S&S (& a little M) Elevate fro GOOOOLD!

[SHigSpeed]

Well, since my good buddy Scott had never caught a golden before, I felt like it'd be a fine gesture to invite him to go on an overnight backpacking trip to a wilderness lake with me so that he could check that off of his list.

Foolishly, he accepted! I, being a dyed in the wool lake fanatic (though Scott may not necessarily define himself so) I was, of course, going to take my Punkin' tube with me. I'd been collecting lightweight backpacking gear to the end of allowing me to take a tube and associated items with me on extended trips - unfortunately Scott had not. I also had the advantage of another good friend who loaned me a pair of trekking poles, a compact and lightweight down bag, and a killer sleeping mat.

Here's my pack fully loaded:



I did end up strapping my tent to the frame after I took the photo, but with 1.5 liters of water aboard and food for the two days, it tipped the scales at 41 lbs. Scott's? He sent me the following text, "My pack weighs 51 pounds!!!". To which I MAY have responded, "Have fun with that!"

Anyway, with all the planning and packing done, we met up yesterday and headed out. A quick high calorie breakfast and we were on the road. I had studied the topos of our route and read a few trip reports and though we were to be gaining about 1600 feet, it was over about seven miles so it didn't seem too bad. Some peak bagging yahoos managed the trip in like two and a half hours so we figured four hours tops, right? It's all uphill with no wasted gain in, all downhill out, easy peasy.

WRONG! It was a sucker trail. First of all, even with a topo, having read the trail reports, and TWO GPS units, we got off trail about 2 miles in. The result was a circuitous and elevation gaining bushwack instead of a simple flat path around a meadow. Only on the return trip did we see the sign we missed that would've pointed us in the right direction. You see, the GPS said we needed to go down this path... Luckily we managed to regain the trail eventually. Oh, and remember that sucker remark? Yeah, about that...

The first four miles gained a leisurely 400 feet. Now that we're well past half way, the trail gets EVIL! What that meant was now in only three miles, we had to climb 1200 feet. The climb felt like it would never end. Okay, maybe we're pansies, I know Scott had too much weight, and I could play the chemo card, but holy crap! It was seriously a rocky stairmaster for most of the rest of the trip. Okay, maybe not as extreme a haul for a grizzled veteran like Ed or Jay's recent Shepherd Pass journey, but it was our own personal gut-check.

With about a mile to go, Scott was fading fast, and I could tell that he'd need to take it easy. At this point, I offered him one of my trekking poles which seemed to help. He had the SPOT transponder, maps, GPS, and plenty of water so I asked if I could go ahead and if I didn't see him up top within an hour or so, I'd backtrack to find him after dropping my pack.

I finally climbed the stairs to the point where the trail diverged and headed to the lake. On the way there, though, I spotted a fishy looking creek and dropped the pack and quickly strung up my rod. Skunk was gone! If we didn't get any in the lake, Scott would be guaranteed to get one here!





Only after viewing the second photo at home did I realize that I had a fly impaled in my palm. I guess gold is the best anesthetic.

After catching a few of these, I heard Scott calling from the trail and we played Marco-Polo until he found me. I suggested he string up and fish, but he was literally dead-man-walkin'.

So I left the rest of the inhabitants alone, repacked, and we trudged up the last few hundred yards to the lake and set up camp - VERY slowly. I remembered Scott saying that he could only sleep in his 2 person tent diagonally, and those of you who know him can attest that he's not NBA material... After checking out his tent, he admitted that it COULD be a child's tent. I suppose if it makes it lighter.



and a pano of the lake:



So we had finally made it. What time was it? I can't remember exactly, but I do believe it was nearing four PM. We had left the trailhead at just before 9, so if you take out the creekin', it took over six hours to get there! Damn, so much for a quick four hour walk...

Anyway, the lake was there and it certainly wasn't going to fish for us so we somewhat grudgingly set up. Scott did threaten to just lay down and sleep until morning, but (in?)sanity won out. After a quick Cup Noodles snack for myself, we finally hit the water around 4:30 or so and I quickly got this beaut!:



Heh...



Probably a small "silver phase" golden, though it's not entirely impossible that it's a rainbow/golden hybrid.

Quick photo of SV with the sun going down:



Soon after, I got this more respectable specimen, most certainly a goldie:



At about that time I heard some hollerin' from across the lake and it was mission accomplished for Scotty. From that point in he pwned me on catching for the rest of the night. A great way to forget the pain of earlier for sure. As the sun went down, though the water was only 64 degrees, I started getting cold as I didn't bother to don the tights or the extra socks, and the bite had shut down, so we both kicked in for the night. At take out, as soon as I got out of the water, I couldn't stop shivering, and my hip was KILLING me. I guess the cold and the insult of marching up the cliff face earlier had taken their toll. Only after I got the wet waders off (painfully!) and my boots back on did I start to feel any better.

We each had a hot meal of Mountain House cuisine (darned good, really. I'd never had it before...) and then it was time to recharge. Before I turned in, though, I managed a shot of the sunset that was probably enhanced by the smoke of a nearby controlled burn:



I escaped to m tent to work on the day's NY Times Crossword (still haven't finished, anyone have an 8 letter answer for "glossy scarf fabrics"?) and read a bit of "Waters of the Golden Trout Country" for inspiration.

Last night really didn't get too cold (it was 41 in the morning) but boy did the wind howl! The sound in the trees was like a jet engine, but amazingly the velocity at ground level was surprisingly benign. I got up to move my tube behind my tent in case it got bad enough to blow it around, but it never got to that. As I always pack earplugs in my tents, I quickly installed those and the noise never again was an issue...

Morning came sure enough, and I got a head start with a cup of coffee and taking some photos of the sunrise and surroundings:






After a breakfast of oatmeal for me, and more freeze-dried goodness for Scott, we headed back out for more. The wind was still an issue, and with no real hatches to help us find the fish, it was slow going. I finally managed one more goldie, and Scott finished fishless.

Here we are giving it the ol' college try:




to be continued...

[SHigSpeed]

continued...


With the long downhill slog ahead of us, we decided to break camp after a last meal of instant noodles (me) and more MH yummies (SV). As we packed up Scott adjusted his pack a bit to see if he could raise the frame enough that the load lifter straps worked, but to no avail. Looks like he may have a kid's pack to go with the kid's tent! I think after this trip he's got a new, LONG Christmas list. We then headed out with the plan of hitting the creek one last time for grins.

All I can say about that is that it's a good thing Scott got his fish on Friday... I whacked a bunch of fish out of one hiding spot to put the cherry on fishing part of the adventure.

Fire-belly:



Nice one, another silver phase? Seems too spotty, though - could be a hybrid:



With that, we headed back down, down, down, down, down... Interestingly in every little bit of water we almost invariably found fish, most likely goldens. Example: this tiny bit of water had a 8" fish in it!



And some general scenery from the trail:




And I think we both agree that this was the most welcome sign all weekend!:



End of the road!:



Made it!:



and the best damn burrito ever made!



The dinner was definitely what motivated us to get down the hill.

In all, an EPIC trip.

I learned:

- I still need to shave pounds on my float tube kit
- Overnight backpacking is fun
- I could use some boots that fit better
- Golden trout are beautiful (okay, maybe I already knew that)
- Be careful when a friend offers you a moderate hike into golden trout waters - it could be a trap!

_SHig

[kokaneejr]

SHig

Great story and beautiful fish and scenery. I am jealous(I think). That lake pano is definitely a wall hanger.

[Ed Wahl]

Some good stuff there Shig, looks like a blast.

Ed

[Fly Guy Dave]

Looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing. Some beautiful scenery and fish as well.

I've done my share of backpacking/ fishing trips in the high country, so I've tried most of the Mountain House grub, and I think it is the best out there. One to avoid is Backpacker's Pantry scrambled eggs. They were advertised as "no cook" (just add hot water) and they honestly tasted like a hot kitchen sponge. YUK! Military MREs aren't too bad, either. But nothing beats a fat burrito or burger once you are back in civilization. Yar!

To take some weight off of your back, I often leave the tent behind and sleep out. I have a small "tent" made of mosquito netting to keep the skeeters off when I'm in my bag, and I have a decent sized tarp that I sleep under if it's raining. You use your trekking poles to hold up each end of the tarp and short lines to stake down the sides. It has held up well in downpours in the high Sierra as well as up in the Galatin Range in Montana when I was at a lake fishing for (coincidentally) goldens!

Cheers!

--F.G. Dave

[Scott V]

What more can I say, a 51 pound backpack, stupid stair like climbing over rocks and more, and all for a 13" trout. Yeah it was worth it and I'd do it again. Thanks for the trip Shig!!!





My cherry popping golden on a fly tied from my cats hair!!!


They got bigger!


This one didn't want his picture taken.


I had 5 hit my rubber legged stimu here but couldn't land a single one.




By now I was feeling silly and looking forward to taking off my pack. Only 3 more miles to the car, yeah!!!

[gene goss]

Great trip and pictures....those trekking poles are the greats thing for walking and backpacking....they sure help out on those stair steps.

[wineslob]

I've done my share of backpacking/ fishing trips in the high country, so I've tried most of the Mountain House grub, and I think it is the best out there. One to avoid is Backpacker's Pantry scrambled eggs. They were advertised as "no cook" (just add hot water) and they honestly tasted like a hot kitchen sponge. YUK! Military MREs aren't too bad, either.

Oh man, that brings back some bad memories.
I've been backpacking since the early 70's. I still use my same backpack, a Jansport D4 from about 1973-74. I used to bring the Mountain House "dog food" as we called it (beef stew was the worst), but learned to get (once it was available) Lipton noodles (mushroom is a fav) or any of the pouch rices. The mashed potatoes in a bag are excellent also.(Idahoian) I don't eat any "backpacking" food. Instant pancake mix is your friend.

Great pics of the Goldies, probably the only type of trout I've haven't caught yet.

[Fly Guy Dave]

Honestly, things have come a long way in the "edibility" area of backpacking food. I have tried a bunch, and true, some are still pretty vile, but most are a lot better than in the past.

I was in the Boy Scouts back in the late 1970s and we did a lot of backpacking. We often had this horrid, almost inedible glob called "Chicken a la King", which was better than starving, but not by much. We also had these pilot biscuits and cheese spread for lunch and the "cheese"...well...was orange...but it wasn't really cheese, and the biscuits could be thrown hard against a tree and not break apart...or even chip...more like a beer coaster and orange goo.

When backpacking, I take some of the other stuff you mentioned, but if you are going to have "backpacking food", Mountain House is the way to go.

--F.G. Dave

[Scott V]

Mountain House chicken teriyaki with rice is awesome, and I am real picky about my food. The mashed potatoes and chicken was very good also. the eggs with bacon are descent you just need to pour out some of the water after you let it cook. But next time I will be taking top raman for sure, I never even thought of taking that.