| Date: August 23, 2003 |
| Location West Eagle Loop Backpack - Day 4 |
| Where: Trail Creek to Minam River |
| It rained all night long in unbelievable amounts, giving me pause to consider the wisdom of being out here, particularly when you realize that we were two days away from any trailhead and civilization. Unbelievable it stopped raining by morning, but I slept in till 7:00, in part not wanting to face a wet morning in a wet camp I think. There was no real sun down in this canyon we were in, and it took a long time to pack up our wet camp. |
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| packing up a wet camp At the end of Trail Creek we crossed the Minam River. I thought from some of the information there would be a bridge here, but there was none, but we got by with hoping from rock to rock. We stopped mid-morning to dry out everything and have lunch. In an hour everything seemed to be dry and we continued on down the Minam River Trail. |
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| drying out at lunch time I was looking for a campsite I last camped at in 1972, which was located just about the Bridge at Elk Creek. And true to my recollection I found it and we decided to make it our camp for the night. |
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| fishing the Minam I set out in Tevas with fly rod in hand to see what I could find in the river. There were small trout or salmon smolts in every pool. I tossed back everything I caught. Wading mid-river I spotted a spawning salmon. It's amazing when you consider the miles, rivers and damns between here and the ocean that this fish has negotiated. Later we saw several spawned out carcasses on gravel bars, their life's journey complete. |
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| journeys end |
