Follow Along our Travels!

As we are entering another backpacking season, I wanted to highlight one of the trips we took last year up to Hilton Lakes. This is probably the lesser known backpacking trip that leaves out of the Rock Creek Basin, but it is no less beautiful than Little Lakes Valley or other areas near here.

Hilton Lakes is technically around 9 lakes in the same area. When you read most backpacking/hiking blogs, they highlight the first 5 lakes as those are the most easily accessible. We managed to make it to those 5 lakes but hung out with some bada** women that day hiked all the way to the highest lakes at 11000+ feet.

For this permit, I secured it 6 months in advance as well. This has a smaller quota than Duck Pass, but I didn’t have a problem getting this one since it was only two of us and we went Thursday – Saturday. The name of this permit is Hilton Lakes – JM06. They do ask that you pick a lake when you are booking your permit. Most of the sites are at Lake 2 and Lake 3 and then you can hike/walk to all the other lakes.

Basic Itinerary

Like last time, we wanted to acclimate as best as possible so we chose a spot in Lone Pine to stay the night before we got on trail. Lone Pine is great because it is the first of the “towns” along the 395. It is also one of the bigger ones and has an outdoor store for gas or anything else you forgot. It also has restaurants and a coffee/juice bar! However, Lone Pine is still about an hour and 45 minutes from the trailhead so since we wanted to be on trail around 9:30am, it was an early morning.

Part of the reason for getting there early is this trail head has a very small parking area allocated for it so you want to make sure to get there early enough to get a spot. We took one of the last two spots when were got there around 9:30am — on a Thursday in summer. Otherwise, you are stuck parking up the road at the Little Lakes Valley overflow parking and increasing your hike mileage. Also, this is a popular day hike so it does fill up!

This hike starts pretty abruptly going straight up. You gain elevation quickly before you level out for a bit. This means it was slow going for us because even with some time at elevation the night before, this is significantly higher than where we slept.

Also, I think it is important to point out that when we went in August, there were very few places to filter and fill water on the hike out. There are some areas where you can tell creeks were flowing at one point in the season, but by August, they were pretty dry. So make sure you pack a full bladder or water bottle on the way out!

Our target for setting up camp was Lake 3 which means some up and down elevation was required. There is nothing quite like heading downhill knowing you have to hike the same elevation right back up. Whew, it was a trek, but once we got to the top of the second big elevation jump, you are basically at Lake 3 and it is beautiful!! I should mention that if we had decided to camp at Davis lake or Lake 2, we would not have had to do the second set of elevation gain (so good tip if you are tired on your hike in — head to either of those lakes instead of Lake 3).

There are quite a few “sites” that are at Lake 3. We found one along the trail heading to Lake 4 that suited our needs. I wouldn’t say many of the sites are that private at this lake, but they all have great water views and access. Once we set up camp, we decided to do a bit of trekking to Lakes 4 and 5. I loved both! Lake 5 required around another 500ft of elevation and some sketchy trail following but it was exactly what you think when you think of an alpine lake. Lake 4 sits almost in a bowl of one large peak and then a ridge so it also has a stunning backdrop.

The next day we wanted to check out Lakes 2 and Davis Lake. We actually figured we would try to circumnavigate Davis Lake (without really knowing if it was possible). It was!! This required some careful stepping to avoid the lake in areas, some bush-whacking in other areas, but we were able to go fully around. We found a glorious beach that we were able to swim at. Completely private and beautiful. I think we ended up clocking around 7 miles this day with our exploring the two lakes plus we made it up to Lake 4 for dinner. By the time we got back, we were exhausted and basically just went to sleep.

We had pretty perfect weather on this trip (mid-August) — and nearly no bugs or mosquitos. That in and of itself makes this trip super memorable! For gear/food, we kept the same set ups as our last couple of trips (except I have my own pack now!) and yes, this area also requires a bear canister which is always a challenge but we’ve gotten better at planning and making sure everything fits in the canister.

All in all, while this is a lesser known backpacking trip, I would do it again in a heartbeat! It is beautiful up there and we still have 4 more lakes to explore! Until next time, Hilton Lakes!

Tips for Backpacking/Changes to this Itinerary:

• The itinerary has the exact route we took to circumnavigate Davis Lake and see a stunning waterfall. It was worth walking to no matter which lake you camp at.
• If you are camping with a group, there is a great site for multiple tents at Lake 3 (Lake 2 had a few too!). I always check because sometime we go with more than one tent and certain trips it is hard to find areas that will fit.
• This was my first backpacking trip that shorts were an option to wear during the day. I have a very light/quick drying pair of running shorts that I brought (and loved) but I would not recommend any trekking in shorts in this area. My legs were pretty cut up because of the rock/bush-whacking. So my tip is to bring them for beach hanging or while other clothes are drying out, but hike in your pants for sure.
• We went in August and the hike in was hot (even though we left early). It can be difficult to find the right weather forecast for these alpine areas, but even if you can, remember the sun feels warmer when you are at elevation so keep that in mind.
• In August, the trail was pretty worn down. At times during the hike in, it was as though we were walking in sand. I mention this only because it made the hike in a little harder as sand is harder to walk in than hard packed dirt and it was quite dusty.