Backcountry Beauty

Last week I went backpacking with my best friend, Scott, up into the Mad River drainage between the Entiat Valley and Lake Wenatchee.  I've been there a couple of times before with scouts and this time was decidedly more quiet than when I've been with scouts.  Go figure.

We headed up from the Chiwawa Valley to Maverick Saddle and the trail to the upper Mad River.  The road to Maverick Saddle was better than I remembered and later found out they'd taken a blade to it when a fire was burning in the area.  The final 1/4 mile of the road to the trailhead had been washed out a few years back so we parked short and hiked that as well.  Very passable on foot.

We were about nine miles from Mad Lake, our destination, and this is a multi-use trail.  We had five motorcyclists pass us heading in and two heading out.  We arrived at Mad Lake mid-afternoon and established camp.  A forest service work crew was camped there as well.

Our campsite at Mad Lake

A Mad Lake cutthroat trout

When the work crew returned from their bridge building, I saw all five of them at the lake and they were catching a few fish.  I decided since camp was set up and we weren't ready to eat dinner yet, I should, of course, rig up the rod and see how the fish like my fly this time.

A rather large yellow Stimulator was what was already on my 1wt flyline in the reel, so I figured that could be a good place to start.  As soon as it hit the water, a fish jumped completely out of the water and came down on the fly.  I set too soon and pulled it away before it had the fly. I immediately put the fly back and had that airborne flying fish as a repeat and again pulled it away before he had it.  Third time and I again set too soon.  (I could hear the voice of my brothers in my head, "Farmer!")  Back on the water a fourth time and this time I waited and then strip set.  The result is in the photo above--a nice high-country cutthroat trout.  Since the trail crew was nearby, one of them was kind enough to take the photo for me.

Lots of fish very interested in the fly and lots to hand.  Lots of trail crew interested in the fly and "where can I get one of those" comments.  Enjoyed casting until dinner.

The following day we hiked up to the lookout at Klone Peak to view Glacier Peak and points north, then on to the Tommy Creek (Entiat) drainage and Two Little Lakes.  We traveled another 8 miles today.  We stayed at Lake Louise, one of the two lakes, and I hiked back a short distance to where I'd seem some fish in Tommy Creek as we were hiking past.  A dozen nice cutthroats in a short time made that another successful body of water.

We saw a backcountry ranger at Lake Louise when we arrived but encountered nobody on the trails we were hiking today.  The ranger left shortly after we arrived and went by motorcycle to patrol other trails in this area before he headed home.

Our campsite at Lake Louise

 After breakfast we started our hike home.  We had eight miles of trail back to Scott's car.  Heather and her family have come to visit and I want to get home to see them.  We passed a man on horseback with three packhorses in tow and just before we got to the trailhead, another two motorcyclists were heading up the Mad River trail.  Relative solitude for most of our trip.  Quiet.  Fish.  Friendship.  A great "final hike" of summer.

Dads and Sons

Coming to Utah means what?  Fishing, of course!  My son-in-law, Brad, graduates this weekend in Provo so we all came down a day early so we'd be there Thursday, when my son, Brian, doesn't have class during summer term at BYU.  Brad's dad, Jeff, came up from Gilroy for fishing too.  His wife thinks they came for Brad's graduation, but we all know the real reason he's here.

After breakfast we headed up to Logan with Franklin Basin as our destination.  As we crossed through Sardine Canyon we noted that it was exceptionally green for August.  Brian said that May and June were quite cold and wet and it finally started to heat up in July.  Interesting.  The same was evident as we climbed Logan Canyon en route to Franklin Basin.

I've never seen Franklin Basin so green.  I wondered what that might mean for fishing.  As we approached the water I was struck by the absence of active insect life.  Very still.  Water flowing considerably higher than I'd seen in previous August visits.  As I stepped in the stream and took the first few casts my feet sensed that the water was colder than normal.  Dipping the thermometer it showed the water temp was 44 degrees. I think we were fishing in spring, rather than summer conditions.

Cast, cast, cast and not a thing moving.  I was fishing with Jeff and Brian & Brad got in the stream a few hundred yards above us.  Plan was for 90 minutes, then switch partners.  Finally found a fish as Jeff and I alternated "first cast" at each pool.  He was fishing a gray bodied parachute hopper and I used, you guessed it, a Renegade.  After 90 minutes, I'd hooked one and seen two other fish, so we met the boys, found that Brian had landed two and Brad one, and decided to head down to the main Logan to see if water temps were higher and fish more active.

Franklin Basin cutthroat

We drove to the USU Forest Research station section of the river.  Water temps were 50 degrees, so that was an improvement.  We again split and had fished about 75 feet of stream when it started raining.  Clouds were appearing darker so I told Jeff, "I think it's going to rain harder.  I'm going to the van."  Moments after we entered the van, the skies opened up and it really started raining hard.  By the time Brian and Brad got back they were soaked.  No fish there.

Raining, dark skies, fish not cooperating.  What were we to do?  Head to Smithfield to see if Summit Creek looked better and stop by my dad's grave site (with a stop at the USU Creamery on the way!)  I hadn't seen the marker Mom had installed.  Marker looked great so we felt Dad would love us to take a photo there with son and grandson in waders and with fly rods.

As we headed up Summit Creek it was clear and low and it wasn't raining, but the pavement was wet.  By the time we got upstream to where we could fish, it was running higher, cloudy, and lots of foam was coming downstream.  Obviously it had rained hard up the canyon.  No fishing there.

Father-Son @ Grandpa's shrine, er marker

After a stop at Gossner's Cheese Factory for some milk, cheese, curds, and other goodies we were warmed by the welcome rays of the sun.  It looked like the sky was also clearing up Logan Canyon so we headed back up the the Forestry Station for another go of it.  Fish were awake, sun on my back was preferred over the raindrops of early afternoon, lots of insects along and over the stream, fish sipping insects on the water surface, and we were able to finish our fishing on a positive note before heading back to Provo.

Brian in mainstem Logan