A photographic essay.
by R. Valentine Atkinson
From the Expedition and Guides 2011 Issue

East of the Sierra Nevadas, in California’s high-desert country, a small network of trout streams and rivers
braids and meanders.

Follow Route 395—the trout highway—through the Walker River Valley, through the hills, through the golden
landscape traced with blue. It’s a golden state of mind in this corner of the Golden State—golden trout, too.

It’s a place where, with the right crowd, trout fishing is pure fun—not a contest, not a vision quest. A little wine
and a little beer and a stupid human trick or two. The laughter of friends, the enthusiasm of a good dog who
understands fishing the way we do. Brook trout, browns, the mother lode of Sierra rainbows, a rare golden
trout to rival the sunset.