On May 23-25, 1981 myself, Jim white and Stat Haye took a nineteen mile round trip backpack to Willow Meadow area in the Golden Trout Wilderness. We left Lone Pine about 6:30 Friday evening and drove the 160 miles to Lloyd Meadows on the Kern River north of Kernville. We sacked out on a logging road at the end of the paved road.
Saturday morning we got a fairly early start up the trail to Jerky Meadow, then down to the Little Kern River for lunch. We then took the low trail to Trout Meadows and up the valley to a meadow near Trout Meadow Spring. We were about 3/4 mile below Willow Meadow. We made camp about 3 p.m.
The next day Jim and I hiked up past Willow Meadow, over the saddle and out to a lookout point overlooking the Kern River about a mile or so from Grasshopper Flat. We decided not to descend to the river. After lunch we headed back to the camp arriving around 3 p.m. After a pleasant evening we hit the sack and awoke to overcast skies.
Stan headed back via Trout Meadows the same way we had come while Jim and I took the Willow Meadow cutoff trail. We spent about half an hour or so on top of the ridge and then descended to the Little Kern amid light sprinkles. We had lunch at the bridge, thinking that Stan had not arrived yet. So we spend an hour for lunch.
We then climbed the steep trail up to Jerky Meadow and took another rest of about an hour before heading the short 1.2 miles down to the car. It turned out Stan was ahead of us and a bit unhappy at having to wait so long in a cool breeze (he was starting to set up his tent). We took the scenic route back via Sherman Pass and Kennedy Meadows, arriving home around 6 p.m. or so.
Willow Meadow Area 1981
