Well, ready and packing for a campout on my own, and it turns out I'm changing my plans the day before and meeting up with a friend I met online almost 2 years ago, she's from Nevada. We have been trying to hook up since that last ride, and all worked out. See just pack my trailer and get ready to head out and an invite comes along! I was headed on up over the Sonora Pass on Hwy 108 which in spots has a 25% grade up or down, and some stretches even steeper. The new Dodge did just fine, just kept it in low gear and let her climb, and kept it in low gear and made her work for Josie, Miss Du and I to hold us back going down. We finally met up with our camp friends 3 1/2 hours on the other side of the pass later into the Eastern Sierra Nevada of Calif. Now for my Nevada friends it's not that long of a haul, they just shoot on down Hwy 395 and they are in Cali. in no time. It still felt like Nevada to me, and was happy to be on that side of the sierras! We would be doing a weekend campout and ride in the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF into the Hoover Wilderness. A wilderness filled with very rugged, high elevation, craiged mountians, which still held quite a bit of snow in them.

Tracey, my friend from Nv. brought along 4 others that she rides with. What a blast was had! You can't go wrong when everyones horses, dog, and folks get along!

The other pups, wanted to play with Du so bad but they had to stay in their trailer for the night.....


She waved me down from the campsite after traveling 4 miles down a washboarded dirt road, and pulled on over into the site. A big hello and smile was exchanged from the two of us, we were very happy to finally meet up again! Got Josie, Miss Du, and myself set up in camp and plopped my self down in a camp chair and chit chatted and relaxed with my new friends!

At 5 a.m. that next morning, I set up my coffee, fed Josie and let Miss Du off the tie, and waited for all to wake up. I'm so used to just getting up and going, so had to hold back and just soak in the cool morning air and watch a gorgeous sunrise reflect of the mountain side across from camp.

The sunrise on the eastern sierra nevadas....


A shot of camp looking from my trailer. Everyone is still asleep, so Shhhhh! unitl they rise....



Once all got up and had coffee flowing to our brains, and yacking all done, we saddled up for our long awaited adventure! Of course Josie and I were raring to go first and waited while the rest saddled up, but in doing so I got some candid shot of 'em all.

Tracey and her pal Dewy, and ex endurance Arabian and a very great trail horse for Tracey!




Here comes Megan through the sage and her trail pal Rose a 22 year old Arabian that takes very good care of Megan out on the trail. Behind her with the gorgeous red hair is Deby and her mount "Pony".



Tracey and Megs getting things ready to go....


Here's Kelly grabbing his ride, another horse by the name of Rose. His wife Deby is behing there somewhere, "come on out Deby, where ya''at!"



Alot of pics and story to follow (don't post just yet.)

So with all in the saddle and raring to go we headed off down a dirt road towards the trailhead, or what we thought was going to be the trailhead, that stroy will follow here shortly.



Even the dogs were exicted to be out on a new trail with new friends!


We stop for some tack adjustments, and catch Kelly in his shinny white legs. Yes, he rides in short and tennies most the time I"m told. Smile Kelly it's only 1.5 miles into the ride!


Deby and Pony trying to get out of my camera shot way, but got "em anyways! Smile Deby!


Once tack adjustment was taken care of, we mossied on down the road lined with pines, aspen and junipers. We passed alot of nice campspots and kept those in mind for our next camp trip. As we came out of the forest we climbed up the rocky, bumpy road into the wide open spaces of the lower high eastern sierra nevadas.




Okay, we start to climb a bit up towards the mountain, I look at my GPS and we need to be going east a bit more. So down a jeep road we see and travel east slightly. We ride past some hunters pushed up against the junipers with their morning coffed perking on the campfire. It's opening day of rifle season and most the hunters are pleasant and chat a short bit with us. We come to a saged filled plateu and we see some summer cabins below us in a bogged filled valley. I check the GPS and the trail I have marked and charted is down in the valley. "We need to be down there on that road" I say. The rest think it over, they aren't sure, of course I'm gonna pursue this and tell them I'll head down and check but I am sure we need to go down two ridges to be down in that valley. So.............

Josie, Miss Du and I head down the sage hill, traversing back and forth, back and forth. Sage is alot easier than granite but still tricky. We manage to get through the sage I get to the other plateu and wait for the wind to die down to hollar back up at the group.

"Can you hear me!?"
no response.

"Can you hear me!?"

"yes, we can!"

"We need to be down there, that's the road to the trailhead!"

I stand there for a bit, seems like awhile when your group is up there and your down below wondering if they're gonna take the plunge and meet down there where your standing or not. Finally I see movement from the horses and all start to traverse through the sage. "Yippee!" Here they come.........


more to come............

As I wait I catch some photographic shots of an old fence up against the Hoover Wilderness in the back.


Another photographic shot...


Whew! They all came down just fine, and I point down yet to another hill to where we need to be. Their faces drop and the looks don't look too happy with me. But I am sure we need to be down there, and one way only is to go, yup, you guessed it........... down again! So we all go and Tracey and I take up the drage and we all make it across the bogs and over some small granite to the road where we need to be. "Yeah, we are on the track I drew guys!" They still don't look to happy with me. LOL!!!!!

We make it to an Aspen lined trail and pursue our ride.


We come out of the Aspen lined trail into a valley with more Aspen and more spectacular views of the start of the Hoover Wilderness.


Let's all pose around the Hoover Wilderness sign so we can show all, "Yes, we were here!" Tracey where are you, get in the picture?! (from left to right, Kelly, Deby, myself, and Megs, Tracey is hiding somewhere out there!)



The views just get better and better the deeper we ride in! I am in awe the whole time, so much different from my side of the sierras, which would be the western side. Fall color and chill is in the air, the wind brings in the cool air, as when we round a mountain or come into an open meadow it warms up. Off with the flannel, on with the flannel, the weather just can't seem to make up it's mind, or is it me! LOL!

Views riding down the trail.


Josie and I pop up in front and are lead rider for awhile. Here come Deby and Pony behind us, just cruising.


more headed your way!!!!

We are riding right around 8500-9000ft. elevation, and we will climb even more as we ride up to our destination of Anna Lake. We stop for another tack adjustment, give the horses a breather and potty breaks.

The crew just hanging around.


The other crew just hanging around too!


Megs and Rose taking in the scenery.


We ride off into Burt and Piaute Canyons and more of the Aspen and wilderness are just so blinding!






Walker Mountain.


We wind through the meadows and along the forest lined, in spots, creek. Behind Josie and I again are Megs and Rose.


Keep following behind and dont' worry about the trail dust, more coming!

Another huge canyon opens up to us, Burt Canyon, and in the background is the jagged mountain tops of Flatiron Buttes! They are just so stunning and I feel so small compardes to their majestic like appearance.


Tracey and Dewy head us into Burt Canyon.



The Flatiron Buttes.


Another closer shot of the Flatirons.


We are all finally elated to see a tiny hand made sign that points up a hill, Anna Lake. Yeah, we should almost be there, and the climb doesn't look all that bad. Yeah, right, another story!

Tracey leading the way from the tiny sign.


We climb, and we climb hard and fast! The hillside just goes from flat to "Hello, can we say lung burner!" We give the horses several breaks along the way up. Finally it evens out. We ride along at a nice gentle climb, ups and small downs through willowed cover spring drainages and Juiper forest.

Megs and Rose jump out in front to lead the group for a bit. Rose's day in the sun!


At one of our breather stops the dogs find a tasty morsel to dig after. Gopher alla Cart.



Well we're all thinking we can't be too far now, and then we go from our willows to a heck of a climb up! I feel as if I"m towing up over Hwy 108 again, that's how steep this was, not to mention that you are climbing for 1.5 to 2 miles and the elevation is gaining fast!

Tracey and Dewy rounding the turn passing Josie and I up.


If your lungs aint' burning yet, keep on following me!

The steep, forest lined hillside opens up into almost a tundra like appearance, and is spooky in it's own way. I look down at my GPS and hollar, "we are now folks, traveling at the elevation of 10,000 ft. and climbing as I speak." Everyone is amazed that we are that high, and still no lake. Okay, did it dry up or someone move it! We all laugh and my pointer is showing we are almost there. Yeah, famous last words for the Cowpony, I'm always saying that, and umpteen miles later I'm usually there! But no, this time I swear, it's up further, throught the volcanic craigs and rocks of Molybdenite.

The higher we climb the better the views get, I am so high with the scenery right now, I could stay here forever!



Tracey and Megs feel as I do, we're almost there, we're not turning back. Let's go!!!


We climb yet another ridge with elevation gaining higher on us. This must be it up here, and getting our hopes up it was just a small cropping of Juniper.

Okay Kim, where's the lake, smiles Tracey back at me!



Ah, but yet after another climb and our hopes almost out of hope, what do we spy on the crest.......................



Anna Lake!!!!


Standing infront of us as we ride up is a big ole' flat worshipping like rock. Tracey hollars, "we need a sacrafice, we made it!" I proceed to lay on it like a, well we all know what, LOL!!! and I start to chant something that may sound like a sacred pagan chant! LOL!!! We stop and eat lunch and let the horses take some needed water. We are exactlly at, get this...... 10,550 ft. elevation!

The crew giving our trail pals some of the cool, glacier like water. (Of course they are cooled out don't worry.)



Josie and I at 10,550 ft. elevation Anna Lake. (and yes, I have tennis shoes on. Laying in bed in the trailer the night before, I remembered I forgot my boots! Thank god I had brought my tennis shoes!)


If yall can still breathe, hang on there's more pics coming at ya!

The lone rider along the shores of Anna Lake...


Tracey and Dewy in a bonding moment...





Megs and Rose....



Josie, Miss Du and I relax along the high sierra lake shores....



After a lunch and rest, we hear Kelly speak up, "oh girls, we need to leave now if we wanna make it home by dark." We look at him like, "Uh, do we have to." So we all get saddles cinched back up, lunches packed back in their bags, and give the kids one last drink up at the lake.

One last drink at the water hole....


On the way back most of us get off and walk the steep climb back down. It'll save the horses but not us, we are huffing and puffing, and tripping all the way down.

Good bye Anna Lake.......



Almost back to camp, bear with us a bit longer!