Hello families!
Today we exited the backcountry! The first group hiked in 2 miles to Big Meadow campground while the second group hiked farther in to upper Onahu site.
The Big Meadows group had a brief but challenging hike in to our campsite situated next to Tonahutu Creek. We enjoyed some super productive fishing for beautiful brook trout, with every camper landing 10+ fish (and some many more)! We enjoyed some satisfying backcountry meals; amazing views of the mountains, wildlife, and sunsets; and fun times around the camp kitchen. On our last night we watched a group of 10 moose graze in the meadow as the sun went down— a once in a lifetime occurrence!
The second group had a tough initial hike in, but pushed through and made it to the campsite. The first day we fished the upper section of Onahu Creek where people caught good numbers of beautiful wild brook trout. We knew we could do better however, and so the group hiked an extra four miles on the second day to fish Tonahutu Creek above the meadow, where we were greeted with tons of wildlife including moose, grouse, and chipmunks. Here everyone caught at least 30 fish, with the combination of a hopper dry fly and a flashy nymph working amazingly! At the end of the day, we hiked back to our campsite and had a delicious meal of loaded mac and cheese before settling in for the night.
Coming out of the backcountry, we stopped by town to get some well-deserved ice cream and groceries before going to our campsite so people could shower and get some laundry done. The rest of the day consisted of a mix of some people playing sports while others did a little more fishing up in Willow Creek.
Coming up on the trip, the group will travel to Pumphouse Campground on the Colorado River in search of huge brown and rainbow trout. Here, campers will wade fish the Colorado River in Gore Canyon near the campsite, perform their service project, and their float trip down the river. After these action-packed days, we’ll travel to Silverthorne to enjoy some swimming and basketball before having our banquet dinner and preparing for departures.
We are absolutely loving our time with these guys and can’t wait for the rest of the trip!
From,
Colorado Leadership Team
