Saturday, July 6, 2014
Hiking Uphill: 967ft
Hiking Downhill: 1,421ft
Distance Hiked: 5 PCT miles + 5 miles Kearsarge Pass (10 miles total)
Post by Nick:
That morning we saw the fish rising/jumping and decided to fish a bit at Gilbert Lake before hitting the trail. Mel of course catches several fish on her silver/blue Kastmaster and I catch my first fish on my new fly rod!
Dark background with light spots...technically a char but called a Brook Trout (my opinion...open to correction)
We eventually pack up and get to hiking. We climb back up and over Kearsarge Pass and reconnect with the PCT. We then head North and climb up and over Glen pass. It's a big day of climbing and after getting over Glen pass we descend down to Rae Lakes. Below is a little chipmunk seen along the way. We see lots of them but they seldom stand still for me.
My patchy beard is slowly growing in :) I thought it would be hot and scratchy, but most of the time I don't notice it until I'm eating or drinking. I need to keep up on its trimming to keep it out of my mouth :)
We get to Rae Lakes and setup camp in an area without any other hikers. Rae Lakes is a series of 3 lakes and it's very beautiful. We see fish swimming near the shore and are anxious to start fishing.
Mel gets her fishing rig setup quickly and starts casting. She begins catching fish and continues to do so almost every cast. All of her fish are little 6-9" brookies and I quickly lose interest. There are so many fish swimming by, and in competition with one another, that it's not even sporting. I had heard before, and it was corroborated later by a Ranger, that they are trying to kill off many of the fish so as to give the endangered frogs a chance. I've learned that fish aren't native to many/most of the lakes in the Sierra's but were introduced.....at the detriment of the native frogs.
After a bit of fishing, Mel begins cooking dinner and I start filtering water for the next day. We sit near the lake to eat dinner and to our surprise the Talker walks up out of nowhere and begins chatting with/at us. Apparently he's camped nearby and has fond memories of camping at Rae Lakes back in the day with his brother and has climbed all of the nearby peaks....ok.
Hiking Uphill: 967ft
Hiking Downhill: 1,421ft
Distance Hiked: 5 PCT miles + 5 miles Kearsarge Pass (10 miles total)
Post by Nick:
That morning we saw the fish rising/jumping and decided to fish a bit at Gilbert Lake before hitting the trail. Mel of course catches several fish on her silver/blue Kastmaster and I catch my first fish on my new fly rod!
Dark background with light spots...technically a char but called a Brook Trout (my opinion...open to correction)
We eventually pack up and get to hiking. We climb back up and over Kearsarge Pass and reconnect with the PCT. We then head North and climb up and over Glen pass. It's a big day of climbing and after getting over Glen pass we descend down to Rae Lakes. Below is a little chipmunk seen along the way. We see lots of them but they seldom stand still for me.
My patchy beard is slowly growing in :) I thought it would be hot and scratchy, but most of the time I don't notice it until I'm eating or drinking. I need to keep up on its trimming to keep it out of my mouth :)
We get to Rae Lakes and setup camp in an area without any other hikers. Rae Lakes is a series of 3 lakes and it's very beautiful. We see fish swimming near the shore and are anxious to start fishing.
Mel gets her fishing rig setup quickly and starts casting. She begins catching fish and continues to do so almost every cast. All of her fish are little 6-9" brookies and I quickly lose interest. There are so many fish swimming by, and in competition with one another, that it's not even sporting. I had heard before, and it was corroborated later by a Ranger, that they are trying to kill off many of the fish so as to give the endangered frogs a chance. I've learned that fish aren't native to many/most of the lakes in the Sierra's but were introduced.....at the detriment of the native frogs.
After a bit of fishing, Mel begins cooking dinner and I start filtering water for the next day. We sit near the lake to eat dinner and to our surprise the Talker walks up out of nowhere and begins chatting with/at us. Apparently he's camped nearby and has fond memories of camping at Rae Lakes back in the day with his brother and has climbed all of the nearby peaks....ok.
Several other hikers, around 5 of them, show up and set up camp right next to us. This diverts the Talkers attention and we take the opportunity to get ready for bed and dive into our tent. It's now dark and we fall asleep to the various conversations of the nearby hikers.
again, more beautiful scenery, those lakes are amazing. thanks again for sharing in your adventures!
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