I have a vague recollection of some very low snow years in the 80's when California had some pretty big back-to-back drought years, but I can't recall Tahoe ever looking so barren of snow as it did this January. It's generally a cold, low precip month, but in most years we can rely on a big system or two in December to tie us over until the beastly storms arrive in Feb/March – not in '14.
With the lack of snow, and few days off while I poked around looking for work, I took advantage of some of the more summery Tahoe activities, as well as an extended 5-day trip to the Trinity with the pops.
My hike on The Flume looked more like mid-summer than mid-Jan, but with no traffic on the trail, and a perfectly still afternoon, the lake views on the 12-mile pup walk were just as spectacular as many days on the ski hill.
For some reason, whenever my dad and I book a trip up north on the Trinity, low pressure arrives in CA. It wasn't enough of a storm to miss out on anything in Tahoe, but it was enough rain to get the fish feisty, and proved to be probably the most successful steelhead trip we've had to date. In a sport where a few fish a year is about as good as you can expect, trips like this will be talked about for decades to come. Total fish to net for our boat was something like 24, with as many if not more opportunities not converted. SJ and Josh joined for the second half of the extended weekend, and good times were had. Sarah even caught & landed her first adult chromer, on her birthday no-less.
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| First lake views heading up Tunnel Creek trail |
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| Clear trails along the ridge |
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| With some remnants of winter in the shade |
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| Gorgeous views up on The Flume proper |
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| Aside from these great pups I had the trail 100% to myself |
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| Lone paddler on the lake as the pups drink up |
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| Staged & set up with anticipation of the arrival of Crains crew for his B-Day |
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| A low-tide Tahoe welcome |
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| Happy 3-0 Crain |
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| Dusting of snow on the dock at Garwoods |
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| What turned out to be the best way to zap a wet woody hangover |
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| New additions to Kristin's family awarded us with two fun-filled weekends with her neice |
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| SJ & Josh passing Canyon Creek on The Trinity |
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| Me, out of the boat and hooked up |
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| One of the many great native fish brought to the net |
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| Dad with a good one |
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| Josh with a nice 30" hen – not bad for his first Trinity chromer |
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| Probably my biggest lady from our few days up there |
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| Safely releasing another pig |
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| Dad fighting yet another chromer |
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| Nice one for the happy dad |
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| Josh with another good looking native |
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| Jonsey learning the art of netting |
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| Good work SJ, keep that oinker in the net |
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| Another great native fish |
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| SJ has put in plenty of time on this river to be deserving of this one |
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| Great B-Day hog |
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| Three steelhead tags collected – getting paid to fish |
