Generals gone AWOL Summer 2008 tour input

[Relentless]

Don;

Take a look at coming west on 12. When you come out of Glacier you can pick 12 up just south of Missoula. Its a beautiful ride and will take you into Walla Walla, where, if you like great wine and great food, you will find a lot to like. From there you can drop down to the Columbia River Gorge and continue west to Astoria.

John

[silver&gold]

I find highway 12 out of Missoula to be one of the best in that region. You have the old Cedar forest and the river following the road the whole trip. Also all the free camp sites run by the National Forest. Up to 14 days free it is a trip to make and fly fishing out of this world. There are lots of trails for mountain bikes and hidden lakes. Make sure to get a forest service map.
While you are having so much fun think of all of us and please do send pictures.

[Sky]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

Hopefully I will have time to develop some casting skills before summer.

Hey General, if you don't know the technique, I highly recommend taking a lesson. I just started fly fishing last year. A local fly shop was giving group 2 hour lessons for $25 a person. I tried teaching myself also, but after the lesson, I could cast probably 5 times further with 5 times less effort. Piece of cake once you know the trick. Money very well spent.

Enjoy
Dale

[nymphfishin]

Originally Posted by Relentless

Don;

Take a look at coming west on 12. When you come out of Glacier you can pick 12 up just south of Missoula. Its a beautiful ride and will take you into Walla Walla, where, if you like great wine and great food, you will find a lot to like. From there you can drop down to the Columbia River Gorge and continue west to Astoria.

John

John, Gold and Sliver. 2air
Thanks for the heads up, looks like a great route! And yes I will take plenty of photos.
I would like to try steelhead fishing, I hope June would be a good month???

For Slide show view 'My Travel Places'.

Picasa Web Albums - Don - MY TRAVEL PLACES

Thanks again
Don

[eubank]

Originally Posted by eubank

You know, last time we were in NW New Mexico for a few days, we ran across a small handout at the Aztec CofC about natural arches in the area. Hadn't even dreamed that they were there. Thinking back on this a few minutes ago, I checked the web for updated info; sure enough, there is now more info than before:

Aztec Chamber of Commerce - Aztec Arches

Might be interesting to look at!


Lynn

So I ordered the brochure, and it's pretty interesting. The arches aren't nearly as far out of town as I had imagined; indeed, some of the nice ones are just barely outside of town.

You know, come to think of it, Aztec might not be a bad location for a NE NM tour. In town you've got a couple of Ancestral Pueblan things. Then there's Mesa Verde not that far to the north and Chaco Canyon not too far to the south. There are also some nice places one can go on Navajo lands back on the back side of Shiprock in the Chuska mountains, apparently open to the public with permission. We'd probably stay out at Navajo Lake State Park instead of in town, but ... got me thinking. (Yes, a difficult undertaking, that thinking task, but when I'm stir crazy and having repeated bouts of wanderlust, it is a little easier.)


Lynn

[Boondocker]

I just talked to the staff at the Questa office of the Carson NF. It looks like the Valle Vidal is closed during the time I will be coming through. Kinda sad, I was really looking forward to spending some time up there.

In the other hand, I saw a post in the cheap or free in New Mexico thread about the Wild Rivers National Wild and Scenic River that looks promising. Time to pull out the maps again....

[eubank]

Wellll, that stinks. When is it that you were headed up this way?

Lynn

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by eubank

Wellll, that stinks. When is it that you were headed up this way?

Lynn

On todays plan (for what thats worth) around the 15th of May or so.

[eubank]

And the Valle Vidal is still closed then? Actually, I guess that makes sense. The area is administered by the Carson National Forest, and they don't open a lot of their stuff until mid to late May. Too late, in my opinion, but I guess they have their reasons.

But Wild Rivers is a different outfit, BLM, and they seem to have a rather different view of opening/closing dates. (Indeed, I'm not sure that they ever close it as a matter of policy.)


Lynn

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by eubank

And the Valle Vidal is still closed then? Actually, I guess that makes sense. The area is administered by the Carson National Forest, and they don't open a lot of their stuff until mid to late May. Too late, in my opinion, but I guess they have their reasons.

Lynn

I got the impression that the closure had to do with management of the elk herd.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by silver&gold

Not saying you need to go to Elk City but if you do you will see wildlife like Yellow Stone. On the river going in there are free camping sites everywhere and they are georgious. Fishing will probably be Chinook Salmon while you are there.
Deb

I was checking out this area on my Delmore Atlas today and I have to say it looks like a neat place. I am really looking forward to seeing that country! Thanks for the tip! Do you think the area there is worth a week?

[eubank]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

I got the impression that the closure had to do with management of the elk herd.

You know, that could well be. I do know that they close a lot of forest roads between here and Taos during elk mating seasons.


Lynn

[Boondocker]

I keep hearing all these stories about heavy snow packs up and down the Rockies. With my early start this year, I am concerned that I won't get to see a lot of areas that I want to get into. Hopefully, this is just me being a worry wart and the high country will be accessible.

My memory from the late 80s is that by Memorial day the lower elevations (below 9K) were clear with snow hanging on above that. To hear people talk there won't be a summer this year

[eubank]

The snowpack is pretty incredible this year. Here in the lower Sangre de Cristos, we're running up to 180% of normal. Over in the run-off areas below the San Juans (essentially along the banks of the San Juan River), they're very concerned about flooding once the melt really gets rolling. Same holds true over in other areas: Flooding is a real concern.

But the river rafting outfits are really happy about it!


Lynn

[silver&gold]

Originally Posted by Gen Disarray

I was checking out this area on my Delmore Atlas today and I have to say it looks like a neat place. I am really looking forward to seeing that country! Thanks for the tip! Do you think the area there is worth a week?

I think you will want to be there for a week. You might decide to spend even more time in the area.
Have a great trip and keep us all posted.
Happy Trail Gen.

[nymphfishin]

A reprint for Yellowstone anglers,

Troubled waters hit Yellowstone

By Charlie Meyers
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/22/2008 11:04:50 PM MDT


var requestedWidth = 0; if(requestedWidth < 200){ requestedWidth = 200; } Tributaries at the south end of Yellowstone Lake once produced fine trout nearly every cast. Populations have been severely reduced by lake trout predation and, now, by whirling disease. (Charlie Meyers, Denver Post file photo )



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There's trouble in Paradise.
Literally.
Early results from studies of whirling disease infection in populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout indicate an extreme level of susceptibility that spells trouble for one of the nation's most treasured trout locations.
Nowhere is the concern greater than in Paradise Valley, the spectacularly scenic and fish-fertile reach of the Yellowstone River where it flows from Yellowstone National Park downstream to Livingston, Mont.
Early research reveals that the disease fatal to young trout has made its way into two-thirds of the tributaries that provide the bulk of reproduction for this internationally famous fishing area.
For Colorado anglers who love fishing for Yellowstone cutthroat, both in and outside the park, this news is not good. Worse, lab testing has shown the Yellowstone cutthroat to be six to seven times more susceptible to the malady than rainbow trout.
"What concerns me is the susceptibility level," said Dick Vincent, whirling disease research coordinator with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. "That's scary. If they're going to be bothered by such a small exposure, we're in a lot of trouble."
The worry began some time ago farther upstream in Yellowstone Lake, where this celebrated native trout suffers a double-edged attack. Much has been discussed about an explosion of lake trout chewing away at what once was the most remarkable fishery in the region.
Yellowstone National Park officials have removed more than 270,000 lake trout over the past 13 years, 73,000 in 2007 alone, in an effort that has cost $3 million. More recently, the National Park Service has formed a partnership with Trout Unlimited and the U.S. Geological Survey to develop an alternative method to eliminate the illegally introduced lake trout.
At the same time, whirling disease has taken a less-publicized, but perhaps more profound, toll. Dave Kumlien, executive director of the Bozeman,
Chime in With Charlie

Post outdoors editor Charlie Meyers posts entries on this blog devoted to hunting and fishing. Visit it here.


Mont.-based Whirling Disease Foundation, reports that a major lake tributary, Pelican Creek, no longer produces young trout. Similar problems exist in Clear Creek and other tributaries.
"This thing about infection in the Yellowstone River in Montana hasn't really been in the media, but it will cause a great deal of concern," Kumlien said. "This river has a great constituency — anglers, guides, shops, landowners."
By official estimate, the Yellowstone cutthroat now occupies less than 43 percent of its historic range, in large part because of introduction of competing non-native trout and environmental degradation. Like all native trout, including those in Colorado, it is highly impacted by exotics such as rainbow and brook trout.
Now comes this latest threat posed by whirling disease, far greater to cutthroat that cannot be hybridized with more resistant strains.
"There's no way to get that genie back into the jar," said Vincent, who also lamented a general lack of information about the Yellowstone subspecies. Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
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This is really sad!
Don

[Boondocker]

I last visited RMNP back in '86 at the end of May. Came in the east entrance and did a hike up to the lake below Longs Peak. Thats about all I remember about the park.

I expect to travel through Colorado south to north on the trip. My question for those of you with fresher experience is this: is RMNP significantly different from what I will be seeing in the rest of the state to be a must see, or is it a destination largely because of the fact that it is a national park? So what makes the park special. Also, I was thinking that if I do visit, I might concentrate on the west side of the park rather than the east. So what can you all tell me?

[Boondocker]

I thought I would hear a lot of comments about RMNP. Maybe the lack of comments should tell me that it really isn't all that spectacular in comparison to other parts of the state.

[Relentless]

That, or the fact that, like me, we have no idea what RMNP means/is/stands for.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by Relentless

That, or the fact that, like me, we have no idea what RMNP means/is/stands for.

That would be Rocky Mountian National Park