Winter Alternatives

With pretty poor conditions in Tahoe and some really nice, unseasonable weather in the forecast, I decided to look into some alternate activities out of Tahoe. The Tuolumne River, just outside of Yosemite Park, it's one of my favorite out of season places to visit for both camping and fishing. Other than being the overflow of SF’s drinking supply, it’s primarily used for whitewater boating through the summer. Come September, they shut the dam ‘off’ for maintenance, and flows stay relatively low and ideal for fishing until boating kicks back up, in May. Daytime temps looked like mid-60’s so I loaded the truck, and Ellie and I spent a few days camping, fishing and hiking in the Tuolumne river canyon. I arrived in the dark and when I awoke, flows were a bit higher than anticipated. Fishing was tough, but I managed to get a few Rainbows in hand. On my final day in the canyon, Ellie convinced me to follow her on a walk that turned into a 15-mile hike, from our camp, near the confluence of the South Fork, down river, to Clayey Falls. Ellie asked to be put to bed in the tent around 7PM, and the only dogs barking that night were my feet and legs.

Early Friday AM, we packed back up and jumped in the truck to catch up with Frank & my father on The Lower American, to float and try our hand at some Steelhead on a new river. Temps were in the low 70’s and it turned out to be a prettier float than anticipated, given it’s close proximity to a major Cali city – as well as a fruitful trip for Frank, as I think he landed his largest Steelhead to date – unfortunately, undocumented.

Definitely a good change of pace to a normal snowy & cold Tahoe winter, though fingers are crossed that the warm dry pattern here in the West changes soon.

Sunset view on the way to Tuolumne

One of my favorite car camps in Cali

Just a little guy, but one of the Trout I caught

Afternoon beer on the river

Pretty narrow roads all around the river valley, but had to venture out to find some wood to stay warm

Views from the road down to the river

Enough wood for a proper fire

Ellie's not so sure about safety being first here

Eating pretty well out on the rio

Temps at night were around freezing so Ellie got bundled up

Brisk but nice AM in the tent

New signs this season

Lots of downed trees on the trail

Stunning look up canyon from the hike to Clavey

The infamous Clavey Falls – low water

Standard selfie around 12 miles in

Almost back to the trail head in the late afternoon light

Evening light from the campsite

After 20 miles or so on her paws, Ellie is looking for something more than kibble

A first-time, delicious treat for the pup

Looks as though she's enjoyed it

One final AM-light look back up the river canyon

Swinging flies on the American with my dad, Frank & Maple

Franks celebratory beer after nailing a big one

Frank looking for a pickup late in the day