Some pictures

This fish chose not to be identified.

New York Times Article on Saving Yellowstone Lake's Cutthroats

The latest efforts to save Yellowstone cutthroats in Yellowstone Lake. They are releasing "Judas" lake trout with transmitters to try to find where they spawn, then they can more effectively kill them. The story does a good job of talking about the current program and the different sides of the story. The one thing the article doesn't touch on is how Yellowstone Lake is one of the last strongholds for the Yellowstone cutthroat. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24trout.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=judas%20fish&st=cse

If you want to donate to the cause (and others), here's a link:
http://www.eastyellowstonetu.org/images/savetheyellowstonecutthroat.html

The Joys of Sleeping in a Tent

Britt and I hiked into a couple lakes over the weekend. It was a nice, short hike. Even the off trail hike was easy. Some fish were caught on the lakes and fish was had for dinner. It was shaping up to be a really good trip....then the fun happened.

Let me set the mood. It was a full moon and it looked almost like a flashlight was being shined on the tent. Very eerie stuff. Then around 10 that night Britt heard something. I wasn't sure what it was. It slowly and quietly walked beside the tent (on the opposite side from the moon, so there was no shadow). It went away for about an hour. When it came back again it walked by the tent, trying to figure out just what it was and what was inside it. It came back a few more times that night. We could hear it sniffing at the bottom of tent. Needless to say, it was not a very good night of sleep. Unfortunately, there was no place by the tent where tracks could have been left, so I guess we'll never know who it was.






"I swear the map says the lake should be right here! Why is it just a pile of rocks?"

Some pictures

Been a little while since I've been out fishing (too busy teaching and watching Britt win her age group at triathlons). Here are a couple pictures.

Gold Lake

Metolius with my Family

My parents came out for a visit recently. It was good to see them and they got to see Oregon for the first time. We headed over to the Metolius (along with Britt) for some camping and fishing. A few fish were caught and it got cold at night, but we all had a good time (even if I am now being accused of poking holes in my fathers waders in order to outfish him). (We also went to the coast and my parents went to Crater Lake, so I thought I'd throw those on as well.)

Backcountry

Made another trip into the backcountry. Here are a couple quotes:

"I always think those ultralight backpackers are crazy until I put my pack on."

"It's too bad it's so pretty up here."

Those sum up my feelings for hiking pretty well. It was a good trip despite having to cross over decent amounts of snow and Britt being trapped in the tent trying to avoid mosquitoes. In one lake the fish were small and in the other they were bigger, but in neither lake were they numerous. However, the views and solitude on 4th of July weekend made things just about perfect.