Backpacking Virginia Lakes to Green Creek – Day 3 to Green Creek Trailhead

Sometimes the hike out is a real grind. Other times it is 3.5 miles downhill. The last day of our Hoover Wilderness 2018 Independence Day backpacking trip was the second type.

Curtis and I have also done a day hike here, from the Green Creek Campground up to Green Lake on a lazy east side car camping weekend. Green Lake, and if your ambitious East or West Lakes, are well worth the day hike. The road out is a little bumpy, but not too terrible for a compact car if you keep it slow.

Independence Day 2018 Backpack – Day 3:

Download PDF Map

Looking for Day 1 – Departing from from Virginia Lakes Trailhead? Click here

Looking for Day 2 – Summit Lake to West Lake? Click here

Trailhead: This is Day 3 out of the Virginia Lakes Trailhead, accessed from the paved Virginia Lakes Road (map). If you want to backpack directly to West Lake it would be quicker to head out from the Green Creek Trailhead from  Green Creek Road (map), a passenger car friendly dirt road at low speeds. 

Distance: 3.5 Miles from West Lake to the Green Creek Trailhead. Overall our weekend distance was ~15.5 miles.

On day 3 I broke one of my trekking poles, a trekking pole I had since 2012, right before the downhill from West Lake. The LEKI pole had been bent years ago, and never telescoped properly since that time. Thankfully there were no more intense stream crossing this trip.

The outlet from West Lake is visible from Green Lake, cascading down to Green Lake. The hike up to West Lake may have been one of the steeper portions of this trip.

Passing the junction between West Lake and Green Lake, the Green Creek the trail winds down though classic eastern sierra creek canyon vegetation. The trail end at the trailhead for Green Creek conple with an outhouse.

Green Creek

Two items of note for this short stretch of trail:

1. We ran into a pair of free range dogs here. They are nice! Hope your companion dog is nice too.
2. Green Creek Campground is not the end of this hike. Yes, the campground looks like it should be the end (and if are camping there, it is). Truthfully, the trailhead parking is down this winding path that is much longer then it seems like it should be.

Another successful forth of July trip! Thanks Hoover Wilderness 2018 for NOT having the MOST mosquitoes ever.

Green Creek Canyon, Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest