High Sierra Topix

Wow..what a trip.
Catching a 20 inch rainbow, and a bunch of big brookies!
And getting to do that with your daughter! That is very special

As one of the people who has tried the Hoffman Mountain trailhead, with success, I read your alternative carefully.
I hope to get there next year.

And talking about Mcdermand and "the way it used to be", I too believe that fishing has gotten better than it used to be, due to cessation and reduction of planting. Sure some spots that used to have trout dont have them anymore, but there are plenty of spots for big trout. And it seems that most of them are not well known. Just have to explore a little..which adds to the fun. And sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt.

Wouldn't it be a trip if the golden era of Sierra backcountry fishing as recounted in McDermand's tales of big fish was partly or even largely fabricated by the hyperbole of a savvy 1930s-1940s outdoors marketer? After all, the man did spend "half his time selling fishing equipment for Sears, Roebuck (at $55 a week) and the other half testing his equipment himself." (Quote from this old Time article from June 1946).

I jest, but it wouldn't be the first time that a fisherman embellished a story for the notoriety (or the money). Granted, there is photographic evidence of many of his fine catches. But maybe he had very small hands... Just sayin'. :P

P.S. my favorite passage from the article (author unknown, but it sure sounds McDermandesque to me):

McDermand makes it sound worth going after. He writes of lonely, bone-chilling nights, of the joys of casting, and of trout for breakfast. Up above California's timber line there is just enough brush to shade the water and yet not enough to tangle a backcast. Some of the rock-bound lakes have names like Evolution, some have no names, some have no fish. But mostly they are chockfull of golden trout dying of old age for lack of fishermen.