Craig Ewing's "Space"
A Description Of 10,000 Feet, 2008

Friday, August 1st --
My friend and I left his house at 3:15am.   We arrived at the backpacking trailhead at
6:15.   We started hiking at 6:30 and arrived at the lake at 9:10.   Subtracting off rests
during the hike, it took us 2 hours and 15 minutes to get there.   That was our fastest hike
since going there together in 2001.   While hiking, we saw sage ground, quail, and a fox.  
People-wise, we saw 6 people who were camping near the creek along the trail.   Four of
them later made a day trip to the lake.   Other than them, there was no one at the lake.
For the first time in many years, I noticed that there was no snow on the mountain
(glacier?) above the lake.   My friend and I deduced that it was because we went there
later in the year than usual.   Also, the mountains had a late snow season, so there should
have been snow on the mountain.   Also, there wasn't as much snow as usual on the
surrounding mountains.   Last, the lake's water level was down by about one foot,
providing potential confirmation that less water/ice/snow existed late in the season.
We noticed that the mosquitoes were not as bothersome as before.   As usual, we got water
from the spring on the side of the mountain.   (Refer to picture on other page.)   We took
naps at 4:30, lasting for 1-1/2 hours.   (I guess that we needed it after the push during the
hike.)   There was no typical afternoon rainstorm, so we fished all afternoon long.   We
had our typical dinner of Top Ramen noodles and (elk) jerky.   At 9:10 with light
sprinkling, we crashed for the night.   Note: I forgot to bring my sleeping mat before I
left my home.   I bought a new one the night before our trip.   Unfortunately, it was too
thin and too short (52 inches long instead of 72 inches long as stated on the package.   So
I had to place as much clothing as possible on top of the mat to get as much cushion as
possible.
Fish Caught: My friend -- 18; Me -- 6. We caught them on Chernobyl Ants, Woolly
Worms, Madam X's, red-and-white daredevils, and Rainbow trout streamers.   The
biggest fish of the day was an 18-incher that was caught by my friend.   Airplanes Heard:
47.   (It's so peaceful there!)

Saturday, August 2nd --
We woke up at 5:10 but didn't get up and slept in until 7:30.   I had a slight headache
when I woke up, probably due to sleeping so long without drinking any water.   It was
cloudy that morning and the fishing wasn't very good.   Two volunteer forest rangers and
7-day trippers went to the lake.   The rangers had never been to the lake before and
I told them a little bit about the history of it since I'd been going there since the early
1970's.
While we were floating around on the tube/belly boats, I heard and saw a bald eagle
flying overhead.   It rained lightly for 45 minutes starting at 3:15pm.   We took naps at
that time.   Then it rained harder for about 5 minutes at 6 o'clock.   At that time, my
friend was getting some water from the spring and got caught on the other side of the
lake until it stopped.   We hit the hay at 10:10 went it began raining again.   (One good
thing about the rain is that it's usually associated with wind beforehand.   The wind
tends to keep the mosquitoes away.   I would like to know why that happens!)
Fish Caught: My friend -- 11; Me -- 7. We caught them on Chernobyl Ants, Red Ants,
grasshoppers, Rainbow trout streamers, and yellow Woolly Worms.   Airplanes Heard:
59.

Sunday, August 3rd --
We got up at 6:30 and it was cloudy.   It was cloudy, the atmosphere was extraordinarily
calm, and the fishing was not very good.   (My friend caught 5 fish and I caught 3 fish that
morning.)   Because the fishing was so slow, we took more pictures than usual.   So most
of the pictures on the other page are from that morning.   The animals and birds were out
in force and I saw robins, chipmunks, sparrows, and a rabbit (the first time ever at the
lake).   A light rain started at 2:15 and we took naps until 4:30.   (Wow, 2 hours and 15
minutes must be a record for me/us!)
While fishing that afternoon, my friend caught 11 fish and I caught 4.   I should point out
that my friend always fishes with a fly rod and I usually fish with a spinning rod.   After 7
o'clock that night, we did not catch any fish.   I recall that the rangers that I spoke with
the previous day, I asked them about the problem regarding pine beetles destroying the
pine trees.   They informed me that the beetles were attacking lodgepole pine trees.   The
majority of the trees around the lake were fir pine trees.   So hopefully, the beetles will
not impact the trees around the lake.
At 6 o'clock, I went to the spring to get some water.   While walking back to the lake, I
heard a large animal in the trees behind the old campsite.   My friend was in the water
near the edge of the lake and I whispered to him about it.   He said that he'd also heard it
but couldn't see it.   I spent about 5 minutes walking around the old campsite but never
saw it.   We went to bed that night around 9:30 and fortunately it was not cloudy. So we
stayed up late enough to see some stars, constellations, Jupiter, and even bats flying
around.   We also saw either the International Space Station ("ISS") or the Hubble
Space Telescope flying from northwest to the south.   I was able to see the Hercules
Cluster with my naked eye and a 5.3 magnitude star in the Little Dipper.   But maybe the
highlight of the day was that no one else hiked to the lake that day.   I can't remember the
last time that I/we were the only person at the lake on a Sunday.   Cool!
Fish Caught: My friend -- 16; Me -- 7.   Airplanes Heard: 47.

Monday, August 4th --
We got up at 6:30 and immediately went fishing in our float tubes before eating anything
for breakfast.   The fishing was very slow and then at 8:45 my friend and I had what I
believe will be one of the most exciting experiences of my life.   He whispered to me "Look
behind me!"   At first I looked the wrong way and then I saw what he was referring to.
Two moose were standing on the pathway at the edge of the lake!   They saw us, so we
didn't move so that we wouldn't scare them.   (It's amazing that the animals weighed
between 800 and 1,000 lbs. and they're scared of us!)   The two animals proceeded to walk
around the east side of the lake.   As they did, we snapped pictures at every opportunity.
At one point, they were moving so quickly that it was difficult to keep up with them, even
though they were walking along the lake's curved edge and we were paddling in straight
lines.   When I realized that they were probably going to walk along the edge of the lake
for a while, I decided to "cut them off" on the other side of the lake.   So I made a beeline
for the southwest end of the lake.   And it worked!   I was able to get about 15 feet from the
lake's edge prior to them arriving there.   My friend did the same thing as me and we
resumed taking pictures and following them as they continued walking around the lake.
Finally, after 50 minutes, the two moose laid down in the grass under a tree next
to the lake.   Amazing!   We took a couple more pictures and decided to finish because (1)
We needed to get the belly boats out of the water with enough time for them to dry
prior to packing them up, and (2) The moose needed a rest from us.   So we fished for
about 20 more minutes and returned to camp at 10 o'clock.
At camp, we finally had breakfast -- oatmeal and instant breakfast cereal.   We broke
down camp and packed up our things.   We began hiking out at 12:20 and only stopped
three times prior to arriving at the trailhead at 2:30.   We got back just in time because it
began raining, hard, 20 minutes afterwards.   Last, the drive back to my friend's place
was very easy and we arrived there at 5:30.
Fish Caught: My friend -- 4; Me -- 0. He caught them on Yellow Sally's and grasshoppers.  


of Page
Return to Picture Page.