One of my summer's greatest traditions is the annual backpacking trip to The Wind Rivers. This year we hiked in to Vera Lake through the Boulder Lake Trailhead. The Boulder Lake Trailhead is about 25 miles Southeast of Pinedale and starts you at about 7400 ft above sea level. Due to a 1988 forest fire, this area is infested with burnt trees looking like a forest of match sticks. We knew that it wasn't going to be the prettiest backpacking trip (for Wind River standards anyways) but we wanted to get a chance at catching the rare Golden Trout. A few of the lakes in the area had been rumored to home Goldens.
After a late start, we started hiking up the fairly flat and uneventful Boulder Canyon towards Lake Ether. The trail followed a stream all the way up the canyon that looked like spectacular fishing but we wanted to get to camp before dark so we pushed forward. After about 4 1/2 miles of mellow hiking, the trail began to climb up a ravine to the north. It was a steep climb and very tiring with a heavy pack. We spent the first night at Lake Ether about 7 1/2 miles in from the car. We shared a campfire on the shore of the lake with a bearded man who was on his way out from a 45 day excursion. Lake Ether itself was descent trout fishing especially in the mornings and evenings but the creek leading into and out of the lake was some of the best fishing we experienced of the trip. The fish weren't very big but we just absolutely slammed them. We estimated that we caught over 100 fish out of those creeks before the weekend was over.
The first day we hiked up to two lakes called The Norman Lakes. They were off-piste and a little tricky to find but we had heard that Golden Trout were in them so we thought it would be worth the hike. We spent a good majority of the day fishing the Normans and didn't catch a single thing. We ended up back on the trail and hiking to Christina Lake. This was a good sized lake and the fishing was fairy productive. On our way back to camp at Lake Ether we stopped and fished a little pond that came out of the Norman Lakes. My buddy Jared caught a fish that had an unusual red tint to it. Looking back, I'm thinking that it wasn't a pure Golden but that it was a hybrid of some sort.
The last of the four days we were there we made it all the way back into Vera Lake. This lake is incredible. Surrounded by large granite cliffs, boulders, and wildflowers, I can honestly say that this is one of the prettiest mountain lakes I have ever seen. We spent a full day there swimming and fishing and didn't see a single soul. The hike was steep and long but well worth it. It was also out of the fire damaged area that we had been in the rest of the trip.
After having hiked over 35 miles and visiting/fishing several different lakes and streams, we decided that it was probably time to go home and unfortunately get thrown back into reality. My favorite part of visiting the Wind Rivers year after year, besides the breathe-taking views, the incredible fishing, and the endless solitude, is the way that they mysteriously seem to hide all reality. No matter what you've been going through or dealing with, a trip to the winds has a way of putting perspective to it all and making you smile.
After a late start, we started hiking up the fairly flat and uneventful Boulder Canyon towards Lake Ether. The trail followed a stream all the way up the canyon that looked like spectacular fishing but we wanted to get to camp before dark so we pushed forward. After about 4 1/2 miles of mellow hiking, the trail began to climb up a ravine to the north. It was a steep climb and very tiring with a heavy pack. We spent the first night at Lake Ether about 7 1/2 miles in from the car. We shared a campfire on the shore of the lake with a bearded man who was on his way out from a 45 day excursion. Lake Ether itself was descent trout fishing especially in the mornings and evenings but the creek leading into and out of the lake was some of the best fishing we experienced of the trip. The fish weren't very big but we just absolutely slammed them. We estimated that we caught over 100 fish out of those creeks before the weekend was over.
The first day we hiked up to two lakes called The Norman Lakes. They were off-piste and a little tricky to find but we had heard that Golden Trout were in them so we thought it would be worth the hike. We spent a good majority of the day fishing the Normans and didn't catch a single thing. We ended up back on the trail and hiking to Christina Lake. This was a good sized lake and the fishing was fairy productive. On our way back to camp at Lake Ether we stopped and fished a little pond that came out of the Norman Lakes. My buddy Jared caught a fish that had an unusual red tint to it. Looking back, I'm thinking that it wasn't a pure Golden but that it was a hybrid of some sort.
The last of the four days we were there we made it all the way back into Vera Lake. This lake is incredible. Surrounded by large granite cliffs, boulders, and wildflowers, I can honestly say that this is one of the prettiest mountain lakes I have ever seen. We spent a full day there swimming and fishing and didn't see a single soul. The hike was steep and long but well worth it. It was also out of the fire damaged area that we had been in the rest of the trip.
After having hiked over 35 miles and visiting/fishing several different lakes and streams, we decided that it was probably time to go home and unfortunately get thrown back into reality. My favorite part of visiting the Wind Rivers year after year, besides the breathe-taking views, the incredible fishing, and the endless solitude, is the way that they mysteriously seem to hide all reality. No matter what you've been going through or dealing with, a trip to the winds has a way of putting perspective to it all and making you smile.
Posted by Trevor Thompson
September 17, 2007
