Friday, July 19th -- We -- my brother, our friend, and I -- woke up at 2:00am, ate breakfast, finished packing our gear, and left our friend's place at 3:10. We reached the trailhead at 6:45. This year, it did not snow as much as the previous year, so we did not have a problem crossing the creek like my brother and our friend experienced in 2011 and had to go to another lake. However, we speculated that it had rained quite a bit the previous night because there was a lot of standing water, pools, etc. at various locations that did not usually exist along the drive and the trail. Also, we got somewhat wet while hiking when we brushed against grasses, branches, etc. and water splashed on us. But it was okay because it helped us stay cool. We crossed paths with eight people while hiking. We arrived at the lake at 10:10. As usual, we went to our typical campsite but two people were already camped there. So, we went to one of the other three campsites that are located at the lake. It was okay because the second site was large enough for our two tents. (My brother and I shared one tent while our friend slept in his tent alone. They determined that it was the best scenario since our friend snores SO-O-O loudly. Ha! Ha!) Also, we discovered later that trees had fallen over our belly boat (float tube) launching area and we found a better launching area near the second campsite. We set up camp, were very anxious to get on the lake, so we started fishing right away -- at one o'clock -- without eating lunch. My brother and our friend got in their belly boats but I couldn't do it because the boots that our friend loaned me were too small for my feet. So, they flyfished from their boats while I fished with spinning gear from the shore. While we fished, four men arrived at the lake. They set up their camp at the third campsite which is near our favorite campsite. We finished at three o'clock, ate a late lunch, and napped until 3:45. Afterwards, we went fishing again. While we fished, our friend and I got water from the spring on the side of the mountain. We finished fishing, ate dinner, and got into the tents at 8:05. The primary reason was because rain was threatening and it sprinkled for about 15 minutes starting at 8:10. Being tired from getting up early, the hike, and fishing, we were done for the day. Fish Caught: Our friend -- 6 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 6 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 2 (red-and-white daredevils) Planes: 51 People: 6 (and 1 dog) Saturday, July 20th -- My brother got up at 6:15 and I got up at 6:25. I walked to the entrance of the lake and scared two deer that were there. (I also scared myself when they darted away!) I took several photographs of the landscape. At 8:00, our friend woke up. We ate breakfast -- instant oatmeal and breakfast bars. Our friend had trouble with his (bunson) burner. It turned out that one or more of the pipes were plugged. Eventually, he solved the problem. It was a good thing because our breakfasts and dinners depended upon the burner working! At 9:30, we started fishing. My brother stated that he usually did not have much success if he started fishing before 9:00 or 9:30. At 2:15, we stopped. We had a lot of success, although as usual we had many hits by fish when we did not hook them. We estimated that whenever we fished at this lake, we caught one fish for every seven hits that we got. I had one problem prior to fishing. When I was putting on the boots over my waders, the sole for one of them broke off. So I simply put the sole between the boot and the flipper. Later, the other sole broke off. My friend later informed me that the boots were about fifteen years old. No wonder they broke! While we were fishing, a man who was day-hiking/fishing with his dog arrived at the lake. The four men who arrived at the lake the previous day left at 4:30. They might have gotten wet during the hike because there was a small storm passing along the trail at that time. Also, there were two other small storms between 2:30 and 2:45 plus 3:40 and 3:55. This time while fishing, I noticed how many more dead trees that there were on the mountains around the lake. It turns out that the pine beetles that were killing lodgepole pine trees on the western slope of Colorado had arrived along the eastern slope. I cannot express how sad I was to realize it since it meant that unless the upcoming winter had weather that dropped down cold enough and long enough to kill the beetles, probably all of the trees would soon be dead. Speaking with my brother and our friend about it later, I said that I estimated that all of the trees would be gone in seven years. My brother estimated that it would happen sooner -- in two years. Please! Please! Please! Let this winter kill all of the pine beetles! Fish Caught: Our friend -- 10 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 6 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 4 (Adams dry fly, Rainbow trout streamers) Planes: 48 People: 1 (and 1 dog) Sunday, July 21st -- My brother got up at 6:20. I woke up when he got up but went back to sleep. I woke up later, as did our friend, at 8:05. Wow! Maybe I slept longer because it had been windier the previous night and I frequently woke up because the tent was flapping. One thing that we remembered was that there were either no mosquitoes or fewer mosquitoes whenever the wind blew. So, we didn't mind the wind. I walked down to the lake and waved at my brother. When he did not respond that he was going to return to the shore (in order to eat breakfast), our friend and I ate. Around 9:10, our friend and I went fishing. While I was fishing, my pole came apart twice. (It was constructed with four pieces and I only had one of the pieces in my hand when it came apart.) Our friend and my brother had a bet where our friend said that it would happen after noon that day. It first happened at 11:40am. So my brother won the bet. Ha! Ha! While we were fishing, three day- trip men arrived at the lake. We finished fishing around 5:30 and ate dinner. As usual, my brother went to bed around 8:30. That is his usual routine every day at home. Since the sky was clear, I stayed up to see the night sky. I saw the nearly full moon; stars Vega, Arcturus, and Spica; the Big Dipper (Ursa Major); and Saturn. Fish Caught: Our friend -- 10 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 13 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 6 (red-and-white daredevils, stone flies (hellgramites), woolly worms, Rainbow trout streamers) Planes: 48 People: 3 Monday, July 22nd -- My brother and I got up around 6:45. As usual, our friend slept in. I teased him about sleeping so much during the trip. (He was sleeping about eleven hours every night and also napping for about two hours every afternoon.) He explained that the reasons were because he was tired from -- (1) Taking care of his father during the past year until he passed away about one month before our trip; (2) Working on his rental properties and selling his dad's home; and (3) Preparing to sell his house and buying other property. I did not realize that he was enduring all of those issues and later apologized to him about teasing him. After our friend got up, we ate breakfast and they went fishing for the last time. I stayed behind and prepared some of my things for the hike back down the hill. After I finished, I joined them on the lake, this time in my belly boat. I did not catch any fish but I had a few hits. My brother caught one fish and our friend caught two fish. As usual, they used only Chernobyl Ants as the leading flies and Adams dry flies as the trailing flies. They finished fishing around 10:15 and I finished about 15 minutes later. Afterwards, we ate some granola bars and breakfast bars while we packed up our stuff. They finished quickly and waited for me to finish. (I think that it took longer for me to do it because I am too much of a perfectionist and wanted to pack as efficiently as possible. Sorry, guys!) At 12:05, we left camp. When we reached the point of the lake where we would turn to go down the trail, I walked to the lake. My brother and our friend knew what I was going to do -- say 'See you later, Dad!', so they started walking while I stood there. It gets more and more difficult to leave my favorite place in the world. Maybe it was magnified during this trip because I had not been there for three years. The walk back to our friend's truck and the trailhead was nice and uneventful. We crossed paths with about eight people in their 20's who were on a 5-day hiking trip to both another lake and "our lake". When I reached the point where I was about one mile from the end of the trail, I decided to walk the rest of the way without stopping. And I made it! But wow, my shoulders hurt! It's a good thing that I have some sheepskin pads to put between my shoulders and my backpack's straps or it would be REALLY painful! While I waited for my brother and our friend to arrive, I took some photographs of the surrounding mountains. There were some trees that had been killed by pine beetles, but the devastation was not as bad as the mountains surrounding "our lake". During the drive through the mountains, I took some more photographs of the mountains. Most of the mountains were green with pine trees. Others were either black or brown from pine beetle kill and/or trees burned by a recent forest fire. As my brother stated, "If the trees weren't killed by pine beetles, then they were killed by forest fires." But even with this situation, you know that I'll go back there next year! Fish Caught: Our friend -- 2 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 1 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 0 Planes: 7 People: 8 Epilogue -- There were many different types of flies hatching during the trip. At one point, our friend and I counted up to six simultaneous hatches. They included mayflies, cadisses, red-and-black (flying) ants, 2-inch stone flies (hellgramites), and tiny black midges. There were even butterflies -- white ones, yellow ones, and Monarchs. For the first time that I ever noticed, there was "seaweed" growing in some places in the lake. I noticed it because I caught one fish, it dove down, I paddled over so that I was straight over it, gently pulled the line until it got free, and when the fish came to the surface, it was covered in about one pound of seaweed. Wow! On Saturday, my brother, our friend, and I all had fish on our lines at the same time. (That was the only time that it happened during the trip.) Two trees at our favorite campsite had red tape around them, indicating that they were killed by pine beetles and needed to be cut down because of the potential of them falling down and possibly hurting or killing people. The tape read "Killer Tree". On "the glacier" and the "snowfield", there was no snow at all. That indicated that less snow fell that year than most years. My brother pointed out that it was the same situation during 2012. Last, most of the time when we would bend over to do something (eg, fill a water bottle), when we stood up, we would get a head rush. That has always happened whenever we go to "our lake", but it is something that I do not remember until I go there and it happens again. of Page Return to Picture Page.
Saturday, July 20th -- My brother got up at 6:15 and I got up at 6:25. I walked to the entrance of the lake and scared two deer that were there. (I also scared myself when they darted away!) I took several photographs of the landscape. At 8:00, our friend woke up. We ate breakfast -- instant oatmeal and breakfast bars. Our friend had trouble with his (bunson) burner. It turned out that one or more of the pipes were plugged. Eventually, he solved the problem. It was a good thing because our breakfasts and dinners depended upon the burner working! At 9:30, we started fishing. My brother stated that he usually did not have much success if he started fishing before 9:00 or 9:30. At 2:15, we stopped. We had a lot of success, although as usual we had many hits by fish when we did not hook them. We estimated that whenever we fished at this lake, we caught one fish for every seven hits that we got. I had one problem prior to fishing. When I was putting on the boots over my waders, the sole for one of them broke off. So I simply put the sole between the boot and the flipper. Later, the other sole broke off. My friend later informed me that the boots were about fifteen years old. No wonder they broke! While we were fishing, a man who was day-hiking/fishing with his dog arrived at the lake. The four men who arrived at the lake the previous day left at 4:30. They might have gotten wet during the hike because there was a small storm passing along the trail at that time. Also, there were two other small storms between 2:30 and 2:45 plus 3:40 and 3:55. This time while fishing, I noticed how many more dead trees that there were on the mountains around the lake. It turns out that the pine beetles that were killing lodgepole pine trees on the western slope of Colorado had arrived along the eastern slope. I cannot express how sad I was to realize it since it meant that unless the upcoming winter had weather that dropped down cold enough and long enough to kill the beetles, probably all of the trees would soon be dead. Speaking with my brother and our friend about it later, I said that I estimated that all of the trees would be gone in seven years. My brother estimated that it would happen sooner -- in two years. Please! Please! Please! Let this winter kill all of the pine beetles! Fish Caught: Our friend -- 10 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 6 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 4 (Adams dry fly, Rainbow trout streamers) Planes: 48 People: 1 (and 1 dog)
Sunday, July 21st -- My brother got up at 6:20. I woke up when he got up but went back to sleep. I woke up later, as did our friend, at 8:05. Wow! Maybe I slept longer because it had been windier the previous night and I frequently woke up because the tent was flapping. One thing that we remembered was that there were either no mosquitoes or fewer mosquitoes whenever the wind blew. So, we didn't mind the wind. I walked down to the lake and waved at my brother. When he did not respond that he was going to return to the shore (in order to eat breakfast), our friend and I ate. Around 9:10, our friend and I went fishing. While I was fishing, my pole came apart twice. (It was constructed with four pieces and I only had one of the pieces in my hand when it came apart.) Our friend and my brother had a bet where our friend said that it would happen after noon that day. It first happened at 11:40am. So my brother won the bet. Ha! Ha! While we were fishing, three day- trip men arrived at the lake. We finished fishing around 5:30 and ate dinner. As usual, my brother went to bed around 8:30. That is his usual routine every day at home. Since the sky was clear, I stayed up to see the night sky. I saw the nearly full moon; stars Vega, Arcturus, and Spica; the Big Dipper (Ursa Major); and Saturn. Fish Caught: Our friend -- 10 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 13 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 6 (red-and-white daredevils, stone flies (hellgramites), woolly worms, Rainbow trout streamers) Planes: 48 People: 3
Monday, July 22nd -- My brother and I got up around 6:45. As usual, our friend slept in. I teased him about sleeping so much during the trip. (He was sleeping about eleven hours every night and also napping for about two hours every afternoon.) He explained that the reasons were because he was tired from -- (1) Taking care of his father during the past year until he passed away about one month before our trip; (2) Working on his rental properties and selling his dad's home; and (3) Preparing to sell his house and buying other property. I did not realize that he was enduring all of those issues and later apologized to him about teasing him. After our friend got up, we ate breakfast and they went fishing for the last time. I stayed behind and prepared some of my things for the hike back down the hill. After I finished, I joined them on the lake, this time in my belly boat. I did not catch any fish but I had a few hits. My brother caught one fish and our friend caught two fish. As usual, they used only Chernobyl Ants as the leading flies and Adams dry flies as the trailing flies. They finished fishing around 10:15 and I finished about 15 minutes later. Afterwards, we ate some granola bars and breakfast bars while we packed up our stuff. They finished quickly and waited for me to finish. (I think that it took longer for me to do it because I am too much of a perfectionist and wanted to pack as efficiently as possible. Sorry, guys!) At 12:05, we left camp. When we reached the point of the lake where we would turn to go down the trail, I walked to the lake. My brother and our friend knew what I was going to do -- say 'See you later, Dad!', so they started walking while I stood there. It gets more and more difficult to leave my favorite place in the world. Maybe it was magnified during this trip because I had not been there for three years. The walk back to our friend's truck and the trailhead was nice and uneventful. We crossed paths with about eight people in their 20's who were on a 5-day hiking trip to both another lake and "our lake". When I reached the point where I was about one mile from the end of the trail, I decided to walk the rest of the way without stopping. And I made it! But wow, my shoulders hurt! It's a good thing that I have some sheepskin pads to put between my shoulders and my backpack's straps or it would be REALLY painful! While I waited for my brother and our friend to arrive, I took some photographs of the surrounding mountains. There were some trees that had been killed by pine beetles, but the devastation was not as bad as the mountains surrounding "our lake". During the drive through the mountains, I took some more photographs of the mountains. Most of the mountains were green with pine trees. Others were either black or brown from pine beetle kill and/or trees burned by a recent forest fire. As my brother stated, "If the trees weren't killed by pine beetles, then they were killed by forest fires." But even with this situation, you know that I'll go back there next year! Fish Caught: Our friend -- 2 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); my brother -- 1 (Chernobyl Ants and Adams dry flies); Me: 0 Planes: 7 People: 8
Epilogue -- There were many different types of flies hatching during the trip. At one point, our friend and I counted up to six simultaneous hatches. They included mayflies, cadisses, red-and-black (flying) ants, 2-inch stone flies (hellgramites), and tiny black midges. There were even butterflies -- white ones, yellow ones, and Monarchs. For the first time that I ever noticed, there was "seaweed" growing in some places in the lake. I noticed it because I caught one fish, it dove down, I paddled over so that I was straight over it, gently pulled the line until it got free, and when the fish came to the surface, it was covered in about one pound of seaweed. Wow! On Saturday, my brother, our friend, and I all had fish on our lines at the same time. (That was the only time that it happened during the trip.) Two trees at our favorite campsite had red tape around them, indicating that they were killed by pine beetles and needed to be cut down because of the potential of them falling down and possibly hurting or killing people. The tape read "Killer Tree". On "the glacier" and the "snowfield", there was no snow at all. That indicated that less snow fell that year than most years. My brother pointed out that it was the same situation during 2012. Last, most of the time when we would bend over to do something (eg, fill a water bottle), when we stood up, we would get a head rush. That has always happened whenever we go to "our lake", but it is something that I do not remember until I go there and it happens again.