Reaching the top!
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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!!
