Sunday, August 20th --
It took three hours to drive from Casper to Fort Collins. It was the first time that we could remember that
construction wasn't happening on I-25. We checked into our hotel, rested for a while, and went out to eat.
While driving around Fort Collins, it was evident that school was going to begin soon at Colorado State
University ("CSU") -- there were many students riding bicycles around the campus. It was an interesting
experience at the restaurant because one of the lone customers had Tourette Syndrome. He sat in a corner by
himself and every 15 to 20 seconds we could hear him blurt out things. After dinner, we returned to the hotel
and had a few cocktails prior to returning to our hotel room at about 10:30. While we were at the bar, our
friend researched the weather forecast for "the lake." The first few days of our 5-day trip looked good, but
the last 24 hours looked ominous. Apparently, Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hilary might affect our trip -- the
first trip that we would make to "the lake" in three years.
Monday, August 21st --
We got up at 4am -- an hour later than we usually got up. (Since my brother didn't go on this trip, I was able
to convince our friend to let us sleep in for an extra hour. It helped me -- a lot!) At 5am, we ate breakfast at
a Denny's restaurant. We started driving around 6am and arrived at the trailhead around 7:55am.
Immediately before ending our drive, our friend spotted a female moose -- a cow -- and two of its calves
walking through the woods about 50 yards to the right of the road. (Awesome!) At 8:20, we began hiking.
As expected, because of the fire that passed through the area three years beforehand, there were many
blackened pine trees along the trail and across mountainsides. The only word that I could say, and I said it
over and over, was "Wow." When we reached the reservoir, we noticed that it was about 20 feet below
capacity. There was a man and woman there who appeared to be taking measurements from a monitoring
device on the back wall of the reservoir.
We reached "the lake" at 12:20. We noticed that there weren't as many mosquitos along the trail. We noted
that zero trees blocked the trail. This was interesting because when we either spoke to, or emailed with,
forest rangers and volunteers about the trail, we got the impression that we would have to cross some downed
trees. Fortunately, all of the fallen trees had been cleared away. And we saw several of them! "Thank you,
volunteers!"
(Strange -- the campsite markers were gone. It was evident that someone had pulled them out of the ground
based upon the square holes that remained. And the missing markers wouldn't be the only strange thing that
we encountered during this trip.)
As usual, the first thing that we did was to set up our tent. Since my brother didn't go this year, instead of
setting up two tents, our friend and I set up his 3-man tent. However, prior to arranging camp, it was
necessary to remove the top half of a tree that had fallen directly into the spot where we usually set up the
bigger tent. Fortunately, it wasn't too heavy and our he-man friend was able to move it out of the way by
himself. Also, the spot where we usually set up the 1-man tent had the bottom half of the same tree laying in
its spot. It wouldn't have been possible to move it and we would have had to set up the small tent somewhere
else. In summary, it was evident that not many people had traveled in the area recently.
We filled up our four water bottles and our 5-gallon jug from the nearby stream, using our friend's water
purification system. (I forgot the proper term for it.) We returned to the campsite and our friend pointed
out something different. A couple of nearby trees had been tagged. So, at least forest rangers and/or
volunteers had been to "the lake" that summer. Then, finally, for the first time in three years, we fished for
some beloved cutthroat trout. However, beforehand, I took a sponge bath. (I feel SO much better when I do
it after backpacking. I don't care how much grief that I get from people.)
Wow, were we excited about finally fishing there! My brother, our friend, and I had communicated during
the past several months about how great the fishing would be since there had probably been so few people
who could go to "the lake" since 2020. As always, our friend fished with his flyrod and I fished with my
spincasting gear. The day was mostly sunny, but the fishing wasn't so "sunny." Our friend caught one, I
didn't catch any -- using my reliable red-and-while daredevle, and we counted only three fish breaking the
surface that afternoon. That was strange, especially about the lack of fish jumping. Note: Our friend's fish
was one of the brightest, one of the longest, and one of the heaviest fish that I've ever seen caught there. In
50 years! Actually, it was longer than the 22-inch long gauge on his belly boat. (You can see a photo of it on
the associated 'Pictures' page.)
While we were on "the lake," our friend told me a great story. He had launched his belly boat, was on the
water before me, and said that when he arrived at the lake, a bald eagle "greeted" him at the launching area.
God, I love this place!
While fishing, I got wet. The reason was because (1) My belly boat lost air, (2) I sunk too low in the boat,
and (3) Lake water entered over the top of, and into, my waders. Our friend explained that the belly boats
regularly lost air due to the interaction of a boat bladder's warm air and "the lake's" cold water "sucking"
the air out of the boats' bladders. So, I paddled to the other shore, got out of the boat, and put more air into
the main bladder. Needless to say, when we finished fishing and returned to camp, I hung my wet clothes on
the clotheline for them to dry out.
My brother had purchased some small, lightweight, foldable seat cushions earlier that year. Those things
were great because your derriere can readily get sore sitting on logs.
Whenever my brother went on the trip, he and our friend ate gourmet-style dinners. (You know, those
"mountain meals" that come in pouches?) During this trip, our friend decided to eat meals like the ones
that he and I used to eat prior to my brother going on these trips. (By the way, my brother resumed going to
"the lake" in 2011.) So, our dinners included Ramen, elk jerky, and, sometimes, trail mix. "(Thanks" to
our friend's wife for making homemade trail mix. It was great!)
We hit the tent around 8:20. It was a warm night, so much so that I never zipped up my sleeping bag. At
10 o'clock, our friend got leg cramps. (He had intended to take anti-cramping pills prior to going to bed, but
he didn't do it.) So, he put a few pills under his tongue and the cramps were gone in a few minutes. That
sounds like a miracle drug to me! Thanks to it, we slept for 11 hours that night.
Regarding fishing, I was very surprised that I didn't get a single fish to even HIT my trusty red-and-while
daredevle. Maybe related to that, it might be why we only saw three fish jump that afternoon. While at
"the lake", my 11-year old Canon Powershot camera stopped working. So, I resumed taking photos with my
phone. While writing notes in my journal that night, I recalled that the trail, at the steep incline starting the
last mile of the hike, was rerouted. It must have been due to the large number of trees that blocked the
original part of the trail. I wondered if that would be the new, permanent trail. Probably.
Airplanes: 64
People: 0
Fish: 1 -- our friend caught a 23-incher on a Stimulator
Temp: High -- 75, Low -- 60
Tuesday, August 22nd --
We got up at 7:50 and ate oatmeal at 8:05. It was a clear morning, but clouds would increase during the day.
Notably, we didn't see a single fish jump during the entire day. While fishing, our friend and I could hear an
eagle, but we couldn't see it. It was somewhere in the trees around the lake. I saw all of one chipmunk and
zero squirrels that day. "Where is everything?" After fishing in the morning and while our friend took a
nap, I researched all of the campsites. I found two that I'd never seen before. (Yet another strange thing.)
That afternoon while fishing, I caught my first fish. Unfortunately, while freeing it, my lure caught in my
waders. It took about 10 full minutes to detach it ... without tearing the waders. During the rest of the
afternoon, we didn't catch any fish. After fishing, as usual, we both took naps. (Our friend is a professional
-- he napped for nearly 4 hours. Afterwards, we went fishing again. We noticed that there were were no fly
hatches that afternoon. When hatches don't occur, that's typically when the wind blows too hard. (The
wind wasn't blowing too hard.) After about an hour, it sprinkled a little bit. Prior to sprinkling, usually that
initiates fly hatches. Nothing. That day, like the previous day, I only fished with spincasting gear. But I
planned on flyfishing the next day. I noticed that the sky was mostly covered with thin clouds. Our friend
and I noticed that there were many, many Damselflies flying around the East Weedbed. You could hear their
wings flapping against the reeds. I also noticed that the East Weedbed has nearly expanded to reach the
Launching Area. On the other side of "the lake," the West Weedbed has nearly expanded to reach the big
rock towards the East. Another unusual thing -- I noticed that no fish were following my lure. Our friend
pointed out that the apparent lack of fish was probably the result of winter kill -- the lake had probably
frozen over for so long that (1) There was a shortage of food for the fish, and (2) The larger fish had eaten all
of the smaller fish.
That night, we didn't leave our clothes on the clothesline overnight because it appeared likely to rain. After
sunset and while our friend slept, while sitting on one of the logs, I heard an animal walking near the
campsite. But I couldn't see it because it was hidden by the trees. And, finally, I heard a woodpecker. It
was a starry night and I could see the moon through the trees. Cool! Speaking of sleeping, our friend slept
for 13 hours that night. Wow!
Airplanes: 58
People: 0
Fish: 2 -- our friend caught one on a grasshopper; I caught a 19-incher on a Mepps lure
Temp: High -- 65, Low -- 55
Wednesday, August 23rd --
I got up at 8:10. It was a slightly cloudy morning. For breakfast, we once again ate instant cereal and
granola bars. We heard howling far away. (I don't recall hearing howling in that area before.) After
cleaning up after eating, we prepared for fishing. Our friend tied a grasshopper with a dropper fly on my fly
line. (He's an ace at it, so I had him do it for me.) While fishing, we finally saw a few fish surfacing.
However, it still wasn't nearly as many as usual. Also, we heard an/the eagle again and also heard what
sounded like an eaglet begging for food. Notes --
1) Each day was typically warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts.
2) I took a "#3" Ha! Ha!
As usual, we napped that afternoon due to (1) The difficulty of breathing at the higher elevation, and (2)
Exercising while paddling around "the lake" in our belly boats. (Wow, can our friend snore! I used earplugs
which, fortunately, worked well.)
At 3:45, it started thundering. It was around that time that our friend said something that I'd been thinking
about but didn't want to say. As mentioned before, the weather forecast was for rain to begin falling on
Thursday afternoon. And it wasn't supposed to end until sometime during the weekend. Our friend
suggested that we leave "the lake" the next morning. If we did that, we would avoid the possibility/
probability of packing our backpacks with wet gear. Especially the tent and its fly. Also, we wouldn't have
to hike in the rain. Reluctantly, I agreed that it was a good idea.
Back to the thunder, at 3:55, our friend cooked dinner. At 4:00, we ate, the rain started, and we got into the
tent soon thereafter. Fortunately, we had brought playing cards. So, we played several hands of gin rummy
to kill the time while in the tent. At 4:20, the rain ended and I got out of the tent. At 4:25, the sky was
mostly clear. At 6:00, it began raining again and, at 6:10, it ended. Afterwards, I dug a trench around the
uphill end of the tent and along the sides of the tent. Yes, I was late doing it, but it couldn't hurt. At 7:40, it
started raining again. Soon afterwards, our friend and I were sleeping like logs.
Airplanes: 54(?)
People: 0
Fish: 2 -- our friend caught one; I caught a 21-inch female -- using my flyrod and a hopper
Temp: High -- 70, Low -- 50
Thursday, August 24th --
It rained once that morning prior to sunrise. Our friend told me that it had rained twice more that night.
After eating breakfast, we broke camp. Fortunately, we were able to pack our things while it wasn't raining.
I said "'See you soon'" to my dad and "the lake" and we began hiking down the hill. After about 90 minutes,
it began raining on us. The rain wasn't heavy, but it was steady during the rest of the hike. And, you know?
-- it wasn't that bad while hiking in the light rain. We were going to be sweating anyway, so it actually felt
okay. Moreover, we weren't getting sunburned. (It happens easily and quickly at 10,000 feet.) About a
couple of hours later and about five minutes before we reached the trailhead, the rain ended. That made
unpacking and preparing for the drive a lot easier, especially since it also involved changing into other clothes.
As I expected, there were no cars at the trailhead. Apparently, others had seen the weather forecasts and
decided not to go backpacking because of the anticipated rain. While driving down the hill, we could see
pockets of rain all around the nearby mountains. To end, the drive back to Casper along the back highway
was uneventful and we didn't encounter any rain. But we were certain that it would be coming down soon!
Epilogue --
- Totals --
Airplanes: 176(?)
People: 0
Fish Caught: 5
Our Friend: 3
Me: 2
- That was the first time that we never saw anyone else during a trip
- Sleeping directly on top of the sleeping mat and covering me with the sleeping bag was more comfortable
than sleeping inside the bag
- I spoke with a member of the Colorado Parks & Wildlife organization and he pointed out that designated
campsites had been eliminated in the area
- I submitted messages on both a forest volunteer Website and a national forest Website, thanking them for
clearing the trail to "the lake"