July 30, 2000
Greetings from a warm and painfully dry
Rock Creek. With no significant precipitation in sight, campers, hikers,
and backpackers are thrilled. If this pattern continues, however, we may
be looking at extreme fire conditions by August. Due to the dry, warm spring and
below normal snowfall from last winter, the water level in the creek and lake is
already dropping rapidly. A slight chance of thunderstorms is in the
forecast over the next few days, but rain that accompanies such isolated storms
is usually insignificant. We had a shower this afternoon that produced .08
inches, the most rain since early June. A big plus to these dry conditions
is the lack of mosquitoes present in the area. Actually, the mosquitoes are
pretty bad in the backcountry from dusk to dark and again around daybreak, but
for most of the day repellant is not necessary. Here at Rock Creek Lake,
the mosquitoes are almost non-existent. Temperatures are expected to
remain above normal for the near future, with highs in the mid to upper 70's and
lows in the 40's at 9,700 feet and in the 50's at lower elevations.
Trail conditions in Rock Creek are poor due to the dry conditions and excessive
use by pack animals. My wife and I went over Mono Pass down to Fourth
Recess Lake a couple of weeks ago. The trail over Mono Pass from the east
side and down the west side past Trail Lakes all the way to the lake was
extremely dusty and sandy. The biting flies present due to horse/mule
leftovers made it that much worse. The trail conditions to Tamarack Lakes,
the Hilton Lakes, and over Morgan Pass are similar. Despite these poor
conditions, we enjoyed the hike to Fourth Recess. The flowers were
beautiful, there were a few mosquitoes at the lake but they weren't too bad, and
the weather was perfect. Today's shower may improve the trail conditions
slightly, but we need a lot more rain to return the trails to a "good"
condition.
In another trail-related issue, dogs and domestic goats have been banned from
certain trails in the Eastern Sierra, including areas in Rock Creek
Canyon. The reason for these closures is to protect the Sierra Nevada
Bighorn Sheep. The point is to lessen the threat of transmitting domesticated
diseases to the sheep. In Rock Creek, the closure includes Little Lakes
Valley above the Gem Lakes and over Morgan Pass, specifically, any of the lakes
off the main trail, including the Treasure Lakes, Mills Lakes, Upper and Lower
Morgan Lakes, and Dade Lake. The ban also includes the upper reaches of
the Tamarack Lakes region, not including the lakes themselves. Basically,
anywhere off of the trail is off limits for domestic animals in the Tamarack
Lakes region. If you want to get technical, here are the township/range
coordinates that are included in the ban in the Rock Creek area:
--T. 5 S., R. 30 E.
--T. 6 S., R. 29 and 30 E.
--T. 7 S., R. 29 and 30 E.
Enforcing this ban will be difficult if not
impossible, so users of the areas need to understand their responsibility to the
sheep and act accordingly. If hikers with domestic animals are caught by a
law enforcement officer in the closure areas, the punishment is ridiculously
stiff... "Violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more
than $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment
for not more than 6 months, or both. 16 USC 551, and 18 USC 3559,
3571."
Wildflowers are near their peak, especially in the backcountry. Lupine,
fireweed, columbine, monkshood, tiger lilies, and paintbrush are prominent,
especially in the wetter sections of the area. The immergence of fireweed
indicates the impending end of the wildflower season. If you'd like to see
our wildflowers before they're gone, plan a trip in the next 2 weeks. By
the middle of August most of the flowers will be history.
On July 24, a boy was sitting on the shore of Rock Creek Lake fishing with his
dad. After about an hour of less-than-productive results, the boy said,
"I'm bored. I want to go back to camp and play my Game Boy."
Literally thirty seconds after making that comment, young Josh VanVoorhis of New
Hampton, New York caught a 2 pound, 7 ounce rainbow trout using a nightcrawler.
I don't know if he has since gone back to his Game Boy, but I bet his patience
level has increased considerably as a result. Overall, the fishing in Rock
Creek has slowed some over the past week due to heavy fishing pressure and warm
temperatures. Trolling deep with lead core down about 4 colors seems to be
working best. Frog Needlefish, olive matukas, perch Thomas Buoyants, and
brook trout Kastmasters are working fairly well trolling. From shore
fishing is fair with nightcrawlers and various lures. Mike Brewer of San
Marcos caught a 4 pound, 12 ounce rainbow on a mosquito fly. Float tubers
are catching fish late in the day on streamers like olive matukas and Twin Lakes
Specials, as well as on dry flies including adams, mosquitoes, and elk hair
caddis. These same flies are working for flyfishermen wading near the
inlet and fly/bubble users near the boat dock, outlet, and inlet. Power
Bait seems less productive. In the creek, Velveeta and worms have been the
best baits. Panther Martins, Rooster Tails, and Mepps spinners have been
the most productive lures. Drifting a small nymph in the faster water has
also been working. Size 16 or 18 female adams or elk hair caddis are
bringing fish to the surface in the evening.
That's about it for this newsletter. I'll send another out around August
11. Until then, try to stay cool, take it easy, and THINK CREEK!!
Tim