Best Lake for a Basecamp

I've never been here, so I can't give you any first-hand knowledge on what's there or what's around there, but what about Lake Isabella?

For your solo trip at the end of the campout, you're right there around the southern portion of Sierra National Forest and the Golden Trout Wilderness. There's some nice hikes off of Hwy 190 on the west side of the sierras. Not very high country, but kinda' neat nonetheless. It's a popular area with the horse packer crowd but I haven't seen too many hikers around the western Golden Trout area over the years.

You could hike along sections of both the Kern and Little Kern Rivers. Some of the gorges along the Little Kern are pretty impressive.

I've been to Isabella. The trails there are real good as is the trout fishing in the Kern river. The lake however is not a high sierra lake, it looks more like a reservoir in the desert. Thanks though.