Leavitt Meadows to Buckeye Canyon Trip Report
Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2018 8:31 pm
Three friends and I made our annual trip to Tuolumne Meadows to cache winter food for ski trips, and to get in an autumn hike. (*One of the friends being the great dog "Bearzy"). We chose to return to the Leavitt Meadows high country, but one thing didn't lead to another- the plans changed, and Bearzy and I were able to break off and head off over Kirkwood Pass. We descended to the east, down, down the wide, colorful and empty Buckeye Canyon to meet up with our friends two days later at Buckeye Hot Springs.
As has been my luck all summer and fall- we saw no other humans the entire trip- 2 days in the Walker River drainage above Leavitt Meadows, and 2 days alone with Bearzy on the trails down the Buckeye River. I had great luck seeing furry and feathery creatures, including one very large black bear, a total of 36 deer, and ducks and raptors, and myriad songbirds beyond counting. There were plenty of very friendly people enjoying the Hot Springs areas around Bridgeport. I camped by a father and daughter from the mountains of Austria, and they plied me with fine coffee and we shared the last of my liquor flask- Bulleit Bourbon mixed with Cointreau this time. So it turned into a fine couple of days with my friends, then 2 great days with Bearzy, and then the wonderful Hot Springs, hanging out with new folks. The rendezvous with my hiking partners worked out fine, and we recrossed the Sierra via Sonora Pass.
There were scattered copses of fall-colored aspen, and assorted riparian vegetation coloring the creeks and wetlands on the Walker River side, but the autumn really became glorious along 11 mile corridor of Buckeye Canyon. Bear and I covered about 30 miles over the course of our wanderings. We had warm, dry weather, with blue skies and a full moon. [Our trip began on the full moon day of October 24, and we came out very late on the 27th.]
Our first colorful willow and aspen!
This area is one where the basaltic volcanic rocks begin to dominate.
This is looking west from the Walker River Basin toward the Emigrant Wilderness; the far right is near to Sonora Pass.
Me and Bearzy.
For the early risers there was a beautiful moon every morning.
We headed up the West Fork of the West Walker River, passing Fremont Lake, the Chain of Lakes, and the upper and lower Long Lakes.
Not upside down, a clean reflection.
Bear by an immense juniper.
And another even bigger one.
The whole trip was at low elevations, with diverse forests, and fire friendly camping. There were rare scattered stands of western white pine. I notice the cones first, and then look around to find the trees.
Sometimes they are just amazing!
As has been my luck all summer and fall- we saw no other humans the entire trip- 2 days in the Walker River drainage above Leavitt Meadows, and 2 days alone with Bearzy on the trails down the Buckeye River. I had great luck seeing furry and feathery creatures, including one very large black bear, a total of 36 deer, and ducks and raptors, and myriad songbirds beyond counting. There were plenty of very friendly people enjoying the Hot Springs areas around Bridgeport. I camped by a father and daughter from the mountains of Austria, and they plied me with fine coffee and we shared the last of my liquor flask- Bulleit Bourbon mixed with Cointreau this time. So it turned into a fine couple of days with my friends, then 2 great days with Bearzy, and then the wonderful Hot Springs, hanging out with new folks. The rendezvous with my hiking partners worked out fine, and we recrossed the Sierra via Sonora Pass.
There were scattered copses of fall-colored aspen, and assorted riparian vegetation coloring the creeks and wetlands on the Walker River side, but the autumn really became glorious along 11 mile corridor of Buckeye Canyon. Bear and I covered about 30 miles over the course of our wanderings. We had warm, dry weather, with blue skies and a full moon. [Our trip began on the full moon day of October 24, and we came out very late on the 27th.]
Our first colorful willow and aspen!
This area is one where the basaltic volcanic rocks begin to dominate.
This is looking west from the Walker River Basin toward the Emigrant Wilderness; the far right is near to Sonora Pass.
Me and Bearzy.
For the early risers there was a beautiful moon every morning.
We headed up the West Fork of the West Walker River, passing Fremont Lake, the Chain of Lakes, and the upper and lower Long Lakes.
Not upside down, a clean reflection.
Bear by an immense juniper.
And another even bigger one.
The whole trip was at low elevations, with diverse forests, and fire friendly camping. There were rare scattered stands of western white pine. I notice the cones first, and then look around to find the trees.
Sometimes they are just amazing!