The Rest of the Day

After our hike up to Dream Lake, Tracy and I decided to drive for a while and see the sights of Trail Ridge.

It feels a lot like you are on top of the world when you are up in the Rockies.

We saw lots of elk (and people) and Tracy got to see and photograph some beautiful wildflowers.

Kickin' Back in the Rockies


The Boys are Back


Where's my Bow?


High Country Photo Shoot

As the sun began to lose some of the midday heat, we headed over to the Wild Basin area to a trail leading to Calypso Cascades. The trail followed the St. Vrain river up the mountain and I was hoping to find some fish in the pools along the way and Tracy was looking for the Fairy Slipper - a wild orchid that was supposed to be growing in the area.

I caught one brown on the way up but performed a catch & release technique before Tracy could get a picture. There were trout actually leaping upstream like salmon hitting the rocks and sliding back down into the pool.

We arrived at the cascades after the 2+mile hike and were enjoying the beauty of the woods and the water. We must have missed the Fairy Slipper bloom but we did see many Colorado Blue Columbine which made it worth the trip.

Calypso Cascades

The hike back down the trail was easier and I stopped to see if I could redeem myself in the pool where I dropped the first brown.

The Llama nymph came through again and Tracy got these pics of this small but beautiful brown.

Happy Fisherman


On the Line


Handful of Brown

We made it back to town in time to eat supper and get some rest. It was a great day to be out and I'll treasure the memories forever.

We were looking forward to attending the services of the Estes Park church of Christ in the morning and then heading to Denver International for the trip home.

Matthew 5 1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, ...........

I Have a Dream

After getting our mountain legs under us in Moraine Park, Tracy and I decided to hit the trail early and hike up to Dream Lake. The trail is rated at moderate and not too long and there are some great views along the way.

I, of course had a different motivation for the hike - Dream Lake is one of the high country lakes known to support the state fish of Colorado - the Greenback Cutthroat trout.

I took along the 4 wt fly rod and my box full of flies hoping to fool one of the elusive beauties.

We arrived at the Bear Lake parking lot and the trailhead for Dream Lake at a little after 6:30am and after making all the necessary preparations were on the trail before 7am. We saw a few others but it wasn't too crowded.

Tracy identified some new wild flowers along the way. We passed the small, shallow, Nymph Lake and after a quick look I was convinced that there were no fish there.

When we got close to Dream Lake, I noticed a creek flowing out of the lake and gave a closer inspection. There were several greenbacks working some shallow pools where the creek had spilled over into the surrounding area and I was eager to get a line in the water.

I decided to tie on a new nymph that Tracy had bought for me at a Table Rock Llamas fiber arts studio in Colorado Springs. The owner commissioned a local fly tyer to use llama hair and fur to tie up a pretty buggy looking bead-head nymph that looked a lot like a pheasant tail.

The first cast yielded a quick take from a nice sized fish and I set the hook.

The fish put up a nice fight before coming to hand.

It was a Greenback and possibly the biggest one in the pool.

After getting his picture taken this big boy was released to join his buddies.

I fished these pools for a while then decided to move up the trail to the spot we came for - Dream Lake.

The lake was beautiful with shallow water along the shore but a really nice dropoff within casting distance. The wind was starting to come down from the mountains and casting was becoming a challenge.

Nice backcast


Wind makes for big loops


Setting up the drift

There were fish cruising the shoreline and the dropoff. I tried the nymph but eventually switched to a dry caddis pattern. That seemed to attract the cutts and Tracy and I got to watch one come from several feet away and suck the fly in right in front of us.

Colorful Dream Lake Greenback

I caught a few greenbacks and then hooked a fish with significantly more fight. It turned out to be a non-native cutthroat which are common in the high lakes.

By mid-morning the crowds began showing up and the fishing turned off so we decided to head on down to the truck and eat some lunch before our next adventure.

I'll be dreaming about this trip for a long time!

Big Thompson

The conference is over!

We headed North after a quick lunch and even though the sky was mostly clear we were concerned about some thunderhead activity beginning to form along the Front Range of the Rockies.

We arrived in Estes Park early this afternoon and after getting checked in we headed for the Big Thompson in Moraine Park. We were greeted by the resident park supervisor:

Kind of a surly fellow and looking for a snack too.
(Photo by Tracy)

OK - Here is the plan:

Fly Rod - "Check" ... Well-stocked fly box - "Check"


Rocky Mountain National Park - "Check"

Hungry Brook Trout.......


Check!

I started fishing in the main flow but quickly decided to head to the small fork that Paul had located in 2005. That proved to be the best option and I found some willing fish.

I used a Yellow Sallie caddis and later switched to a flying ant. Both were productive.

I finally gave in and tried the UL & "Confidence Bait". It never fails!

Mr. Brown (Jr)


The water was clear and running strong.


Handsome Brookie


Cut Bank Deluxe


Brookies are really colorful.


Fooled by the White Roostertail


Almost eating size!

Tracy had the camera and was taking pictures of wild flowers. She took this sequence of Big John fishing in the Big Thompson.

Sneaking up on 'um.


Stay Low


Nice easy cast


Don't Horse Him!

I wish I could say that I had a fish on in that shot. I'm pretty sure I was hung up but it made a great sequence of pictures. Thanks Tracy!

I came up on this pond on the way back to the truck.

Can you see the riseform in the middle?

I'll be back!

Pike's Peak

We finally drove to the summit of Pike's Peak today. We have been trying to find a way to get up there since we arrived on Tuesday but were unsuccessful until today.

We thought better than heading up too soon after we arrived - best get our systems used to the elevation first. The recent weather patterns had clear mornings and hot by noon with clouds building and thunderstorms in the evening.

We decided to make an attempt yesterday after I finished up at the conference. We drove up Ute Pass to the entrance road but by the time we took the turn off Highway 24 the rain began turning to hail.

We pulled into a parking lot and the hail got worse to the point where we decided to try to head back to town.

Marbles from the Sky

Coming down the hill with marble-sized hail peppering the rental vehicle was no fun and Tracy mentioned a fly shop along the way so we decided to seek shelter there. By the time we made the parking lot of the Angler's Covey, it was really coming down and accumulating in the bed of the pickup and on the windshield. A young lady pulled up next to us in a VW Jetta and decided to pull up on the porch to try to get her car out of the hail. She came pretty close to running into the side of the store before she finally stopped.

Parking Lot Accumulation

We got hailed on for 30 minutes and finally made it inside amazed that there was no damage to the vehicle.

Welcome to Sunny Colorado


Hail in the Pickup Bed

I purchased a license for Friday & Saturday as we have plans to head north to Estes Park after the conference closes on Friday. In retrospect, I should have included today as well....

I needed to get on a conference call this morning at 9AM so we decided once again to head to the top of the big hill - this time early to beat the weather.

We made it up to the first of three reservoirs and that's when I realized that fishing was allowed.

Crystal Reservoir Hiker

I watched brookies frolicking in the shallows and rainbows sipping newly hatched mayflies from the surface of a crystal clear, calm, alpine lake all the while with two fly rods, an ultralight, and enough flies and spinners to last a week sitting idle in the truck.

There is a peacefulness in knowing that you did the right thing by not fishing without a license but I have to admit I sure was tempted.

Damselfly Nymph

We had to come down to civilization for me to get enough signal to take the call and by the time it was over it was nearly lunchtime so we grabbed a Subway and headed back up with intentions of reaching the summit for lunch and being back down in time for me to catch some of the afternoon sessions.

Framing the Peak


Friendly Visitor

There was quite a bit of roadwork going on and it took longer to ascend than normal and on the descent we were delayed by a stalled construction vehicle and I ended up taking another call instead of sitting through a conference session.

Alpine Scene


Watchful Eye - Nest Nearby?


Storm Brewing


Above the Clouds

Even without wetting a line it was a great day to be outside.

"Pikes Peak or Bust!"