Paddling High: Alpine Lake Adventures – Fishing from a Pack Raft 

This summer, while exploring various alpine lakes with my fishing rod in tow, I found myself wishing I could bring my kayak along. The idea of floating on pristine waters, on top of the world seemed like a slice of heaven. Then, like Google was reading my mind, pack rafts started popping on my feed. Bingo!  

I reached out to my compadre, Chris Ingram, and with a little back and forth we decided on Saint May’s Lake for the tiger trout and Ice Lake for some good old-fashioned elevation. To top it off, Mountain Side Gear in Golden got wind of our excursion and reached out to sponsor the trip with some loaner boats. With everything in place, we were ready for an epic adventure.

  

Mary’s Little Lake – Mary had a little lake

I’d always wanted to see the famous glacier at Saint Mary’s but the real hook was the tiger trout - one of the few species in Colorado that Chris and I have never landed. I was stoked to pull one out of the water and examine the wild maze-like patterns that these hybrid trout exhibit on an up close and personal level.

During our hike up the steep, wide rocky trail we encountered a fly fisherman who was more than willing to share his secrets. “They’re biting on ant patterns!” he exclaimed.  A mile and a half later, around 10k feet, the trail opened to reveal the shimmering glacier-fed lake, flanked by wind-sculpted trees to the east and rocky slopes to the west. Witnessing a skier bombing down the glacier was the cherry on top - You don’t get more “COLORADO” than that.

After soaking in the gorgeous landscape, we found a flat, beachy area near the water, plopped our backpacks down, and assembled our gear. Launching the tiny watercraft was a circus act compared to our usual heavy-duty fishing rigs. After testing the stability (which was fantastic) I looked over to see Chris spinning in circles and for a minute we both spun around grinning like a kid with new toys. Now for the speed test, taking short quick strokes with my paddle, I zoomed across the water with ease realizing these things can cruise. These pack rafts were the real deal! - stable, nimble, and surprisingly fast. I’m Sold!

Chris, armed with ant patterns, hooked a lightly colored brook trout right out of the gate. Then his second pickup of the day wasn’t far behind and yes! It was a highly desired tiger trout. We took a moment to examine the maze of color and psychedelicacy of this groovy little fish before releasing her back into her home. Over the next 3 hours, I watched Chris catch six high alpine trout while I kept switching baits on my spinning reel trying to get a nibble. Note to self: “alpine trout love flies”. As the sun began to dip, we decided to pack up and head out to grab a camping spot at Loch Lomond before nightfall. 

Lock Lomond to Ice Lake

Ice Lake has been on my radar since I made the journey a few years back where we caught fish out of the lower lakes but struck out at Ice Lake. In July, I attempted a return, but snow-covered trails and gushing waterfalls ruined my plans. I knew fishing at this 12,000 foot waterhole would be challenging due to steep, scree-covered banks, making casting and navigating it difficult. Pack rafts seemed to be a solution. The Colorado Fishing Atlas promised natural cutthroat trout in Ice Lake and I wanted receipts.

 

Section 1 – 4-Wheelin’ in the Subi’s

Reaching the trails involved some off-roading up a 2-mile rocky road but with some skill behind the wheel our Foresters made easy work out of it. About a mile and a half in, there are campsites on both sides of the road. This is about where the forest ends and opens up to a rockier, open view and where the trees become short and scraggly, an inspiration for bonsai enthusiasts. After crossing a creek, we finally reached Loch Lomond, the first lake in this chain, where we chose to camp in our cars above the timberline.

We rolled in, picked a spot, and devoured dinner. Just as I was thinking about crashing out, Chris asked two questions; “Do you ever do light paintings?” and “Can you show me how?” This is one of those photography techniques that I haven’t done in a while but am always excited to play with. So we busted out the tripods, cranked down our shutter speeds, and spent the next two hours in photography bliss.

Section 2 – The Loch Lomond Trail

Loch Lomond, the largest in this chain of lakes boasts a stunning waterfall at the Northwest end cascading down from our destination 1,000 feet above. The western bank is where I’ve always started my hike, a thicket of smaller, scraggly trees mixed with densely populated shrubs and sporadic growths of wildflowers. Heading towards the waterfall, we made a few small water crossings through a tight, meandering trail, leading to our first steep sketchy accent.

Section 3 – The Climb

Less scenic and more of a grunt, this half-mile ascent over marble-like rocks at a 75-degree angle.  Hell, maybe it is scenic but got lost on me in my drive to reach the top.

Section 4 – Water Features

The first of three small lakes is what greets us as we make the crest. Once we got there and took in the view, the wind started whipping, compelling us to put on our rain jackets as we pressed forward, hoping Ice Lake would be protected.  Crossing its dam, we entered into a riparian zone with lush shrubs, grass, and the random sound of pikas- all supported by wildflower-lined streams flowing and cascading throughout the area from one lake to the next. With so much foliage and very little foot traffic up here, we had a difficult time following the faint trail. Going in opposition to the flow of the stream led us to the end where the waterfall turns into a stream. That’s where the beginning of our last ascent begins.

 

Section 5 -The Waterfall Ascent

At the waterfall's end, we veered right and scrambled over a scree field then worked our way towards the waterfall where we found the faint trail going up. Following and crisscrossing the falls, repeatedly, up the 80-degree, 1.5-mile hike. The views - oh the views! Looking down I see the crystal-clear cascading stream lined with an abundance of yellow wildflowers. Looking back, I can see the series of lakes that Ice Lake feeds with hazy mountains in the distance. Looking side to side makes you feel insignificant in comparison to the towering rocky cliffs. Looking up, I see the clouds coming over the edge of our accent and dissipating into nothingness.  It’s a difficult climb but the views kept me going. As we got close to the top, we noticed that the stream had stopped just short of the lake so we followed it to the end where it was seeping out of the ground/natural dam of Ice Lake. The last section of this hike is steep but once we reached the top of the ridge, a breathtaking, frigid landscape awaited us.

 

 

Section 6 – Arrival at Ice Lake

Perched at over 12,000 feet, Ice Lake is a desolate gem, accessible only for a few months each year. This rocky bowl fills with ice and snow during the winter and when it warms in the spring, it creates this magnificent series of waterfalls coming over the dam and out from the earth feeding nature and the lakes below.

As we stop to catch our breath at the ridge, we stare into this cool landscape parked in the gloom of the edge of a grey sky, a feeling of accomplishment washes over me. Now all we had to do is launch our boats and catch fish, but Mother Nature had other plans.

We hiked down to what seemed to be the only flat spot at the edge of the water and as the wind howled at 12-15 mph, we used it to our advantage and let it fill our inflation bags as we aired up the pack rafts and let the chill set in. We slid our boats into the water and to my surprise the boats cut through the wind like a knife to butter. It was in the mid-40s, chilling but refreshing, exciting but mysteriously silent in the large bowl of water. Chris and I decided to paddle to the other side of the lake where it looked like we could get some relief from the relentless wind. Casting and working the small area blocked by the forces seemed restrictive so we worked our way out in search of a bite. The wind was howling and blowing us around and back towards our launch.

 After about an hour and a half of freezing fingers, empty hooks, and the darkness of clouds creeping lower into our bowl, we decided it was time to hightail it out of there.  I’m glad that we made that call when we did. As we rolled up our rigs, the clouds started barreling down on us creeping lower and lower into the bowl.

We made it out of the bowl and started down the waterfall trail, looking back to see the clouds rolling over the edge of Ice Lake. We picked it up to a pretty good clip, but looking back consistently to watch as the clouds chased us back to our vehicles, swallowing everything that we just experienced.

 

 

A shout-out to Mountain Side Gear Rentals in Golden for loaning us the pack rafts. It’s a great shop with friendly staff, and all of the essentials. And to Chris Ingram, my adventure compadre since the article "Broken Stripes," where we caught wiper at Jackson Lake – here’s to more adventures.

 

Until next time, keep your lines tight and your rafts full of air.

-Dustin Doskocil 

Doskophoto