Steve and I hit the Roaring Fk valley to fish the Pan and the Roaring Fk, as well as shake down the camper on it's maiden (to me) voyage. We rolled through Aspen and arrived mid-day at Difficult Ck CG and found we needed to wait a smidge in the Day Use area for our spot to vacate. NP, a smidge of rain had us unfurl the Crusher Too canopy for beers and lunch.
We soon got to #14 and had the site set up nicely. I had noted prior that the magnetic latches on all the storage cabinets don't hold well enough for shitting items and devised a temporary scheme with bungee cords to hold them closed; it worked. Steve chose to use the Mondo Condo tent and big boy cot I brought rather the squish into the 2nd berth of the Airstream - it worked great for him and he'll likely reprise that setup in Gunny next week,
After a quick game of Petanque around the CG 'hood we decided to try the tiny Roaring Fork (at this high point in valley) and Difficult Creek for fish. I caught several tiny rainbows like this
on #16 chubby or dropper. We really whacked through thick brush and
swamps to get to the starting point - and fished upstream to camp. Even the 2 wt Roadfather Headwaters overpowered these little guys.
Rain hammered and it got cold as we returned to camp. The Moonshade awning worked great, though it is a smidge small. The camper was cozy for an epic game of Yahtzee/Kismet where neither of us had to cross out any category. Good news is that my minor leak repairs on the camper worked and I saw no water in the house. I made fajitas on the skottle, which were delish, but very spicy ~ I used a bunch of hatch chilies. Off to bed in the cool & rain. Monday morning we had sights on fishing the Frying Pan up high below Reudi Rez (we drove up for a quick peek). Flows were ~250cfs, a little higher than normal for this time of year, but the bugs were popping including PMDs, drakes, and BWOs. The Frying Pan gorge is a gorgeous red-cliffed canyon. I scored a number of 16" browns on droppers and dries but did not even see the big 'bows I usually do here. I even hand-held the line and dropped it on a gaggle of fish right below me waiting for the shuffle. The Rodfather True Five was plenty.
We had lunch up there too and then went downstream some for a second attempt. It was brief as the higher flows were a bit challenging in the section I chose. So, we headed out, bound for Capitol Creek Brewery in Basalt (where the Pan flows into the Roaring Fork). Capitol was good with a great service lady who let me taste all 5 IPAs they brewed there. I chose the RFG hazy IPA (yeah, really fucking good) and Brown enjoyed the Mexican lager.
The day's weather was great, even a smidge hot. Once back at camp we enjoyed another game of Petanque and I rolled out tasty BLTs (where the bacon was pre-baked and ready) with red chili mayo. Steve made some fine bourbon sours, but we forgot rocks; we enjoyed them initially beneath the cafe lighting outside the BC20X. Steve then built a great fire (though it's good fire danger is modest as it was big). Another one in the books. Slept well again.
For our 3rd day fishing we headed to the keen freestone and the valley's namesake, the Roaring Fork. We first hit the Jaffe Park section which is a dance and a half once in the water. Flows are a reasonable ~150cfs and fishing was good. I caught a half dozen strong ~16" rainbows on the chubby, a PMD nymph and a beige caddis larva. We fished and lunched alongside a gorgeous garden in private property across the river. Today I wielded the Rodfather Cutty - a sweet 4 weight back in service with the tip section of the RFDB broken. I saw quite a few large stonefly cases on the rocks but didn't to a prince nymph as the caddis was working.
We left Jaffe after lunch and went on a wild goose chase. I had fished the "airport section" of the RF previously but I could not find the parking which allowed us access into this deep gorge section. We found parking spots on two occasions but the hike in/out would have killed us - I don't remember that situation before.
Ultimately we bailed mid-PM and headed in to Aspen for a stop at
ABC, Aspen Brewing Company. I liked the Sunnyside hazy IPA. Steve had a
different Capitol Ck brew; yeah, we learned that ABC and CBC are
both owned by the same guy! It was warm again so getting out of waders
and under a shade with a cold one was nice. I also like the DDH Excess In Moderation and scored a 6 pack. We both commented on the
very different vibe in Aspen from Summit. Being near the airport on the RF with several private jets per moment flying overhead speaks volumes. For day 4 fishing we wanted guidance on alpine streams and/or lakes where the fish might be more plentiful and dumber. Unfortunately there are no righteous fly shops in Aspen (that's a strange problem) and those guides who hung shingles out were not home... another goose chase.
Back at camp Steve started cleaning up the woods themselves and preparing for his steak and fries meal while I began to edit the pictures. After some margs and a fine steak we again enjoyed a fire and then toddled off to bed, unknowing what the next day would bring. Well, without guidance we chose to leave a day early - so, now here on Wed eve I am putting the touches on the entry and cleaning up the BC20X from the days in Aspen. The only issue learned on the shake down run is that I need to study or repair the accessory gas line I should be able to use for the skottle, grill and stove. I dropped back to 1# canisters for this trip. Else, the camper is amazing: I dragged it at full speed without any scare and it is comfy and convenient at camp. The dual battery and solar works as needed with seemingly plenty of reserve - that's a change for us from the one battery popup where energy management is key. I also learned that the big anti-sway hitch conflicts a smidge with my tailgate. I need to cover it in something or the gate will get dented and scratched... this week I used a Simms neoprene glove from my fishing box but I fear the time when I just toss the gate down and smack it raw.
