Rock Creek Newsletter
August 20, 2006

Rock Creek Lake, August 1, 2006
Photo by Tim Grimmett

    Greetings from the foggy and cool Humboldt County coast!  After a couple of weeks doing some home improvement and spending over 5 weeks at Rock Creek, during which time I flipped burgers and pancakes, sold hundreds of flies, lied about the colors of PowerBait working on the lake, and cleaned toilets while chasing my 15-month-old daughter all the while, I can now relax for an evening and get this delinquent newsletter scribed.

    When we left for Rock Creek in late-June for our annual stint working at the Resort, we knew this year was going to be difficult; however, little did we know how arduous it would actually be.  In all the years I’ve worked at the Resort…15 to be exact…the jobs around the business haven’t changed much.  It has gotten much busier over that time though.  Still, after teaching for a year, working at Rock Creek Lakes Resort should’ve been a piece of cake, right?  Well yeah, that is until the toddler is figured into the equation.  Most of you know of exactly what I speak, don’t you?  Those 5 weeks were the most exhausting 5 weeks of my life, and I’m really glad to be home, although I did enjoy my time at the lake this summer in spite of some tribulations.

Indoctrinating our little one into all that is “Rock Creek”

    Fishing at Rock Creek Lake was incredible for most of July, with trolling flies in the evening the hot ticket.  Olive matukas, wooly buggers, marvel flies, and Twin Lakes Specials have been excellent choices for the entire summer.  Several large trout were caught in late-June and early-July with inflated nightcrawlers, and this has continued to be an effective bait into August.  In fact, Brian Felix from San Marcos caught the largest trout of the summer using nightcrawlers the day after we arrived in June.  His 7 pound, 2 ounce rainbow remains the fish to beat this summer.  The following day, Brian caught another rainbow pushing six pounds by using nightcrawlers and Becky Bub’s 6 pound, 10 ounce Alpers rainbow caught with PowerBait was also impressive.  Her husband Derek’s five-pounder caught with a Rooster Tail was nice as well.  I found myself thinking, “Man, could the rest of the summer continue like this?”  Well, although people stopped bringing in large rainbows after the July 4^th weekend, the quantities of fish being caught were excessive.

Becky Bub’s 6 lb., 10 oz. rainbow

Brian Felix and “The Fish to Beat!”

    For about a week my family visited from Long Beach and we stayed in one of the resort’s cabins with them, feasting on Mom’s cooking after staying out late on the lake fishing.  During this time, we decided to have a friendly fishing derby.  In one boat, my brother-in-law, Kevin Chartier (Kevmon) and his friend Damian Fraser (Rabbit) dragged a variety of streamer flies.  In the other boat was Yours Truly.  I was joined the first night by my dad, Phil Grimmett (Chuck P) and the second night by my buddy Dennis Dart (Double-D).  We fished using primarily the same flies.  We never went to bait or lures.  This was a fishing derby done on the honor system, so the accuracy of the numbers may be off slightly, but I actually used a tally sheet the first night so my count was accurate, and based on my numbers I’d say Kevin and Damian didn’t lie…too much.  At any rate, the final fish-count for 2 nights and a total of about 5 hours of fishing was 159 trout.  Yes, 159!!  It was incredible.  What was more amazing was that this occurred during a full moon.  In fact, the second night was the night of the full moon, and fishing was just as hot as the night before.  Every single one of these fish was released unharmed.

    For the rest of the week, Kevin and Damian continued to fish the lake nightly and I think I got one more night in as well.  I would estimate that we caught and released over 300 fish as a family, every single one caught with a fly.  And not only did Kevin Chartier catch a ton of fish, but he also caught a fish that rivaled Brian Felix’s.  The only thing is that he didn’t bring it into the resort to weigh it…he released it, which is all the more impressive.  He caught trolling some kind of fly a friend of his got him while on a trip to Ireland.  Based on the photo, I’d say it’s definitely in the 6-7 pound range.  Good job, Kevmon!

Kevin Chartier’s FAT Rainbow out of Rock Creek Lake

    Weather was definitely something to contend with for much of July in the Eastern Sierra.  Most of the month was very warm, although there was about a week period that was wet.  Rock Creek Lake received nearly 2 inches of rain, and other areas in the region got much more than that.  Even during the wet period though, the Owens Valley was cooking with highs around 105.  This was about the time that Southern California was experiencing its major heat wave.  August has been much cooler and drier.  The latest forecast calls for highs in the mid-60’s at Rock Creek Lake’s elevation and no precipitation for the next week at least.  This of course can change, so if you’re planning a trip to the region keep up-to-date on the weather through the website…

    Spending July in the Eastern Sierra allows one to witness spring’s exit and summer’s arrival, especially after a wet winter.  Mammoth Mountain broke its all-time snowfall record this winter, with a total snowfall of 668 inches, 51 inches more than the previous record set in the 1992-1993 season.  All this snow translated to an excessive amount of water, a late snowmelt, and an abundance of mosquitoes.  Backcountry travelers bathed in DEET to keep the clouds of blood-suckers at a distance, while parents kept little ones inside as much as possible in the evenings, a nearly impossible chore in most cases.  Backpackers at Chickenfoot Lake and Gem Lakes reported “unbearable” mosquito conditions at those locations in July.  Luckily, much of the standing water has evaporated, and the majority of mosquitoes have left with it, although mosquitoes are still present and precautions should be taken until that first hard freeze finishes them off in September.

    Those that tolerated and/or communed with the mosquitoes were blest with a spectacular wildflower display from mid-July to early-August.  An exceptional variety of flowers blanketed meadows, talus slopes, and every other imaginable habitat in the region.  Many flowers are still present, especially in the backcountry, but they’re definitely on the wane.  Expect them to be nearly gone by Labor Day weekend.  Here’s a trio I found while walking around the lake on August 1…

Ranger’s Buttons

Wandering Daisy

White Heather

    Rock Creek Lakes Resort has been synonymous with PIE for a long time.  In fact, for many people the pie is the reason they come to the resort.  Maybe they’ll leave with a t-shirt and a couple of shower tokens, and as they sit on the benches waiting for a shower to open up so they can rinse off the 173 layers of dirt and DEET that has accumulated for the past week and a half, oftentimes a furry friend will nuzzle up and beg for a rub on the belly or scratch behind the ear.  As a kid growing up in Rock Creek each summer, the golden retrievers were what I associated the resort with, not the pie.  Koa and Luke were there in the ‘80’s.  They were notorious for visiting the cabins and begging for steaks, ice cream, or whatever else the folks had cookin’.  Coloma was the world’s greatest bear chaser, and relished the opportunities he received in the late ‘90’s and early 21^st century, and his partner in this endeavor was Hannah, Jim and Sue’s baby for the past 9 years.  She gave birth to a litter of ten puppies 5 years ago, and part of that litter was JJ (Jasper Junior, named for the litter’s father), the latest in the legacy of retrievers that have graced the resort. 

    It’s sad to report that in early-August, Hannah fell victim to cancer and died while the Kings were down in San Diego visiting family.  She was on her nightly walk to The Pond and collapsed.  She was carried off and taken to Bishop where she was operated on and cancer was found throughout her liver and spleen.  There was nothing the doctors could do for her.  Still, she had the greatest life a dog could ask for, running the trails of Rock Creek with Sue, Jim, the girls, and all the different employees the resort has had over the years.  So it’s JJ you’ll meet now in the back of the resort.  He’ll probably have a bit of a confused look on his face as he waits for his mom to come back to her doghouse, so give him a little attention and realize that he’s the last in a long line of special animals to play in “Pie Heaven,” which should really be termed, “Dog Heaven.”

This Newsletter’s Featured Book…

America’s Mountains

America’s Seashores

America’s Deserts

    Are you into outdoor gear?  I bet most of you have shopped at REI and other similar stores.  Now you can shop at RockCreek.com and get many of the same items, including clothing from Gramicci, North Face, and Mountain Hardware, shoes from Chaco and Keen, and lots of backpacking and camping gear from a variety of companies.  I encourage you to check out Rock/Creek’s site to see what it offered.  Click the link below to visit the site.  Thanks for your support!

    Even though it’s mid-August, there seems to be a definite feel of fall in the air.  This has been discussed a bit on the message board.  School will be starting in the next couple of weeks, mornings are already cooling off, and soon those hordes of mosquitoes will be a distant memory.  Before we know it, yellows, oranges and reds will be donning the aspens and it’s only a matter of time before snow closes the gate at East Fork’s SnoPark area for another year.  BUT, there are still at least 2 months of fantastic weather and fishing to be enjoyed though, so take advantage of it if you can!  Hopefully you’ll make it up and enjoy some of it for me while I’m in my classroom contemplating it.

    Take out a loan and get some gas, gather your gear, pile the kids in the car for one more trip, and get up there!  If you can’t though, hopefully this newsletter and the website will help you through.  Visit the message board, do a little daydreaming, take it easy and THINK CREEK!  Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tim

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