High Sierra Topix

A 3 day/ 2 night trip to the head of the West Walker river in Hoover Wilderness 09/30/2014.
After checking forecasts, ahead of a Bay Area heatwave, I headed for the hills. Picked up a permit at Pinecrest, drove over Sonora Pass and by the aspen groves
, arrived at Leavitt Meadow trailhead. On the trail at mid-day with the view of Tower Peak ahead. Passed Roosevelt/Lane Lakes , and trudged beyond the narrow river gorge, and through aspen groves and river ox-bow meadows. The river seemed very languid, not in a hurry to empty into desert. Late afternoon I reached Upper Piute meadows and plunked down on a site overlooking the meadow , with views of alpenglow on Tower Peak and Hawksbeak. The night started early and clear, but around 10:00 P.M. clouds appeared on the ridges and to the north, they never made it directly overhead, but made for frequent checks until they disappeared around 03:00. The morning was frosty and clear, and I was slow to crawl out and start the day. I dayhiked up the West Walker canyon to more meadows with views of Tower Pk and Hawksbeak, and reached the divide between Hoover Wilderness and Yosemite, and scrambled up S.E. slope of Hawksbeak. Terrific view, especially of north Yosemite peaks , extended from Sawtooth ridge to the Clark Range. Descended with some bushwacking to Kirkwood Pass , then followed the trail ,back at camp late afternoon. Another fine display of alpenglow that evening.This night the sky stayed clear, and dawn was colder than the previous one. Hiked out the next morning, meeting first people of trip that afternoon. All in all a fine Indian Summer trip.

A few days ago I was reading interpretive signs at a little park along the Walker River near Coleville and was surprised and disappointed to learn that 30 to 40 pound Lahontan trout were once common until the DWP dammed the river in the 40s and destroyed their spawning grounds.

We love this area. The lakes up near Dorothy Pass are beautiful, and we've also explored Long Valley. It's a long hike on the first day to get up the canyon, after that, it's lovely.

I think next time we're hiking in from Leavitt Lake...to see if we can cut down on that initial slog up the canyon.

One of my favorites too. Some nice XC through the forests. I always liked roaming off trail through the woods. I grew up hiking through long sections of forests in the river swamp areas of south GA where there were no trails and no landmarks. That helps a kid develop a sense of direction. Following the elevation contour from Tower Lake around to the source of the West Walker is a very fun XC.

Pic shows triangular leaf shapes, so be not a quaking aspen but rather a black cottonwood, populus trichocarpa which are rather common along the West Walker.

One time on a trip from twin lakes I went the wrong way a wound up for the night at kirkwood lake.