A Martin Photo: Eastern Sierras

We found an unexpected spare weekend in August and decided to go down to the Eastern Sierras to chase some golden trout, something we'd talked about for a long while. I got some good intel from an instagram contact, and we found some cheap flights, so we jumped at the chance for an adventure, just the two of us. We love taking Birch anywhere we can, but the added element of managing his reactivity can sometimes make a getaway less relaxing. We arrived in Reno around 2 am, and while we are typically early risers to hike, we knew we needed to prioritize at least a little sleep since we would also be climbing up to over 10,500' with no time to acclimatize. We did not anticipate the many construction projects along 395, so we ended up getting a later start around 11:30 am. We had about 7.1 miles to get to our desired lake, the last mile of that an off-trail navigation that gained nearly 1800'. The weather was quite nice though warm, and while the trail was pretty exposed, it didn't seem to slow us down too much. Because of the altitude, we planned to hike a couple of miles then stop for five minutes to properly hydrate and make sure we weren't exerting too much energy before making the final, long climb. Things were going pretty well, and we were making good time despite having to take our shoes off for one calf deep creek crossing.

We were using a combination of AllTrails and Garmin GPS units to ensure our navigation was accurate. We usually average around 2.0 mph hiking speed with our backpacking gear, my pack weighing around 35 pounds with fishing gear, Shaun's weighing probably ten to fifteen pounds more (he's tall, everything weighs more). Of course, AllTrails isn't nicknamed AllFails for nothing, and it had us approaching the off-trail junction while Shaun's Garmin still had us over a mile away. What we realized is that AllTrails did not account for the mile road walk through a property easement to get to the actual trailhead, so while we were expecting to go 7.1 miles, we actually had to go 8.1. So it had actually taken us about 4.5 hours at 2 mph with some breaks. Once we reached the junction, it was around 4 pm. Surveying the navigation, it was clear we had a big task on our hands, and while we didn't feel especially tired from hiking, we did feel exhausted from travel and knew that mentally and physically we likely had a lot of work to do to navigate to the lake. We also knew that once we got to the lake we would probably make camp and have very little time to fish. After some discussion, we decided to sleep at a lower altitude (better sleep quality) and get up early to tackle the big climb to the lake. We were both a little disappointed but knew we were making the right decision. We figured we could make it up in two hours, absolute worst case scenario, which would still give us the whole day and our departure morning to fish.

Approaching the shoes off crossing

Getting a glimpse of the type of terrain we would be navigating

As we made camp and prepared to go to sleep, we began to hear sheep bleating in the distance. We knew this land was used for grazing livestock, and as we climbed in the tent, the sounds grew louder until the sheep were right outside our tent. There was also a devoted LGD who kept one eye on his flock and one eye on us to make sure we didn't have any ill intentions. The sheep eventually moved across the stream, their bleats fading into the distance as the light faded from the valley. We slept amazingly well and woke to clear, cold, but windy morning. We packed up and headed for the junction where there was supposedly a faint trail to follow the remaining mile and a half. Because of the wind, we elected to eat ProBars along the way instead of bothering with our stove.

Hello

Noisy neeeeeighbors (I know that's a horse sound)

Thankfully moving further away from us

A nice sheltered spot on a soft forested floor

First light on the flatiron

We climbed through the forest with numerous downed trees, picking our way up toward where we thought we would find a more established footpath. Both of our navigation systems were saying two different things, but given our experience with AllTrails, we were more apt to follow the Garmin. We backtracked more than once, and it felt like this section was taking way longer than it should. The elevation was really getting to both of us and was probably magnified by feeling lost. We knew we would eventually get on track, but we wanted it to happen sooner. We continued to climb, higher and higher, traipsing over uneven terrain. We finally broke out of the forest which allowed us to get a better vantage and also made us feel like we accomplished something. We finally did find a trail that was actually marked with a sign about fire restrictions. From there it was just climbing. All climbing. The mental boost from being on an actual trail was tested by the constant elevation gain, but eventually, we made it, just under that two hour worst case scenario timeline. Two hours to go a mile and a half. We had to let go of our pride and realize how the circumstances impacted us- little sleep, travel, altitude, and heavier packs. We were ecstatic to see no one at the lake. We found what looked like the only established campsite and set up our tent in an area unfortunately sheltered from most of the sun, but more importantly, sheltered from the strong winds that grew stronger as the day and night progressed.

Trail

After significant elevation gain, we had a nice view of the flatiron

And still a lot more climbing. Do you see Shaun at the top of the frame?

Stunted wildflowers

The littlest paintbrush

Another sheltered sight. We would be very thankful for this later

After setting up camp, we ate a quick snack lunch and strung up our fly rods. We had only seen one fish rise, so we thought we'd be nymphing mostly. After a few minutes I had a fish on briefly, but it wiggled off, and then another and another. The fish were at least decent size, but I was frustrated not to land one. From there the sun rose higher, the wind picked up, and we took a break from fighting it. Shaun caught a lakeside nap while I enjoyed the sun. Mid afternoon, we started up fishing again, this time with streamers. I caught a small golden, and while I was happy to be on the board, I was bummed it wasn't as large as the ones I had lost. I figured with the rest of the evening and the next morning I'd be vindicated. Well, spoiler alert, it wasn't to be. I caught another couple of small ones, Shaun caught a small one, and that was it. After enduring a windy night, we fished early the next morning, but once the wind turned the lake into whitecaps, we knew it was time to pack up. I was not looking forward to the descent at all. We followed the "trail" this time, but honestly, it wasn't much better and disappeared as we headed into the forest. We knew our general direction, so it was just a matter of going down, down, down. Once back on the main trail, it was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. From there, we enjoyed delicious burgers at Walker Burger before checking into our hotel where we were upgraded to a corporate suite where we could watch Harry Potter on a giant sectional couch, scarfing down some barbecue and enjoying much needed showers. We will be back for those big Goldens again one day.