We went fishing!

Last week we were kind of at a loss for things to do for Ellie’s Spring Break, so we decided to go fishing one evening.  One of Eric’s friends from work claimed to have caught 12 fish at East Canyon in about an hour the previous evening.  Sounded like a “fish story” to me, but we decided to check it out anyway.  Eric’s friend was there again with his grandkids when we arrived, and sure enough they had 9 or so fish to show for their few hours of fishing.  We got our poles set up right away, but we didn’t have the magic touch like they did.  We ended up only catching two fish.  Our kids still had a blast.  They made friends with the other kids and had a great time cheering each other on when someone got to reel in a fish.  I hope we can go again. 

The only down side is that my kids were FILTHY by the time we were ready to leave.  We are talking dirt city. Yuck!

Above:  Ellie hoping to catch a fish.  The weather was a little windy and slightly cold.  Ellie was cold because she decided to step into the water with both feet first thing.  Not her smartest move.

Below:  The boys having some snacks, and then having a turn holding a pole.  They are yelling “CHEESE!”  I’m always bugging them to get their picture…  I guess they were fed up.

Here’s Eric with our fish.  I know I said we caught two that day, but in all honesty…the other fish got off right before we pulled it onto land.  Oh well.

Uintas 2011 – Amethyst Basin

It is time once again for an annual contribution from Eric.  Back in July Corey and I went on a backpacking trip in the Uintas.  We had a difficult time deciding where to go and ended up heading for Amethyst Basin from the Christmas Meadows trailhead.

The short version of this lengthy post is: steep hike, beautiful scenery, poor fishing. 

This picture is from the road leading to the Christmas Meadows trailhead.  Definitely a beautiful area.  We headed up into the first basin in the middle of the picture.

Boulder field on along the trail.  Glacial deposit, I assume.

The trail was relatively flat for about the first 3 miles and we made great time.  The final 3.5 miles not so much.  The trail changes from flat to very steep and the pace slowed down considerably.  The trail follows a stream (Ostler Fork I think) and the steep terrain with the rushing water from the high snowmelt made for some fantastic views.

After several thousand feet of elevation gain, we made it to Amethyst Basin.  

We decided to hike off-trail to Ostler Lake to make camp.  We were lucky to find a nice backcountry bridge so we didn’t have to take our shoes off or get them wet.

View of Ostler Lake

View from the tent.  Because of the heavy snowpack and the cool spring, there was water everywhere even though it was late July.  We had a difficult time finding a dry spot for the tent.

We took a quick dip in the lake, filtered some water, and cooked dinner.  We were both beat and ready for bed early.  We slept in late and woke late when some other backpackers/fishermen trekked through our camp.  We decided to do a day hike up to Amethyst Lake, passing unnamed lake (BR-24) on the way.

Getting to Amethyst Lake from Ostler Lake required us to descend from 10,800 feet down to Lake BR-24 ~10,000 feet, and then climb up to Amethyst Lake above 11,000 feet.  In hindsight, this trip was a lot of climbing.  As we approached Amethyst Lake, the trees thinned out (no oxygen at this elevation) and there were little flowers everywhere.  Notice the water running down the trail.  Water everywhere.

Amethyst Lake ice.  July 2011.

 

After a slow day of fishing, we headed back to camp at Ostler Lake.  Dinner is always dehydrated food.  Beef Stroganoff (Before & After) for this meal.

That evening Corey caught a nice Cutthroat.  It was the only fish we caught on Ostler Lake.

Heading out.

  

I’m hoping next years annual post is “Wind Rivers 2012”.

4th of July Weekend

We spent the 4th in Bear Lake with the Cooks this year.  We headed up on Saturday afternoon.  Eric had read on the internet that the fishing was good at Laketown Reservoir so we decided to take the kids fishing.  Unfortunately, we only caught one fish before the kid’s attention span ran out.  David was the lucky one who got to reel it in.  He was so proud.

Here is Ellie trying out my new floppy sunhat.

 

 

 

 

 

David’s 1st fish.

A few Sundays ago we discovered a new family activity that we have come to love.  Catherine and JD told us all about geocaching, and now we’re hooked.  We drove all around Syracuse one evening looking for local geocaches.  The kids (especially Ellie) like it because they think we are treasure hunting.  It’s so funny. 

On Sunday afternoon we drove around Bear Lake looking for more geocaches.  We found a few and then throughout the weekend we noticed other people finding the same ones.

 

Here is a picture of a few of us finding a geocache at the Bear Lake scenic overlook.

After Geocaching, Eric and I took the kids to hike the Limber Pine Trail.  Grandpa Dave and Corey came too.  The trail  is really just a little nature walk.  Perfect for the kids.  The trail goes by the Limber Pine, which is a tree that is 560 years old.  The kids were impressed by the tree in the picture below.  We learned that it came to be like this because of sun and snow.  Crazy.      (Unfortunately, Ellie really didn’t want to come on the hike and cried so hard in the car that she gave herself a bloody nose.  What a drama queen, right?  She was fine once we got going.)

On Sunday evening we went to Sweet Water and swam in the pool.  It was so hot in the cabin, none of us could stand it.  We were having a great time when the worst thing ever happened.  John fell off the ladder to the waterslide right on to the cement.   He had his lifejacket on and it kind of cushioned his fall, but he still hit his head.  It hurt him so bad.  I was so worried.  I called Dr. Uncle Mike right away and he told us what to watch for in case he got a concussion.  Luckily, he didn’t get one, or break any bones.  He was okay by that evening, and even better in the morning.  Still, that goes down as the scariest thing ever.

On Monday it was too overcast to go out in the boat so we went back to Laketown Reservoir with Catherine and JD.  We fished with a fly and a bubble, my favorite way to fish.  The fish were jumping all over the place, but we only managed to catch two.  It was like they were taunting us.  After fishing we helped to clean up the cabin and headed home.

That evening Alaina, Grandma Jean, and Grandma Teresa joined us on our front lawn for the West Point City fireworks.  Our kids enjoyed them, but were definitely wiped out after such a busy weekend.  Eric has been working so hard lately that is was good to get away and spend some time together.

We Went Camping!

We had the best time camping last week. We stayed overnight at South Fork with Mike and his family. It was the twins first camping trip, and the 1st one that Ellie will be able to remember. (The last time we took Ellie camping she wasn't one yet and she bawled the whole night. It was a disaster. This time was much better.) Ellie and her cousins had fun exploring our campsite and finding trails. They played catch and ring toss. The boys followed everyone around and entertained themselves while we set up camp. Everyone keeps laughing about how John was desperate for a cup, but everyone was too busy to find him one. ("I need a cup!! I need a cup!! Where's a cup!!) Eventually, he took matters into his own hands and just sucked on the cooler spout until he got a drink. We roasted hot dogs and had huge marshmallows. We tried to play Murder in the Dark, but the concept was wasted on Ellie and Owen. As it got dark, David got a little concerned about bears because Eric kept teasing him about them. The boys liked sleeping in the tent OK, but I think they were a little cold. They had the hardest time going to sleep. They were laughing at us in the other tent. David was more than ready to get out of the tent when morning came. (He said, "We all done? We all done in here? over and over...) Grandma Jean, Grandpa John, and Alaina joined us in the morning for breakfast. Then we went down to the river and waded for awhile. The water was extremely cold. After wading, we went back to camp and had lunch and then went home. All in all, it was a successful camping trip. Eric and I are hoping to go again this summer.

Here are David and Jeremy at our campsite.

Ellie's giant marshmallow.

Finding trails in the dark.

John LOVES flashlights and could be seen with one at any given time while we were camping. Even in the daylight.

Grandma and Grandpa! What a nice surprise to wake up to.

Ellie and Owen at the river. It was so COLD.

John really really wanted to shoot this water gun, but it was too complex for his little 2 year old fingers.

David playing in the water.

Playing with Dad.

Uintas Grandaddy Basin Backpacking Trip

Backpacking trip to Grandaddy Basin in the Uintas this week, with Corey and my dad. We hiked from the Grandview Trailhead. Grandaddy Basin is on the south slope of the Uinta Mountains.

Dad climbing the rocky trail to Hades Pass from ~9,300 ft at the Grandview trailhead to ~10,700 ft.

From Hades Pass it is all downhill into Grandaddy Basin.




We camped at Betsy Lake.




Friday we did a ~ 7 mile loop hike and visited Fish Hatchery, Pine Island, Lilly, and Palisade lakes.

Fish Hatchery


Glacial deposit on the trail to Pine Island Lake.


Pine Island Lake


Palisade Lake


Ready for the hike out on Saturday morning.


Self-shot on the way back up Hades pass.


On top of Hades Pass. All downhill to the car.


Final thoughts:
It was a great trip. Rain every day, with lots of rain, thunder, and lightning on Friday night. I think everyone caught fish, but the fishing was kind of slow. Other groups we talked to said the same thing about the fishing. I would definitely visit this area again.