Leavitt Meadow TR
Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:32 pm
We decided to take a trek up the West Walker as I've had it pegged on my to-do list for about 7 years. So, with the 3-day Memorial Day Weekend, we set out into the Hoover Wilderness to explore the river and area lakes. It actually began on Friday morning with a call from our realtor, indicating there was a must see property in Twain Harte. I landed a teaching gig in Sonora and my gal just graduated from nursing school, so we've decided to follow the call to the Sierra and make it our home. Loved the house, made an offer, then continued over Sonora Pass to the trailhead 
Neither of us had been up the West Walker before and found it very scenic and a great way to kick off this year's backpacking adventures. Upon arrival at the first lake for a water and snack break, I broke out the fly rod and made a few casts. Luck was with me as the fish were pretty hungry that morning.
The action was excellent for about 45 minutes until the wind and sun exposure slowed the bite.
We continued up the trail and enjoyed the tumbling West Walker and the gorgeous groves of aspens.
I wish the fishing was as good as the river was beautiful, but it was not to be.
As we continued our trek, we came across several groups that had difficulty fording the river, which was our intention, and they had to turn back. We continued on up and ran into some other folks with Llamas, who cautioned us that the water was really high but took us over to the crossing spot. Perhaps it is my experience wading or my stupidity, but we went for it. It was actually a simple ford and Amanda did great........only dropped one expletive when her feet submerged in the icy cold water.
After across, we were on our way to explore some of the area's lakes.
It was a short but beautiful hike
We even had tower peak to keep us company
We settled into a camping spot near the lake and then decided to check out a few lookout points.......we had the place virtually to ourselves.
Fishing wasn't that bad either
With another week left in school, we had to get back to the valley so we hit the trail back to the car.
Another fun trip in the journal and can't wait for the next. We'll certainly be back and plan on exploring some of the other lakes and meadows of the Hoover Wilderness. Thanks for reading.
Ladd
P.S. Looks like we're moving to Twain Harte
Neither of us had been up the West Walker before and found it very scenic and a great way to kick off this year's backpacking adventures. Upon arrival at the first lake for a water and snack break, I broke out the fly rod and made a few casts. Luck was with me as the fish were pretty hungry that morning.
The action was excellent for about 45 minutes until the wind and sun exposure slowed the bite.
We continued up the trail and enjoyed the tumbling West Walker and the gorgeous groves of aspens.
I wish the fishing was as good as the river was beautiful, but it was not to be.
As we continued our trek, we came across several groups that had difficulty fording the river, which was our intention, and they had to turn back. We continued on up and ran into some other folks with Llamas, who cautioned us that the water was really high but took us over to the crossing spot. Perhaps it is my experience wading or my stupidity, but we went for it. It was actually a simple ford and Amanda did great........only dropped one expletive when her feet submerged in the icy cold water.
After across, we were on our way to explore some of the area's lakes.
It was a short but beautiful hike
We even had tower peak to keep us company
We settled into a camping spot near the lake and then decided to check out a few lookout points.......we had the place virtually to ourselves.
Fishing wasn't that bad either
With another week left in school, we had to get back to the valley so we hit the trail back to the car.
Another fun trip in the journal and can't wait for the next. We'll certainly be back and plan on exploring some of the other lakes and meadows of the Hoover Wilderness. Thanks for reading.
Ladd
P.S. Looks like we're moving to Twain Harte
We made it.