A frosty morning but the sun blazing Homestake Peak made a good backdrop for our breakfast and we started out under clear skies with temperatures a bit more normal and a bit more suited for hiking.
A steep climb up from Long Gulch brought us to Porcupine Lake where we stopped to fish for a while. Any thought of swimming was quenched by the abundance of leeches in the lake. The trout were remarkably indifferent to our offerings, an unusual piscine behavior in high mountain lakes. Dan stared for a while at them and then announced that these were not trout at all, nor even fish. The creatures cruising the lake and taking bugs off the surface had legs – they were salamanders. Despite our elevation (over 11,000 ft) this lake was home to beings more common to temperate and tropical climes. I didn’t know that alpine salamanders were a thing. I guess I need to read up on them.
We stopped next at Bear Lake (one of the hundred or so in the Rockies) fished for and caught actual brook trout, climbed another ridge, fought off mosquitoes, enjoyed views of Mt Massive, descended to Turquoise Lake and then began climbing again.
The ridgetop revealed smoke from a fire in South Park, an inevitable consequence of the hot windy weather this week. Campfires are banned all along our route. Although the tundra is flowerful it also is quickly drying and crunches underfoot.
We ended up making a dry camp on the saddle over Rock Creek. Although disappointed that there are no views, we are grateful for the lack of mosquitoes and are hoping our high and dry location will make for a warmer night and morning.
Dan contemplates Porcupine (aka Salamander) Lake
