Fly Fishing Gateview

For Scott's last full day in Lake City, we fished the Gateview stretch of the Lake Fork.  After a slow morning, things really picked up, but then a big storm chased us off the river.

Scott with his first fish of the day

I caught a double: a nice brown on a stimulator and a baby brown on a dropper.

You can barley see the little brown trout in the net.

No net, no problem

Scott with the biggest fish of the day

We caught another double in the afternoon

Fishing the Lake Fork with Scott and Mitchell

After getting after some little cutthroat the previous afternoon, Scott and I joined Mitchell for a day chasing bigger fish on the Lake Fork.

Scott targets a nice rainbow

And he's hooked up!

Nice bow!

Still had some fight left in him

Scott and Mitchell head for a nice run along the cliff face

Nice bow from a deep hole along the cliffs

Scott with a nice brown

Mitchell guides Scott to some more fish

Another nice rainbow

Close up of the same rainbow

Not all the fish were beasts

Heading back to the car with the "Gate" in the background

After a full day on the river, we stopped by a pond to do some more fishing; glad I'm not the only one with a fishing problem.

Secret Cutthroat Creek

After picking up my friend Scott in Salida, we drove through Gunnison and headed toward a secret creek that is full of little cutthroat trout.  By the time we pulled up to the trailhead, steady rain had chased the other groups of fishermen back to their cars, but we were not deterred.  We made the hike to the creek and got some good fishing in before lightning chased us out of the valley and into the forest--several times.

It rained so much that the trail back to the car was a small river.  By the time we got back, we were soaked to the bone, and my hands were so cold that I couldn't move my fingers--I had to hold the key to my truck between my wrists and twist my body to get it started.  But the fishing was worth it!

Mt. Shavano and Tabeguache Peak

Before meeting my friend Scott in Salida, I squeezed in a quick hike: Mt. Shavano and Tabeguache Peak.  I slept in my truck at the trailhead, or at least I tried to sleep in my truck--there were several groups that drove up and started hiking in the middle of the night that kept me from sleeping much.  After a few hours of sleep, I got up at 4:30 to get through the hike and be back to town in time to pick Scott up in time.  11.25 miles and 5,600 feet of elevation gain later, I was back to my truck with two new fourteeners under my belt.

After hiking for over an hour in the dark (by the light of a headlamp), it started getting light around 5:30 as I reached the edge of tree line.

The moon was still out as the sun began to rise.

After leaving the trees behind, there were a few hundred yards of shrubs and scraggly trees before  getting to alpine tundra.

Looking back toward Salida

Monarch Ski Area in the distance.

View from Mt. Shavano: Antero Peak, another fourteener, in the distance--I think.

Looking back at Mt. Shavano from the top of Tabeguache Peak.