On Pint Sized Fishermen and Invisible Bears: Our Day at Silver Lake

This is Silver Lake at about seven in the morning. 'Aint she a beaut? (That's fisherman speak)

Every year in June, there is a state wide free fishing day in Utah where anyone can fish without a license. This year it was June 7th, and we were bound to take advantage of it. In years past, we have gone to the Utah Lake festival which I highly recommend provided you pile on the sunscreen (last time we went I missed putting sunscreen on my legs and got burned so badly from the reflection off the water that I was regularly asked if I had dumped boiling oil on myself). This year however, we were in for a change. We had heard there was good fishing in Silver Lake and decided to give it a go. It turns out to be a lovely little spot tucked away in Cottonwood Canyon. The cool morning air and the surrounding mountains gave me a feeling like sitting halfway inside of a drinking glass, which I very much enjoyed.

The water was so still. Here's that glass-like reflection I was talking about.

Kindred Spirits

We invited some friends along on our adventures. This was their son's first time fishing. Call it beginner's luck, but he caught a fish! It was more than any of the rest of us caught. We think it might have been a brown trout. We were so happy to be a part of such a defining moment!  After one almost-potty-emergency,we packed it in for the day and our poor little angler started crying, "but I wanted to catch another fish!" Poor kid, guess he's "hooked" for life.

I tried to get a picture of the fish but just barely missed it as Colin released it back from whence it came. It was a little dazed at first, but then went on about it's fishy way. 

After fishing, Colin and I decided to take our new hiking back pack out for a test drive. (BTW, this was the winner. We caught an awesome sale at REI. A good fit does make a big difference.) We went to hike the trail from Silver Lake to the nearby Lake Solitude. The trail started off beautifully. The sunny groves of aspens with the flower carpeted forest floor couldn't look more idyllic--almost like walking into Bambi or Snow White. Speaking of Bambi, we did get up close and personal with a deer and some rather chatty chipmunks, or as Phoebe would call them, "kit-cats." No harm was done, they all scampered off merrily as all creatures of the enchanted forest should.

Enchanted critters were lovely, but when we got lost (Stupid ski resort trails! My kingdom for some decent blazes!), a creature of more sinister variety came to mind--bears. I have no fanciful Disney-like notions of these furry faced envoys of death. See, recently I've been reading this book, A Walk in the Woods By Bill Bryson, and little gems like this floating around in my head:

"...Alexi Pitka, who stalked a large (bear) through the snow and finally felled it with a well-aimed shot to the heart from a large-bore rifle...probably should have carried a card with him that said: "First make sure bear is dead. Then put the gun down." He advanced cautiously...watching the bear for movement, but when there was none he set his gun against a tree (big mistake!) and strode forward to claim his prize. Just as he reached it, the bear sprang up, clapped it's expansive jaws around the front of Pitka's head, as if giving him a big kiss, and with a single jerk tore his face off. (Emphasis added. Big time!)  Miraculously Pitka survived. "I dont know why I set that durn gun against the tree," he said later (Actually, what he said was "Mrffff mmmpg nnnmmm mffffffn," on account of having no lips, teeth, nose, tongue, or other vocal apparatus.)"

And this:

“Black bears rarely attack. But here's the thing. Sometimes they do. All bears are agile, cunning and immensely strong, and they are always hungry. If they want to kill you and eat you, they can, and pretty much whenever they want. That doesn't happen often, but - and here is the absolutely salient point - once would be enough.”

Duly noted Mr. Bryson. Duly noted. You can also see quote #3  here for a more colorful description.

Luckily for us, Phoebe kept a constant hum of sleepy noises all the way back to the trail head. No bear would have us. We were far to crabby to eat.