Fourth of July weekend at 10,000 ft in the Rocky Mountain National Park backcountry fishing for (hybridized) Greenback Cutthroat Trout. If there’s a better way to spend a holiday weekend, let us know.
I spent 4 years in Colorado and my fly rod hasn’t even sniffed a riffle run or alpine lake. It’s a damn shame. When we were planning out our trips for the year, we agreed that each of us could plan one holiday weekend. Fourth of July was my weekend, and I knew right away we were going to Colorado for a hiking and fishing extravaganza.
Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) is one of the busiest National Parks in the country. Swarms of people from the Denver Metro Area head to Estes Park and Trail Ridge Road every weekend during the summer. When you’re severely allergic to crowds, holiday weekend + RMNP do not make a good combination. So how do you hike/fish RMNP and avoid the crowds? Backpacking.
Just putting a few miles under your boots, you’ll escape most of the people intent on seeing the main drive by attractions. The permit and backpacking system in RMNP is a bit cumbersome because they limit where you can camp each night despite the fact you’re backpacking. I do think this is a good idea given aforementioned crowds though. On March 1st, 8AM MST I quickly went through the reservation process and after a brief moment of panic locked down our 3 day / 2 night permit to a set of lakes rumored to have native Greenback Cutthroat.
July 4th weekend finally rolled around. We flew in late Friday night from the scorching desert and met my Dad and brother at the airport. The four of us spent Saturday being typical tourists but we all enjoyed the fresh mountain air. Sunday morning we hit the trail into the backcountry of RMNP.
Our campsite for the two nights was 6.5 miles and 2500 feet elevation gain away, not exactly an easy hike, but the trail was graded perfectly and it paralleled a beautiful tumbling river.
A couple hours into the hike, mountains started to poke their heads out of the forest. I could sense we were getting close as the trees began to thin.
After 4 hours we reached the outlet and found ourselves looking into an alpine basin filled with water and lined with trees. We had made it.
We set up camp, ate lunch and then grabbed the fishing poles to see what kind of fish the lake would hold. We spent the afternoon casting leeches, mini hoppers, foam ants, and lures to native Greenback Cutthroat trout. They weren’t the largest fish but native species have a special place in my heart.
It sprinkled on and off that afternoon which kept the temperatures cool as we fished the end of the lake near the outlet. Dinner rolled around and we stuffed our faces with Mountain House’s then curled up in our sleeping bags wondering what the next day would bring.
Morning dawned without incident. It was cold until the sun got over the ridge and hit our skin with its warm rays. The goal for day 2 was a lake about 1.5 miles and 800 feet higher up in the basin. This lake was supposed to contain Greenback Cutthroat, but of a little larger size.
The hike up was stunning. We walked through alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and framed by 13,000ft peaks. Other than fishing, this is why I love backpacking.
We arrived at the lake in about 45 minutes. It sat in a bowl of granite at 11,500ft. I could not wait to throw in a line.
I peered into the crystal clear water near the outlet and almost fainted because of what I saw. There were schools of Greenback Cutthroat torpedos swimming in the shallows looking for food and protecting their redds. My dad and brother were already rigged up and retreiving lures through the shallows. In a matter of minutes, both of them had hooked up and landed a native Greenback. They were huge.
I couldn’t string my fly rod fast enough. I tied on a black Simi Seal Leech and started stripping it through the shallows in front of these enormous fish. 15 minutes later I hooked up with one of these brutes and hauled him in. A 17″, fat, native Greenback Cutthroat. This one fish made my entire trip.
Alyssa got in on the action too. It was the biggest fish of the trip – 20″ and pushing 4lbs.
We fished until early afternoon when the clouds began to look a little more threatening. Being at 11,500 feet in a thunderstorm without a tent didn’t sound too fun, so we retreated back to the lower lake. The four of us managed to catch a few more of these brutes before they got bored of our offerings.
It didn’t rain very hard despite the intimidating clouds. The rain clouds kept missing us just to the south. This allowed us fish the lower lake casually in the afternoon. By late afternoon we had retired to our camp site and were reminiscing about the fish pigs from that morning.
That evening we hit the outlet one last time. The wind died, the clouds cleared and the golden light from sunset are something I won’t forget.
It was the perfect ending to our first backpacking trip in RMNP.
The next morning we got up early to hike back to the car. It was a 3 hour hike out, followed by a Mexican food feast and Glacier Homemade Ice cream. By 11pm that evening I was walking into my air conditioned house in the desert. The holiday weekend seemed a lot longer than 4 days and that’s just the way I like it.
