Another Trip to the Uintahs

Mirror Lake is a favorite place of mine.  I love the wildflowers, the lakes and streams.  There are some great hikes, such as heading to Notch Lake.  In my twenties, I hiked and camped at Four Lakes Basin.  On another trip, I hiked in to Pinto Lake.  Once again this trip, I used the reel that caught a meandering trout along the shoreline of Pinto Lake.  This trip I caught two fish to Kelly's four. On my private birdwalks, I caught sight of my first Townsend's warbler and my first three-toed woodpecker.  There is a ridge near the Campground that has a beautiful view and some dead trees that provide insects for the birds. 

Kelly and I find that this trip is a lot of fun.  The Jackson crew may be interested in trying this, too.  Reservations need to be made in the spring.  Sleeping in a tent has gotten even better over the years, because now there are inflatable mattresses.  Kelly bought a generator for the trip this year, and he used it to inflate Justin and Kelly's mattress.  We went to a sports store to check out electric motors for the porta-bote, and we saw a great canopy for shade.  Of course we bought it.  On the way to the lake I learned that Kelly also bought an electric motor.  It was way quiet and environmentally approved.  No more rowing at Mirror Lake, except for the optional challenge! 

Everyone took turns in the boat.  Those with fishing licenses took a crack at catching fish. The first day Kelly, Dave, and I had fished.  Kelly had already caught three. David had caught one.  I didn't catch any.  Later that day, Kelly and I went out alone.  Kelly hadn't caught any, but we had both felt some nibbles. I caught one, just after I said, "I'm not going in until I catch a fish."  My fish had a spotted pattern, not a rainbow.  Maybe a Brown trout?

 The last day I was fishing on the shore alone, while Kelly and Alison, Cody, and Celeste went in the boat.   I was using a white lure with red polka dots, a "Jake's lure" of some type.  I was casting off the shore where there were some small boulders, and I got a couple of bites.  That was all I needed to keep casting, while reeling in fairly consistently to make the lure seem like a small fish.  Plus, I really hate catching the moss and pulling it off near the triple hook.  Suddenly an albino trout snapped at the bait and made the fishing pole dance a little.  It pulled fairly hard, so I pulled hard back.  Pretty soon that little albino flipped onto the shore.  When it wiggled off the hook, I was in a bit of trouble.  No net, nothing to hold onto the fish with.  I blocked it with my light blue Saucony keds, while it flipped on the shore.  Kelly and I like to catch the fish to eat.  When I was finally able to hold the fish and prevent its return to the lake, a fisherman next to me gave me a plastic grocery bag to contain the fish.  Then I walked back along the trail to find Kelly with a big smile on my face.  I had caught a fighter fish, at least to me it was. 

This year in camp, the shower really worked well.  Last year we learned that at high altitudes some showers won't heat up.  After Jeni and Chris took the boat out and went for a swim, a nice shower was waiting for them.  One trick to making the water last longer is to turn it off while you shampoo.  No one else felt like swimming.  I was glad that I had not brought a swim suit for that adventure.  Cody brought Chutes and Ladders to play.  There were some good sports who joined in the play like his mother, Celeste, Dave and such.  There was also Uno.  Cody and Celeste also played with some action figures and there were a few discussions about Ninja turtle colors and weapons.  Lylia enjoyed chilling out with Celeste and drinking her chocolate milk.  There were good treats for everyone.

 

Alison made a building out of Uno cards.  Celeste loves to be with her mother, and she plays well with Cody, too.

Hot dogs, fish, salad, watermellon, s'mores, marshmallows!  Yummy camp food.

Just having fun from sun up to sun down.

Kelly making up a dutch oven cake with Costco berries.

Did I mention the oreo shake at Dick's cafe on the way in this year? Last year I had the red raspberry. You have to have a spoon to eat them. Skip the fries and get the shake--skip the hamburger, too.

The Clark Nutcracker's thought they owned the place. 

What a great trip.  Kelly took great care of us as usual with all of the gear.  We learned that single camp sites cost as much as double ones.  We hope to be closer to the lake next year with the single-campsite strategy.