Fall Is a Classic Time to Hit the Trail in Eastern Sierra

MAMMOTH LAKES — It was a sight rarely seen in the back country at this time of year: three groups of hikers caught in a traffic jam.

The incident occurred last Saturday on the Duck Pass trail. One pair of hikers, traveling downhill on a narrow part of the path, encountered a second pair heading uphill. As they stopped to talk, a third pair came along and tried to get by. There was some foot shuffling. Someone even grumbled.

But after a few seconds, all of the hikers, visibly amused by what had just happened, went their separate ways and spent the rest of the morning strolling amid towering pines and through lush golden meadows, totally removed, if only for a day, from the bustling world back home.

Out on the Duck Pass trail, or on any of the numerous hiking routes that meander through the vast wilderness above Mammoth Lakes, there is no real traffic to contend with.

“In the summer, I can see that happening, but not now,” said Mike Johnson of the Mammoth Ranger Station.

There is no smog and most notable, considering the situation in the Angeles National Forest this week, there is no smoke or ash. There is only thin, crisp air with which to fill your lungs and the spectacular colors of autumn with which to fill your eyes.

“This is a good place to get away and be by myself,” said Cliff Tedder of Azusa, a city uncomfortably close to the Southland blaze. “It’s nice to come up here and just stare at a lake and have some lunch.”

Tedder had just passed Arrowhead and Skelton lakes en route to Barney Lake and, ultimately, Duck Lake, a vast blue gem sparkling under the sun at 10,482 feet. How the lake was named, Johnson said, depends on which story you prefer. One says it was named by explorers who found ducks frozen in the ice. Another says that during the spring, rocks sticking from the snow on the south side of the lake spell D-U-K, and thus the lake appears as Duk Lake on some regional maps.

In any event, the lake, five miles from the trailhead at Coldwater Campground above Lake Mary, is considered by day trekkers as the ideal place to relax and catch their breath before the journey back down the mountain.

The Duck Pass trail is a moderate-to-strenuous route that takes hikers from the trailhead at 9,200 feet up a series of steep switchbacks until reaching Arrowhead Lake, followed by a more gradual and pleasant climb to Skelton and Barney, through meadows sporting the spectacular colors of fall. That is followed again by a steep climb from Barney Lake up and over a rocky ridge to Duck Lake.

The views range from beautiful to magnificent, whether you’re gazing up at the ominously rugged slopes flanking the trail, or down and out over a canyon sprinkled with lakes of the Mammoth Creek drainage basin.

In the creek connecting the lakes, hikers can occasionally spot small brown trout ambushing insects as they land on the water or wash downstream. Trout also inhabit the lakes and, thus, many of the hikers carry fly rods or small spin-fishing outfits.

At Barney Lake, before their 2 1/2-mile push to Duck Lake, Ron Aimone of Long Beach and his cousin, Al Kleczewski of Ogelsby, Ill., reported seeing two deer and one fisherman but otherwise nothing but birds on their way up the mountain.

“We don’t have anything like this back in the Midwest,” Kleczewski said, marveling at his surroundings, which included aspens and willows that had just turned from green to yellow. When asked if they had any food, they said they had only water. They accepted two energy bars from another hiker and off they went.

In all, the trip to Duck Lake and back takes three to six hours, depending on the pace--and a leisurely pace is suggested for anyone out to soak up the brilliance a day on the trail affords. The fall colors are just now in bloom, the days are still mild and the crowds on this particular trail are down to an average of only five to 10 hikers a day.

Asked if he had any advice for prospective hikers, Johnson said they should always carry food, water and a compass, and be prepared for sudden changes in the weather. Other than that, he said, “You should always remember to pause and take a breath and look around from time to time, because a lot of people get so caught up in watching their step that they forget to do that.”

Autumn Allure

Fall is a favorite time for fishermen as well as hikers throughout the region, and for many of the same reasons.

Sierra Drifters fly-fishing guide Tom Loe, in his weekly report, said, “This is a great time of year as the aspen trees are quickly turning brilliant shades of yellows, oranges and reds--and the fall-spawning trout are also taking on unbelievable colors as they stage for [their] spawning runs.

“Think about bringing up your favorite streamer rods and some sink-tip lines. Spawning fish are characteristically very aggressive at this time of year and will hit large wet flies with much exuberance.”

Taking Stock

Crowley Lake, rated by Loe as one of the hot spots for fly-fishermen, has been the subject of concern among anglers recently because of staffing problems at hatcheries, which have made fish deliveries problematic.

Unlike most waters, Crowley is not stocked weekly throughout the season but in a short series of major plantings toward the end of each season.

So far, the lake has received its usual allotment of rainbow trout: 135,680 Coleman-strain rainbows (up in size from 10 to a pound to between three and six to a pound); 185,000 Eagle Lake rainbows (10 to a pound), and 70,730 Kamloop rainbows (2.8 to a pound). Brown trout have yet to be planted.

Said Department of Fish and Game biologist Curtis Milliron: “Usually, all of the Coleman-strain [rainbows] come from [nearby] Fish Springs Hatchery. However, bird predation lowered the numbers to the point that we had to import some from other hatcheries. What this also means is that the average size of this strain went up. This could mean better-than-average-sized fish for next [season’s] opener.”

Sorry, Charlie

On the Pacific Queen earlier this week, anglers enjoyed a seven-hour stop on a school of large and voracious bluefin tuna. Unfortunately, they lacked both the experience and tackle to get them aboard. They boated only 19 fish averaging 65 pounds. Paul Morris, general manager of Fisherman’s Landing, suggests that those boarding any of the San Diego-based overnight boats bring a 60-pound outfit to go along with their much lighter albacore rigs.

A Run for the Ages

An albacore run that began last May is playing out much longer than expected and showing no significant signs of letting up. In fact, through Sunday fishermen aboard San Diego one- and 1 1/2-day vessels had boated 119,000 albacore and should set a fleet record in a week or two. The record haul was 122,000 in 1999. A bluefin record has already been set. The fleet through Sunday had logged 11,434, beating the 1998 mark of 11,090.

Tanner ‘Tails

While the San Diego fleet is still targeting albacore and bluefin, boats running from ports farther north are hitting the Tanner Bank and withdrawing good numbers of sizable yellowtail. Don Ashley, owner of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, said that as of 1 p.m. Thursday, the Toronado already had 50 yellowtail and 50 bluefin on its deck. The yellowtail are averaging 20-30 pounds; the bluefin are slightly smaller.

Winding Up

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has designated Saturday as “Fish Amnesty Day” and asks that fishermen use this day to take a break “to give fish a respite from the constant torment that they suffer at the hands of people who could easily entertain themselves without hurting any living being--at least for 24 hours.”

The group’s timing is interesting. The DFG has designated Saturday as “Free Fishing Day,” one of two such days each year when no license is required. The days, the DFG says, “are a great low-cost way to give fishing a try.”

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FISH REPORT: DAY IN SPORTS