Day 15 Aug 15, 1982<br>We halfway hung our packs
last night because we have been bombarded with bear
tales. We hung them the old way with a rope tied off but
directly over us. It would have been exciting if a bear
had shown up with us underneath. We slept well and
moved to the nicer campsite near us to fix breakfast
after the guy there left this morning. We left to fish
at 11 AM and followed the firefighters we met
yesterday down to the bridge over Palisade Ck. We fished
about 1 1/2 to 2 miles down river. Owen caught the
first fish. There were many nice fishing spots and at
one big pool I cast clear across the pool and pulled
in the biggest trout of the day (9 1/2"). We
returned to Grouse Mdw. with Owens fish and my 7. We saw
two fawns on the way back. We fished in the meadow
for a while and ended up with 18 fish (Owen 5 and me
13). The meadow provded the smaller fish 6-7". We
relished the trout dinner that night while we watched the
beams of light from the canyons above and across the
meadow again. Evening comes early here but comes well
dressed. Last night all the campsites were taken, tonight
we seem to be alone here. A golden Sunday evening.
Before we left I asked Gary if he was ready for the trek
and he said he hoped it wasn't a trek. The dictionary
defines trek as an arduous journey. While it has been
tiring it is not arduous, yet. Still it is a joy not to
pack up everything in the morning and hit the trail.
This day occupies a large place in my memory. It was a
gew years before we camped at Grouse Mdw. again but
the grin on Owen's face tells me it was a memorable
spot for him too. Zero packing miles today.
