Colorado 2022 Day Four: Our First Moving Day

By the end, we would realize that the whole trip was probably a little optimistic with a one year old toddler. However it also worked out more or less. We had only spent three nights in our tent and were ready to move to the next campground. This was a short move, just over the ridge in fact. 

For me, no trip to Rocky Mountain National Park would be complete without fishing the headwaters of the Colorado River in Kawuneeche Valley. You might remember my love of fishing meadow streams that I mentioned in the very last Colorado trip post. If you haven't read that one yet, check it out here:

Colorado Day Three

The stream meandering through Kawuneeche Valley is very similar to many of the other meadow streams I fish, right down to the undercut banks and brown trout. Of course, each one has its own unique flavor. Best of all, this one flies a little under the radar. It isn't super easy to fish these streams, so most anglers skip over this type of water in favor of more "famous" nearby destinations. That's just fine with me. 

Our move was partly made to enable me to fish this favorite stream, but we also wanted to get some hiking in on new terrain. We had been eying two particular hikes. Eventually, a chat with a Park ranger would help us nail down which hike to do. More on that another day. 

Anyway, we woke up to a soggy world. Water was dripping off of all the trees, but the sky was promising a nice day. The clouds were breaking in dramatic fashion as the Continental Divide just above came in and out of view. We enjoyed breakfast, and finally the sun started to come out. We were able to get things put up mostly dry thankfully

Before driving over Trail Ridge Road to the Timber Creek Campground, we needed a few groceries. Timing is everything on these trips. With a few days in between town stops, we tried to plan our meals 3-4 days out at a time and buy food accordingly. It would have been a lot easier to bring more with us and eliminate some of the town trips, but we were crammed into my wife's Corolla like sardines. At some point on this trip, we decided that any future long distance road trips with little ones would require a bigger car if we were camping. However, those cost money both on the front end and on the operating end with increased gas costs. We can do these trips on the cheap with the gas mileage her little car gets. So, you win some and lose some. 

After the quick trip into Estes Park and the local Safeway, we were off over the mountain. The drive was much more scenic than the previous day's drive up the Old Fall River road in the fog. We enjoyed the big views, but were also glad to get to our next destination. These moving days are never as quick as you expect, and a toddler increases the time at every step. 

We arrived later in the day than we had hoped, so we immediately started putting up camp and getting settled in. After all our chores and supper, I walked down to the stream flowing behind the camp. The North Fork of the Colorado River meanders through this beautiful valley. The rain from the last couple of days had stained the stream more than I expected, but brown trout don't mind. In fact, it might actually benefit me! More on that over the next couple of days worth of posts...

Fly Tying Demo at Little River Outfitters February 5, 2023

For those of you in the area who are interested, I will be doing a fly tying demo at Little River Outfitters in Townsend on February 5, 2023. I'm still debating what flies to tie, so if you have any requests, let me know in the comments below, email me, or shoot me a text. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Colorado 2022 Day Three: Rain, Sight Seeing at Sprague Lake, and Fishing the Big Thompson in Moraine Park

While this was only our third full day in Colorado, a theme would begin to emerge that would eventually really become a serious problem. Rain. Still, we were early enough into our trip that we weren't concerned, other than trying to figure out how to keep the little one entertained and happy. There was plenty of time for the weather to return to the clear sunny days with seasonably warm temperatures we were hoping for. 

Morning In Camp

Thankfully, our morning started out pleasant enough. The clouds were spilling over the divide, suggesting that the majority of Trail Ridge Road was probably socked in with fog, clouds, and perhaps even rain. Still, some early sun slanted in to camp and warmed things just enough that a light jacket was all we needed. 

Little bit enjoyed exploring around camp a little more than she had been able to thus far. We examined rocks, sticks, flowers, and of course any wild critters brave enough to stick around. This meant mostly small things like birds, chipmunks, and ground squirrels. While these smaller versions of the pictures don't do the scene justice, one of my favorite pictures from this day was of her interacting with a group of magpies. 

"Black-billed Magpie at Moraine Park Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park" 2022 David Knapp Photography

We had been walking slowly down the road from our campsite, learning to identify flowers and other goodies, when this flock of magpies flew in. Notorious for foraging anywhere people have been dropping things, these birds were constantly around the campground along with the jays. In other words, when getting ready to eat, we had to keep a close eye on both the little rodents (chipmunks, etc) and also the sky for potential robbers. The little one began walking slowly towards the nearest bird. Ultimately, she got much closer than I would ever have been able to before they finally flew off. It is amazing to me how wild critters seem to know that small children are not a threat. 

"Approaching a Black-billed Magpie" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

"Taking Flight" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

Back at our campsite, we also enjoyed some other wild critters. These little guys were pretty bold, but not so bold as at some future campsites. Still, we had to keep a general eye on them to make sure they didn't get in our car, tent, or food.

"Chipmunk" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

"Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

Nap Time and Lunch

Not long after this exploring episode, light rain began to move in. Not wanting to all get chilled down and sick this early in our trip, we decided some car time might be appropriate. After driving clear across the country, this wasn't the plan little bit wanted to hear about. However, with assurances of some interesting things to see, she relented to a drive. We had some ulterior motives as it was about nap time. A longer drive seemed appropriate, so we set off up the Old Fall River Road. That was quite the experience in our small Toyota Corolla. The potholes and ruts were worse than I remembered, but of course it had been a long time ago. 

We hit fog and clouds partway up, so there were NO views to be had up high. Eventually, we made it to the top and started driving back down towards camp on Trail Ridge Road. The fog was impressive, but we were glad to have additional days ahead of us to return and enjoy the views that were absent on this day. Thankfully, light rain and fog seemed the perfect recipe to help the little one sleep. 

Eventually, we headed in to Estes Park were I wanted to enjoy some pizza that I remembered being excellent. Poppy's Pizza and Grill still had some great offerings. The hot pizza was way better than trying to picnic out in the cold rain. 

Fly Fishing the Big Thompson in Moraine Park

After a delicious lunch, we needed to figure out how to kill some time in the afternoon. One of the big treats for me on trips out west involves fishing water types that I don't have back home here in Tennessee. At the very top of my list of places to experience on these trips is meadow streams that contain brown trout. Not only do these meadow streams provide ideal habitat for one of my favorite fish, but they contain structure that is very different from our mountain streams and lowland tailwaters here in Tennessee. Undercut banks are a joy to fish, so I was hoping to hit at least two streams in Rocky Mountain National Park that contained this type of water.

Both the Big Thompson River flowing through Moraine Park and the headwaters of the Colorado River in Kawuneeche Valley offer meandering meadow sections with undercut banks. Both of these streams are chock full of wild brown trout along with the occasional brook trout among other possible species. My target is brown trout, of course. 

My preferred method to fish these streams involves looking for reaction bites from the resident trout. While my tactics are a bit unusual, the results are normally stellar. On this rainy day, I knew that my usual techniques were not necessarily perfect, but sometimes you just want to fish how you want to fish. 

As it turns out, with the weather that was moving in and out, I would have been better off with a light rod and some blue-winged olive imitations. I started off well enough, catching several fine brown trout on my unorthodox methods. However, once the bugs started, the fish really just wanted the little olives and I started wishing I had brought more flies with me. The large flies I was using still picked up the occasional fish, but I also knew I was missing a lot of fish.

"Big Thompson River in Moraine Park brown trout" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

Two bend pools in particular convinced me that my methods were about through for the day. I saw the first couple of rises as I crept up towards the pool. By the time I was in position, 4-5 fish were rising steadily and my large fly briefly put them down. However, the draw of so much food soon brought them back up. They were rising amongst the splashes from my larger fly, simultaneously dodging my offerings while also feeding on the natural olives. The next pool was even crazier with 8-10 fish rising. 

"Big Thompson River in Moraine Park Meadow Stream" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

I had already fished about an hour and the rain was starting again, so I decided it was time to head back to the car. The family had been out enjoying the meadow as well, but with the rain starting, they had already started back. It was in everyone's best interest to call it on fishing this day. I had found a few great fish before the hatch really got going. Time to head on to the next adventure...

Sprague Lake Scenery and Brook Trout

With a steady drizzle setting in, we didn't want to head back to camp yet. Our only option there for staying dry was to crawl into our small tent. It was way too early in the day to do that. So we turned the car towards Sprague Lake on the Bear Lake Road. I remembered something from a previous trip I hoped would still be accurate.

When we arrived, the rain had eased off to just some very light mist. With a full winter snowsuit to put on the little one and rain coats for ourselves, we decided to brave the weather for a few minutes. I grabbed my camera, hoping my memory was accurate. 

"Foggy Day at Sprague Lake" ©2022 David Knapp Photography

Sure enough. In the inlet stream to Sprague Lake were numerous large brook trout. They were there to spawn, and while I wasn't interested in targeting these fish with a fly rod, I was interested in getting some neat pictures if possible. I generally recommend leaving spawning fish alone from an angling perspective. While I won't get into all the reasons here, let's just say that a camera feels a lot more sporting. Here are a couple of the better shots I got.

©2022 David Knapp Photography

©2022 David Knapp Photography

It didn't take long for the drizzle to start again. We decided to head back to camp and get supper early. A huge benefit of our particular campsite were the thick pine trees growing over our picnic table area. They were keeping a large portion of our table dry, so we were able to enjoy supper while staying dry. With everything so damp, we headed to bed early. The next day was moving day and we needed some energy! We hoped for clear skies and moderating temperatures on the morrow...