TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

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robertseeburger
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TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by robertseeburger »

I have had a June trip each of the last several years and all were successful, with the exception of 2017. Due to the big snow year in 2017 , I let my June trip slide to July 7th 2017 and I spent an 11 day backpack floundering in the snow in Evolution Country. I posted a TR of this trip. I had no issues with the trip per se, and I would not say it was a "bad trip", but the memory of slogging through snow and frozen lakes was at the bottom of my list of recent backpack trips. ( By the way, it wasn't the stream crossings ( I had a couple tough ones) or the walking on flat snow ( lots of that) that I remember most. It was the hip high/waist high sun cups I had in one stretch where I covered perhaps a quarter mile in an hour that stick in my mind today. )

With that history in mind, and with the determination to do SOMETHING in June, my friend Gary and I set out to planning. We narrowed our choice down to two plans.. one going into Laurel and Vernon Lakes, and potentially going to Edyth Lake, and the other just doing some hikes and simple backpacks on the east side where a retreat would be easy. We chose the latter. I did notice a post in HST that showed that getting to Laurel Lakes crossing Frog Creek proved to be difficult...something that I was worried about. In any event, choosing to do some camping and day hiking, though not something I usually do, proved to be fun.

We started at Convict Lake campground. I hadn't car camped since being with my parents in the 60's. It was an interesting experience, with all the RV's and F150's.. It was OK. I could see myself doing more of this as I get older and backpacking becomes problematic.
They had bear lockers at the campground. Didn't see any bears, but these fellas looked like they were used to handouts by campers..
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Also, birds were on the prowl..left some almonds out for a second and they were gone very quickly.

Next we dayhiked to lake with the intent to fish. We had hoped that the road was not passable due to snow which would eliminate sharing the lake with vehicles and we timed it well. We drove in most of the way, but snow blocked the last couple of miles.

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We of course were worried that the lake would be frozen. It was not. We were the only ones there. Very nice lake.
First time for me. But we neither saw nor caught a fish here.
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Still lots of snow in the area.
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The next day we resolved to day hike to a different lake. It is one that I have looked down on from my many flights over the years between SF and Denver or New York. It always looked sublime. Finally got there..

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Another view from the upper end. Lots of Lenticular clouds on this trip.
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Evidence of beaver activity..
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Fishing not good here either, although there were lots of people trying..

Ok.. enough of the day hikes. That was a good way to get a sense of the snow levels on the east side. We did resolve to try one backpack trip for 3 days to go to a lake we had always wanted to see.
We camped by the trailhead that evening to get an early start from Owens Valley.

I guess I like Lenticular clouds.
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Finally saw some fish in the evening hours around shore.
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And a furry friend by the campsite.
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More in part 2.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by robertseeburger »

Part 2....

Gary caught a nice one in this lake we backpacked to. It was half frozen when we got there. We met two HST members from Sonora at this lake.
Austin and Dylan. Always good to meet fellow HST members.
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A nice golden.
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Interesting stomach contents of this one. Thin red worms.. hadn't seen this before.
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And yes, he was eaten. Since others have expressed interest in this, I will show the whole process we use.

First clean and put in foil.
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Next season... use butter bats ( or olive oil). In this case Thyme, lemon pepper, dill, and salt.
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Next steam over two stoves.. delicious for decent sized trout. I prefer frying for small trout.
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And last picture.. an inside joke..


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Well, it was a quick trip. I caught NO fish. None Zilch. 4 lakes fished. Gary caught a few..But it was good to get out in the Sierras in June. And this technique of visiting some of the easier east side lakes during high snow years is something I will probably try to repeat. Weather was great.
Real backpacking starts for me end of July, in the Sierras, and Gary in the Wind River Range. I will follow with an August Wind River Trip myself.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by Dwwd »

Bob
Thanks for the nice TR report. There is always something new to learn from places others have been with respect to wildlife behavior patterns and careful observations. Deer stalking campers, bird stealing almonds, and fish eating red "worm-like" chironomids. Who knew? PS. The cloud photos were also nice.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by gary c. »

Very nice way to get out there. Thanks for posting.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by DilanR »

Nice to meet you bob. Great pictures.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by jeremiahkim »

Nice to see how some of the lakes are doing. The photo of the clouds may be my favorite of the lot. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by dougieb »

I still haven't poked around in that drainage but will have to make time, maybe in the fall. That was quite a fish!
I was around Green Creek around that same time and saw that same sunset. It was one of the best I've ever seen! Here's a time lapse of it if you're interested. https://youtu.be/X11tyUVuxN4
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by SSSdave »

That second lake has some large trout that I've seen along the shore aspen at the back of the lake however fish are wary due to fishing pressure that includes those that raft it.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Did you go up McGee Creek? I am wondering about the creek crossings.
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Re: TR Misc East Side Lakes 6-24 to 6/29

Post by windknot »

Thanks for the report!
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