The best hike and fishing of my life!

After my awesome breakfast, I decided to hike a trail I had done with my cousin Christopher and brother Alex, Seven Mile Hole. It's seven miles down Yellowstone Canyon to a campsite and wonderful fishing spot, but it's also seven miles up hill to get back. The elevation difference is almost two miles and it feels like five. I drove around the Upper Falls area a little bit because it is a sight all on its own and came across a big family of mule deer. There were two bucks and four does along with a handful of fawns. I hung out with them for a few minutes, just me and them. That's the beauty of doing things early at Yellowstone.

Afterward, I found the trail head and began to load my pack. I had two canteens and my hydopack full of water that I got from the ranger station in canyon village. I had some cookies, chips, granola bars, and some candy thrown in for lunch. I brought along my binoculars, camera, bowie knife, rain jacket, and bear spray, of course. I set out at about 10:30 and went at an easy pace. The trail follows the ridge of the canyon for awhile before plunging into a dense pine forest. The smell of the pines is overwhelming and hard to describe to anyone that hasn't experienced it. It was also a little nerve racking and lonely. I came upon a sign posted on a tree about at the halfway point that warned of a bear sighting two days prior. It was sighted in the switchbacks that I was just approaching. This made me think twice about what I was doing but I decided to trudge on and be alert. I also decided not to tell Sara about the notice I had just passed. No need to cause unnecessary panic. I followed the trail down the mountain and eventually arrived at the river unscathed. The scenery on the way is absolutely breathtaking and HUGE! It truly is God's Country. The trail goes through hot vents and geysers, not to mention it hugs steep cliffs and criss-crosses some very steep hills. At times finding the trail is pretty tricky because it isn't very clear and it's on the rock face itself so tracks aren't easily seen.

This is the second time I've fished this spot and I have yet to find a better producing spot. I caught upwards of 30 cutthroats in a 3 hour span of time ranging up to 19 inches. All of them were beautiful fish and great fighters. My one complaint about the area is the lack of a good bank to fish from. The river is very strong here and the bank is nothing but sharp rocks and thermal geysers. The fish are seen right up along the edge of the river so stealth is a must.

I first started using a hopper and a small prince nymph dropper and instantly I got a good one on the hopper. I caught a few more real quickly but none of real size so I switched to nymphing. I caught lots then on small nymphs and pmds. Just for kicks I wanted to throw a few streamers and tries first with a white minnow. I caught lots more but also I found it was hard to get the bigger trout to commit to the minnow. They would follow it in but more often then not they would turn it down. It might very well be my inexperience in the way of pulling it in but it also might mean these fish are lazy. Either way I had a great time and learned a lot about techniques. After fishing for three hours, I laid out my rain coat to lay on and had lunch. It was so relaxing. I developed quarter-sized blisters on both heels so I took my boots off to rest my feet. Talk about your spa treatment. I stared at the sky and got mentally ready for the tough climb ahead.

Painfully I slipped my boots back on and started up, and up, and up, and up. It is a tough trail up for sure. I arrived at the car three and a half hours later completely worn out. I then ended my day at Lake Village Lodge. They had a choice of two dinners; turkey with all the fixings, or prime rib with beans and potatoes. I decided on the turkey(it was half the price) even though I LOVE prime rib. When I told the clerk he said he was out of turkey but would give me the prime rib for the same price. Life couldn't have been better as I ate my favorite meal, at my favorite lodge, in my favorite place (Yellowstone) at the end of my favorite day ever!