Friday, January 8, 2010

Return to the Sierra

So after returning from the Rockies, I set my sights on finally getting myself a Golden.

My buddy Brandon and I decided to do a two night trip to the Eastern Sierra to a lake that is known to have some quality Goldens and Lahontan Cutthroat.

The hike in is one of the most enjoyable trails I have ever hiked. Many great vistas, and a nice steady grade in lieu of the standard granite boulder hopping I had become accustomed to in the Desolation.

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After about 6 miles, we finally made it to our destination that was just ridding itself of its last snow.

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We set up camp and this is our front yard.

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Not 100 feet behind our tent was this awesome view. An amazing place to sit as the sun goes down.

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Soon after arrival we got to fishing. It was tough going, but after a couple hours I was rewarded with a hard won first Golden. And it was a good one!

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We managed a few more small ones as the sun was setting that night. What colors!

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The next morning, the fishing continued to be tough, but I did manage this awesome 20" Lahontan Cutthroat on a size 16 BWO nymph.
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All told, this extremely dark nice sized Lahontan was the only fish of interest after the big Cutt.

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The very next week, I made my first overnight with my girlfriend. We planned a quick easy overnight to familiar territory for our shakedown run. We had a great trip, with no major hiccups. Fishing was decent, and the views and experiences were great. She was now as hooked on the backcountry as I am.

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Upon returning home, we immediately began planning for another overnight back into the Desolation for Gold! Had a great trip up a short but gnarly trail and managed a few of these little dudes. My first Desolation Goldens.

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The moment I started to dive forward, I saw a nice golden not 5 feet in front of me. Swimming with Goldens, AWESOME!

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After these quick succesful overnights, we started planning some longer trips, that I will cover in following updates! Thanks for reading.

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