R03/R04 TR: 8/2-8/6/15 LL Valley-North Lake Off Trail Odyssey

[canukyea]

Now that is a fine route and a fine golden indeed! Thanks for the trip report.

[SweetSierra]

Going over Seven Gables Pass and into the West Pinnacles Creek drainage and around to the "sidewalk" (not sure we were on the sidewalk but it seems to fit your description) before dropping down to the Piute Pass Trail was one of my favorite trips. We didn't go up that chute, though we looked at it a long time. It looked too rough. We went straight up a steep green patch to the right of the chute and topped out fairly high above the top of the chute route. We then hiked the shoulder of Gemini before dropping to the lakes. Thanks for the beautiful photos and the reminder of how isolated and special that area is.

[robertseeburger]

Nice report. I am amazed you eve TRIED to do this whole route in so little time , and had time to fish to boot..
Some places I have always wanted to visit...

[rayfound]

Giantbrookie: Fisher ladies want to be with him, fishermen want to be him.

Epic adventure gb. And I don't know how you could quit fishing.

[bluefintu]

GB,

Thank you for another awesome report! I'm taking my youngest son(11) and my daughter (17) in a couple of weeks out of LL Valley. I'm sure I'm not going on your route. Again, a very wonderful trip report.

[sekihiker]

Cool area. Great fish!

[fish4gold]

The words absolutely epic ring in my ears!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!! REALLY glad to see you getting some amazing action this year!!!!!!!!!!

[Harlen]

GB, I've read through all of your stunning, amazing and awesome Trip Report, which I liked very much even though it is so short on Hyperbole. But you still haven't explained to me how one fishes the outlets of frozen lakes. Why aren't the fish desperate to bite after being sealed in all winter?

As for your cryptic fish report addendum- I too recognize your secret golden lake from the photo- you really must be more careful GB!
Those rocks behind you- I put them there! I felt there was too much greenery, so I placed all those rocks and boulders so that the lakeshore would better blend in with the rocky slope above. I think it works, don't you? I strive for a natural look.

SSSDave has of course been there too- in fact, I smelled his piss on that rock, so naturally, I went right over and pissed on top of his- and that is the real reason the stain's lasted so well.

["Off to the left of your neck is a orangish square shaped rock. Recall peeing on that rock back in the 90s.
Amazing how long the stain's lasted!" SSSDave]

All BSing aside, I really enjoyed you TR, and not only am I now keen to try the Peppermint Pass and Cox Col area, I intend to look up Coltrane's short brilliant solo on Someday My Prince Will Come. Thanks, Harlen.

p.s. "Cross Country", re. hyperbole, don't you think "awesome" is even more over-used than "amazing?"

[kpeter]

Beautiful trip write-up about some areas I have been past but never explored. Your trip came alive for me.

[giantbrookie]

I'm glad you enjoyed the report. I wish I had the time to get out and do trips like that more often.

But you still haven't explained to me how one fishes the outlets of frozen lakes. Why aren't the fish desperate to bite after being sealed in all winter?

Yunno I really don't know what it is about the little bits of open water on otherwise frozen lakes--My experiences have been more off than on. Most places I've fished the thawed margins and totally struck out (oddly enough, this includes every last time I've done this in Desolation Wilderness), whereas I can remember some pretty stunning action (both times for big rainbows) in some lakes, including two very memorable spots in the High Sierra including one in which the ice broke up just enough as we watched to make room for some casts, and another time where I barely had enough room at the outlet. Another time I was at a lake in the Marble Mtns. with a small thawed area in the middle that you could see "boiling" with rises--this guy used a raft to wiggle across the ice on his belly, then fish the "hole" in his raft--he killed it for large rainbows. Those three times are some of the exceptions for me that are balanced by a lot of "zero action" scenarios. Added to the list of "no action" thawed margins are the only two lakes I fished in this state this year.