June 29, 2002

Greetings Rock Creekers!  Summer's in full swing in the Eastern Sierra!  The weather's spectacular, the snow's all but gone up high, the fish are biting and so are the mosquitoes, so I guess it's time for another newsletter.

The weather in June has been amazing in the high country.  For a second year in a row, no snow fell at Rock Creek Lake during the month of June, after years of consistent snowfall in that month.  From 1979 when Jim and Sue King took over the resort at the lake until 2001, measurable snow fell in June each year.  This is just another sign of an extremely dry pattern in the west.  Since I was up there over Memorial Weekend, the lake has received only one day of precipitation (not major).  The result is extremely dry conditions throughout Rock Creek Canyon and the entire Eastern Sierra.  The fire in the Walker area earlier in June is a testament to the dryness, not to mention the numerous fires burning throughout the southwestern U. S. And no appreciable relief to the drought is expected in the near future.  In fact, any thunderstorm activity (typical during the summer months in the Sierra) may be just as dangerous as it is relieving due to the potential of lightning strikes.  As the summer wears on, it will be interesting to see if the Eastern Sierra can once again dodge a major fire.  Time will tell.  As a result of these dry conditions, all campfires on the Inyo National Forest MUST BE in designated fire rings beginning July 1, continuing indefinitely.  As of now, fires in campgrounds are still legal, but that may change if conditions worsen.

It was about this time of year in 1995 that Rock Creek Lake finally thawed and the snow melted enough around the lake to open the campground.  The road to Mosquito Flat remained closed through the July 4 holiday that year, and Mammoth Mountain was open for skiing until August 9!  Not so this year.  All campgrounds in Rock Creek have been open for over a month now, and the trails are completely melted out, except for Mono Pass which still has snow on it and Morgan Pass which has patchy snow in spots.  Hikers should expect dry, dusty conditions on the trails indefinitely, as no major afternoon thunderstorm outbreaks are forecasted to help pack down the trails.  A slight chance of P. M. showers is possible by early next week, but they shouldn't amount to much.

Fishing in Rock Creek has been excellent recently.  Lots of limits have been caught in both the lake and creek on a variety of baits, lures, and flies.  However, no fish with any size have been caught lately.  This is expected to change with the stocking of Alpers trout next week.  These fish will be stocked in time for the July 4 holiday weekend with the help of those that contributed to the Rock Creek Alpers Fund through the website.  Jim King at Rock Creek Lakes Resort along with Tom's Place (I think) will be stocking the lake with fish ranging between 2-10+ pounds.  The Alpers fund money will supplement what they are contributing.  The stocking should spice up the fishing considerably.  The prospect of catching a large trout always makes angling more interesting.  Of course, huge browns have been the lake for years, but they are rarely caught.  The last one that exceeded 5 pounds was caught over 10 years ago (to my knowledge).  In the creek, limits have been easy to come by on salmon eggs, worms, and Power Bait, in addition to Panther Martins and Rooster Tails.  Small dry flies and nymphs have also been effective.  In the backcountry lakes, flies have worked well, particularly late in the day.  If you choose to fish the backcountry, be sure to come prepared with insect repellant.  The mosquitoes are not horrendous this year, but they will find you if you're not prepared.  At Rock Creek Lake, try tossing lures, such as red/gold Thomas Buoyants, frog, silver, or brass Super Dupers, or gold Kastmasters.  The typical streamer flies are also working well (olive matukas, brown wooly buggers, and olive Twin Lakes Specials).  Nightcrawlers and Power Bait are also producing limits.  If you've been to the area and fished it recently, please visit the website's fishing page and add your report to the fish board...
http://www.rockcreeklake.com/fishing/

Anglers will also find it interesting that Rock Creek Lakes Resort is once again raising its own trout for release in the fall.  These fish are donated to the resort by DFG and the resort buys the food for the fish.  In late August and September, the fish are gradually released until the cage is empty by early October.  By then some of the fish have grown to 2-3 pounds, with the majority in the 1-2 pound range.  Yet another way locals are attempting to improve the fishery in Rock Creek.

In years past, bears have been major nuisances in Rock Creek.  Luckily, this year few incidents have been reported, and to my knowledge, none have been serious.  It has been documented on the message board, however, that the local Rock Creek bears enjoy marshmallows, and it's widely known that they can read the word "Coleman."  To help keep the incidents with bears seldom and minor, please make sure you store your food appropriately when you camp.  Several sites in Rock Creek contain bear boxes, and other boxes are slated for installation this summer.  If your site doesn't have a box, ask the campground manager for suggestions about storing your food.  DON'T LEAVE YOUR FOOD UNATTENDED at any time.  Once the bears have repeated successes in the campgrounds it will be difficult to keep them out.  Thanks for your help and understanding with this potential problem.

To the media front.  Once again, Rock Creek was included in Sunset Magazine, although this time the issue focused on hiking and backpacking in the Eastern Sierra instead of pie (see the resort section of the site for this issue).  Marsh Lake in Little Lakes Valley is the focus of the spread.  Check out the June issue of Sunset for this article.  Business is already booming in the canyon, which makes August look that much scarier.  The Sunset article can only add to the insanity.  If you're planning a trip to the area this summer, may I suggest coming the week after the July 4 holiday?  There is typically a lull in activity in the canyon after the fourth, which means more of the canyon to yourself!  August is just plain insane.  The resort's cabins are almost entirely booked for the next 2 months, but there are several openings in September and a couple in October.  Give them a call to check availability at 760-935-4311.  Please don't email through this website regarding cabins, as I don't have access to that information presently.

Lastly, I'd like to thank those of you that have used the bookstore to purchase books through Amazon.  The purchases you've made have helped improve the website and have also added some Alpers trout to the soon-to-be-stocked Alpers trout in the lake.  If you haven't given the store a look, please do so.  You can buy ANY items from Amazon through rockcreeklake.com and it doesn't cost you a dime extra.  Plus, all purchases benefit Rock Creek and this website.  Check out the bookstore...
http://www.rockcreeklake.com/store/books/

That's about it for this newsletter.  Hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.  If you're planning a trip to Rock Creek soon, have a great time!  I hope to be there over the July 4 holiday weekend, so I might see you up there.  Until the next newsletter, keep your line tight, your fly dry (unless you're nymphin'), take it easy and
THINK CREEK!

Tim


P. S. The resort doesn't sell "THINK CREEK" t-shirts.  I'm thinking about creating one though.  Would you buy it?  Thanks.