Woke up around 8:30, had some breakfast, and did some meditation and a little slackline again. I managed to get my second foot down after mounting the line, if only for a second or two. I can see I have grown since I was in Byron Bay. My attitude towards the line is one of learning now and it hadn’t been that way the first time I tried.
I drove north to Estes Park, got a coffee at the supermarket there, and went into the national park. I was able to get the annual pass which will be useful once I get into Utah.
I went up the trail to Bierstadt Lake – I hadn’t done this one before. I brought the fly rod with me to try and see if I could get some practice in. The trail wasn’t very difficult. I got up to the lake in 45 minutes or so.
The views from the lake were really amazing. Definitely the best out of all the lakes that I’ve hiked to in that area.
The fly fishing didn’t go all that great. I did a few casts alright but it didn’t go very far. It is definitely going to take some time to get the hang of casting correctly. It was windy, too so it wasn’t the best place to practice for my first time. The flies are so light that if it’s too windy they won’t go anywhere.
I found a campsite near Rustic – which I’m not sure is even a real town based on the map. This is a beautiful area though if I’m being fair. The gorge on the drive through is very tight and there are tons of campsites along the river here. Too bad they are all still closed for the season. I don’t think they will open up for another week or two.
I really just wish they would leave the campgrounds open year round and out of season it can function as a dispersed campsite. I can understand why they don’t want to do that but it sure would be a big help for me.
The next day I made my way up to Red Feather Lakes. It’s about an hour from where I camped along a mostly dirt road. I was right. Rustic wasn’t a real town but they did have a general store there and the ladies were very helpful.
I stopped at one of the larger lakes there and took a walk around – it was quite beautiful. I wish I had brought my camera. I wasn’t sure if I was going to try to fly fish because it was so windy. But I found a spot where it wasn’t so bad and I gave it a go for about 45 minutes.
I didn’t catch a fish but I did feel better about casting. You have to have patience though. Your fly gets stuck in the grass and you have to go and dig it out. You fuck up a cast to all hell and you have to untangle the line.
I was walking back and I struck up a conversation with an older man that was also fishing. I asked him if he had any tips as I was just starting out. He told me to come down and join him – he wanted to help me catch a fish.
He set me up with one of his flies and a floater and he gave me a few tips on casting. He helped answer some questions I had about different parts of the line and rod. He explained how the different types of flies did different things and how each was meant to attract a fish.
I ended up catching two small trout and it was great. I am more excited now obviously but real big thanks to Craig. He was so kind and patient and odd and funny.
I drove to Walden and spent the night there. It’s actually quite a beautiful area – it’s on a plateau and it’s surrounded on all sides by the mountains. There is a wildlife refuge there – the highest in the US as far as altitude is concerned.
I found some BLM land outside of town right next to the lake and camped there for the night. The sunset was really beautiful.