Tag: fishing

off the bike fun, things to do

A Day on the East Carson – and a Salvage Operation

LAST Sunday, my wife and my Mom joined me for a day of fishing, picnicking and swimming on the East Fork of the Carson River, just a few miles from Markleeville.

IT was a gloriously hot day; glorious mostly because we were able to spend it on, and in, the cold Carson.

Starting the Day With a Ride

MY day began with a ride up Hwy. 4 towards Ebbett’s Pass; in this case up to the 7000′ mark at Raymond Meadow Creek. This is a great ride; a 26 mile round trip from HQ here in Markleeville, with approximately 1500′ of climbing.

I also did a bit of swimming hole recon. on the ride in preparation for our day on the river and decided on what turned out to be a great location.

WITH last week’s heat wave – thankfully we’ve got a bit of a respite before things ramp up again this weekend – I was getting my rides in during the morning hours. Yesterday, in fact, I rode part of this route (up to Silver Mountain City) starting about 6:30 a.m. and it was a sublime experience; one of those perfectly quiet (except for the river and the birds), almost car-less rides that we’re privileged to be able to pedal here in the California Alps.

I highly recommend these early a.m. forays! Below are some pix I snapped along the way. See what I mean?

At the Swimming Hole

Even though I’m not a father to any human children, thanks to my lovely wife I get a bit of fatherly spoiling on Father’s Day since I am the “Dad-cat.” This day was no exception. The Goilz had prepared a plethora of picnic items and so all I had to do was load up the truck and get us there.

UPON arrival it was straight into the river. A bit chilly at first but oh so invigorating, especially with a cold beverage in hand.

THEN, a bit of fishing, and some catching, in the same hole. That’s it in the image above – the flat water in the middle of the frame. My fishing foray was followed by a nice lunch and another cerveza.

Nothing better than sipping beer in a cool river on a hot day, right?

AT one point, as I was re-positioning upstream so I could get a better drift into a particular eddy, a shadow crossed my path. Looking up, there it was!

A bald eagle fly-over is always a good sign, and good karma, too.

THE fish were small, however, (but any day fishing…) and several of them went back from whence they came, but I did catch a decent 10″ rainbow and kept another smaller one that had been hooked badly enough that it had to be kept. Those are the little beauties below.

The Salvage Operation

BEING sated from a great lunch, and a bit buzzed from those beers, it was back in the water for one last swim before we headed back to the Chalet. I had brought a pair of swimming goggles as I was curious to see if I could catch a glimpse of a trout or two, or perhaps something else of interest.

A glint on the bottom of the pool caught my eye and after several tries (the water was flowing pretty well and the pool was over 6′ deep) I was able to snag the item – a lure it was!

I then patrolled the pool with more purpose and low and behold I found a veritable treasure-trove of lost lures.

TWO of ’em had hooks that were too badly rusted for future use but the others went into the tackle box. Hopefully they’ll bring me good luck in the future.

THE trout? They were thrown on the grill that night and included in our Father’s Day feast. El pescado era muy delicioso!

A Perfect Day

AND one I highly recommend. Yes, we are California Alps Cycling, but as I regularly tell anyone who’ll listen it’s not only about the bike. That’s just a bonus on some days.

THIS was one of them!

SO next time you come on up to Markleeville, don’t just bring the velocipede. Include that swimming apparel, some fishing poles and what the hell, a mask or some goggles.

YOU never know what kind of adventures you can have, or what you might find along the way!

deathride, fishing, road conditions

Weekend Update – Two Alps Passes, The Deathride and Fishing

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had some news that I wanted to pass on. And, since I’m an old school SNL guy I thought I’d go with the “Weekend Update” reference (Aykroyd was the best anchor, IMHO).

Ebbett’s Pass and Monitor Pass

From our FB post this past Wednesday: “Yesterday afternoon I had an email exchange with David Griffith, one of our Supervisors here in Alpine Co., and he told me that yesterday morning “the Board of Supervisors approved a letter requesting that CalTrans *not* open Monitor or Ebbetts Pass until May 15th. Should perceived danger from covid-19 recede it may open sooner. I was assured that it only applies to motorized vehicles so walkers, hikers and cyclists etc. should be exempt.” It should be safe to go past the gates on Monitor a/o today he said, but there is still snow plowing being done on Ebbetts, so walking, hiking and cycling is discouraged there – for now.”

David was kind enough to ping me yesterday to say the signs that prohibit pedestrians, bicyclists and motor-driven cycles (moped? e-bike?) had been removed.

Signage at Wolf Creek Road on April 21st. The gate is open as of today, though.

Monitor Junction, where highways 4 and 89 intersect, is north of Wolf Creek Road (the above image) and the gates there ARE CLOSED. However, the “peds, cyclists and mdc prohibited” signs are no where to be seen! Just like David said. So, you can ride both of those roads if you wish. Of course, you’re assuming the risk – flat or have a mechanical and depending on where you are it could be a long walk. As for a true emergency? No cell service much past town so if you don’t have a sat-phone or a buddy…

Nonetheless, I partook today, along with other riders and hikers, and road part way up Hwy. 4 (aka Ebbett’s Pass) and part way up Hwy. 89 from the Junction (aka Monitor Pass). Wasn’t into the Full Monty (yeah, another old-school reference but I won’t expand – Google it!) today so just did sections of each. Still, got about 3000′ of climbing in! The roads are in good shape, btw, with not too many rocks, no run-off and no snow.

  • Looking downstream at the East Fork of the Carson from Monitor Junction.
  • A somewhat raging (seen it higher) Raymond Meadow Creek.
  • Raymond Meadow Creek rapids up close.
  • My shadow (and some leg) hanging loose while on the way up to Raymond Meadow Creek.

If you do decide to come up to Markleeville keep in mind that public facilities are still closed, BUT Alps Haus, the J. Marklee Toll Station, and Stonefly are doing take-out so you can grab some grub! Oh, and so is the General Store (open, that is).

Deathride Resurgence

If you’ve signed up then you’re probably already aware…we (the Alpine Co. Chamber of Commerce and our Ride Director) decided to cancel this year’s ride. Postponing it was discussed but based on the fact that many other rides that have done that already, and therefore the ride saturation that may occur in the fall will be heavy, and because of the logistics of ordering merch. (had to do it now for July and push it back to July if we did a Sept. ride) that was not an option. We also wanted to be considerate of our community and didn’t want to inundate our little town and surrounds with thousands of people just after we recovered from the pandemic (if we had/have). So next year is the year of resurgence! Hopefully in many, many ways.

This years’ ride was canceled but the Resurgence Tour will occur on July 17th, 2021!

Fishing Season Postponed for Alpine, Inyo and Mono Counties

Our Chamber posted this up on its FB page this week:

“We have received a lot of inquiries about the fishing opener, originally scheduled to kick off this weekend. Due to COVID-19 precautions and the limited resources in our small Eastern Sierra communities, the season opener has been delayed. “After talking with the county representatives, we agreed this was a necessary step toward being responsive to local needs in this public health emergency,” said CDFW Director Bonham. Read the full press release from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife here: https://bit.ly/2KuMi64. Fishing is at the heart of Alpine County, and we are looking forward to the opener as much as our visitors.”

Looks like we’ll have to wait until as late as the end of May, depending…But, as it turns out, the delay is not such a bad thing since the water (at least on the East & West Carson) is moving too fast and looks too much like chocolate milk.

Looking downstream at the East Fork of the Carson from Monitor Junction.

So, there you have it – our little weekend update.

Now get out and get some and be sure to do it safely and with the proper distance, k?

off the bike fun, things to do, things to see, weather

Winter is Coming to the California Alps

This past weekend I finally had to ditch the shorts. I’ve been in denial for a few weeks and kept countering those cold morning legs with layering up top but last Friday I gave it up and put on the sweats. Now that doesn’t mean we won’t get a few more fall opportunities to bare those gams, perhaps even later this week, but for now, the word of the day is “chilly.” 26 degrees here in Markleeville this morning! Last week we had just under .10 inches of rain but this week is expected to be clear. So, if you’re thinking about a visit to the Sierra you’ve still got some time to get one in! The fall foliage is here and is outrageous in some areas; Mammoth and Hope Vally to name just a couple.

What do do, what to do?

The California Alps cover a lot of real estate so from Mammoth to Lake Tahoe you’ve got many choices. Hiking, hunting, fishing (rivers and streams are open until next month), mountain biking and of course, cycling.  There’s also major opportunties for picture taking or other artistic endeavors. The Los Angeles Times pubished an article last month about our little town of Markleeville, and it had some good suggestions as well. Click here to check it out.

Other info. that may whet your appetite:

Mammoth Fall Colors

Alpine Chamber of Commerce “2 people per square mile…and you!”

Tahoe.com

Speaking of Lake Tahoe, here’s a pic of member Chris Schull enjoying a beauty day at the lake a couple weeks ago.

A cycling enjoying the day at Lake Tahoe.

Last week I decided to get off the trainer and get outside even though we had some rain slicked roads. I was sticking with the trainer because I just didn’t want to wash the bike, but among other things I really needed that feeling of the wind rushing through my helmet vents (no hair, other than my beard, for it to rush through). I thought I may catch a break and get back before the rain came but alas, no such luck. That will teach me to not wear those rain boots! No worries, though. Quick rinse and re-lube of the bike (Roscoe is his name), some newspaper stuffed in the Sidis, a hot shower and we were good to go.

Mark on a soggy Ebbett’s Pass morning.

These pix were taken about 10 miles up Ebbett’s Pass (from Markleeville) and you can just see some of those fall colors staring to pop.

Real time weather and air quality available

Remember, you can always get real time weather conditions here in the heart of the California Alps. We’ve got a weather station right here at HQ and just recently we’ve added an AQI unit so you can get that information as well. Go to our “Weather Conditions” page and check it out!

Whatever you decide, we hope to see you soon and remind you to be safe out there and don’t do anything outside your capabilities. You still have time, though, to Kick Some Passes’ Asses!™ and then enjoy some of the myriad other things that these California Alps have to offer!

off the bike fun, things to do, winter walks

A Day Trip to Wolf Creek Meadow

It seems to me that since I’ve lived in Markleeville, Wolf Creek Road has been closed. That’s not to say I haven’t been back there (shhhh…). I have. I’ve taken a few rides in and a done a few hikes as well. There was a massive slide during the winter of 2016/2017 and so access by car was not possible. Frankly, there were times that it didn’t seem it was wise to access it by bike either – too much mud, rocks and run-off. Nonetheless, I tried, but alas, getting to the Meadow was not even possible. So, after weeks of dirt-haulers coming in and out, I was encouraged. And then recently, bam! the gate was opened and so I was able to ride “that segment” with impunity. However, about 2 miles or so past the gate, the road was just too rough to continue on the bike, so I made a mental note to come back, with the wife ideally, and explore. Last weekend, I did just that! Loaded up the chairs, the cooler, the fishing gear and most importantly, my wife, Patricia, and off we went for an afternoon recon.

wolf creek road map
Access Wolf Creek Road from Hwy. 4, about 8 miles south of Markleeville.

On the way out we spent quite a bit of time checking fishing spots and trying to figure out the best way to get to them but in the end, decided to just keep on truckin’ to the Meadow and then work our way back. It was a bit smokey in some areas due to the Ferguson fire near Yosemite but as you can see, the meadow is an amazing place.

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Happy Cows in Wolf Creek Meadow

We also explored some of the spur roads in the area that lead to various trailheads in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness. Something else to do in the future – backpacking!

Once we got to the end of the road, literally, we stopped and enjoyed the Creek. I did a bit of fishing (no catching unfortunately) and “momma” read her book and took a little nap. We stopped and hit a few other holes on the way back to Hwy. 4 but again, no catching.

Still, if you’re looking for a little day trip, close to Markleeville, this is one I highly recommend, especially once the smoke clears.

I’ll leave you with a couple pix from one of “those 2016/2017 winter hikes” I mentioned earlier in this post. Take a trip out there! You won’t regret it.

Looking upstream (southeast) at Wolf Creek from the road.
Tiny ice dancer.