Secret Brown Trout Lake 8/6
July 28 through August 6, I spent ten days in the John Muir Wilderness at Secret Brown Trout Lake. This is where in 1991 – my first visit to the lake – I saw a guesstimated 15-pound brown trout follow up and take two swipes at a 12-inch rainbow trout I was reeling in. I have returned 13 summers since, like Linus to a pumpkin patch, trying to catch The Great Brown Trout. This report concludes my sixth year in a row.
In the 1990s I landed either six pounders or none at all using a rainbow trout pattern Bomber Long-A. In the 2000s I landed 1 ½ or 2 pounders or none at all using a rainbow or brook trout pattern Rapala J-13.
Spotting the trend, this year I returned to using a Bomber Long-A I bought on eBay but not the rainbow trout pattern. Long-As now come in a highly reflective sheen with various color tops. I chose green because it matches the Kamloops rainbow trout that inhabit the lake; bright chrome with no spots. Also, they are two inches longer than the Rapala and have a rattle. My experience has been more hits with the rattle than without.
At the lake, from my favorite rock, which is exposed this year due to a light winter and a normal water level, I cast the Long-A each of the nine evenings I was there during the 18:00 to 22:00 prime time. This is the window when historically I have had the most hits and hookups by the big ones. With my Fenwick GPLS-70 rod and Shimano Sahara 4000FD spinning reel spooled with 12-lb Trilene XL, the lure cast perfectly every time far out into the lake even against a breeze. The swim action on the retrieve was perfect using a stop-and-go jerking technique. I always pick a week when we have a first quarter to full moon, which triggers the big browns to hunt. This is why I opted for the reflective pattern and indeed the lure shone brightly all night. I was quite happy with my choice.
But the fish were not. The size of the lure deterred the little guys from hitting which is good but the targeted big ones either were not hanging out on my side of the lake or not interested. The whole time I felt no hits while using the big lure. But again, I have only hooked a big one (over five pounds) five of my 13 visits.
Otherwise I didn’t spend too much time fishing for the pan size. I will keep a limit of 12-inchers next month when I go for the gold… golden trout. Just for fun, when I had some time during the afternoon, I hiked over to the deep end of the lake and tossed a Tasmanian Devil and a Thomas Buoyant to see which would catch the most. I tried all depths and caught more using the Tazzie. I did catch one of those Kamloops to demonstrate how that species matches my big lure but it slipped away while I was preparing a photo.
That was it for fish.
And now the rest of the story…
I always plan my trips at the beginning of the year to ensure I secure reservations for my favorite drive-up staging campsite and wilderness permit for the week I choose. In February I used recreation.gov to get what I want. All I need to do is stop by the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center in Lone Pine to pick up the permit.
And then covid happened. In May the website informed me the center will be closed until further notice and provided three phone numbers to call 14 days ahead of my hike-in date to procure the permit. Two of the numbers nobody answered and finally a message said, sorry we’re busy. The third number of the Mammoth Ranger Station somebody picked up! I gave my reservation number; they gave me a quick rundown of the usual wilderness rules and presto they emailed a PDF attachment of the permit. That was easy.
The second notification I received from the website six days before the hike was, a fire closed my drive-up campground and the paved road to my trailhead. So much for planning six months ahead. The good news was, the lightning-caused blaze was only one day old and was already 50% contained, which boded well for my trek plans. Rec.gov refunded my payment for the campsite.
I was going to drive up Saturday but since the campground was closed, I waited a day thinking at the two free first-come-first-serve campgrounds I know about, some campsites will be vacated Sunday afternoon. I checked Glass Creek Campground first over Deadman, which is farther from the highway, and found a vacant site no problem. As I was setting up my tent, a truck and trailer were heading out from the really nice shady site one over from me. As they drove off I dragged my half-pitched tent over there and set up. Also, I could back my truck up to the table, which is mandatory to have an immediate facility to be able to properly prepare your backpack.
I normally cook every day while camping but since I will be parking at a trailhead deep into the mountains for ten days, I can’t leave any food stink from a barbecue, stove or cooler inside the camper shell for bears to sniff out. For the two days at truck camp I basically ate jerky snacks and nuts for breakfast and lunch and then drove to Mammoth for burritos at Salsa’s Taco Stand each evening. I especially like their green pork version.
One of the days at Glass Creek while I was kicking back in my beach chair with a Coke and a smile, a bruin wandered through, first stopping by my neighbors’ trailer. I cupped my hands megaphone-style and announced, BEAR! One of them popped his head out the door and I directed him to the other side of his rig. I grabbed my GoPro on a stick, turned it on but nothing. Damn battery was dead. I just put in a fresh one before the drive up. The camera must have turned on without me realizing.
In haste I loaded in another power cell and turned it on but by this time my subject was already on the retreat. I extended the stick the whole four feet and carefully kept the bear in the frame while I followed it out of camp and into the tamaracks. When I sat back down to review the footage I found that I had the GoPro on the wrong setting and did not record any video. I suck but luckily my neighbors got it all with their smartphones and one of them was kind enough to email me a couple pics, including one of the bear sniffing my tent. I know better than to keep any food in the there. He must have been enjoying the wonderful aroma of the 28-year-old never-washed sleeping bag I was using.
July 28 I encountered another covid issue on hike morning. I awoke at 5am, rolled up camp into the back of my truck and drove to Mammoth for a big protein- and calorie-packed meal at my favorite nook, Breakfast Club in Mammoth. I arrived a few minutes before their 06:30 opening time and found a sign on the door saying, open at 07:30 and closed Tuesday, which is today. Even if the restaurant were open, 07:30 is too late and could cause me to delay my arrival to the lake until dark.
Plan B found me a quarter-mile down the road at Carl’s Jr., where I loaded up on a steak and egg burrito, French toast and coffee to go from the drive-thru.
Motoring on, the road to the trailhead had just opened and I made safe passage to a picnic table near the parking lot to eat, tie on my boots and make last-minute adjustments to the pack. The amount of food purchased was insufficient. I now know better and will order 3 steak and egg burritos and 2 French toast next time.
At 08:30 I began. First thing the trail zags up three switchbacks and then relatively levels off for the next two hours. Carrying the 75-pound pack with Black Diamond trek poles for extra power and stability, I felt great. All the training up and down mountains every Saturday for eight or ten hours since March paid off. I took extra time this year relaxing on logs or rocks more often than usual. At 15:30 I was at the trail junction where a cold spring bubbles up from the ground. I refilled my Nalgene bottle and 100-ounce Camelbak with water pumped through an MSR ceramic filter. To refuel, I ate two of the 24 Quaker Chewy granola bars I brought with me for breakfast throughout the week.
90 minutes later as I approached the lake, I was joyful nobody else was around. I crossed the outlet logjam over to the secluded site I used last year and had base camp ready in 45 minutes. I prepared my Long-A stick, grabbed my jacket, water and a hunk of homemade jerky and was happily lure flingin’ by 18:30.
In the daytime throughout the week, after awakening at 10:00 the first 5 days, I went hiking around, did some trail maintenance with my pruning shears and folding saw, took pretty pictures and fished with lures a couple times. The whole reason I make the huge 7-month training effort to hike to this lake is for the opportunity at a big brown. I can catch 12-inchers with bait anywhere.
One day I
spread my pal Shane’s ashes at the beach.
In 2007 he was the only sole I ever invited to accompany me to my
secret lake. He had all the
equipment and experience needed and was quite the highly skilled backpacker.
When we pulled up to the beach that trip, he looked out and tears of
joy streamed from his eyes. He died this past winter and his wife Michele
gave me a bag to sprinkle.
I saw few people around the lake this trip as opposed to last year when 20 family members from grandma to infant used the pack station’s top-of-the-line camp plan for four days right next to me. This was a big relief. The lack of yahoos this year might have been a covid come-up.
I did see something quite disappointing three nights in a row. On the opposite side of the lake at around 18:30 a group of dads and sons started a big campfire, which has not been allowed here in many years. There are large sections of dead trees just above them and one spark could take out the whole forest. Especially upsetting, they ignited one of the blazes on the windiest evening. Otherwise I have not seen a fire ring of rocks nor evidence of fresh charcoal and ashes anywhere around here since 2007.
Apart from the one windy evening, the rest of the 10 days had daytime temperatures around 85 and at night 55, with gentle cool breezes. Perfection. Only clouds seen came across on the last evening into the next day to help assuage the heat for hike-out.
Sunday I got up early (07:00) and hiked into the high country for a photo session. Along the trail were camped a couple I saw fly fishing nearby the previous evening. We chatted; they planned on walking into the high country this morning too. I pointed up into the draw, gave general directions and then was on my merry way.
Three hours later
motored past Sixth Lake
video. and
made
it to Seventh Lake at 10,820 feet, where I caught golden trout many
times before. I cast Sierra Slammers and the standard 1/16-ounce red
stripe chrome Kastmaster for an hour but had no hits. I didn’t see any
moving about the lake through the crystal clear water and surmised maybe a
winter kill occurred since I last stopped by, I think in 2015.
Nonetheless, the vistas of the view east and the Sierra Crest with the highest mountains made for some breathtaking photos.
The couple, who passed me on the trail earlier in the morning were returning from Eighth Lake at 11,060 feet, which I knew about but never visited. They told me it is three times as big as Seventh and far deeper. This is ideal, as the deeper the lake the less chance of winter kill. To fish Eighth will be my goal for next year.
The next Tuesday I hiked to an unnamed minor peak I have been jonesin’ to climb for years. There is no trail. Last summer I studied google maps satellite view and thought I recorded a good plan in my mind but didn’t get very far. This year I studied harder and memorized a route. From the lake take the main trail east, past the tamaracks, past the onion patch, through the aspen grove and then once into the sage brush, where the trail switches back left, go straight into the bush.
I climbed through mahogany and aspen up into a hanging meadow surrounded by more tamaracks. Nobody has been up here in a long time. From there I simply skirted the next mahogany grove right up to the peak, where the anticipated views were stunning. Also, I had phone reception up there. I snapped a photo and text all my buddies saying, hey look at me!
It only took three-and-a-half hours to figure out a path through the trees to reach the goal. If I wanted to, I could have spent another hour on the main ridge south to reach an even higher, named peak. I can’t reveal the mountain names in fear this information will give away my secret lake.
After those two all-day hikes, I spent Wednesday – the penultimate day of the trip – kicking back on a comfortable rock, to rest before the hike out the next day.
Thursday morning I had camp rolled up and bungeed to the pack frame ready to go. I rehydrated two caloric Mountain House Southwest Chili breakfasts, ate one now and stashed the other in my bear keg for lunch time in four hours. I started hiking at 08:30, making it back to the trailhead no pain no strain by 16:00.
All week listening to KIBS the local country radio station, they advertised buy one Superstar With Cheese sandwich at Carl’s, get another for $1. I picked up drinks and ice at the Vons and then drove through for the two burgers before heading south on 395. I pulled over on a crossroad a little ways from the highway, set up my beach chair on the dirt shoulder and savored both with an ice-cold Coke Zero. Five hours later, just before midnight, I was home.
Field Tests
Forever I used a Coleman Peak 1 stove, the kind into
which you pour white gas and pump. The sttove was inconsistent no
matter how much I maintained it. This year I brought with me an MSR
Pocket Rocket stove that you attach to a butane bottle. The whole
thing put together is the same size as the Peak 1. The difference is,
the Pocket Rocket boils 2 cups of water in 2 minutes!!! It always took
10 with the Peak 1. Also, one 16-ounce butane can lasted the whole trip,
three meals a day for 10 days and there is still fuel remaining.
Highly recommended. See the demo here
video.
I was at Bass Pro one day and saw a new brand of freeze dried food,
Alpine Aire.
I picked up a package of spaghetti and another of smokehouse chicken
with rice and beans. Nether were
very good and if there was meat I could not detect it.
The flavor was weird but edible.
Also, following the instructions of how much boiling water to add,
both were runny. Avoid this
brand and stick with Mountain House, which is always excellent.