[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”32″ gal_title=”july 14 firefighters”]

June 14, 2016

As I made my way to Decker’s this morning, I noticed about 20 or so people that seemed to be resting around the Decker’s Resort businesses, so I approached a few of the friendly folks and found out that they were a group of 20 firefighters that had just come off the Spring Gulch fire.  The Spring Gulch Fire burned 11.9 acres in the Pike National Forest about three miles south of Decker’s on Monday. It was fully contained just a few hours later. The fire was on federal land in Douglas County. Wild-land firefighting crews and helicopter support battled the fire along with the Douglas County Wildfire Mitigation Crew and Douglas County Sheriff Wild land Fire Hand-crew. The crew I met and spoke with this morning was made up of 4 inter-agency groups consisting of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), National Forest Service, and the National Park Service (NPS). I spoke with their Team Leader, Mark Finnegan, Crew Boss Trainer. Mark is a full-time firefighter working out of the Green River Emergency Crew, Wyoming High Desert Emergency Crew. He and his crew also cover emergency situations that occur in other western National Parks such as Dinosour Ridge in Vernal, Utah.  This inter-agency group is made up of firefighters from Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah and Kansas. They are always on stand-by and typically out for 14  day deployments.   He told me that he has been leading this courageous group of men and women for the last four days, while working in extreme temperatures and tough terrain, to contain the fire that was mostly timber, grass, and slash. Slash is a term used to describe logs that are remaining on the ground from previous fires or other natural occurrences. Speaking on behalf of the residents and visitors to the South Platte Valley, I would like to personally thank Mark and his crew for quickly coming to the aid of our community. I’ve been fortunate to have been living in this valley for the last couple of years when the fire danger has been relatively low, but as the summer progresses, it appears that we are getting drier and drier as the summer days go by. With the high winds and dry conditions, wildfires can ignite with the smallest of sparks, so please keep campfires in designated fire rings, extinguish all fires by pouring water on the fire until the coals or wood is cool to the touch and do not throw cigarette butts out of your automobile window. I hope you enjoy the update on the Spring Gulch fire and here’s a picture of the wonderful group of firefighters from this morning.  Have a great day!

 

Chris

July 14, 2016

Good morning everyone!!  Just returned from a small loop around the National Forest and here’s your morning river conditions report. It’s looking like the run-off is done! Noticeably lower levels from the wire down through Trumbull last night and this morning.  I noticed several islands that are now exposed in areas that are normally still covered with water. The South Platte river flow is 169 (cfs) at Cheesman and 223 (cfs) in Trumbull.  Clarity is still excellent with a little bit of moss to deal with, but nothing to serious. I fished for several hours last night between the 2nd Decker’s bridge downstream to Trumbull. The dry fly action was pretty slow all day yesterday. I don’t think I picked up one fish on a single dry. I did, however, do rather well with a gray/black stone fly, trailing a brown rs-2. I was able to pick up several nice browns with this rig, using no weight or strike indicator.  I was almost throwing it like a streamer, allowing the bugs to be pulled of the bank with the swing.  I even had a bigger fish break me off as it got downstream on me rather quickly and into deeper, faster water. I had one chance to net the fish, but when it turned on me and bolted downstream on my 6X tippet, it was all but over!  It was another chilly morning on the river, only 43 when I walked out the door. With the chillier morning temperatures,  we’re not seeing the early morning midge hatches we were seeing last week. The Trico’s are making there way further upstream and have started to appear closer to Decker’s in just the last few days. It’s a great time of year in the South Platte Valley!  Check out great cabin rentals in our area by visiting http://www.southplatterivercabins.com or http://www.flies-n-lies.com. The Decker’s Country Store and Flies and Lies will be sure to make your stay an enjoyable one. It’s going to be a another busy weekend in the valley, so make sure to make your campground reservations right here by visiting the “things to do” page, click on “CAMPING” hub, and  secure your spot on the river for the weekend. Heading out to shoot some pictures and visit the forest!! Have a wonderful day!

Chris

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”31″ gal_title=”july 13″]

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

 

 

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”27″ gal_title=”july 12 buck stop”]

July 12, 2016

Top of the morning to you folks!!! It’s a beautiful morning up here in the most magnificent South Platte River Valley! Woke up today with some much cooler temperatures, as it was only 44 degrees when I left to hike at 5:30 this morning.  Definitely layered up for the first 45 minutes of the hike. The flow at the Cheesman dam this morning was down from yesterday to 184 (cfs) and only 265 (cfs) at Trumbull. Last night the fishing action was pretty good!! The midge hatch wasn’t as strong, but I continue to see hatches of BWO’s along the banks and around protruding rocks close to the river’s edge.  Just fooling around, I decided I was going to just throw the single  grass-hopper to see if I could raise a suspecting Trout!   Back to back times I simply threw the hopper up against the granite wall and allowed the bug to fall into the river. Wham! just like that a monster brown trout that I had seen rising a few moments earlier slammed my bug and headed right for the river bank with all intentions of ending our short relationship.  My drag screaming and my heart pounding, I knew I was going to have to keep the fish off the bank if I was going to win the battle. Not being in my waders and having flip flops to negotiate the cavernous bottom, I was forced to sacrifice my left flop in an attempt to net the beast!!!  Now, with one useless shoe barley dangling off my right foot and realizing I could go no further into the river, I tightened my drag and made one last attempt to keep the fish from running. With one quick snare, I attempted to set the hook properly as I was dealing with my “shoe issue.”  The fish made one more aggressive move, wrapped my line around a few rocks and snapped me off!!  Next time I will gear-up for sure!! After the fishing wardrobe malfunction, I noticed a large hatch BWO’s around a rock close to the bank.  I immediately added a green-hackle to the hopper and pulled three fish on about a dozen or so drifts. If you’re interested in coming to Decker’s and fish, be sure to check out the full-service tackle and guide shop, Flies and Lies http://www.flies-n-lies.com.

This morning I hiked in the Pike National Forest, which is on the other side of the river from my house.  I do this hike at least three times a week and branch off of it to explore different areas that are populated with Native American Artifacts, gem-stones, antler sheds, lots of wildlife and an abundance of cactus and wildflowers. Now that I’m about 6 weeks into training each day, I’m getting faster and faster at ascending the hills and traversing the landscape. I spoke the other day a little bit about my past medical history and revealed that I was an epileptic that doesn’t take medication to control my seizures. I want to be clear that I do not advise anyone that has been prescribed medication by their physician to not take their prescribed drugs.  I was simply at an age in my life when I had started to explore for myself what my seizures were truly caused by and for some strange reason was able to do just that. When I was just ten years old, we moved away from the only home that I knew and moved in with my grandmother at the beach. Well, not realizing at the time what stress really was, I had managed to internalize all the turmoil of a divorce, the fear or moving away from all my friends, all I knew, all I was!! For a ten year old, this was obviously too much for me to handle on my own. This is when the seizure activity began and lasted for another 9 long and agonizing years through adolescence and into adulthood.  I’ve chosen to share this with you, because now,  as a 46 year-old adult who has manged to live seizure- free for most of my adult life without medication, I wan’t to try to explain to you how managing stress is monumental in handling any kind of neurological disorder.   As I have mentioned previously, but my have not fully explained, I have recently left the food and beverage industry for the first time in almost thirty years!! As a Chef, the kitchen has always been a “safe place” or a place I could go to where all of my other troubles would go away for maybe just a few hours. But now, as I change and evolve, my comfort zone has shifted and I must follow my heart.  Thing is folks, thirty years had gone by and I had spent the majority of it living a life that wasn’t worthy of the second and third chances I had been given. Growing up with this condition and figuring out how it can be better managed through better eating habits, stress management, exercise and good life choices, I felt it had to be shared, but it also meant it had to be lived! This is one of the main reasons I created livedeckerscolorado.com.    There are so many kids out there that are stricken with neurological disorders, including Epilepsy, but don’t have near the freedom or the luxury of being able to walk outside knowing that they aren’t going to have a seizure. And after lots of hard work and belief in myself, I DO!  and I will never take that for granted again.  I also understand that every kid isn’t as lucky as me and many have been diagnosed with the exact reason why they have their seizures. At the time, I expected to be one of those that was told why. But when the Dr’s told me that they couldn’t find anything “really wrong” I was left to figure it out on my own.  However, every human being has a seizure threshold and some of us just simply have one that’s just a little lower, and I happen to be one of those individuals. For a long time I have been thinking about how to share this information with the world, but wasn’t really sure what the message would be.  I guess, that if just one kid that has this disease, or is going through something similar to what I went through as a child, can benefit from what I learned, I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.   Have a great day my friends and thank you for taking some time out of your busy day to listen to what I’ve got to say and share and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Chris

[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”26″ gal_title=”july11″]

July 11, 2016

Good afternoon everyone!! Out on the trail early this morning with a 6am start!! Just came back from doing a little fishing and have today’s river report, followed with an update on the current wildfire activity in the area and my latest picture gallery.  Beginning with the current river flow, 223 (cfs) at the Cheesman Dam and a slightly higher flow in Trumbull at 294 (cfs). Not really any run-off to speak of from the feeder creeks, so Decker’s is looking to be right around 325 (cfs). I’ve noticed a little more moss in the last two mornings as I’ve been walking the river. I also just came back from a short trip out the back yard to “Hole in the Wall” and definitely saw an increase in the moss.  Last night the BWO’s were hatching out of the grass along the banks as I threw a big grass hoppper,  trailing a black, bead-headed pheasant tail nymph.  After my hike this morning, I grabbed the waders, threw on the vest and off I went with the same rig from last night. I headed downstream from my yard and worked the banks close to the willows with the fore-mentioned buffet of flies I had chosen previously.  While not having much success, I did manage to hook into three fish, however, I wasn’t able to set the hook soon enough to seal the deal!  For some reason I seem to have an affection for throwing a streamer, so on my way back upstream to the yard, I decided to put on an Olive-Wooley- Bugger and was able to pull a nice 16″ brown trout off  the banks on my second toss of the bugger.   Evenings seem to be the best for rising fish. Tonight’s approach is going to be one of “stealth and silence, as I try to make my way to the deeper pools along the banks, located just upstream from my house on the river.  Going to head out tonight around 6:30pm, armed with an arsenal of bwo’s, dry midges,  some caddis and of course the wooley-bugger!! More on tonight’s attempt a catching fish, sometime tomorrow!!

As I promised all of you last week, my hiking buddy and I made the second trip up the mountain to the tree line, and burn scar area to southeast side of Trumbull/Decker’s. As you are probably already aware, livedeckerscololrado.com has not only become my full-time job, but it’s given me a platform to change my life-style and get into optimal shape without really even noticing. About 6 weeks ago, when the website was about to be launched, I realized that I was now going to have to, as they say, “put up or shut up.” Now that I have been blogging for about 31 days, I have lost about 28 pounds to date and feel amazing!!   As I continue to work out, exercise and diet, I will post my daily weight as an added incentive for me to push forward with this health, diet and life-style change.  As I get up each morning about 4:45, my friend and hiking buddy will usually have breakfast that usually consists of some fresh fruit, peanut butter on a gluten-free English muffin, perhaps an avocado with some tuna, sometimes a pancake or even a vegetable saute.  Considering all the calories that we are burning on each of these incline hikes up the mountain and in the National Forest each day, we usually take some granola or other nuts and dried fruits to keep the energy up to climb. One of the reasons I have wanted to climb to this particular area was so that I could see for myself what a section of the forest looks like after being devastated by wildfire.  After a relatively short, but steep climb up a forest road out of Trumbull, we made our way through the lodge pole pines and what seemed like at times, walking up a sand dune!! After making our way through the last wooded area toward the top, we took a few minutes to give the dogs a rest, hydrate ourselves and look around for some crystals and other geological gems that are plentiful in the Pikes Peak region.  Flint, quartz, smokey quartz and even topaz can be found all up and down the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Not being much of a “rock hound” myself, but certainly interested in learning more, I hope to better educate myself on the crystals and minerals that are found in our region.  I’ll let most of the pictures in the gallery tell the story, but I would like to point out that it only takes a small spark to ignite a wildfire. It’s extremely dry and with the high winds that we are having, it’s important to make sure you properly extinguish all campfires.  As we were high on the ridge looking southwest, we could see the smoke from a small wildfire that had apparently started yesterday. It had been successfully extinguished, but we could still see the smoke settled in a valley to the southwest of where we were hiking this morning.  By writing this blog each day, my hope is that I will continue on this path to fitness, possibly inspire someone to take control of their health, and provide all of you with interesting stories, pictures and content!  Ultimately, I want to invite you to experience life with me,  as I continue along this journey in the beautiful South Platte River Valley, Colorado!!