Rockin' ROMO Natl Pk With Kala 18Sep22-21Sep22

Kala & I finally got a rez @ RMNP for our semi-normal fall outing there. Weather is awesome but warmth put off most of the colors for another week or so. It did not put off the fish, or hikes, or elk. We had a great time in our 1st time on B loop with the BC20X - B170 was not a great site but keen Mississippi neighbors and a reasonable remoteness from others left us feelin' good. We arrived on Sunday (mostly against traffic ~ woohoo) at check-in and headed to the BigT for the 90 min of fishing remaining before Moraine Pk closes for the elk @ 5pm. We both caught browns on chubbies in astounding surroundings and felt satisfied to then sit back and observe the show from a distant position this time... that was fine as there'd be more.

For the BigT in Moraine Pk I chose to cast the recently completed "glass" Rodfather Pure Irony. It was a blast, and as mentioned in the build post, a slight reduction in cadence yields a bomb shot if needed. I did catch a lot of grass heads in this meadow stream however... and lost multiple rigs in the stream-bank weeds or unknown grass-head. On one such occasion I had to lay flat on my chest and reach over into the stream ~ I got the fly but later learned I'd lost my midge box somewhere on the stream! I went back 2 days later and found it. Fortunate as that was, when reviewing footage I saw exactly where I'd lost it; it's hard to believe I didn't see it there (as I now do).

We chowed on yummy ribeye & blue cheese sammies that night back at camp. And we then rested well in the BC20X with the windows cracked. The next morning we brewed our DazBog and enjoyed berries in the rising light as we laid the hiking plan for the day: drive and shuttle into Bear Lk, hike to Dream and Emerald Lks and then find fish there. We added a Bear Lk loop when down to the THs here again. RMNP is simply awesome. I did catch a pic of some of the only Aspen color showing thus far. It's windy up there and I caught a tightly twisted pine from the effects.

 

We went straight to Emerald Lk (3rd selfie H2O pic above & the pan) ~2mi up and then trundled back to Dream Lk where it's (im)possible to catch a triple. I saw mostly cruising Colorado cutthroats and they were well educated. Many raced to my bug and then rejected it ~ I think they were sipping #26s but I ultimately scored with a mostly translucent #22 mayfly. Whew. My NC in-laws love waterfalls so I sent them a pic of the mighty Tyndall Ck falls at the Dream Lk effluent.

Back @ B170 we enjoyed our infamous fajitas on the skottle, and some weird Blue Curacao margs. We finished in time to hit Moraine Pk for the elk rut and scored with very close herd activities. The bull was a big boy with a big >12 point rack and ~40 cows in keep. A couple of youngsters ventured somewhat close but were easily chased off by "the dude." We slept well again ~ thanking Airstream for a built-in bathroom on the Basecamp.

With a good hike under our belts and some fish on the lines, though I was freaking out a bit about the missing fly box, we headed down to the BigT in Moraine to look for it. Super lucky success! We fished a bit more there and I encountered "the dude" again pretty close, just hanging out across the river from me, and I caught some more brownies on chubbies and caddis (and lost more rigs). Returning to grab the Crusher Too and continue chill day, we headed to some Glacier Basin spots mostly unvisted by us prior. They were close to parking lots and CGs so plenty of folk, but we picnicked comfortably near Glacier Ck, but did not fish it (no sign), and then tried our rods on Sprague Lk. The inlet to Sprague was teeming with spawning brookies (tough pic without polarizing lens). We were skunked at Sprague but saw more elk there and headed back to Moraine Pk for salmon canapes and bubbly with blackcurrants for dinner.

We decided that night we'd head out the next morning, due to a change in the weather. So, the next AM Kala's camper training was completed with a black-water pump-out on the way out of MPCG. We were fortunate we did not hit rain till Boulder. Another GR8 fall trip to RMNP... see ya next year.

Salmon-Willow Lakes Pack Trip '22 ~ Into The Gore 22Jul22-24Jul22

Our somewhat annual trip into the Eagle's Nest Wilderness, up to the Willow Lakes, was awesome this weekend. DaveS, GregL, SteveB and I climbed ~6 miles and 2200ft of vert on Friday afternoon to camp above Lower Willow Lk @ ~11.4Kft elevation. The trip was a bit longer for Dave and Greg as Dave dropped Steve & I at the upper TH and then had to park in overflow parking at the bottom of Willowbrook (no overnight parking allowed at the TH any more). Greg did similarly later in the day. The extra was 3/4 mile and several hundred feet. We appreciated that Dave!

Steve & I were dropped above Willowbrook and immediately started out on Three Peaks trail, which would intersect the trail to Willow Lakes following the North Willow Creek. Dave drove down the hill, parked and walked 3/4 mile up to the Willowbrook TH, grabbed his pack, and headed out, about 50 minutes behind us. We were almost certain that goat-boy Dave would ultimately overtake us ~ but he didn't! Steve & I kept a decent pace over the climb and made it in 3 hrs moving time and just under 4 hrs gross. The wildflowers became abundant over the last mile and a half and we got no rain on the hike.

Dave arrived shortly after and Greg arrived about 7pm after pulling up late to the parking lot (you know - working guy). We all set up camp in a glorious spot overlooking Lower Willow Lk and Blue River valley far below. It was a completely awesome site but for many pesky mosquitos ~ we slathered ourselves with deet.

I headed over to Middle Willow Lk to fish before dinner and caught a number of beautiful brookies and a fine low sun pan of the crest and lake reflected on the lake, and some wildflowers. I packed the new Rodfather Power Pack 6pc 5wt which tossed the chubbies distant with ease but landed the 8"-10" brookies too easily.

At camp we pumped water, prepared dinner and spoke of camp things... the working stiffs, both software dev mgrs reviewed issues with their systems and pending releases. Steve and I enjoyed ramen with veggies, jalepenos and chix. We retired pretty early to avoid being eaten but morning didn't even come too quickly. Coffee and oatmeal with parts was nearly the universal fare for the team. Steve's Jetboil system was almost instantaneous, but it would not simmer. Already we encountered moose & deer, as well as humans, along the treelines of meadows.

We fished all day Saturday, except for a 90 min nap in the tents during an early PM rainfall. It was a great day with literally 100s of brookies caught. I personally caught 68 on Saturday alone! We stayed on the Willow Lks this entire outing and started with a hike to Upper Willow Lake in the morning. Six "kids" we'd encountered on the hike on the day prior chose the very cool site abutting the upper lake - but that came with a dozen aggressive goats! They'd stolen boots and even a fly rod (all recovered) but were very present and curious and the "kids" were always chasing them out of their camp ~ to which they often bleated furiously. Fishing-wise, everybody caught many fish usually using a double dry system of a #14 Chubby Chernobyl trailed by a 2nd smaller dry, where an ant was popular. At times I even went dubl-chubby. We crushed it up there. Stealthy Greg took a high vantage to target shoot. Too, the upper lake has it's own spectacular crest and cirque. Half way through the session on the top lake I did trade rods with my Bro Brown - he was using my 6 foot RF Headwaters and a guy should not be made to fish with a rod substantially shorter than he is. I liked both rods for this area but the RFHW was tougher to cast far.

The Willow Lakes are inter-connected via streams. Upper Willow's effluent runs into a Side Willow spot and Middle Willow flows into Lower Willow. To make my way back to camp I followed the outflow of Upper Willow for some creek brookies. It cascades pretty steeply but there are nice holding spots ~ I used the same rig and caught many more on this descent, including landing a double catch where fish nabbed each of the two flies on the same cast and I was able to land both. The creek brookies had bigger darker heads and brighter coloring often and were stronger. It was a blast.

After back at camp for lunch and a nap during the rain, we set out for Middle Willow Lk. I think Greg had three fish on his first 3 casts. We did well with the same sized fish as at Upper Willow, but perhaps catching was more on-and-off as to our "luck." Still, we had a blast. Again on departure I took the effluent stream down to Lower Willow and did very well... I found some columbine hiding and a cool waterfall spot yielded several nice brook trout.

We all met up at Lower Willow Lake 200 ft below our campsite for our final fishing onslaught of the day. Lower is known for bigger fish but lesser catching. The Daves were fortunate to be on the catching side of the equation to cap the day. I landed a much nicer ~15" brookie on my #20 Griffith's Gnat... more challenging to land than the 10"ers without a net... so cool for my final catch for number 68. Though Greg then chastised me to get back out there to get an even 69.

We headed back to camp as sunset was pending and enjoyed a regaling of the days encounters, some freeze-dried vittles and Milky Ways, B&B&B (bourbon, benedictine, & brandy) and Greg's 114 bourbon. Very satisfying fishing day on the Willow Lakes. We retired kindof early again mainly a retreat from feasting mosquitos. Arising came more quickly on Sunday as we had the hike-out and Dave & Greg needed to check the status of their sketchy software releases :). The departure pic was excellent as we said bye-bye to the Eagle's Nest wild for another year. I led the entire stretch down as I'm sure my fellow CoWWs were full of respect (and wanted to ensure if I biffed they could get me out). These guys are so solid ~ I am lucky.

We crossed talus fields and hopped streams and ultimately gained cell service so I could reach out to our buddy DD who couldn't roll with us on this outing. Part of the discussion too was the 100 years it will take to recover from beetle kill deadfall ~ but we saw evidence too of the 5ft starts in the process.

We made it down quickly with 20min miles and DaveS went to grab the shuttle car while we talked with the goat herders from upper camp. They had bad mosquitos too but goats as well - and yet were all excited for their next trip into the Gore. We even saw them again at ORB, where we met up with DD and his bride YD on a rare outside sighting; DaryleD had scored us position A at ORB/Bird Cafe and it was so nice to see Y in the flesh, have a great beer, eat fried chicken, and do those down mountain things we do. Fabulous weekend with great friends.