Outdoors with Don Q: Lots of fall colors and no fishing in the high country

Elaine and I just returned from a three-day, two-night, fun-filled visit to the Sierra Nevada mountains, just west of Bishop, Calif. The purpose of our return visit to the mountains was to do like we had done in 2012 at this same time of the year:
1. To photograph the spectacular fall colors of the groves of Quaking Aspen Trees in the area of the South Fork of Bishop Creek.
2. To fish for trout in South Lake and Lake Sabrina.
As it turned out, we were half successful!

On Tuesday, September 24:
We drove on U.S. 395, from Carson City to Parchers Resort near South Lake, California, via Minden, Gardnerville, Topaz Lake, Coleville, Walker, Bridgeport, Conway Summit, Lee Vining, the June Lake Turnoff, the Mammoth Lakes Turnoff and Bishop.
The total distance from Carson City to Bishop is about 170 miles.
In the middle of Bishop, turn onto West Line Street and drive 18 miles west to Parchers Resort, which is one mile from South Lake. In that 18 miles you climb from Bishop at an elevation of 4,147 feet to Parchers Resort at an elevation of 9,260 feet.

The air is thin up there and the weather was Crisp, with a capitol "C."
During that 18 mile drive, we stopped frequently to photograph the awe-inspiring colors of the leaves of the many groves of Quaking Aspen trees.

And, we were not alone that day as there were a good number of other people doing the same thing. It was a great day for color photography. The fall colors are at their prime, and if you would like to see them, I would suggest that you do so ASAP. Do not delay! They are stunning!

At Parchers Resort, we had advance reservations for Cabin No. 08, which consists of a small cabin with a private parking area, barbecue pit, front porch with two chairs; and inside, there is a large room with a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a small closet, one chair and a fully equipped kitchen area with a breakfast bar with two stools, a four-burner gas kitchen stove, a refrigerator with freezer, and a large bathroom with shower, which all combined for superb accommodations for two visitors from Carson City.

And, best of all, there was no cell phone coverage, internet and television. It was very peaceful without the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

We also had the pleasure of re-visiting with Jared Smith, the Proprietor of Parchers Resort, and thanking him for sending his weekly fishing reports to www.carsonnow.org and www.southtahoenow.com.
At 4:00 p.m., we walked over to the outdoor deck and fireplace to have a leisurely cocktail and to enjoy the outstanding mountain scenery.

But by 4:30 p.m. the cabins were in the shadows of the setting sun, the entire complex was in the shadows by 4:45, the temp dropped very quickly (AKA it got cold!) and we retreated to our little snug cabin for an early dinner.

On Wednesday, September 25:
We had some early coffee, followed by a leisurely breakfast in our toasty warm cabin (it was chilly outside with frost on the little red pickup), and then we waited for the temps to warm up, before venturing outside.

We hopped into the pickup, and drove the short distance to South Lake (elevation 9,755 feet) to photograph the scenery in that area and to fish for its brook, brown and rainbow trout.
The colors all along the way (Parchers Resort, the highway, Weir Pond and South Lake) were a magnet for us to stop, time after time after time.

However, when we reached South Lake, we got a big surprise.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has drawn down the water in the lake to where it is a small, dry-looking skeleton of where we had fished last year. Yipes!

Here is a quote from Jared Smith:
"Well, for the first time anyone can remember, South Lake found minimum pool during the first week of September. Apparently Los Angeles DWP would rather store water in places like Haiwee Reservoir where recreation is prohibited as opposed to somewhere people can make use of the water before they send it down to the big city. It's a shame."

It is truly a shame. We could have fished in the remaining water, but it would have required a long hike to the back of what was left of the lake, in very chilly weather, so we opted not to fish but rather to continue photographing the fall colors in that area.

As an educated guess, we probably could have had some limited success, fishing in that bone-chilling weather.
However we have gradually made the transition from being miserable in cold weather to fishermen who prefer comfort when fishing.

Catching fish is not that important any more to the two of us. We hiked a short distance on the Bishop Pass Trail to get more photos of what remains of a once very scenic lake.
We returned to Parchers, wandered over to the pack station (Rainbow Pack Outfitters), owned by Greg and Ruby Allen and had a great visit with them.

They offer horseback trips into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and if you would be interested in taking one of those trips next year, you can call (760) 873-8877 or visit website www.rainbowpackoutfit.com.
After our visit, we returned to the outdoor deck and fireplace for late afternoon cocktails in the fading sunlight.
When the last of the daylight and the falling temps chased us back to Cabin No. 08, we had a tasty dinner of barbecued steak, baked potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, salad, dinner rolls and a glass of wine.
That's our idea of "roughing it" on a trip away from home!

On Thursday, September 26:
We had our morning coffee and then checked out of Parchers Resort to begin the drive back to Carson City.
We drove to Lake Sabrina, via the Bishop Creek Resort and Aspendell, and on arriving at the lake, we got our second surprise.

Yep, you guessed it: Sabrina is also a small, dry-looking skeleton of the lake, where we had fished last year.
Lots of photographs, but sadly again, no fishing.
And, we stopped at Convict Lake and Virginia Lakes to take even more photos of fall colors.
We arrived home in the late afternoon, safe and sound, with lots of memories of a fun-filled trip and a grand total of 497 photographs.

Finally:
I highly recommend that you visit the Bishop Creek area in the very near future to enjoy the stunning fall colors while they last. Do not delay!
For information, call Parchers Resort at (760) 873-4177 or go to their website at www.ParchersResort.net.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you about the most unusual thing that occurred on our trip.
If he grins and says, “While driving on U.S. 395, just a few miles south of Coleville, Don had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting a small black bear cub that crossed the highway in front of them," he might be someone who was told about our unusual encounter on the way to Bishop.
Note: That cub was the 10th black bear that we have seen this year in all of our travels in the U.S. and Canada.

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com