My daughter's husband of a few weeks was in Hawaii this week lecturing at a conference so she and I took a quick trip into Grandaddy Lake on Thursday. We drove from Utah county out, hiked in, fished for 5 hrs, hiked out, and made it home all in one day. We had great weather, great fishing and it was great to be with my daughter for a day = she has been away at grad school for the last 4 years. From Grandaddy pass we looked up into Naturalist Basin - still quite a bit of snow, but things are opening fast. The real high country should be open in 2 weeks or so. The pics tell the story better than me. Oh yeah we saw Shadowcaster there - Josh hope the car was alright on the way out.
[signature]
Those are some awesome pictures John. Everything was alright with getting the car out, thanks to a series of awesome people who helped us along the way. A man from Defa's Ranch drove his pickup truck all the way to our car, pulled it with a chain, filled our transmission fluid and helped us push the car as we coasted it down the mountain. Then, he made sure that we had a way home, and arranged a ride for us from their to Heber, and then Heber to Provo. This was in addition to the initial group of guys who helped us get our car to a safe place along the road and drove us to the trailhead earlier in the week. Many people also helped us at Defa's Ranch and were extremely kind. Despite all that happened, it was the most powerful reminder that I have ever had that people are good at heart. These experiences really helped me to renew my love for people and my own desire to serve. So I guess in that sense it was a good thing that all of that happened. I also found out when I got home that our transmission is under warranty. The same guy is towing it to Provo for the price of gas on Monday (most estimates were in the $600 to $1000 range).
Anyhow, the fishing was worth it! It would have been fun to not have had the car to worry about and explored a little more. But I think I will be back to the Uintas as soon as I can gather the funds to get there, which would probably be toward the end of July. Anyhow, thanks again for the info and I'm glad you guys had a good trip. I'll keep you posted on my second attempt at the Uintas as I think that I may plan to go the area near Red Castle and some of the areas you told me about before.
[signature]
Gorgeous cutthroat. It has been years since I have been in to Grandaddy. I remember catching some nice brookies on a fly and bubble at dusk. Those pictures make me wanna hike in for a day of fishing.
[signature]
how many lakes did you go to?
[signature]
With this trip a hike in and out the same day, we only fished on Grandaddy. I have fished most of the lakes in the area many times before. At first ice out it is hard to beat the fishing on Grandaddy. When we camp and stay a day or two we often fish Mohawk, Betsy, Lodge Pole and others as well as Grandaddy. All can be very productive.
[signature]
Some of the finest people I've ever met lent me a hand up at Defa's. I'm glad things haven't changed...I just might have to stop by this weekend and say hi.
[signature]
Great pics. Beautiful up there. I haven't been there for almost 8 years. Can you remind me how long it takes to hike from the trailhead to the near side of the lake?
By the way, was the fishing good all around the lake, or is there a secret spot? I had better luck on Betsy when we were there...
[signature]
Nice photos, & great catch out of the Gdaddy.
My favorite spot. We always camp at Iron mine fish the North Fork and take a day hike into the Granddaddy region. Love that area.
Thanks for the memories.
[signature]
We are not fast hikers by any means. It took us 1 hr 45 min to hike the 4.5 miles from the Grandview Trailhead to the lake. The first three weeks after ice out (probably through July 5 this year) the best fishing is where the main stream enters the lake. The cutthroat trout are spawning. You cannot bother them in the stream (protected) but there are large numbers in the lake staging to spawn in the stream. They are quite easy to catch and carefully release - the spawners are not great eating. After the spawn they can be caught most anywhere on the lake.
[signature]