A packhorse trip into great trout fishing in the Hoover Wilderness Area

Yours truly has just returned from another memorable experience in the Great Outdoors.

I was one of a group of 12 people who enjoyed a four-day, three-night packhorse trip on June 22-25 in the Hoover Wilderness Area of California, just west and north of Bridgeport.

Our group had booked that fishing and packhorse trip with the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station. The pack station is owned and operated by longtime friend Bart Cranney of Walker, Calif.

For those unfamiliar with its location, the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station is situated on the eastern foot of the Sonora Pass Highway (California S.R. 108), about 72 miles south of Carson City.

The horses took us into a pre-established base camp at Fremont Lake. Fremont is a large, deep, blue, rainbow trout-filled, high-mountain lake (8,000') on the northeastern side of the Hoover Wilderness Area.

Our group consisted of Jim Quilici and Scott Jackson of Carson City, Mark Jackson of Gardnerville, Bob Masters, David and Margaret Biggs of Genoa, Kim Farran of Reno, Mark and Adam (age 11) Farran of San Pedro, Calif., Rob Spohr of Gilroy, Calif., Ollie Romanko of San Jose, Calif. and yours truly. The 15 member group also included Cranney and Jesse and Sherrie Hale, the wranglers assigned to our particular trip.

Here are some "Don Q" random observations of this year's trip:

- A saddle and my rear-end.

I re-discovered on the ride to our base camp that the hard surface of a saddle and my soft Italian rear-end do not fit together. That's a fact, Jack. Our ride only covered eight miles but by the time we were almost to Fremont, my rear-end hurt, big time, especially my right cheek. I often wonder why they make the seats of saddles out of hard leather? Why in the heck not pad those stupid saddles with thick, soft sponge rubber like my easy chair at home? Sure seems logical to me and it would be a lot easier on my "you-know-what!"

- The gorgeous High Sierra scenery.

This part of the Hoover Wilderness Area offers a great combination of the crystal-clear, ice-cold, noisy, tumbling West Walker River; lush-looking, high mountain meadows; groves of rustling Quaking Aspen trees; scattered patches of green pine trees; towering, rugged-looking, snow-covered peaks and the overall beauty of Fremont Lake, itself. The view to the far end of the lake was particularly spectacular at sunset, when there were clouds on the skyline.

- The weather.

It was interesting to say the least. The four days were warm and the three evenings were pleasantly cool.

However, on the second day and the day we came out, we got our butts kicked by wind and a cold, driving rain, accompanied by loud thunder and spectacular lightning.

- The fabulous fishing.

Our group caught and released a huge number of rainbow trout, up to about 17 inches in length. One of our party estimated that we collectively caught and released over 300 trout in the four days. That's right, 300!

The fly fishermen in their float tubes were absolutely deadly with flies such as Adams parachute, Pheasant tails, Nymphs, etc.

Yours truly trolled from his brand-new, three-man, inflatable raft together with Mark Jackson. We used black/gold or black/silver, No. 5, floating Rapala lures or silver or gold F-4 Flatfish lures with spectacular results.

My son, Jim, and Scott Jackson fished from Jim's brand-new, five-man, inflatable raft with the same lures with the same results with one major difference.

Mark and I caught the most fish and the largest, which won each of us a nice $5 bet from our two pigeons.

- The cocktail hour every afternoon.

We enjoyed great "munchies," such as hot chicken wings, meat balls, salami, cheese, crackers, Salsa, olives, pickles, Cashew nuts and salted peanuts in the shell. All this with various drinks such as Manhattens, whiskey, brandy, beer, wine and assorted soft drinks. There was lots of story telling, jokes and fish tales, while relaxing in soft, folding chairs.

- The tasty meals which consisted of:

1. A late-morning (8-9 a.m.) breakfast each morning. Pancakes, bacon and eggs on the first morning. Bacon, eggs and potatoes the second day. Home-made biscuits and sausage gravy with fried eggs for the third day. All complimented with plenty of coffee and orange juice. The early risers (such as yours truly) always had hot coffee before going fishing.

2. Daily sack lunches of roast beef sandwiches, assorted chips, and cookies or crackers.

3. Dinners: Spaghetti, tossed salad and garlic bread on the first night. Roast beef, potatoes, ear corn and tossed salad for the second dinner. Shrimp with sausage gumbo and cole slaw the last night. All three dinners included a fresh-baked cake (baked in a Dutch oven) with sticky frosting.

- The friendship and close camaraderie of the group.

The camaraderie of the 15 people during that four-day excursion was something that I really enjoyed. When the chemistry of a particular group is good, the end result is a very memorable experience. Our trip was a "ton of fun."

The Leavitt Meadows Pack Station offers a superb combination of service and personal attention that is well worth trying. It all adds up to a very reasonably priced and a highly-enjoyable, four-day, three-night vacation in the High Sierra.

- Was there any part of the trip not worth repeating?

Yep! However, it was something that neither Cranney or any of us had any control over. It was the unbelievable swarms of bothersome, noisy, biting mosquitoes. Wow, they were brutal! Whenever the wind would stop blowing, they swarmed all over us. It was awful. This has to be a banner year for those miserable, stinking, obnoxious pests. Thank God, for our insect repellent. It worked miracles keeping them away.

- Finally, If you are interested in taking a packhorse trip into this area, contact the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station by writing Cranney at P.O. Box 124, Bridgeport, Calif., 93517 or calling at 530-495-2257.

- Bet Your Favorite Pigeon

Bet your favorite pigeon that he can't name the high-mountain pass, just south of the Fremont Lake area.

If he replies, "Dorothy Pass on the boundary of the Hoover Wilderness Area and Yosemite National Park," he is very familiar with this area.