Day Two of our Barker Lakes Loop and we are headed for Round Willow Bottom and Long Willow Bottom Reservoirs (try saying both of those quickly!). Both of these were purported to have good fishing for Cutthroat and Tiger trout and we soon found out they didn't disappoint. This was a fun route and allowed us to make a loop that included both reservoirs and a side excursion to the top of the Aquarius Plateau. It ended up being a gorgeous day that was filled with excellent fishing, snow banks and hiking with good friends, John and Mary . . . couldn't ask for much more!
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| It was a beautiful morning for our hike to Round and Long Willow Bottom Reservoirs |
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Round Willow Bottom Reservoir
This was probably the most scenic of all the lakes we visited on this trip . . .
Oh, and the fishing wasn't too bad either! |
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Allison dropped her line into the stream flowing out of the Reservoir and instantly had a hit . . .
Within an hour she caught four more this size or larger . . . Wow! |
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| This was a unique picture Allison got of Kent reeling in one of five cutthroats he caught |
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| Colorado Cutthroat trout . . . Aren't they a beautiful fish? |
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We made our way up to Long Willow Bottom Reservoir where Mary gave it her best . . .
Unfortunately, these fish were picky about the flies they like! |
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| After lunch we made plans to split up . . . John & Mary hiked back down to Round Willow Bottom Reservoir to fish a little more . . . Kent & Allison took the North Creeks Lake trail to the rim of the Aquarius Plateau |
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We followed the inlet stream, that fills Long Willow Bottom Reservoir, to the base of the
Aquarius Plateau where it erupts all at once from a gorgeous spring
(If you scroll ahead you'll see a picture of the spring . . . or you could just wait and finish reading the blog!) |
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| We had a couple of bridges to cross on our way to the top of the Plateau |
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As we began to climb, the Henry Mountains became visible off to the east of Escalante
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view) |
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The amount of snow surprised us as we reached the rim of the Plateau . . .
With an elevation of nearly 10,400 ft, it shouldn't have! |
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| A quick photo before we head back down |
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20 minutes . . . that's pretty close . . . actually it took us 15 minutes to get here from the rim
(Or, it could mean 20 minutes to get to the best fishing of your life!) |
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Here's the spring we mentioned earlier . . . just flowing out of the ground, fresh and cold . . .
Hard to believe it doesn't have a name! |
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| Kent couldn't resist filling up a water bottle . . . he always carries his Sawyer Water Filter with him! |
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The spring turned into a gentle meandering stream . . .
Life is like a stream, it's always flowing, it can flow slowly or it can flow quickly,
it can change course but it keeps moving forward . . .
Time to get on to our next adventure . . . but we will cherish the memories we made today! |
Another great day in the Boulder Mountains! (If you missed our first day you can find it by clicking
here.) Total mileage for this loop (including the jaunt to the rim) came in at about 7.5 miles (r/t). Without the side excursion you will be looking at closer to 6 miles. For an article and map that details the Barker Lakes Loop you can click
here. Just think . . . while everyone else is out exploring the hot and dry canyons of Escalante, you could be up here hiking and fishing in the cool mountains. What are you waiting for!
