Everyone left, so i went to Crowley north end by myself with the float tube. Kicked out to some other boats to midge, they were getting a fish maybe every 15 min, I finally got 1 bump after about 30 min. Some strippers came through and got 3 or 4 hits right next to me near the shore on Green Banks, so I decdided to start stripping. I had a black wooly bugger with green punk perch trailer. I finally got hit hard right off the little point, Gary's point, pretty close to the shore. It was a feisty 18" rainbow, pullin hard, and I pulled a little too hard back, and he came unbuttoned. I put it back down, and caught another little 12 rainbow 20 minutes later. As I was leaving around 12, some guy said he just caught a 24" rainbow in front of the trucks on a Loeberg. I think that's the spot!
I drove home, pretty uneventful, I think 4:34 moving time, and 17 min stopped time.
Sad to leave!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Mammoth Trip: Day 7 , Oct 8th - Fish Crowley
Woke up, was on Crowley by 930am.
Got a few take downs midging in the middle of the north end in around 7 ft of water, small dinks.
Overall, fishing was pretty slow all day, I think I got 2 fish, Dad got maybe 4? All small rainbows.
Tim and Robbie got 32 trout on the boat trolling, some on an Arctic Fox Trolling Fly Black with Red Tinsel and a Tasmanian Devil with like Yellow wings and some red/black spots in the middle.
Robbie maybe got 3 fish, Tom maybe got 3-4.
Left lake at about 645pm.
Came home and had steaks for dinner.
Last full day here.
Got a few take downs midging in the middle of the north end in around 7 ft of water, small dinks.
Overall, fishing was pretty slow all day, I think I got 2 fish, Dad got maybe 4? All small rainbows.
Tim and Robbie got 32 trout on the boat trolling, some on an Arctic Fox Trolling Fly Black with Red Tinsel and a Tasmanian Devil with like Yellow wings and some red/black spots in the middle.
Robbie maybe got 3 fish, Tom maybe got 3-4.
Left lake at about 645pm.
Came home and had steaks for dinner.
Last full day here.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mammoth Trip: Day 6 , Oct 7th - Crowley all day
Woke up, got ready, headed down to Crowley. Tim and Robbie were in the boat, and Tom Gary Dad and I drove in my truck to the north end of the lake via dirt road. We were in the water by about 930am. We got a few fish midging, then did some trolling and got a few more, then a few more midging towards the end of the day. Tim and Robbie maybe caught about 12 fish, Dad and I caught about 12, and Tom and Gary got about 6. Good day.
We stopped by the troutfitter on the way home, then had a good spaghetti dinner.
Another beautiful day!
We stopped by the troutfitter on the way home, then had a good spaghetti dinner.
Another beautiful day!
Mammoth Trip: Day 5 , Oct 6th - Crowley, Fish Hatchery
Woke up, decided to head down to crowley.
Got out on the water, started out in the north end. Wind came up, left that spot after about 45 minutes. We headed up to the crooked creek area on the boat and trolled around for ZERO bites!!
We got off the lake, and then drove up to the Hot Creek Trout Hatchery. It was crazy to see all these huge trout up close. We took some underwater video seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHOjr7SU6kc
We continued down and checked out the rest of Hot Creek, which was pretty interesting to see the hot springs.
We came home and put the porta boat together in preparation of the next day.
Gary and Robbie arrived and we had sausage and sour kraut (sp?) for dinner.
Got out on the water, started out in the north end. Wind came up, left that spot after about 45 minutes. We headed up to the crooked creek area on the boat and trolled around for ZERO bites!!
We got off the lake, and then drove up to the Hot Creek Trout Hatchery. It was crazy to see all these huge trout up close. We took some underwater video seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHOjr7SU6kc
We continued down and checked out the rest of Hot Creek, which was pretty interesting to see the hot springs.
We came home and put the porta boat together in preparation of the next day.
Gary and Robbie arrived and we had sausage and sour kraut (sp?) for dinner.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Mammoth Trip: Day 4 , Oct 5th - Petroglyphs, Chidago Canyon, Upper Owens
Took our time, got on the road about 1030.
Stopped for some supplies at Rite Aid.
Stopped at Mammoth Visitors Center and got some maps. Lots of good books/maps in there, would be fun to go back and read some stuff.
Got on the road and decided to head down to Bishop. We took Lower Rock Creek road down which was fun to see again. Came out onto 395 above bishop, then got gas.
Drove over to the Owens River off of 5 bridges road, then up to Chalk Bluffs. The water was moving so fast, 507CFS so we decided not to fish it.
We continued on and hopped on Fish Slough Rd. This just parallels hwy 6. We cruised down the dirt road, checkin things out. We stopped at a few places to see some petroglyphs on some rocks on the side of the road. Amazing to see these drawings from people 1000 years ago. Just amazing!
Continued up and turned onto Chidago Canyon rd. We headed up and went through a super tight Red Rock canyon. Pretty fun to see though!
Came out of the canyon, and passed some good lookin country. Passed a few mines, of which we saw a few camps where miners might live. Don't want to mess with them!
We finally poppped out onto Benton Crossing Rd.
We drove to the Upper Owens River right above Crowley lake just in time for a big storm to roll through, it was fun to watch. Dad and I wanted to fish here, but Tom wanted to fish up near Long Ears, so we drove 30 min to get up there, then had to rig up. I was able to fish on the river for about 30 min before another big storm came. Not even a single bite! I was using 2 nymphs, I don't know if I was weighted down enough.
I got back to the truck and was looking through Tom's binoculoars at them fishing still. Behind them I see a cow chasing a coyote away! No Joke! The coyote must have been harassing it so the cow chased him away. I continued to watch the coyote for a few more minutes then eventually lost him. But fun to see!
The storm came, dad got soaked because he didn't head back to the car quick enough!
We loaded up, and headed out. We saw a doe with fawns not far from the spot.
We got on a dirt road, then drove to a nice hot spring. There was someone camping nearly right on top of the hot spring, so we couldn't use it. Very frustrating. We drove to another hot spring, and another guy was in it, but was leaving, but it was dark by this time, so we decided to pass.
Map of Hot Springs: CLICK HERE
Google book about hot springs: http://books.google.com/books?id=0tF7-l903RYC&lpg=PA64&dq=whitmore%20tubs&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q=whitmore%20tubs&f=false
We drove home, and had some albacore for dinner.
Map of the complete day
Pics could be found on flickr. Hot spring is off Whitmore Springs, first nice big right.
Stopped for some supplies at Rite Aid.
Stopped at Mammoth Visitors Center and got some maps. Lots of good books/maps in there, would be fun to go back and read some stuff.
Got on the road and decided to head down to Bishop. We took Lower Rock Creek road down which was fun to see again. Came out onto 395 above bishop, then got gas.
Drove over to the Owens River off of 5 bridges road, then up to Chalk Bluffs. The water was moving so fast, 507CFS so we decided not to fish it.
We continued on and hopped on Fish Slough Rd. This just parallels hwy 6. We cruised down the dirt road, checkin things out. We stopped at a few places to see some petroglyphs on some rocks on the side of the road. Amazing to see these drawings from people 1000 years ago. Just amazing!
Continued up and turned onto Chidago Canyon rd. We headed up and went through a super tight Red Rock canyon. Pretty fun to see though!
Came out of the canyon, and passed some good lookin country. Passed a few mines, of which we saw a few camps where miners might live. Don't want to mess with them!
We finally poppped out onto Benton Crossing Rd.
We drove to the Upper Owens River right above Crowley lake just in time for a big storm to roll through, it was fun to watch. Dad and I wanted to fish here, but Tom wanted to fish up near Long Ears, so we drove 30 min to get up there, then had to rig up. I was able to fish on the river for about 30 min before another big storm came. Not even a single bite! I was using 2 nymphs, I don't know if I was weighted down enough.
I got back to the truck and was looking through Tom's binoculoars at them fishing still. Behind them I see a cow chasing a coyote away! No Joke! The coyote must have been harassing it so the cow chased him away. I continued to watch the coyote for a few more minutes then eventually lost him. But fun to see!
The storm came, dad got soaked because he didn't head back to the car quick enough!
We loaded up, and headed out. We saw a doe with fawns not far from the spot.
We got on a dirt road, then drove to a nice hot spring. There was someone camping nearly right on top of the hot spring, so we couldn't use it. Very frustrating. We drove to another hot spring, and another guy was in it, but was leaving, but it was dark by this time, so we decided to pass.
Map of Hot Springs: CLICK HERE
Google book about hot springs: http://books.google.com/books?id=0tF7-l903RYC&lpg=PA64&dq=whitmore%20tubs&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q=whitmore%20tubs&f=false
We drove home, and had some albacore for dinner.
Map of the complete day
Pics could be found on flickr. Hot spring is off Whitmore Springs, first nice big right.
Mammoth Trip: Day 3 , Oct 4th - Wild Horses, Sagehen
Woke up, another lazy start.
Couldn't figure out what to do, weather was pretty bad, too bad to be out on Crowley.
Decided we would go driving around, etc. Tom finally said lets just go to Sagehen, at 11am. Little late. We decided we would go.
We took the back road out of Tom's Place, across Crowley Dam, and eventually made it to Benton Crossing Rd. We turned again on Hwy 120 out to Benton. Saw the little town of Benton, pretty ran down.
We continued on, driving right at the base of the White Mountains, pretty cool. Saw an old burned Casino and abandoned hotel at the top of Montgomery Grade. We turned left on Hwy 360 and drove about 5 miles before turning left onto a dirt road.
We saw some horses within 10 min, 4 of them, 1 of them being a baby. I didn't have my zoom camera, bummed!
We continued on with Tom telling us that is 'just over the next hill' many times, etc etc. The weather was consistently cloudy with minor rain, and a dark storm right behind us.
We passed an old Chimney on the way, crazy to think someone put it there!
We came to a Y in the road, the left going down to Truman Meadows, and the right going to Sagehen. We continued on and finally made it to Sagehen Springs after 10.2 miles from Hwy 360.
There are some old trailers up there, kina freaky to think what goes on in those.
We park the truck near the spring, and the storm starts to wreak havoc. Temp 39 degrees. Rain/Hail. We wait 20 min, and finally stops raining. Tom is intent on getting out and exploring around 250 pm. Tim, Tom, and my Dad go explore for the next hour, while I mostly sit in the car. Too cold out there.
The fog moves in and I can't even see 100 yards in front of me. Not feelin too comfortable. Finally around 4pm they come back to the truck and we take off. Takes nearly 1.5hr to go 10 miles, and make it to the road, but we made it!
We started driving back, stopped at the mine at the bottom of Montgomery Pass just for a second. Then drove all the way home, got back pretty late. Pretty long day and crazy!
Map details are saved on my google maps / earth.
Here is a general map of the drive CLICK HERE FOR MAP
Also, pics should be on flickr.
Couldn't figure out what to do, weather was pretty bad, too bad to be out on Crowley.
Decided we would go driving around, etc. Tom finally said lets just go to Sagehen, at 11am. Little late. We decided we would go.
We took the back road out of Tom's Place, across Crowley Dam, and eventually made it to Benton Crossing Rd. We turned again on Hwy 120 out to Benton. Saw the little town of Benton, pretty ran down.
We continued on, driving right at the base of the White Mountains, pretty cool. Saw an old burned Casino and abandoned hotel at the top of Montgomery Grade. We turned left on Hwy 360 and drove about 5 miles before turning left onto a dirt road.
We saw some horses within 10 min, 4 of them, 1 of them being a baby. I didn't have my zoom camera, bummed!
We continued on with Tom telling us that is 'just over the next hill' many times, etc etc. The weather was consistently cloudy with minor rain, and a dark storm right behind us.
We passed an old Chimney on the way, crazy to think someone put it there!
We came to a Y in the road, the left going down to Truman Meadows, and the right going to Sagehen. We continued on and finally made it to Sagehen Springs after 10.2 miles from Hwy 360.
There are some old trailers up there, kina freaky to think what goes on in those.
We park the truck near the spring, and the storm starts to wreak havoc. Temp 39 degrees. Rain/Hail. We wait 20 min, and finally stops raining. Tom is intent on getting out and exploring around 250 pm. Tim, Tom, and my Dad go explore for the next hour, while I mostly sit in the car. Too cold out there.
The fog moves in and I can't even see 100 yards in front of me. Not feelin too comfortable. Finally around 4pm they come back to the truck and we take off. Takes nearly 1.5hr to go 10 miles, and make it to the road, but we made it!
We started driving back, stopped at the mine at the bottom of Montgomery Pass just for a second. Then drove all the way home, got back pretty late. Pretty long day and crazy!
Map details are saved on my google maps / earth.
Here is a general map of the drive CLICK HERE FOR MAP
Also, pics should be on flickr.
Mammoth Trip: Day 2 , Oct 3nd - Fish Crowley
We woke and got a pretty late start.
Drove to Gabes, got the boat.
Got on the water, started trolling around McGee Bay and near Sandy Point. There were quite a few tubers at Sandy Point. We hooked up one brown near the restroom in McGee in about 12 ft of water. We were trolling Tazmanian Devils and Needlefish.
We decided to round the corner and look up the north arm, to find a TON of boats up there. Whoops, this is where we should have started!
We pulled into the 'floatilla' and started midging. Tim was getting bites pretty quick on a broken back blood midge with copper head. We talked to a guy that said the fishing was better a little earlier. We didn't get there till about 12pm. Tim missed a few fish, and FINALLY my indicator goes down, and I hook up. Nice fish, a really nice brown actually. We were in about 8.7ft of water, and fishing 6-12" above the bottom. I caught mine on a size 18 zebra midge with a black head. We got several more take downs, and landed a few. Tim lost a fatty rainbow because he was leaping 3 ft out of the air!
It started to rain, so we decided to start trolling. We hooked up a few fish, including another nice brown on a Tazmanian. We were trolling anywhere from Green Banks to Alligator Point. We put out a Wooly Bugger on a fly rod and hooked up pretty quick, so we then put out two fly rods, and caught several more fish, including a fatty rainbow on a Wooly on a leadcore pole.
We fished nearly till 5pm then called it a day and headed home.
Pics can be found on Flickr.
Drove to Gabes, got the boat.
Got on the water, started trolling around McGee Bay and near Sandy Point. There were quite a few tubers at Sandy Point. We hooked up one brown near the restroom in McGee in about 12 ft of water. We were trolling Tazmanian Devils and Needlefish.
We decided to round the corner and look up the north arm, to find a TON of boats up there. Whoops, this is where we should have started!
We pulled into the 'floatilla' and started midging. Tim was getting bites pretty quick on a broken back blood midge with copper head. We talked to a guy that said the fishing was better a little earlier. We didn't get there till about 12pm. Tim missed a few fish, and FINALLY my indicator goes down, and I hook up. Nice fish, a really nice brown actually. We were in about 8.7ft of water, and fishing 6-12" above the bottom. I caught mine on a size 18 zebra midge with a black head. We got several more take downs, and landed a few. Tim lost a fatty rainbow because he was leaping 3 ft out of the air!
It started to rain, so we decided to start trolling. We hooked up a few fish, including another nice brown on a Tazmanian. We were trolling anywhere from Green Banks to Alligator Point. We put out a Wooly Bugger on a fly rod and hooked up pretty quick, so we then put out two fly rods, and caught several more fish, including a fatty rainbow on a Wooly on a leadcore pole.
We fished nearly till 5pm then called it a day and headed home.
Pics can be found on Flickr.
Mammoth Trip: Day 1 , Oct 2nd - Drive Over and then some...
Drove from Danville to Mammoth.
Stopped at Olmstead point in Yosemite to check out the view. Dark clouds were in the east, but the west was more clear.
Stopped quickly at Tenaya Lake to check it out, and moved onwards.
Took a detour up the road to Saddlebag lake. There is a nice creek along the road up to the lake, several people were fishing. Looks like it could be pretty fun. Further up the road it opens up a bit to some nice views of some mountains.
Finally came up to the lake, it had an interesting wooden dam. The shore surrounding the lake was a bit barren, not too many trees. I heard they offer a shuttle across the lake. I stayed for about 5 min, then took off back down the hill while it started to rain.
Came down Tioga Pass and decided to drive the June Lake Loop. Fall colors were starting to show around Parker Lake. Grant lake was pretty dreary, a few boats trolling. My wiper blade on my truck busted in front of Silver Lake Resort so I had to zip tie it back on. I continued on around the loop and eventually came out and continued onto Mammoth.
I drove right up to Lake Mary and fished at the point near the outlet with a Wooly Bugger for about 45 min for no fish. I drove up to George to take some pictures, and talked to some bear conservation guy and saw a big female bear.
Headed back to the condo and called it a day.
Pictures can be found on flickr for most these events.
Stopped at Olmstead point in Yosemite to check out the view. Dark clouds were in the east, but the west was more clear.
Stopped quickly at Tenaya Lake to check it out, and moved onwards.
Took a detour up the road to Saddlebag lake. There is a nice creek along the road up to the lake, several people were fishing. Looks like it could be pretty fun. Further up the road it opens up a bit to some nice views of some mountains.
Finally came up to the lake, it had an interesting wooden dam. The shore surrounding the lake was a bit barren, not too many trees. I heard they offer a shuttle across the lake. I stayed for about 5 min, then took off back down the hill while it started to rain.
Came down Tioga Pass and decided to drive the June Lake Loop. Fall colors were starting to show around Parker Lake. Grant lake was pretty dreary, a few boats trolling. My wiper blade on my truck busted in front of Silver Lake Resort so I had to zip tie it back on. I continued on around the loop and eventually came out and continued onto Mammoth.
I drove right up to Lake Mary and fished at the point near the outlet with a Wooly Bugger for about 45 min for no fish. I drove up to George to take some pictures, and talked to some bear conservation guy and saw a big female bear.
Headed back to the condo and called it a day.
Pictures can be found on flickr for most these events.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
2010 Summer Accomplishments
March
15 Fished Lake Nacimiento on a Monday, took off work, caught some
19 Fished Calero Lake after work, caught 2
20 Fished Anderson Lake, 3 fish
27 Went to Ranch with parents
28 Kayak at Bass Lake with Mom, caught trout
April
2: Checked out Arroyo Seco on way down to SLO
3: Rode Banshee at Dunes with Adam
14-18: Fishing / Camping at Lake Pyramid with Dad, etc
May
1: Aaron Hendry Wedding
8: Rode superjet at Anderson with Jared A.
29: Went to Coast Guard Beach with parents/Adele
30: Went to Naci on Spectra , big party weekend!
31: Rode 650sx jetski in surf at Pismo
June
5: Reno for Lindsay Nader, hung out with Jed
6: Rode superjet at Calero
13: Rode jetski at Pismo
19: Rode jetski Calero
20: Hiked in Los Gatos with Adele, rode bike trail
23: Bought new superjet
26: Rode new superjet at Naci at Tim & Debbies place
July
3: In Mammoth, Hiked Little Lakes Valley
4: Fished Convict Lake, 4x4 to Obsidian Dome
5: Fished Silver, enjoyed beach at June Lake, walked Tuolumne Meadows
10: Rode superjet at Anderson
11: Saw movie, Toy Story 3
17: Took James to SLO, went fishing on Dads bought, caught rockcod
19: Explored Sandy Wool Lake after work
24: Rode jetski at Calero, hurt thumb
25: Lightning storm in Mammoth
26: Fished owens
26: Rode up Laurel Canyon on Ranger with family
27: Floated Merced River in Yosemite
31: Rode jetski at Anderson
August
1: Went boating at Berryessa with Adele's family
8: Hung out with Jamie / Matt at Jamie's house
16: Bought new boat
27-30: Went to Hawaii
September
4-5: Went to SLO for weekend
13-15: Went boating Shasta with Adele / Mom / Dad
15 Fished Lake Nacimiento on a Monday, took off work, caught some
19 Fished Calero Lake after work, caught 2
20 Fished Anderson Lake, 3 fish
27 Went to Ranch with parents
28 Kayak at Bass Lake with Mom, caught trout
April
2: Checked out Arroyo Seco on way down to SLO
3: Rode Banshee at Dunes with Adam
14-18: Fishing / Camping at Lake Pyramid with Dad, etc
May
1: Aaron Hendry Wedding
8: Rode superjet at Anderson with Jared A.
29: Went to Coast Guard Beach with parents/Adele
30: Went to Naci on Spectra , big party weekend!
31: Rode 650sx jetski in surf at Pismo
June
5: Reno for Lindsay Nader, hung out with Jed
6: Rode superjet at Calero
13: Rode jetski at Pismo
19: Rode jetski Calero
20: Hiked in Los Gatos with Adele, rode bike trail
23: Bought new superjet
26: Rode new superjet at Naci at Tim & Debbies place
July
3: In Mammoth, Hiked Little Lakes Valley
4: Fished Convict Lake, 4x4 to Obsidian Dome
5: Fished Silver, enjoyed beach at June Lake, walked Tuolumne Meadows
10: Rode superjet at Anderson
11: Saw movie, Toy Story 3
17: Took James to SLO, went fishing on Dads bought, caught rockcod
19: Explored Sandy Wool Lake after work
24: Rode jetski at Calero, hurt thumb
25: Lightning storm in Mammoth
26: Fished owens
26: Rode up Laurel Canyon on Ranger with family
27: Floated Merced River in Yosemite
31: Rode jetski at Anderson
August
1: Went boating at Berryessa with Adele's family
8: Hung out with Jamie / Matt at Jamie's house
16: Bought new boat
27-30: Went to Hawaii
September
4-5: Went to SLO for weekend
13-15: Went boating Shasta with Adele / Mom / Dad
Superjet/Boat at Anderson
October
4-10: Boys Mammoth Fishing Trip
4-10: Boys Mammoth Fishing Trip
November
13-14: Went to SLO for weekend
13-14: Went to SLO for weekend
24-27: Ranch Thanksgiving
December
Fished at Del Valle once
Fished at Del Valle once
23-31: Home for Christmas, hike, dunes, kayak, waterfalls
101 Things to do
- Ride jetski at Calero / Anderson
- Go to Lake Shasta (boat/camp)
- Go to Lake Bullards Bar (boat/camp)
- Go to Lake Oroville (boat/camp)
- Go to Don Pedro Lake (boat/camp)
- Go to Berryessa Lake (boat/camp)
- Go float the American River
- Go to Yosemite
- Go to Mammoth
- Go to Tahoe
- Float Truckee River in Tahoe
- Fish East / West Carson River
- Go ride jetskis on Kings River
- Go ride dirt bikes by Boca / Stampede
- Go kayak on Tahoe on those super clear bays / waters
- Go swimming in holes off Auburn, say on the Yuba or other rivers
- Go backpack at Mammoth like at Duck Lake
- Go floating the Kings River near Fresno
- Go backpacking at Dinkey Lakes
- Take John Millard's trailer camping somewhere
- Go camp at Big Sur Coast
- Go see Julia Pieffer State Beach
- Go fishing in Mammoth
- Go fishing at Pinecrest
- Go 4x4 on the Morman Emmigrant Trail
- Go explore around Hume Lake / Fish
- Go fish the Stanislaus River
- Fish the Walker River
- Fish Pyramid Lake
- Fish the Sacramento River at Redding
Mammoth Trip July 24-27
Day 1: July 24, 2010
Rode jetski at Calero
Drove over to Yosemite, arrived around 10pm
Day 2: July 25, 2010
awoke, checked laurel, too many storms
drop off ranger at condo
go to mary
see bear
eat lunch
thunderstorm start
drive to upper owens
fish for a few
head back, shower
robertos
Day 3: July 26, 2010
Awoke early, took drive up to twin, check weather, take some pics
came back, pretty rainy, call it off
me and dad go fish owens early, storm to start, see lightning,no luck after about 2 hrs
mom and adele were kayaking
head back to condo, make lunch, drive to twin lakes, eat lunch, start raining
drive up to mary, park at inlet, i fish, girls sit and read
lost 2 completely fly bubble setups
get ranger at condo to bring back to gabes
weather looks decent, decide to do laurel ride
park and ride
blockage on road right at upper switchbacks
fish meadow, caught golden, and saw 1 huge one in creek
found obsidian
head down around 6
drop off ranger at gabes
eat dinner at toms place
Day 4: July 27, 2010
pretty much just wake up, pack up
head towards yosemite, really no stops
get down to valley
inflate raft at curry village raft rentals / ice rink
go park truck, ride bike
hop in raft
stop at beach
float, have good time
pull out, load truck
bad traffic
taco bell in oakdale
drive home
Pictures are on flickr
Rode jetski at Calero
Drove over to Yosemite, arrived around 10pm
Day 2: July 25, 2010
awoke, checked laurel, too many storms
drop off ranger at condo
go to mary
see bear
eat lunch
thunderstorm start
drive to upper owens
fish for a few
head back, shower
robertos
Day 3: July 26, 2010
Awoke early, took drive up to twin, check weather, take some pics
came back, pretty rainy, call it off
me and dad go fish owens early, storm to start, see lightning,no luck after about 2 hrs
mom and adele were kayaking
head back to condo, make lunch, drive to twin lakes, eat lunch, start raining
drive up to mary, park at inlet, i fish, girls sit and read
lost 2 completely fly bubble setups
get ranger at condo to bring back to gabes
weather looks decent, decide to do laurel ride
park and ride
blockage on road right at upper switchbacks
fish meadow, caught golden, and saw 1 huge one in creek
found obsidian
head down around 6
drop off ranger at gabes
eat dinner at toms place
Day 4: July 27, 2010
pretty much just wake up, pack up
head towards yosemite, really no stops
get down to valley
inflate raft at curry village raft rentals / ice rink
go park truck, ride bike
hop in raft
stop at beach
float, have good time
pull out, load truck
bad traffic
taco bell in oakdale
drive home
Pictures are on flickr
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Mammoth Trip - July 2-5 2010
Mammoth Adventure!
Every year we celebrate 4th of July, and I like to do so by going out and appreciating the country I live in. There's no better way to do that than to go to Mammoth and have some fun!This trip was going to be just Adele and myself, since my parents were in Catalina, and some of Adele's friends weren't able to join us. That's alright, I was excited to show her Mammoth for the first time.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Friday afternoon we tried to beat the traffic of the Bay Area and left around 3:15pm. We crossed the Central Valley and were soon into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. Don Pedro Reservoir looked nice. I was wishing I had my jetski to take it for a spin on the lake, but I knew better things awaited in higher elevations. We pulled through the gates at Yosemite, as I 'donated' $40 dollars for a yearly pass to the park. I suppose its worth it for how beautiful it is, but that's another story. Anyways, it wasn't long before we got to Crane Flat where we saw a grouping of cars near some Park Rangers. I knew something had to be going on, so I peered closer, seeing a black bear in a Meadow. I parked the truck quickly, grabbed the SX1 with 20x zoom, and went to see the bear. It's quite ironic, since I seem to be afraid of bears, yet this one didn't seem phased by the grouping of people watching him. A sad story of humans infiltrating the animal kingdom to the point of no fear between the species? That's another story for another day. I snapped a few pictures of the bear but he was busy sifting through the meadow looking for food I presume. I decided I had seen enough and we were on our way.
I was pretty excited as we approached Tuolumne Meadows. I took all in that my eyes could. I quickly picked up on some deer, and pulled the truck to a screeching halt, seeing a great photo oppurtunity. For some reason, I don't care much for regular deer, but show me a buck, and I think it's grandeur. Something about those antlers. I hopped out of the truck quickly, and crouched low behind some rocks. 2 bucks with felt still on their antlers were at the edge of the Tuolumne River, debating on the plunge into the frigid snow melt water. I started recording, and glady captured them taking the plunge and swimming across. I followed up with some other pictures and video of them in the meadow.
We continued on, with nothing else of much interest, just taking in the twilight views of Yosemite. We descended down the hill from the high sierras to the high desert, where Whoa Nellie Deli awaited us for a hearty dinner. As usual, the place was busy, even at 830pm out in the middle of nowhere. I got the fish tacos, and Adele had a steak salad. Satisfied, we continued on towards Mammoth. As we approached the gas station near the June Lake Loop entrance, we noticed a few cars pulled over on the other side of the road. If we only knew what they were stopped for, we may have known what was to come. As we drove, big splats started forming on the windshield from moths flying all through the air. It became more and more, to the point where all the splats nearly covered my windshield. I was almost driving blind! It was like an insect infestation! We proceeded with caution, and pulled into the first gas station in Mammoth. We were joined by many other cars on the road, all of us trying to clean our windshields. My grille and hood were covered too, and the moths left almost a sticky texture! We picked up some groceries at Vons, then headed to the condo where we rested up for the big day to follow.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
We awoke to a beautiful sunny day. I had a interest in exploring Mammoth Creek, so I went out on a little drive to explore. I ended up on a dirt road paralleling the creek off Old Mammoth Rd. It took me all the way down to the 395. As much as I looked, I never found any great areas of the river to fish. But it was fun to explore the road regardless. I made it back to the condo by 8am.
We gathered some lunch and headed to Moquito Flat Trailhead above Rock Creek Lake. When we arrived, we found it appropriately named 'Mosquito Flat' since we started getting swarmed and bit immediately at the car. After I packed everything to survive a catostrophe in my backpack, we finally got started on the hike. We realized we parked at the first parking lot, which is about 1/2 down the road from the actual trailhead. We left the pavement in choice of a dirt trail, and started what turned out to be a long hike!
The first lake we encounter was Mack Lake. It was pretty but nothing so enticing that we had to stop. Marsh lake followed, which wasn't much. I guess they say the third time's a charm, and it was true. We came down a slope to see Heart Lake with a mountainous backdrop. A stream paralled the trail and ran into the lake. On the other side, another stream came into the lake, but this time with a grander entrance in the form of a waterfall. I was truely in heaven!
We made our way to the other side of the lake where I couldn't resist taking a detour over to the waterfall. I just had to cast in to see if there were any trout. I rigged up and started fishing. I had a few bites, and finally hooked a small brook trout. The coloring was stunning. I saw another huge fish through the water, at least 16" but never got him to bite. While the fishing wasn't red hot, the scenery really made up for it. We had lunch on the grass streamside and relaxed.
We packed up and continued on. Following a lake and stream up an entire valley is really dangerous when you are hiking with me with a fishing pole in hand. It wasn't long before we came up on the next lake, Box Lake, and I saw another spot I wanted to fish. I fished the inlet, and was able to land a nice rainbow.
Theo was taking his afternoon siesta on my backpack!
We moved up the trail and found a fun stream crossing.
Shortly after, I casted a few more times into the stream. We arrived at Long Lake which had some beautiful granite cliffs lakeside that gave it some character. By this time we were feeling the altitude and the days hike. I fished a bit at Long Lake.
I wanted to continue to just one more lake, Chickenfoot Lake. It was a bit further than I thought, but we made it. There was still snow along the shore in several places, and the backdrop of a huge cliff made the lake different from the others.
We enjoyed the lake and decided it was time to head back. Surprisingly, the hike back seemed to take quite awhile, I think roughly about 1:15 with a stop or two. Feet and legs were sore. All in all, I think we hiked about 6 miles roundtrip in over 10,000 ft elevation. I had a 30lb pack on my back. I was ready to relax!
We stopped at Tom's Place for dinner and then headed home. We struggled to stay up past 10, hitting the hay pretty early.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
After the hike on Saturday, we didn't want to do anything rigorous today. We woke up and decided to head to Convict Lake. We arrived, launched the boat, and started trolling Wooly buggers.
It wasn't long before Adele had a hookup and grabbed the rod. Despite wanting some help, I told her she could handle it, and to reel it in. At this point she was outfishing me!
(Me holding Adele's fish)(below)
A few minutes later my rod went off and I was able to land one. We continued back towards the inlet and decided to anchor. It was relaxing listening to the creek come into the lake while I fished. I was stripping a olive Wooly Bugger parallel / back towards shore through the current that was entering the lake. I landed several fish. I wasn't able to get any bites on the pink power worm, but the flies were doing the trick.
Around 12, we headed back and loaded up the boat. We enjoyed lunch lakeside on some rocks.
We headed back towards Mammoth and the Lakes Basin. The waterfall coming into Twin Lakes was amazing as usual. We went up and viewed the waterfall from the top, and checked out Mamie Lake. We continued pass Mary to George were there were floods of people. After awhile, we finally found a parking spot, and walked the shoreline but decided the inlet was too far.
We headed back to the truck and decided to go for a drive.
We got on the 395 north towards Obsidian Dome. We followed the dirt road off the freeway, and came up to the big mound of rock. It was pretty rugged and impressive looking, but nothing like the scenery of Little Lakes Valley. We circled the dome, and came into Glass Creek Campground. We checked out the creek and continued on. The map showed the road, however, we found a pretty rough road going in random directions. After a quick panic attack that we were lost, we popped out to a clearing where the freeway was. Relief!
Glass Creek (Below)
We made it back to the house, cleaned up, and dined at Roberto's. Great mexican food. We then drove down with the rest of the world to Crowley to watch the fireworks. We sat on the roof of the truck and enjoyed the show!
Monday, July 5, 2010
We woke up early to try and get an early start around 615am. We managed to leave the condo by 8am and get on the road. We turned off the June Lake Loop road, 158 and strolled down to Silver Lake, taking pictures of the waterfall along the way. Arriving at Silver, it was glassy and a great view. We launched the boat for a few minutes of fishing, and I was able to land a small trout on the Elk Hair Caddis at the inlet.
We loaded up and headed to June Lake beach for some R&R. The water is so clear!
Around 1pm we continued on to Yosemite. I couldn't help but stopping at a few sections of the Dana Fork. There were some fish, but nothing landed, and the skeeters were thick! We moved onto Tuolumne meadows and took a stroll through the meadows and stopped at the bridge. Stunning!
We moved onto Tenaya Lake and dipped our feet in the water which was quite refreshing.
We stopped to enjoy the views at Olmstead point.
We then found a waterfall roadside which was pretty cool.
The rest of the drive was pretty mellow, giving us time to reflect on all the great fun and scenery we had encounted in the past couple days. We'll be back soon!
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