Sierra Gold Rush II

[SHigSpeed]

Again with the backpacking and tubing?

Yeah. It's cool. So what?

Bryan and I once again headed for the high hills above 8000 feet for another shot at Gold. Left town well before the paperboy, and hit the trailhead before sunrise.

Surveying the landscape as the sun paints it anew:



Here's the start of a particularly strenuous climb section of the trail:



Taking a break - nice lake in the background. No fish in it, probably being saved for frogs...



Almost there?



We finally get to our destination and it's AWESOME. Crystal clear water, not a cloud in the sky, cool and calm. There are a couple of guys and their dog already there though they fished the evening before and that morning from shore to not a fish. They say they didn't even see any risers. Not promising at all! Did see a couple of dead fish on shore/on the bottom, and the one guy did manage to scoop a small pale golden out of the outlet creek.

Set up and ready to give 'er a go:



On the water:



After chasing nothing for a while, I finally dredge - throwing a fast sink and COUNTING....

FISH! Check out the great capture of my fish being lobbed into the waiting net!:



What it's all about:



...and that was all she wrote. I perched on a rock for a while and only spotted one other fish, may very well have been the one the fellow had plucked out of the creek and dropped in the lake. Maybe 6" long.

Oh well, time to pack it and head down the hill. In the bag? Float tube, fins, booties, waders, 3 liters of water, jacket, thermals, reels and gear, rod, snacks, and a few other misc. items. Not bad eh?:



...and a couple more pics from the trip back to the car:





Good times...

_SHig

[Jay]

That little section of trail is a butt kicker huh? Its like walking up a 1,000 ft dry waterfall.

[Blueracer]

And that's how it goes with goldies sometimes. Saw one spot from the trail that I would really like to wet a line at some day.