Emigrant TR & "The Weekend"

[DriveFly44]

With the low snow year, I had marked April 10th as a possibility for "the weekend" to head into the Emigrant with Amanda. As the date grew near, mother nature provided a much needed blanket of snow (our first of the season in Twain Harte) that modified our plans and put a twist in our first trek of the year. Not to be denied, so we thought, the new plan was to drive to the road closure off of Dodge Ridge Road and then walk the extra 6 miles to the crabtree trailhead. From there, we'd head up to Bear Lake on day 2. Upon our arrival Friday evening, we were greeted by cheerful families sledding down the snow covered hills. It was much deeper than we anticipated and prepared for, so after a 200 yard slush down the forest service road, we decided to head for lower elevation travel. The destination was a location on the Tulolumne River that I hadn't been to since my college days. Even with the devastating Rim Fire, we found it to be as beautiful as ever.

After setting up camp and doing a little fishing (yes, this section is open), Amanda and Hoover relaxed as the sun ducked behind the canyon walls.

We sat by the river and reflected on many of our past trips along with dreams of future summers filled with Sierra adventures. I have a lot of passion for backpacking and fishing, and it is deeply shared by this amazing young woman. The time was perfect, and so is she.



She said yes.

So without getting too sappy, that brings us to the encore and successful trip into the Emigrant this past weekend. As we learned of last Friday's opening of the 108 over Sonora pass, there was a place that came to mind for beautiful views and good fishing. We picked up our permit Friday after work and headed up to Kennedy Meadows. After visiting with the nice folks there preparing for their upcoming opening day, we hit the trail and got in about 3 miles until darkness came. Granite Dome looked down on us just before we reached our camp for the night.

The next morning, we were on the trail early and enjoyed a mellow stroll through some forest sections that led to some incredible open meadows.


Hoover was out in front, anxious to get to the lake so he could cannonball in my favorite fishing spot and ruin any chance of me hooking up.


We arrived in good time and rested for a bit, enjoying the serenity and solitude that at times can be hard to find here.


We made our way around the lake in search of a camping spot. When I reached an area I thought would be perfect, a voice shouted through the trees "Ladd!!". I couldn't believe it. We were the first out of KM and hadn't seen a soul. But I knew just who it was.....my pal Derek (venturefar). What a great surprise and it sure added to the enjoyment of the trip! He offered for us to join him in camp, which we did.


We fished a bit and then had to hunker down for the afternoon as a snow flurry and thunder storm passed through the canyon.

It cleared the next morning as we enjoyed our coffee with Big Sam in the background

We packed up fairly early but got some fishing in before we departed. It was tougher than usual, but still found a couple to take our bugs.



It was a great trip with with my now fiancé, my buddy Hoover, and good friend Derek. Thanks for reading.


P.S. Amanda and I want to honor our passion and love for the Sierra by exchanging our vows in the backcountry. If anyone knows (or is) an ordained minister and is interested in assisting us, please send me a PM. Thanks!

[rlown]

Congrats!!

[venturefar]

Congratulations again! Always nice to run into friends in the backcountry. Here's to more adventures

[TahoeJeff]

Congratulations!
(and nice brown too)

[seanr]

Congratulations! &

Thanks for posting. My mind was on that area this weekend. It's at the top of my list of weekend getaways right now, but I couldn't get up there. I suspect I'll find time soon, but the pictures help for now. By the way, nice name for the dog. I've got the same kind of dog and my wife has the same name as your wife to be.

[dougieb]

Looks so lovely out there with the meadows clear of snow but the peaks nice and white above them. Congratulations on the wilderness engagement, I can't imagine a better place!

[limpingcrab]

Woot! That picture of the meadow with the snowy hills in the background is awesome. So is your engagement!

I wonder how many people on here got engaged on a hike?

[SSSdave]

Recognized both places you visited, PF trail and KL. The PF trail is usually a wonderful walk in May with plenty of wildflowers though I prefer the middle areas with little meadows versus the end of the trail where most end up. Areas above KM usually remain brown at this time of April even when snow free so seeing all that green grass shows how unusually warm the weather at those elevations has been besides the drought. Unless weather changes back to cold with a layer of snow, plants and wildflowers will make an appearance much earlier than usual.

and congratulations to you and Amanda,

David

[Kris]

[maverick]

Her smile in that photo speaks volumes! Congratulations!!!