconic Yosemite high country, and we couldn’t take enough photos. We took off our shoes for each creek crossing (there were several wide crossings) and enjoyed the feel of the soft sand beneath our feet. Evening was upon us, so we stopped to eat our dinner on some boulders next to the trail. We met a friendly couple who eagerly chatted with us for about 45 minutes about backpacking, gear, trails, and adventures (all the fun things!). We noticed that the light in the canyon was beginning to dim, so we said our goodbyes after exchanging emails and lumbered on another mile or so before leaving the trail to find a good camp spot.

When we woke the next morning, we decided to venture further off trail to peaceful Arndt Lake. We climbed some rocks above the lake and were rewarded with an expansive view of valley containing Rancheria Creek. Instead of making our way back to the trail, we paralleled it by crossing through the meadow, following the meandering creek northward. Eventually we hopped back on the trail, climbed a few hundred feet through a pine forest, and emerged in scenic Kerrick Meadow. Here the trail skirts the fragile meadow for 1.4 miles before reaching a junction with the Barney Lake trail. We took a right and followed an easy path for 1.2 miles to gorgeously picturesque Peeler Lake.

Peeler Lake, located at the boundary of Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite NP, is situated on the Sierra Crest. It is one of few documented lakes that have outlet creeks down both sides of the Sierra Nevada: east into the Walker Basin (Nevada) and west into the Pacific Ocean. There are several designated campsites around the lake, as it’s popular for both fishing and swimming. With Crown Point as a backdrop, this lake is prime for photo ops.

Leaving the lake, we had about 7.5 miles and 2400′ to descend back to the trailhead. Clouds were just beginning to form to the south, and the further we trekked the more they increased in size and intensity. By the time we hit Barney Lake, we could see thunderheads forming in the distance. These puffy clouds made for some amazing photos at the lake. We huffed it out of there, hiking quickly over the final 4 miles as thunder boomed in the distance. Fortunately, we outhiked the storm and made it safely back to our car. We treated ourselves to an indulgent (read: unhealthy) and delicious take-out meal at Annette’s Mono Village cafe: Casey with his cheeseburger and fries and me with a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato and chips. After an amazing trek, our legs were tired, but the trip wasn’t quite over. We drove the 5.5 hours home and arrived just before midnight, immensely proud of ourselves for completing another adventure in the Sierra!