John Muir Wilderness - Mott Lake - August 20, 2005 - Member Trip Report

Hike Name: John Muir Wilderness - Mott Lake
Country: United States
State: California
Trip Rating: 5 stars
Trip Date: August 20, 2005
Duration: 1 day
Trail Conditions: Excellent
Trail Traffic: Heavy
Trip Weather: Sunny
Trip Winds: Light
Trip Precipitation: None
Trip Temperature: High: 91-100, Low: 61-70 degrees Fahrenheit
Trip Report: Saturday (8/20/05) – We got up around 7:15am this morning and skipped breakfast to hike the short distance to Mott Lake and try some trout fishing. There were three other groups camped at the lake last night and all were stirring by the time we cast our first lure. Unfortunately the fish were more interested in the flies on the surface than the spoons/spinners on our spin reels. So we only managed to snag a few fish. I caught a 10" and 9" trout about twenty yards from shore but there were lots of rainbows cruising the crystal clear water. The temperature was cool this morning and in the 60's. The morning sunlight lit up the lake like a Yosemite postcard with 11,000' peaks running 270 degrees around the water - very scenic and peaceful. When the sun finally came over the horizon the temperature soared to the 80's and after checking out the waterfall across the lake we headed back to our campsite at 10,000 feet. I cleaned the two trout and cooked them in a skillet with some lemon juice - too much lemon actually. Regardless, the skin and bones peeled right off and it tasted OK.

By 1:15pm, The Camel, WaterDog and I were packed up and on the trail. The decent was very pleasant compared to the long 2200' hike up here and we really enjoyed being on the trail today. After taking breaks at all the trail junctions, we made it back to our cache at Lake Edison around 4pm. The IPOD made for three quick miles toward the end of the hike. We pitched camp near our stash overlooking the lake and watched as the pontoon boat made two trips to shuttle over thirty hikers back to the Vermillion Valley Resort. Most were out for 3-5 days. In the evening, I tried some more fishing at dusk and The Camel built a nice fire. We were all pretty wiped out tonight, but I fired up the IPOD for two hours latenight and let The Camel and Waterdog battle it out in music trivia. The competition kept us up until midnight and ended with Waterdog taking the crown.

Hiker:

WaterDog


1,250 points


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