Frozen Lakes

I decided that Tuesday I was going to go fishing. I wanted to go up to the higher mountains lakes along my favorite highway, Hwy88. So, I went to bed Monday night and set my alarm for 6am Tuesday, and tried to go to sleep.

I couldn't sleep. For whatever reason, I just could not get my brain to quiet down and sleep. So, long about 3am, I decided, since I'm going to be up in just a few hours anyway, I'd get up, get dressed and ready to go. I left the house about 4:30am, and headed off into the dark.

I got up to Silver Lake about 6:30. It was light, but the sun had not yet crested the mountains. I was really surprised to find the lake still mostly frozen over, except for a small area by the dam.

This photo is about 5 minutes before the sun crested the mountains off to the east. For those of you unfamiliar with Silver Lake, it's about 75 miles east of Sacramento along Highway 88, at about the 7000' level of the Sierra Nevadas.

There was still lots of snow (obviously), but the snow level was much lower, probably about 5800' where I started seeing snow along the side of the road and back in the woods.

I didn't catch anything. Not even a bite. Silver Lake (and Caples Lake, a little bit further along the road, up at about the 8000' level) are still murky and haven't had a chance to fill with fresh run-off and clear up. I'll try back in about three weeks and see if conditions have improved. But overall, it was just a stunning drive.

On the way home, having not slept at all the night before, I got SLEEPY, so I pulled off into a shaded spot on the side of the road, put the seat back, and had the nicest 60 minute nap. Cool are, fresh breeze, birds chirping.... very nice. Glad I wasn't eaten by a mountain lion. Hehe

I've posted several more photos from the day over at my photoblog.