Wind Rivers 2009 .....or Sweets Goes Fishing

We took off for the Wind River Range in Wyoming to mine some “gold”. After hooking up with Kiley in Lander, WY. we headed for the trailhead, which included strapping our backpacks on two four-wheelers and riding 45 minutes before hiking. We hiked about 3 miles to Crack Lake, set up camp, and started getting our butts kicked by Sweets. Ricardo may have caught the first two fish, but Sweets ended up putting us to shame. I never thought I’d get tired of hearing her yell “Fish on!”, but I was getting close.


The next day we hiked up to a lake that is known for its Golden Trout. Nada. Zilch. Skunk. We didn’t see a fish. Weather was good and we stayed late in the evening to see if things started to heat up… nope. As is the case when one fishes for Goldens when they are not spawning. Tough fish. Sweets made it back to camp and promptly caught everyone dinner….. cause no one else was able to catch dinner.


Day 3 took us a little further from camp to a great brookie lake. Seeing the size and colors of these fish helped us forget the beat down we took the day before. God used every color on his palette when he created the brook trout.


Day 4 brought snow. The voice coming out of our two way radio said the snow level would be 9000 ft. We were camped at 10,800 ft. With snow and rain continuing for the remainder of the day. Yikes! We busted camp and hit the trail. After dropping in elevation the rain never stopped and pounded us all the way back to the 4-wheelers and the truck.


It was a great trip, lots of scenery, and for Sweets, lots of fish.


Lesson’s learned:
1. The only true waterproof boots have Gore-tex.
2. When the Merrell boot salesman tells you their boots are waterproof, they’re lying.
3. The fly you need to fish a certain lake will always be home in your nymph box.
4. No matter the water, no matter the area, Sweets will always out fish you. Get over it.
5. Pizza tastes soooo good after slogging for 3 hours in the snow and rain.

Crack Lake Camp

If you're not bleeding, you're not having fun. Ricardo demonstrates how to have fun.




Bear bait.... I mean Kiley's dog, Koda



Dinner....







....see? I told you so...

..... let's see, cook at 500 degrees for.....

Snow Lake

Look everyone, Sweets caught another one...

Aaaah, the rewards