{"id":2292,"date":"2020-11-11T17:30:57","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T00:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/?p=2292"},"modified":"2020-11-18T10:37:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T17:37:11","slug":"a-much-needed-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/2020\/11\/11\/a-much-needed-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"A Much Needed Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a long summer of doing a whole lot of nothing due to Covid-19 restrictions, my friends and I decided that it was our duty to do something fun before classes resumed in the fall.\u00a0 After careful deliberation, it was decided that we would do a three day fishing trip somewhere within driving distance of Denver, Colorado.\u00a0 The only question was where.\u00a0 I promised the group that I would do some research and figure out which areas might give us what we were looking for.\u00a0 While our main goal was to catch a ton of fish, we also wanted to find a place that would offer beautiful scenery.\u00a0 I took to Google checking everything from local fishing reports, to U.S. water data, and even old blog posts to get a sense of what areas might be fishing at that time.\u00a0 Before long, I had devised a plan that I felt would give everyone involved the best experience possible. I had read about a stretch of the North Platte River near Alcova, Wyoming a while back referred to as \u201cthe Miracle Mile\u201d for its beautiful landscape and fat aggressive trout.\u00a0 Recent fishing, and weather reports all pointed to ideal conditions for our slotted three days.\u00a0 Once everyone was on board, we began making preparations for our three day journey.<\/p>\n

With our gear ready and enough food for the three days at the Miracle Mile, we set out for Wyoming.\u00a0 We made sure to stop in Alcova, which was the only civilization within 40 miles of our destination.\u00a0 There we sought advice on bugs and tactics from the local fly shop, and got some last minute supplies and firewood from the general store.\u00a0 It is important to be sure that you have every bit of gear you might need when venturing 40 miles out of cell reception.\u00a0 That includes, but is not limited to, a tent, sleeping bag\/pad, food, water, firewood, lighter, toilet paper, and plenty of beer.\u00a0 As I watched the small smidge of a town fade into the rearview, I felt a sense of freedom take over the car.\u00a0 It was not long before the cracked pavement crumbled into dirt roads.\u00a0 We saw more wildlife than people on the drive to \u2018the Mile\u2019, as the fly shop owner called it.\u00a0 In fact, we did not see any people at all.\u00a0 Herds of mule deer and pronghorns danced over the hills as our trucks left a trail of dust billowing behind us.\u00a0 After about an hour of driving we finally saw the emerald blue river appear out of the plains, as if by magic.<\/p>\n

This section of the North Platte River weaves through desert, prairie, and canyons giving way to some of the most breathtaking scenery you are likely to find anywhere in the U.S.. \u00a0With dispersed camping allowed on both sides of this entire stretch of river, we explored a bit before setting up along a grassy bank with a pre-made fire pit overlooking some prime dry fly water.\u00a0 We began to hastily set up camp, as all of us were eager to get out and fish.\u00a0 Before we could even get a tent up, someone had spotted a rising fish and began setting up their rod.\u00a0 Camp set up would have to wait until later as the rest of us began to follow suite.\u00a0 The Miracle Mile offers anglers a plethora of different types of water to fish with very little angling pressure.\u00a0 While we set up camp along a slow and slick run, the Mile also holds long riffles, large boulder fields, and plunge pools 20 feet deep.\u00a0Paradise to any fly fisher looking to cover multiple water types in a single day.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The view from our campsite.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With only a few hours of daylight to fish and set up camp, we decided to fish within walking distance of camp on day one.\u00a0 It did not take long before all of us were into fish.\u00a0 Browns, rainbows, and cutbows were all eagerly taking large hopper flies and streamers.\u00a0 Even some of the beginners on the trip were having no trouble finding fish.\u00a0 We found that most fish were holding along undercut grassy banks similar to the one where we had set up camp.\u00a0 As we began trickling back into camp, it was clear by the smiles on our faces that we had all found success.\u00a0 The bright orange sun sank behind the hills as we finished setting up, revealing a sky full of stars unlike anything I had ever seen before.\u00a0 It seemed like every time I looked up from the fire I would see multiple shooting stars.\u00a0 We sat around the fire deep into the night drinking cheap beer and filling our bellies with hot dogs.\u00a0 Each of us slept well knowing that we had two more days in heaven.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The largest fish all trip came on the first day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We awoke early the next morning as the sun cleared the mountains, illuminating the valley.\u00a0 It was not hard to get out of bed knowing what the day had in store for us.\u00a0 With bacon and eggs sizzling over the fire, we made a plan for where we would fish that day.\u00a0 We decided on a stretch of river just a short drive from our campsite where the river drops into a canyon and is lined with tall granite walls.\u00a0 We traversed our way down into the canyon and it did not take long before we were into the fish once again.\u00a0 It seemed like there was an amazing pool stacked with fish behind every boulder and bend.\u00a0 That day we decided that we would \u201clive off the land\u201d and cook some fish for lunch, as was permitted on this stretch of river.\u00a0 We kept a few eating sized rainbows, about 12 inches each.\u00a0 Once we had the trout dispatched and cleaned, we added some salt, pepper, and lemon juice before wrapping them in tinfoil and throwing them directly into the fire.\u00a0 As we sat on the riverbank cooking our catch, I took a moment to take in the unbelievable scenery.\u00a0 It also did not hurt that we had the entire canyon to ourselves.\u00a0 We each enjoyed our fish before heading out to find the afternoon bite.\u00a0 In the afternoon we ventured deep into the canyon where the walls became extremely narrow.\u00a0 Soon we forgot all about the fish and focused on exploring the canyon.\u00a0 We found some amazing rock structures, and even a place to cliff jump.\u00a0 When we were sitting around the fire at camp later that night, I found myself feeling incredibly lucky.\u00a0 This day had definitely been the highlight of the trip.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Where we spent day #2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Due to some late night campfire activity, we slept in the next day.\u00a0 When we awoke, we all agreed that we wanted to stay close to camp and relax.\u00a0 Some of the group walked downriver to see how the fishing was while the rest of us decided to do some exploring in our cars.\u00a0 We had stumbled upon an old off-roading trail on our way back to camp the previous day and were keen to see where it might lead us.\u00a0 We had made it about a mile down the trail before we saw another campsite.\u00a0 As we drove by a man came out to great us.\u00a0 To all of our surprise he told us that he had been living out there since the Covid-19 pandemic began in America.\u00a0 I was amazed to hear that we were the first ones to come down the trail since he had set up camp months before.\u00a0 It is true that you never know what you might find when you go out and explore.\u00a0 I can\u2019t blame him for wanting to wait this whole thing out in such a beautiful place.\u00a0 While sitting around the fire on the final night, I could not help but feel a bit sad to be leaving in the morning.\u00a0 Not only had we found amazing fishing, but also a break from reality in a time that is putting everyone to the test.\u00a0 I woke up early the next morning to watch the sunrise before folding up my tent and packing the cars for our return home.\u00a0 The glassy river reflected the peach sky in a truly spectacular way.\u00a0 As we drove away and I watched the river disappear behind the rolling hills, as the realization set in that we were heading back to reality.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sunrise on the final morning at camp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a long summer of doing a whole lot of nothing due to Covid-19 restrictions, my friends and I decided Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[141,166,26],"class_list":["post-2292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature","tag-camping","tag-fishing","tag-travel","no-post-thumbnail","no-read-more-tag","no-sticky","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions\/2373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/richardcolby.net\/adventures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}