Four days on
Summit Creek.
Five friends, one base camp, a low reservoir, and more trout than we thought we could eat.
Five people, one car.
A general-store rescue, a half-mile parking shuffle, and the walk into granite country.
All five of us drove to Kennedy Meadows in one car. It was fortunate there was a general store near the trailhead: Erik had forgotten his lunch food and was able to stock up there.
We emptied the car and packed our bags at the trailhead. Gordon then took the car back to the free parking lot, about half a mile away, and walked back to join everyone.
The hike in was steep in a few places but not too tough. We did get low on water before reaching Grouse Creek, which was flowing nicely and made a welcome water source. From there we continued to an off-trail campsite on Summit Creek, about a quarter mile upstream from the reservoir.
Gordon fished that evening and caught a few small trout. With the water low and the fish spooking very easily, the fishing was fairly difficult. Dinner was steak, bread and butter, and snap peas — delicious.
Moonscape. Then a feast.
Small fish in the creek. Huge trout in the reservoir. Somehow, we ate them all.
On our first full day, all five of us went fishing. We made our way down to Relief Reservoir, where we had expected the water to be low; the exposed sediment made an eerie moonscape.
Gordon headed back upstream to fish, following the Huckleberry Trail up to the Relief Valley Trail and Summit Creek, then fishing his way back down Summit Creek to camp. He caught a bunch of small trout along the way.
Meanwhile, Joe caught a bunch of huge trout in the reservoir. Apparently they started biting like crazy in the afternoon. By dinner we had so much fish that Gordon didn’t think we could eat it all, but we did.
The reservoir trout had pink flesh like salmon, something Gordon had never seen before, and were delicious. We fried the small trout and steamed the large ones in aluminum foil packets with garlic.
Three outings. One dinner plan.
Joe fished the reservoir for everyone’s dinner, Erik went fishing with his boys, and Gordon took a solo hike.
On our second full day, Joe returned to the reservoir and caught fish for all of us. Erik went fishing with Boden and Grayson along Summit Creek. Gordon headed out on his own for a hike.
Gordon intended to go to Granite Dome, but without navigation tools he ended up at Black Hawk Lake instead. The hike was beautiful, although the final ascent was more challenging than he preferred: at the very top he had to crawl up a steep route squeezed between two huge rocks.
He ate lunch at Black Hawk Lake before starting the descent. Unfortunately, he has no photos from up there. Granite Dome remains a goal for next time.
Gordon was pretty beat when he got back to camp. Fortunately, Joe had caught plenty of fish, and we had another feast.
Downhill, with time to spare.
One last look, one last group photo, and an easier walk back.
The hike out was fast and considerably easier than the hike in. We made it out in plenty of time for Erik and company to catch their plane.
The saved route & our campsite
The route below comes from “Black Hawk Lake Sept 2026”, saved in Gordon Earth on Gordon’s phone. The yellow marker is the separately saved “Summit Creek campsite.” This shows Gordon’s solo Black Hawk Lake outing, not the full four-day trip.
Campsite: 38.257600° N, 119.738848° W. View on a map.
Download route + campsite (GPX) · GeoJSON
Saved route geometry, copied October 19, 2026. The file has no timestamps or elevation values, so it does not establish hiking time or elevation gain. The line preserves the saved route; it is not a recommendation for the steep final scramble.
What we’d carry into the next trip
- Granite Dome is still on the list. Bring navigation tools and a clear route for the intended destination.
- The Black Hawk Lake finish was demanding. The steep squeeze between boulders was more than Gordon preferred.
- Keep an eye on water during the approach. We ran low before Grouse Creek; it was flowing well during this trip.
- Low water changed the fishing. Summit Creek’s small fish spooked easily, while Joe had excellent afternoon fishing at the reservoir.
- A Summit Creek base camp worked well. It gave us access to both stream fishing and the reservoir, with a fast exit on the last day.
There’s more where these came from.
Browse both original collections for the rest of the trip photos and movies.