All week I looked forward to hiking to a higher elevation in the Mission Mountains Wilderness. The valley was clear of smoke until Friday...when I got up this morning it was way worse. I couldn't even see the mountains from our deck. I did some last minute research online and found a formidable hike in the Cabinets. The fishing did not disappoint.
We hiked along this little creek the whole time stopping intermittently for me to tease the colorful little Columbia Basin Redband Trout!
After a 4.75 mile hike with a touch over 3,000' elevation gain we approached the lake!
There's another lake above the ridge that's a lot bigger. We didn't make it up to this point as we have not done a long hike for a few weeks and are legs ached by now.
The rainbows in this lake must be feeling the cold nights because they were eager to eat. I caught around 5 or 6 on an elk hair caddis and a few more on a mahogany deer hair caddis. My buddy caught two nice ones on a black spinner, the biggest measuring around 14 inches! After a short time at the lake it was time to head back.
Only a few minute from the lakes we heard someone bushwhacking in the woods to the right of us. He came out of the woods behind us and stopped us to ask a favor. His hands were all bloody and he seemed euphoric. He asked if we might call his family when we got out and tell them to send some horses. He shot a big 'ol moose! We heard the shot coming in but thought little of it. He outlined the pursuit for us, which seemed pretty cool, and helped him flip it over. He shot it in this meadow!
After checking out the dead moose we continued another 4.5 miles back to the car. I saw this natural booby trap threatening anyone unlucky enough to be at the right place at the right time.
Stay Tuned: If the smoke clears out I'll be heading to the Mission Mountains Wilderness to chase the cutthroat.
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