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EASTERN SIERRA WILDERNESS TRIP
Forty-plus years ago, my Dad took my brother and I
on a trip into the John Muir Wilderness area of the
Eastern Sierras. We crossed Mono Pass at 12,000
feet altitude on horseback and dropped down into the
Pioneer Basin and the six lakes and streams located
there. There was great fishing for brook and golden
trout and some of the most spectacular scenery on
earth……it was a wilderness adventure we still talk
about. The fish weren’t the trophies that are
discussed most often in this newsletter, but they
were plentiful and fun. I did a little research and
found out the outfitter we used in the 60’s is still
in business and is now operated by the original
owners son. With the advent of and promotion of
exotic fly fishing travel, traffic into the Sierra
wilderness areas has actually declined over the last
30 years. The decline in customers seeking high
country getaways resulted in many Sierra
outfitters/packers going out of business. The
result has been that our outfitters of the 60’s have
expanded the areas they can pack into to include
Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, Yosemite
National Park and the John Muir and Ansel Adams
Wildernesses. While you can explore these areas
with a pack on your back, the “more comfortable”
approach is to have a string of pack horses, a cook
and wrangler to provide the expertise in setting up
a pleasant camping environment (or you can leave the
cook out if you enjoy that aspect yourself). They
can access the best Golden Trout areas on earth as
well as a multitude of great fly fishing waters, far
away from the crowds. We actually did this trip
three consecutive years in the 60’s, the last of
which was with my new bride, Marte, as our first
vacation. Fortunately, I didn’t scare her away.
We’ve added this adventure to our list of
destinations. Have maps and info – let me know if
you’d like to know more.
TRIP REPORT
Fly Fishing Adventures
888-347-4896
flyfish@napanet.net
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