Greetings from the Yellowstone Adventure II
It is hard to believe our trip is already 1/3 of the way through. Today we hiked out of the backcountry, but it feels like just yesterday that we were all meeting at the airport.
On our first full day of the trip we made the drive into the headwaters of the Lamar Valley to fish Pebble Creek. Pebble Creek cascade through a pocket water fishing paradise full of native Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout. Even our most dedicated nymph fisherman in the group put on a dry fly to get in on the aggressive fish which at times raced to our flies 2 or 3 at a time. It was a perfect first day as everyone caught multiple fish.
The next morning it was right into the backcountry. Our group broke camp quickly and made fast work of the hike despite a few quick detours to avoid some bison. Our campsite sat along Cache Creek just upstream of its confluence with the Lamar River. After setting up camp we ate a quick lunch and got to fishing. The first day was spent upstream of camp fishing some of the deeper holes on Cache Creek. Everyone found success on Cache Creek, but our best fishing was during our layover day when we walked down to the confluence to fish the headwaters of the world famous Lamar River. The group was able to land some beautiful fish on nymphs, dries, and streamers.
This morning we took things a little slower. Once we were on the trail we absolutely cruised through the hike, again accompanied by some bison. The return hike had the added bonus of a spectacular view down the Lamar Valley every time we looked up. The final mile of our hike brought us back up Soda Butte Creek. We made such good time that we decided to stay and fish a little. The fish in Soda Butte see a lot of flies, but our group still managed some really nice Cutthroat. We capped off the day with some sight seeing at Mamoth Hot Springs followed by some showers in the town of Gardner and finally headed back to camp for burritos and root beer floats.
Tomorrow we plan to knock out our service project in the park. This year the park asked if we would help remove invasive Rainbow Trout from the Buffalo Fork, another Lamar Valley tributary. The Rainbow trout hybridize with the native Yellowstone Cutthroat, ultimately diluting the pool of pure Yellowstone Cutthroat in the Lamar drainage. Our group will do our best to remove as many as possible.
Another day of front country fishing will bring us right to our Slough Creek backcountry. This will be the ultimate test for our young anglers. Famous for its big Cutthroat and iconic meadow fishing, is always a highlight of the trip. We exit Slough on 8/10 and will let you know how it went then
Best,
Eleanor, Barrett, and Crew
