On August 31st of 2001 Lin and I set out on our first horseback ride into the mountains - the Emigrant Wilderness. What a fantastic experience.
We stayed in a cabin at Kennedy Meadows Resort & Pack Station the night before our trip (the cabins are quite basic, far from fancy); dinner and breakfast at their restaurant were excellent, and the brave among you might even venture into the adjacent cowboy saloon. Don't get me wrong. This is a rustic, yet wonderful facility. They may be contacted at Kennedy Meadows Resort & Pack Station; Email at kndymdws@mlode.com; call at (209) 965-3900 summer and (209) 965-3911 winter. The Resort & Pack Station is located 57 miles east of Sonora, CA on Hwy. 108, west of Sonora Pass. PO Box 4010, Sonora, CA 95370.
We arose at 6:00 A.M., had a quick breakfast, then hurried to the stables. Matt Bloom headed up the cowboys who readied our horses and gear, which I'd dropped off before breakfast. Our guide was to be Kory, a young man, fairly new to the game, but quite good at what he did. Along the way, he was to stop a few times to check cinches and saddles. Our pack mule was Kadie, also new to the crew. I was offered Gallagher, a fine animal, with whom I quickly bonded, at least in my heart. Lin rode Freda, a horse with a mind of her own. The horses should be fully trusted, even on precipitous slopes or cliffs; they are far more sure-footed on four legs than we are on two.
Kory leads, with Kadie the Mule in tow, up Huckleberry Trail. Lin follows.
With Kory in the lead, we headed south on the Huckleberry Trail along the fringe of the 6,400' Kennedy Meadows, along the Middle Fork Stanislaus River, past Relief Reservoir, and on to Lunch Meadow for a lunch break. The views were unending and spectacular. The horses plodded confidently along while we drank in the scenery. That is, except when Freda, Lin's horse, who loved to walk right along the edges of substantial drops, frightened Lin. "Kory!," Lin screamed. Kory assured Lin that he'd never seen a horse take a fall, though he had seen a few go to their knees. I'm sure Lin felt assured by those words. There's one benefit to riding horses: one can ride and look all around while the horse does the work. We eventually passed the turnoff to Emigrant Lake, trudged up and over Brown Bear Pass, and dropped steeply to 9,600' Emigrant Meadows Lake, our destination. The entire horseback affair covered about 15 miles in 6 and 1/2 hours. Kory unloaded our gear, enjoyed a Gatorade with us, then headed back home. From there Lin and I hiked four hours (about 5.25 miles), over 9,740' Emigrant Pass to 9,200' Cinko Lake in the heart of the Emigrant Wilderness. We camped that night on Cinko Lake, with a full moon as our sole company.
On day two we backpacked first to Bonnie Lake for lunch, where we encountered our first, fellow hikers. Then, backtracking a bit, we hiked to the southern fringe of 8,200' Lower Piute Meadows, where we camped along the West Walker River. A small campfire, some Pinot Noir, and the full moon made for a warm and romantic setting.
On our final day, we hiked north along the West Walker River. We took the east trail, which took us past a charming lily pond, then past the Fremont Lake turnoff, Hidden Lake turnoff and Lane Lake to Roosevelt Lake. Along our way, we expectedly ran into Tom C. (whom you've seen on photos from other Hikes) and Larry L. The two had left Leavitt Meadows the day before, heading in as we were leaving. We then dropped into 7,200' Leavitt Meadow and the Pack Station, where our trip was to end.
Kennedy Meadows Pack Station cowboys, Marty and Fernando drove my Jeep over from Kennedy Meadows; the four of us climbed over the spectacular Sonora Pass and returned to Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, where Lin and I bid a fond farewell to our hosts. We both loved the trip and thank everyone at the Pack Station and Resort for their contribution to our enjoyment.
As a footnote, neither Lin, nor I had ridden horses more than an hour in our lives, yet we suffered very little discomfort from our fifteen mile ride. The horses walk; they do not trot or lope, so the rider is not jostled, thus does not suffer bruises, hot spots, etc., usual to first time riders. We did have a few minor sore spots (inside of thighs, inside of knees from stirrup straps), but our bottoms were fine, and fifteen miles is a substantial distance to cover.
Thank you, Kory, for being our guide, and for getting us safely to Emigrant Meadow Lake.
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