Backpacking - Twin Crater Lakes

I had never been to the Rawah Wilderness before last weekend. The reason we ended up there for a backpacking trip was because I looked on a map and found some lakes to check out. The destination: Twin Crater Lakes.

We took Friday off so we could get a head start on any weekend crowd, but we were really surprised when we got to the trailhead and saw a dozen other cars. On our way up the trail, we ran into someone who was returning from a day hike and he had counted 13 people that were going to the Twin Crater Lakes. Ugh. So much for solitude we thought.

It's not a particularly easy trail. It's somewhere around 6 miles long, and almost all of it is up hill (with some steep sections). The final part of the hike up to the lake basin is through a lush valley that was full of streams and wildflowers. It's a beautiful place to camp, and it seems like that's were a number of people decided to throw their tent. We forged on up to the lakes and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a crowded mess. I know there were at least two other groups there Friday night, but there's really so much space that we didn't have any problem finding a nice camp site with some privacy. In fact, for as often as that area gets used it's in really great condition. We've camped at other places that had really worn camp sites and pieces of garbage. None of that here really.

Saturday started out pretty rough. I went fishing before Christine got up, and ended up breaking part of my pole within a few minutes. A little duct tape fixed it adequately for the rest of the trip. I went back to camp dejected and started helping Christine with breakfast preparations. To make a long story short, we made pancakes, ran into some stove issues, and it took for-ev-er.

In the afternoon we hiked up to Rockhole Lake, which was even higher then our campsite. There's no trail, so we just picked a route and it was fun. It was a lot of boulder hopping, but eventually we found a band of snow that led to the lake. Walking on the snow was easier than the rocks, especially for the dog. After a lunch stop, we walked to where the lake drains over a steep hillside. The wildflowers were amazing.


When we got back to our camp site I put my fishing pole together and struck out to find some dinner. There wasn't much activity on the water (no fish feeding at the surface), but we found a spot where I could see some fish swimming around. Sight fishing is fun because you can watch the fish check out your fly before the decide if they want it. After the fish refuse the same fly a couple times, I'll try another one. I tried this pool for a bit, but I just couldn't get these skittish fish to bite and I moved down the shore a ways. Standing at the shore, I started seeing the occasional fish grab something off the surface and while I couldn't see the fish, I at least knew they were eating. About 20 feet off shore I could see the shadow of a submerged boulder which is an excellent fish hiding spot. I tied on a surface fly that had a body shape similar to some bugs that I had seen flying around and I tied on a second fly a couple feet down from it to sit under water.

After a few casts a fish grabbed my surface fly and I as I got it closer to shore I could see that it was pretty big. It's really easy to loose a fish at the shore line because it flops all over the place and sometimes gets off the hook. I didn't want to lose this one, so I played it for a while and tired it out. It's probably the biggest trout I've ever caught. About 15 minutes after that, I was able to get another one about the same size. My fish cleaning skills still stink, but I'm getting better and between the two fish we were able too cook up a nice big plate of blackened fish.


The downhill hike out on Sunday was tiring. I think I may have to get some new shoes before I do the Grand Canyon because there's going to be even more downhill hiking there. We came across a ranger on a horse on the way down and chatted with her for a bit. Eventually she told us that we needed to have our dog on a leash because it's a wilderness area. I've always hated that rule and I'm fully willing to pay any fine as I continue to break it. Their reasoning is that they don't want dogs chasing wildlife. Meanwhile, they're in a group of three horses that are leaving horse shit all over the trail and surely terrifying any critter that they come across. And they're worried about my dog chasing a marmot, which I presume is being chased by natural predators on a regular basis. I understand their concern, but whatever. Nobody ever accused me of being a law abiding citizen.

Bottom line: Twin Crater Lakes are a nice high altitude lake (11,000+ feet I think). It's a really nice and well maintained trail, but it's still moderately difficult to carry a pack up there.


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More pictures here.