Post-Interview Fishing Trip

After an almost-full summer in the mountains, I realized that I wasn't ready to go back to the real world, so I started looking at jobs at ski resorts.  My dream when I was in elementary school was to be a fly fishing guide in the summer and a ski instructor in the winter.  After checking the fly fishing guide box this summer, I figured I might as well look into life as a ski instructor.

One of the few resorts I looked into was Crested Butte, which is less than two hours from Lake City.  After sending in some applications, I hit the road for an interview in CB.  Once that was over, I went straight to the Taylor River to catch the early afternoon hatches.  The wind was extremely strong, but some bugs were on the water, and the fishing was good for a couple of hours.

Snow on the mountains around Crested Butte in September

The road between Crested Butte and the Taylor River (with the mountains around Crested Butte in the distance)

Brown trout with a double chin

Avalanche Hole

Cinnamon Pass in the Snow

After trying to hike Handies Peak in the snow, Becca and I tried to jeep over Cinnamon Pass to Silverton.  There was snow on the trail that made conditions slippery, but we made it to the top.  Unfortunately, we couldn't make it all the way to Silverton because other travelers reported that the other side of the pass was rather treacherous, but the beautiful views made the drive worth it.

Morning moon over the Pinnacles

Morning light on the snow-covered Continental Divide and Lake San Cristobal

American Basin as seen from Cinnamon Pass

Looking down Cinnamon Pass back toward Lake City

Looking down Cinnamon Pass back toward Lake City

More Moose

After running into a heard of bighorn sheep on our way back from our snow hike (and after seeing a family of moose on our way to the hike), we ran into more moose--probably the same family as before that had just moved many miles down the valley to a warmer spot.  Quite an eventful day!

Lake San Cristobal at the end of an incredible day

Bighorn Sheep

After our attempt to climb Handies (and after our moose sighting), Becca and I ran into traffic coming down Cinnamon Pass: a heard of bighorn sheep were in the middle of the the trail.

A young ewe was curious about our jeep.

A ram looks us over

Snow Moose

On our way up to Handies Peak, we ran across some moose grazing near the 4x4 trail.  The moose didn't seem to mind us or the new snow.

Licking snow off the bushes (I think)

Checking on his ladies