Meeting people in the backcountry
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- markskor
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- sierranomad
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- Hikin Mike
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- giantbrookie
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I can't possibly compete with Markskor's stories, but I too have had some memorable meetings with folks in the middle of nowhere. One of the best was at an unnamed lake somewhere in trailless Kings Canyon above 11000'. My wife and I had just arrived at this lake on a dayhike from our camp when we met two fellows leaving it. When we told them we were there to check out the fishing they smiled and said simply "you'll like this place". We did. In terms of large fish AND lots of action (usually an inverse relationship here) this may be the best high altitude lake in the Sierra. After fishing my wife and I happily bounced back several miles to our campsite to find, much to our surprise, that the two fellows were camped fairly close by. After a big red-meated trout dinner, we dropped into their campsite, they mixed some G and T's and pulled out a heavily reinforced JMW-Seki topo map. We exchanged a heck of a lot of fishing info that evening. It's probably the only time we were ever in such a situation where we were actually receiving far more than giving--these guys knew more about JMW-Seki fishing than anyone alive. I guess they spent every summer based in Bishop, and they'd do more trips than one could count.
Another interesting meeting happened 25 years ago on the Copper Creek trail---I didn't recall it but a fellow who is now a friend of mine figured it out last year. I had returned from working the summer in Montana and wanted to get my dad tuned up to do a 2-day blitz of Split Mtn. and Mt. Prater via Taboose. I looked at a topo a thought Grouse L. below Goat Mtn. looked promising, so I dragged my dad and my bro up the 5000+ elev. gain"warm up" backpack to find the lake full of frogs (and not fish). After bagging Goat Mtn. on the next day we headed out and apparently met a family on the Copper Creek trail. I didn't know it at the time but this was Prof. Cliff Hopson of the UCSB geology department and his family. Something like 22 years later Cliff related to me the story of hiking to Grouse Lake, where he had years earlier caught huge fish, only to find it fishless in 1980. I mentioned to Cliff that I had also hiked to Grouse in 1980 and found it fishless but didn't think anything more of it until last year when his oldest son, Forrest, mentioned to me that they had been there in September of 1980, which made the dates much closer. At that point, Forrest remembered, "meeting and talking with this Asian guy and two sons who were using ice axes as walking sticks." Now this WAS an odd habit of ours in those days and there wasn't anything close to a speck of snow in that part of the Sierra, so it could have only been us.
Another interesting meeting happened 25 years ago on the Copper Creek trail---I didn't recall it but a fellow who is now a friend of mine figured it out last year. I had returned from working the summer in Montana and wanted to get my dad tuned up to do a 2-day blitz of Split Mtn. and Mt. Prater via Taboose. I looked at a topo a thought Grouse L. below Goat Mtn. looked promising, so I dragged my dad and my bro up the 5000+ elev. gain"warm up" backpack to find the lake full of frogs (and not fish). After bagging Goat Mtn. on the next day we headed out and apparently met a family on the Copper Creek trail. I didn't know it at the time but this was Prof. Cliff Hopson of the UCSB geology department and his family. Something like 22 years later Cliff related to me the story of hiking to Grouse Lake, where he had years earlier caught huge fish, only to find it fishless in 1980. I mentioned to Cliff that I had also hiked to Grouse in 1980 and found it fishless but didn't think anything more of it until last year when his oldest son, Forrest, mentioned to me that they had been there in September of 1980, which made the dates much closer. At that point, Forrest remembered, "meeting and talking with this Asian guy and two sons who were using ice axes as walking sticks." Now this WAS an odd habit of ours in those days and there wasn't anything close to a speck of snow in that part of the Sierra, so it could have only been us.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- markskor
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John!
Welcome back.
In case anybody wondered, John here was/ (now is again) a founding HST member and more importantly, our resident fishing expert on all things lure fishing in the Sierra.
I think he has power hiked everywhere, and probably fished out most of the Sierra Nevada all by himself - oh - he takes his wife along too, just to keep him in line. If I remember correctly, he recently had a child, moved to Fresno from San Francisco, and thinks geology is a real science.
All I know is that he has helped me by going way out of his way with specific fishing information on choice of lures as well as first-hand beta on any number of remote Sierra lakes, and the information has always been on the money.
Good to have him back again. John, what was the old name – Laetacara – the genus of Cichlid?
Now it is giantbrookie ...lol.
Welcome back.
In case anybody wondered, John here was/ (now is again) a founding HST member and more importantly, our resident fishing expert on all things lure fishing in the Sierra.
I think he has power hiked everywhere, and probably fished out most of the Sierra Nevada all by himself - oh - he takes his wife along too, just to keep him in line. If I remember correctly, he recently had a child, moved to Fresno from San Francisco, and thinks geology is a real science.
All I know is that he has helped me by going way out of his way with specific fishing information on choice of lures as well as first-hand beta on any number of remote Sierra lakes, and the information has always been on the money.
Good to have him back again. John, what was the old name – Laetacara – the genus of Cichlid?
Now it is giantbrookie ...lol.
Mountainman who swims with trout
- giantbrookie
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Mark, Eric. Thanks for the welcome back. I didn't realize things were back up and running again until today. I haven't really had the time to check given how manic everything has been with the move and, especially, the fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants experience that every rookie faculty member must go through. In addition, a second kid did indeed arrive here. The move has also required some adjustment, needless to say. Clearly the whole university thing is a big positive, but outside of the professional end, it has been horribly difficult leaving my home of 46 years. However, over everything hangs the Sierra. The other day, on an exceptionally rare smog free day, I could see from my office (well, not my office, but the 2nd floor balcony of where I work), Goddard, North Guard, Brewer, Thunder, Table, Milestone, Midway, Glacier Ridge, the Kaweahs....That alone nearly melted away any lingering regrets I may have had about the move, for the Sierras have and always will be the keys to my sanity. Thanks Eric for helping to spread the joy of the Sierras to so many others.
As for Laetacara, that is indeed my favorite genus of South American dwarf cichlids, and we currently have several of them swimming around in two of our tanks. Fresno has very soft water just like our water back in Hayward, so the cichlids are happy, but I figured giantbrookie is a much more appropriate user name here than the one I use on my favorite tropical fish board.
Now that I'm so much closer to the Sierras I will need to take advantage of it, once I have my academic schedule a bit more under control. This past summer, I took several up and back day trips from here, plus one family trip (older (3-1/2 year) kid's first hike--he hiked over a mile), and one moderate 4 day off trail Desolation trip. This next summer will be better. Hope springs eternal in the "off season".
As for Laetacara, that is indeed my favorite genus of South American dwarf cichlids, and we currently have several of them swimming around in two of our tanks. Fresno has very soft water just like our water back in Hayward, so the cichlids are happy, but I figured giantbrookie is a much more appropriate user name here than the one I use on my favorite tropical fish board.
Now that I'm so much closer to the Sierras I will need to take advantage of it, once I have my academic schedule a bit more under control. This past summer, I took several up and back day trips from here, plus one family trip (older (3-1/2 year) kid's first hike--he hiked over a mile), and one moderate 4 day off trail Desolation trip. This next summer will be better. Hope springs eternal in the "off season".
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
- Buck Forester
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Good to see you here, giantbrookie®! I lived for a few years in Clovis (I'm now back up in the Sac area) and I miss being so close to the glorious High Sierra. I could zip up over Kaiser Pass in no time and be catching fat goldens the same day. Whether it's Yosemite or the John Muir Wilderness or SEKI, you're just a quick hop away. But yes, the smog, oh, the smog. It was a shame to not be able to see the outline of the Sierra just a few miles away on bad days, and just the faint outline on decent days. But when those clear days hit, it's amazing! But it's easier to put up with the smog knowing you can be in magestic beauty within a couple hours from your garage door!
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