July 9, 2003

Greetings Rock Creekers!  It's been 6 weeks since my last newsletter and lots of things have happened in the area since.  The weather remains warm and dry, but a big warmup is underway and will continue indefinitely.  Highs in Bishop are anticipated to be around 105 through the weekend.  No thunderstorms have popped up yet this summer in the Rock Creek area, however a few lightning strikes caused some spot fires in the Benton area and south of Big Pine a couple of weeks ago.  A very slight chance of storms is possible in the afternoon for the next few days, but don't expect to get wet or plan activities around the possibility of rain.  It most likely will be hot, dry, and dusty.


--TRAIL CONDITIONS--
The trails in the Rock Creek area are completely melted out, except for Mono Pass which will hold snow for much of the summer.  Pack trains are traveling on all the trails, and as a result the trails are becoming more dusty and loose, not to mention smelly.  The Hilton Lakes trail is in especially poor condition, while the trail up Little Lakes Valley is still in relatively good condition, as is the trail to the Tamarack Bench. Mono Pass is also quite loose and sandy, particularly in the switchbacks.  A strong summer thunderstorm is just what is needed to pack the trails down and knock down the dust.  My crystal ball sees just the opposite, however.

In addition to the hot and dusty conditions, mosquitoes have presented serious problems for some backcountry travelers in recent days.  One particular group that planned on staying 3-4 days in Little Lakes Valley left after one night, saying that the mosquitoes were unbearable.  If this is the case in Little Lakes Valley, you can bet that the Hilton Lakes are as bad or worse, particularly down at Hilton #2 and Davis Lake.  Standing water and mud is starting to dry up, but for the next 3-4 weeks expect to encounter an inordinate number of blood suckers if you're planning a trip to the backcountry.  They are especially active early and late in the day.



--WILDFLOWERS--
Although flowers are still 2-3 weeks from peaking in the backcountry, they are in bloom in many sections of the canyon.  Exquisite presentations of lily, columbine, iris, shooting star, paintbrush, monkshood, lupine, and prickly poppy are present in various spots, particularly in the wetter riparian sections of the canyon.  A hike from East Fork up to the Pond will yield most if not all of the previously-mentioned species of flowers, and a few spots along the road also have excellent color.  Purple and white species of columbine are scattered about the rocks in drier sections of Little Lakes Valley, such as along the trail on the western shore of Long Lake.  Expect the flowers to peak around July 20 and start to fade in early August.  Get that macro lens ready if you're a photographer!



--FISHING--
June is typically the best month for fishing in the Rock Creek area, but this June didn't start out that way.  It was quite slow for a while, even though lots of fish were present in both the lake and creek.  It began to pick up around the 20th of June, and has remained consistently good since.  Alpers trout were planted in the lake on July 2, and the largest fish of the year was caught a couple of days later by Ralph Valenzuela of San Bernardino.  His fish weighed in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces and was caught on a wooly bugger.  Power Bait is also working well now, in addition to nightcrawlers.  I caught a 13 inch half-pounder on Sunday using a perch Thomas Buoyant.  In the creek, the fish were spooked by so many lines hitting the water over the weekend and few fish were caught, especially later in the weekend.  However, anglers using nymphs and various dry flies are doing well, particularly late in the day.  Panther Martins and Rooster Tails are productive when shadows are on the water, such as early in the day.  Alpers and Conway Ranch trout will continue to be stocked throughout the summer, in addition to DFG's plantings of regular trout.



--CAMPING--
All campgrounds in Rock Creek are open, and all were full for the Independence Day weekend, however by mid-Sunday most had emptied out considerably.  Finding a site should be relatively easy for the next couple of weeks, except in the canyon's smaller campgrounds such as Big Meadow, Iris Meadow, and Upper Pine Grove.  Still, these campgrounds are first come, first served, so they definitely deserve a look before settling on East Fork or Rock Creek Lake.

Campers have been doing a great job storing their food and related items that attract bears, and as a result few bear sightings and NO incidents have been reported in the past month.  A perfect sign that the bears are looking elsewhere for food is a report of bear tracks in the snow near the Tamarack Lakes, a good distance from the campgrounds.  To help complete the "bear-proofing" of Rock Creek Canyon, over 240 additional bear boxes have been purchased and are in route to the Eastern Sierra for installation in the canyon this summer and fall.  When completed, every campsite in Rock Creek Canyon will contain a bear box capable of holding at least 2 large coolers in addition to other items.  This is great news for campers and bears alike!  Until they've been installed, however, campers will need to continue to store food in their vehicles if their site doesn't contain a bear box.  If you have any questions about how to effectively store your food, please ask a campground manager.  They're more than willing to help.



--COMMERCIAL CLOSES CANYON--
It's been said that money talks, and apparently that's a true statement.  For periods of up to an hour over a 2 day period in late June, visitors to Rock Creek were subjected to the very same traffic frustrations they were trying to avoid in the city.  CHP stopped traffic to allow BMW to film a commercial on Rock Creek road, in which the car reached speeds in excess of 100 mph.  Fake snow was scattered along the side of the road as well.  During this time, all traffic, including foot traffic, was temporarily halted along and across the road.  People that were staying in the Resort's cabins were not allowed to cross the road by foot to visit the lake, and local businesses were adversely affected as people turned around to visit "open" areas in the Eastern Sierra.  In response to a complaint from one of the businesses, a BMW employee stated, "Would it help if we came up and bought a few things?"  Cabin customers that have frequented the resort for years stated that it was the most ridiculous experience they've ever had in the canyon.



--COYOTE ENCOUNTER--
Wild animals are present throughout the Rock Creek area, but rarely do they bother people or present a threat to humans or their pets.  In all my time living and working in the Rock Creek area I've encountered many types of animals, including marmots, pika, black bear, pine marten, coyote, and the ever present ground squirrel, just to name a few.  Nearly every animal I've come across has run, simply because it's in their nature to avoid contact with humans.  Bears are more bold at times, but they still run when approached.  And squirrels, well, they've pretty much become domesticated in the campgrounds.  Coyotes, on the other hand, have ALWAYS been skittish and run from humans, particularly in the backcountry, which is where I found myself on Saturday morning, hiking in the Sand Canyon area on my way to Dorothy Lake.  I was with my wife, a friend, and 2 golden retrievers.  We were off the main trail, using a relatively unknown route to access the lake.  As a result, we felt it was safe to let the dogs run.

As we entered the final meadow before the lake, the dogs suddenly shot off ahead, and in the grove of trees across the meadow a faint yelp or howl could be heard.  It sounded like dogs, but we soon realized it wasn't.  A large male coyote (probably around 50-60 pounds or more) bolted across the meadow and intercepted our dogs and us before we could enter the glade of trees.  He stood there barking and howling, waiting to see how we would act.  We called the dogs back and they returned quickly.  Then we stood there, the coyote sizing us up, and we doing the same to him.  After 2-3 minutes passed, I decided to see what the coyote would do if I made a sudden movement toward him.  This may have been a stupid mistake, but it's my experience that wild animals will run off if they feel threatened, and that was my intention.  I sprinted out about 10-15 yards, and the animal moved, but not in the way I thought it would.  He circled the meadow, climbed onto a large rock from which he could get a better vantage point, and seemed to say, "Okay, buddy. Whatcha gonna do now?"  His verbal warnings continued.

It was obvious to all of us that this was not a normal 'relationship' with this animal, and we decided to turn around and not push our luck.  We figured we could skirt the meadow to the southwest, meet the main trail, and go to the lake from that direction, so we headed off, away from the coyote and toward the main trail.  We all felt certain that this would be the end of the confrontation.  Little did we know, it was just beginning.

We started off in a relatively lazy stroll, the dogs now leashed until we were sure they would be safe.  The coyote's howls continued in the distance, and we were now at ease, not that we actually felt threatened before.  A couple of minutes later I looked back.  The animal's warnings had continued, and he had now moved position so that he could still see us.  We were being watched, and we began to move faster.  Five minutes passed, and after a brief respite from his eerie wails, the coyote's voice once again pierced the silence, this time MUCH closer than before, maybe from only 75 yards away.  It was obvious now that we were being followed, and we weren't sure why.  Had I angered him when I made that fake charge?  Was he guarding a den?  Was he rabid?  Was he after the dogs?  These were questions that entered my mind, and we began to run, which may have been another mistake.  We were off the trail, cross-countrying through sagebrush and hopping across boulders.  In addition, the dogs were still leashed for fear that they might chase after the coyote, and we were having difficulty running and controlling them.  My wife grabbed a stick and we continued to run.

Perhaps another minute or two passed, then a LOUD, grisly wail split the silence not more than 15 yards away.  He was CLOSE!  We stopped and faced the direction from which the voice came from, not knowing what to expect.  At this point, we were very concerned.  Being unarmed, we grabbed rocks in anticipation of a charge.  I yelled a warning at the top of my lungs and we waited.  Nothing happened and we once again continued down toward the trail, walking this time.  Finally Kenneth Lake came into view, as well as the main trail, and we bushwhacked our way down a steep hillside and onto the meadow at Kenneth Lake, finally relieved that more people were around.  Then the voice came again!  There he stood on the far side of Kenneth Lake, continuing to bark and howl, this time at us and several other groups of people and dogs in the area.  He had followed us from Dorothy Lake to Kenneth Lake, a distance of a mile or more, and he wasn't finished, even though we were.  We headed back to Rock Creek Lake and his eerie voice faded to silence as we put distance between ourselves and him.  He undoubtedly continued his harassment of everyone in the area that day.  It was quite an experience, one I won't soon forget.  The following link is to a short Quicktime video about coyotes.  I would typically agree with what the narrator says, but this day was different...

http://www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot1.html



--FEATURED BOOK--
Each newsletter I try to feature a book that I've read or am familiar with that has particular significance to Rock Creek or the Eastern Sierra.  This time, the featured book is called "Mine in the Sky," a fantastic book that tells of the events leading up to the discovery and development of tungsten at Pine Creek, the canyon just south of Rock Creek.  

You can also find several other titles about the Sierra Nevada and other parts of California in Rock Creek's Bookstore.

Well that's about it for this long-winded newsletter.  I hope you enjoyed it. Summer is in full swing now.  The pie's flying out of the Resort as quickly as it's baked, and all's well in God's Country.  I hope all is well with you.  Until next time, take it easy and THINK CREEK!

Tim