Tent Event 2010 11 Mile Canyon and Skaguay Reservoir

7th Annual Tent Event-
Welcome to our first post!  Every year at the beginning of June for the past 7 years I have put together a camping trip for just the guys that we call the tent event.  It began when my brother Brett and my cousin Tony threw me my bachelor party camping trip.  We have continued this tradition every year since.  Pretty much any family member or friend that I have who is male gets the invite, and we have had as many as 29 people attend.  This year we made it a 3 night event that allowed us to fish at 3 different locations and camp at 2 different places.  Here is the story of Tent event 2k10!

Eleven Mile Canyon

 June 10th and11th - We arrived at 11 Mile Canyon near Lake George, Colorado in the early evening.  To get to 11 Mile Canyon you take Colorado Highway 24 West through Woodland Park, Divide and Florissant.  Lake George is about 38 miles down Highway 24.  In Lake George, you take a left which takes you into the canyon.  The turn is clearly marked by a sign.  It costs 5 dollars to take a vehicle into the canyon and 14 dollars per night to camp.  The canyon follows the path of the South Platte River and is full of wonderful fishing holes.  You will find great riffles, pools, flats, and slow runs and will catch mostly Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, an occasional Cutthroat, or Cutbow, and if you are really lucky, maybe even a Brook Trout.  If you are unlucky, you could hook into a Sucker.  There are also Pike and Kokanee Salmon in the canyon from time to time.  There are 4 campgrounds in the canyon to choose from.  The first campground in called Riverside and has tent and RV spots available but without electric or water hook ups.  The second campground is at Springer Gulch Bridge and once again has all types of sites available but no hookups.  This bridge begins the flies and lures only, fishing section of the river. The 3rd campground is called Cove Campground and has only 4 sites.  We chose to stay at  the 4th and final campground which is just below the 11 mile reservoir dam and is called Spillway Campground.  There are great spots to fish here and the canyon usually tends to fish well near dusk because that is when the Caddis hatch hits.  Despite our best efforts, the fish were not feeding off the top much Thursday night and we did not have much success.  I caught a nice Brown on a Caddis fly, and hooked into another Brown using a Yellow Sallie Fly and fishing along the banks.  One fisherman who had been there all day told me that the Blue Wing Olive hatch was heavy earlier in the day and he had also had success with red colored midges.  The feeding had slowed by the time we arrived though.  Our Golden Retrievers loved the water and can always be counted on to get overly excited when we hook into a fish.  They wait anxiously to see if we catch one.  As you can see from the inserted pictures, they love the canyon, and the water.

Friday June 11

We got up and fished the canyon a little bit more before we packed up and dropped the camper off at my grandparents cabin where the remainder of the trip would take place.  The cabin is located just a few miles out of Cripple Creek, Colorado.  Cripple Creek is on Highway 67.  To get there you take Highway 24 west to Divide Colorado.  In Divide you take a left on HWY 67 and follow the signs. 

      We then had some lunch and went to Skaguay Reservoir which is located about 30 minutes from the cabin off of Phantom Canyon Road.  This is the last remaining reservoir of the 3 that were built in the early 1900's as  way to supply power to Cripple Creek and Victor when they were gold mining centers of Colorado. A flood washed away the other 2 reservoirs in the 1960's and destroyed the power plant.  (You can still hike down the Beaver Creek Canyon to the ruins of the power plant if anyone is looking for another cool adventure.)  Here is the link for more info.  http://actionmatrix.com/Trails/SkaguayPowerPlant/html/Skaguary.htm 

 We let the dogs play fetch in the lake for a while  which is one of their favorite things to do.  If you have a retriever, you understand their love for water.   Bob and I got almost as wet as the dogs because they like to shake off after every retrieve! 

Fishing Beaver Creek-
After the dogs got a little tired, we walked down below the dam of the reservoir to Beaver Creek.  Bob fished the first run directly below the spillway and found success with a parachute Grasshopper Fly.  This, and a Black Ant were the 2 most successful fly patterns of the day.  Bob caught 7 fish on a Hopper in the first hole of the canyon.  The fish were all rainbows in the 12 inch range.  On his new 3 weight fly rod, they felt a lot bigger.  He said that it was a blast bringing them in on a 3 weight rod!   I highly recommend this creek if you like to fish off the beaten path.  This is the type of place where you might not set a record for most fish you have ever caught in a day, but you will have a lot of fun because you will have to think like a fish.  They are easily spooked so you must sneak up on them.     

Camping at the Cabin- 
After the weather turned on us we headed back to the cabin.  By this time, some of our other campers made it to the cabin and we spent some time relaxing on the deck.  It was so nice to just do nothing for a while and enjoy the fresh air.  Even the dogs took advantage of the time.  My dog Jaxin had a cigar, and Bodie had a beer.  Okay, not really, but dogs always seem to give plenty of opportunities to laugh at them.  (See inserted pictures)  We ate Spaghetti for dinner and played poker until bedtime.  Talk about a good time (except that I lost a little money).  We did get to sleep at a decent hour because we were off to 11 Mile Canyon to do some more fishing in the morning.       

The Canyon June 12, 2010

In typical Colorado fashion, the weather was unpredictable and Saturday was much cooler.  The 88 degree weather we saw on Thursday  gave way to 41 degrees according to the car thermostat on the way to Eleven Mile on Saturday morning.    On top of the cold, the canyon saw a torrent of rain overnight and the road was washboard all the way down the canyon, not to mention flooded out and washed away in spots.  Due to the weather conditions, the fishing was much slower than usual.  As you can see from the picture of my dad fishing a puddle, we found it essential to try different things in order to catch fish!  Some of us did a hike in the morning rather than fight the cold.  The hike actually overlooks the spillway campground that we slept in on Thursday night.  This is not a bad climb and the views are spectacular.  From the summit of this hike you can look down on the river through the canyon, oversee the dam, and look across both Eleven Mile Reservoir, as well as see Spinney Mountain Reservoir in the distance.  Here are a few of the shots we got from up top and on the hike.  

                                                     

We did get around to fishing, and although it was not a typical day in the canyon and we had to fight the weather, we did catch a few fish.  It's not all about the fish though, much of why we go out there is to be in the outdoors.  Here are a few shots of us fishing.  

After we got tired of the weather, we headed back to the cabin where the weather was much improved for the majority of the day.  Once again, relaxing and enjoying the company was the name of the game.  As you can see, the dogs were pretty tired from their 3rd straight day of strenuous exercise. They weren't the only ones!

As the evening approached it was time for a barbeque including plenty of burgers and brats. After stuffing our faces it was time for a Texas Hold Em' Tournamet where each player had the high stakes of 2 dollars on the line. One by one we began to lose our money. Luckily, the birthday boy (my dad) came out on top as the winner. He celebrated with a birthday cookie and 2 numbered candles to celebrate his 80th birthday. Too bad it was only his 53rd... And as always, Colorado weather sent us another gift of SNOW. Almost every year we plan this trip there is a good chance of bad weather, dating back to the very first trip (my bachelor party). If you want to camp in the snow, you just let me know and I'll plan the trip.

I truly cherish these memories that we have made over the years on trips like this.  Thank you to all who made the trip this year and in years past as well.  I hope you look forward to these types of trips as much as I do and I hope we have many more to make over the years.  I really feel blessed to have this time with each and every one of you and it would not be the trip it is, without the presence of the people who come.  You guys are awesome!   Until next year, happy outdoors!