A Time Past
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July 13, 2016
Greetings everyone!! Looking at another beautiful day here in the foothills. Going to reach the low 90’s and the fire danger is elevated!! Still waking up to chilly temps in the 40’s, but’s it’s warming up nicely right now. Let’s get to it first about the river conditions. 175 (cfs) out of Cheesman Dam this morning, with a little higher flow at Trumbull, measuring 275 (cfs). Decker’s looks to be right about 250 (cfs) with excellent clarity. There has been a little bit of moss to deal with, but normal for this time of year. Flows are great right now and the fish are feeding on pretty much anything and everything available. Yesterday, I spoke about my previous success by throwing a single hopper. Well, as I was walking the river yesterday afternoon, photographing and speaking with fellow anglers. Several of them shared with me their similar success with a “Rubber legs (multiple colors), Amy’s Ant, and the grasshoppers. Once again, as the sun sets over the hills, the small midge hatches begin to fill the river and the frenzy typically begins! Last night I watched several fish almost land themselves onto the river bank as they were aggressively chasing midges and the occasional, unfortunate grass-hopper in distress. Heading out to fish a little later this morning, but first I’m going to hike up to Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com to talk to the nice guys up there about the impending Trico hatch and get the skinny on some particulars!
It’s been about 33 days now since I began walking in the Pike National Forest everyday. I believe that one of the reasons that I enjoy living in the South Platte River Valley, is that when you are walking a trail, or sitting on a ridge overlooking lands that were inhabited by Native American tribes such as the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Ute, it’s hard not to visualize what it was like before the “white man” forced the native tribes off the land and on to reservations. Sitting on the tops of granite peaks, overlooking the river, if you close your eyes and take yourself back, you can almost see Chief Ouray communicating with his scouts via smoke signals from clear on the other side of the valley. I was thinking of this the other day when we were hiking the “Hayman” fire burn scar area, when across the valley we could see the smoke from the previous days wildfire that had settled overnight in a small ravine. It’s moments like this that I enjoy the most on the morning hikes. Allowing my imagination to explore a time past is one way I find solitude and peace when in the forest. For many Native American tribes that inhabited this area, this was their summer hunting grounds where the deer and the buffalo were plentiful. With that being said, the artifacts that can be found by walking the forest and exploring wash-out areas can be quite impressive. Another interesting find the other day was along a trail by the river. We came across a large granite boulder along the river trail, that had what looked like at first, a small cereal sized bowl in the side. With further inspection, it was a bowl that had been most likely carved out deeper to be used as a bowl to possibly grind corn. Today’s picture gallery will show you the smoke in the valley from the wildfire and the “Bowl” in the granite. That’s all for now folks!! I’m currently planning a few hikes/outings in the next couple of weeks to include the Wellington Lake area and an interview with President of the “BIG FOOT” club in Bailey, Colorado!! I would like to leave you today with this quote I enjoyed reading yesterday. Have a great day!!
” And while I stood there
I saw more than I can tell,
and I understood more than I saw;
for I was seeing in a sacred manner
the shapes of things in the spirit,
and the shape of all shapes as they must
live together like one being.”
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
