Due to the ridiculous government shutdown, my plans to go to Wrights lake were aborted. However, since Loon Lake is run for the govt. by a concessionaire it was still open. Loon is also right next to desolation wilderness, the beautiful granite laden high country of the Sierra. I hadn’t been to Loon in 5 years, I believe, and it was a great reminder of how beautiful it is. I think its now my favorite lake to camp at. It’s about 1.75 hours from the house with all smooth road and no traffic.
Fishing was terrific with one day getting strikes or nibbles on practically every cast of rainbow colored powerbait. I ended up with 5 nice rainbow trout. It was cold and windy at night with huge winds on Friday morning easily bringing the temperatures into the 30’s considering wind chill factor. A couple fishing boats left out on the lake overnight were swamped with water from the waves splashing over the stern. Bad luck had my heater deciding not to work in the rv, but I was able to use the oven and it heated the place up just fine.
With the lake down considerably, hiking along the shore was perfect. Loon has amazing boulders combined with beautiful sandy beaches, reminiscent of Sand Harbor in Lake Tahoe. The ferns and grassy areas all had a yellow autumn color to them however the Aspen trees were just beginning to change. When the shoreline got a little rough for hiking with the dogs I was able to use my Garmin and bushwack over to the Rubicon trail running parallel to my hike and came back that way.
My campsite, #17, was right next to the lakeshore, protected from the wind by plenty of trees and with a little path directly to the lake. A really sweet spot.
Nice photos, and some good looking trout.