In search of the Golden Trout

Over this past weekend, Jon went on a backpacking trip with a couple brothers, nephews, cousins, and one father-in-law. They headed to the Mount Whitney and Cottonwood Lakes area. Their Quest: To Land the Golden Trout! The Golden Trout is the California state fish and can only be found in these freshwater lakes above 10,000 feet. It's a beautiful fish, but rarely seen because it's so hard to get to. Of course, my dad, being the master fisherman that he is, couldn't die happy if he hadn't mastered the Golden Trout. Last year for his birthday, he took this trek in one day and did indeed capture his Golden Trout. This year, he invited any who wanted to take the challenge on a 4-day trek in search of the Golden Trout. Here's some highlights from the trip, but for all the details, you'll need to get a report from Jon. Here's Jon at the trail head. Poor Jon arrived at base camp around 1:30am the day the hike began... I can't imagine he slept well in the car... but there he is, raring to go :)

That day, six of the fifteen hikers headed to the summit of Mt. Langley, a lofty 14,026. Here's Jon at the summit and the survey marker:
And the whole group that made it to the top:
The next day, Jon took a crack at the Golden Trout... and did in fact land FOUR! Woah baby!
Isn't it a beautiful fish!?! Really a very golden colour. Unfortunately, since the Golden Trout is the state fish and in fact quite rare, you can't keep or eat any of them, so I made sure Jon took our camera to get some good pictures. I must admit that I was very impressed with the pictures he took--AND he didn't even lose the camera.
Such a beautiful place! Here's the whole group: Rob, Jon, Chris, Matt, Joe, Dad, Ben, Allen, JD, Blake, Michael, Calder, Luke, Levi, and the lonely lovely little lady Abbie. Quite the crew.

Here's hoping I'll get to go next time! What a fun adventure! I really haven't done it justice on this blog; this is just a little tantalizing sample of what Jon and everyone could tell you about the trek. You really should ask them... or just maybe Jon might take an interest in blogging, just this once, and favor us all with a story or two :)




And back on the home front the day after the hike, Xochitl spent some quality time getting to know uncle Ben :)