Advice for alternative routes into West Walker drainage area
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2011 3:12 pm
Hi, we are a group of hikers with vary abilities, some experienced backpackers, some relatively new but generally fit, capable of 8-12 mile average days. We're thinking of exploring the West and Little Walker drainages in the Hoover Wilderness on a trip from August 14-21, and we're interested if anyone has any suggestions or experience regarding the pros & cons of the three entry routes we're looking at: Pickel Meadow/Poore Lake vs. Leavitt Meadow vs. Burt Canyon with cross-country route to West Walker River...we like scenery and physical challenges, don't care for heavily-used packer trails and camps.
The topos make it look like one could head west from Burt Canyon up Piute Canyon, over Piute Pass and down to Yparraquire Canyon, or from Anna Lake to Long Canyon, and avoid the pack station entry of at Leavitt Meadow...anyone have any experience regarding the difficulty of such cross-country routes? Some of us have good map-reading ability and have done some class 2-3 cross-country routes (Longley Pass, North Glacier Pass), but none of us have climbing or rope/ax/crampon skills or compass skills where landmarks are confusing or not apparent. Thank you for any advice!
The topos make it look like one could head west from Burt Canyon up Piute Canyon, over Piute Pass and down to Yparraquire Canyon, or from Anna Lake to Long Canyon, and avoid the pack station entry of at Leavitt Meadow...anyone have any experience regarding the difficulty of such cross-country routes? Some of us have good map-reading ability and have done some class 2-3 cross-country routes (Longley Pass, North Glacier Pass), but none of us have climbing or rope/ax/crampon skills or compass skills where landmarks are confusing or not apparent. Thank you for any advice!