There was a second part to the Lahontan Cutthroat trip. As I said in earlier postings -- I need a fishing buddy because I keep forgetting this. This time it was my hat, at 8700 feet, that partially contributed to a second part of the story.
The picture above is of my new fishing buddies. From left to right are Andan Bailey, Phil Reedy, Sam Chamberlin, and Leslie Vivian. They were from the Davis Flyfishers club and were on a HTC trip for Sam and Leslie to catch their first Lahontan Cutthroats. They passed me on the trail early in the morning as I was going in Great, Slow, with lots of stops for water and food.
I made it up the 800 foot elevation gain and to a long meadow feeling fine. Feeling great and proud, I put my rod together and tried to catch, photograph, and release a Lahontan Cutthroat. With no success I ran into the Davis 4 in the meadow. They welcomed me into their group and decided that I had to catch the next Lahontan. It was interesting, me being a high school chem/bio teacher who studied biology in college, to run into Phil, a community college chemistry teacher, Andan, a high school physics / chemistry teacher, Sam, a retired salesman from the railroad industry, and Leslie, a landscape designer with a passion for flowers (and I took 4 plant taxonomy classes in college!).
The group lead me up the meadow to a more accessible section of the creek. They surrounded the water like an army (hidden) and helped me catch my first, and only Lahontan Cutthroat, with lots of directions that allowed for a successful trip (they could see the fish using their polaroid lenses while all I saw was "shiny water" lol).
I sat down on the grass and rested from my hike in and experience. My backpack with water was 100 feet away. I decided that I needed some water and stood up. Then WHAM -- I got dizzy and fell to the ground. I was in total exhaustion mode, from a combination of dehydration, exhaustion, and most likely altitude sickness. I did not have the energy to stand up. When my backpack was brought to me I downed two pints of water and in a minute or two was able to stand up and stumble.
My new fishing buddies realized that I was in trouble and they were going to lead me out of the meadow, over the pass, and to my car at the trailhead. Leslie took my pack, which weighed about 20 pounds with emergency supplies and two days of water (and water purification drops if necessary). Sam was my personal coach, standing beside me and picking out targets to walk to, and Phil and Andan were tour guides talking about the history of the area, the fish, and pretty much anything to keep the trip interesting.
With Sam's guidance, I would walk 10 to 20 feet at a time, then I would rest all my weight on my trekking poles, and go to the next target when ready. I stopped at almost a dozen rocks when possible, allowing me to sit down and not use up my "walking energy" getting up from the ground. Leslie, being a botanist, had a wonderful time running up and down the slopes looking at all the flowers (and yes, if I had been in better health I would have joined her and taken photographs of the flowers -- they were in full bloom and beautiful).
It took energy I didn't have, and encouragement from Sam, to travel 2 miles in about 3 hours, not "one step at a time", but ten feet at a time. I was in big trouble -- all I wanted to do is lie down and sleep, but forgot warm clothes and an emergency shelter to make it through the hours and possibly the night. I probably would not have died, but would have been air lifted out and the bankruptcy that would follow would have led to another 5 years of teaching before retirement lol.
These four people took it upon themselves to rescue a stranger in trouble. I would not have made it out that day -- only with their compassion and commitment to me did I walk out of the meadow, especially through snow drifts on the 600 foot incline on the way out (800 feet in, 600 feet out). I cannot describe in words how much pain I was in and how I would not have made it out without their help. They rescued me, and now it is my turn to help someone in the future. I will help someone in the future, hopefully, with the commitment and compassion that the four flyfishers from Davis showed me.
Upon our conversations I found out that the Davis Flyfishers have a trip or two each year to Lewiston Lake. I will be there to be their host and guide.
Thanks Phil, Andan, Sam, and Leslie. I look forward to fishing with each of you in the future.
Take care all,
Shane
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