East slope report (with pics!)

[Fly Guy Dave]

I just returned from an East slope trip backpacking into a lake that was rumored to have some rare trout in it, but being that this is a “sensitive” lake, I will be as vague as possible (like that’s something new for my posts!). It wasn’t a particularly long hike in, but due to some navigational difficulties on my part, most of it was off-trail, which turned out to be a lot steeper, more scree and mosquito infested than I imagine it would have been if I had just been a bit more patient. Lesson learned. Anyhow, after a long and hot slog in, I finally found myself at the “secret” lake:



I dropped my pack, strung up my fly rod and promptly caught a bunch of these:



Not exactly what I would call “rare,” but they were awfully pretty and plentiful. I camped out that night and the next day tried another lake in the vicinity, thinking that maybe there was some kind of miscommunication or mix up with the info I had received. There were more off-trail adventures with more scree and vampire bugs, and again, some nice fish, but not exactly rare.



Here is one of the locals checking out his (or her?) domain.



I hightailed it back to the trailhead, pretty much following the trail, once I eventually found it again, and enjoyed some of the comforts of civilization, like hot showers and cheeseburgers.

The next day I hit a well known, but seldom fished section of a stream and caught a bunch of these “German bass.”



I knocked around for a few more days in places around Lee Vining, Saddlebag Lakes, Mammoth and in Alpine county, fishing, hiking, relaxing, but nothing too terribly memorable to tell.

The one really crummy thing that happened is that the intake nozzle for my Katadyn Hiker water pump broke while I was on the trail. This is the SECOND one that has failed in the exact same way, so I will NOT be replacing my filter with anything by the Katadyn folks. Enough is enough!



Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pics and my vague narrative.

Cheers,

--F.G. Dave

[chicowildcat]

Very cool. I've still never been backpacking in California, but posts like this one sure make me want to get out there!

[Fly Guy Dave]

Very cool. I've still never been backpacking in California, but posts like this one sure make me want to get out there!

There are MANY places out there in the Sierra Nevada that offer solitude, fantastic fishing and beautiful scenery. All it takes is the effort to get out there. If you haven't backpacked in CA yet, by all means, do so!