A Tale of Tenacity (or stupidity) redux
There is a Japanese proverb that says: “A wise man will climb Mt. Fuji once; a fool will climb Mt. Fuji twice.” I know that where I was is no Mt. Fuji, but perhaps I still fall into the latter category all the same. Three years ago I took this trip: https://www.billkiene.com/forums/sho...nacity-A-Fish- Report&highlight=
and I believe I swore that I would never go back. Well, I guess my resolve weakened and I impulsively did a solo return trip a few days ago. The road in was positively worse and the “trail” in was as bad as I remember, and I probably took 75 million breaks on the way up to catch my breath, but I made it all the same.
Why? For this very rare trout:
https://i.imgur.com/Szc8aPx.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/h2clWNE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/lUHS7Tf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uUinqRA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/n34OiqP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/K1qIn2r.jpg
Oncorhynchus clarki seleniris, a.k.a. as the Pauite Cutthroat trout.
The stream was in much better shape than last time too, the flows were just about perfect.
https://i.imgur.com/e4JetPH.jpg
Speaking of water, last time we had a gushing seasonal spring for our water source, which saved a mile or so of hiking with a heavy backpack, but this time I had to improvise and dig a bit. I still was able to spare myself that extra bit of hiking as a result. Thank goodness!
https://i.imgur.com/nSvcADj.jpg
Going solo was kind of stressful, as this place is WAY off the beaten path, but I gave very specific details, GPS coordinates, etc. to my wife, but all of that was for naught, as I made it back in one piece. I did see a large heard of big horn sheep, but they moved through so quickly that I couldn’t get to my camera on time. There are a lot of hoof prints and scat up there from them, so this is definitely their home turf. However, I did see a herd of wild horses on my way out, once I was back in my rig.
https://i.imgur.com/xdzf2Xi.jpg
I hope now that I have gained some semblance of wisdom and that the next time I fish for Paiute trout, it will be in their native drainage, which is not as difficult to get to. I hear that they have been replanted and I hope that they are prospering, multiplying, spreading and doing well down in their home waters. Fingers crossed.
Anyhow, enjoy some pics of a rare North American trout.
Cheers!
