2nd Annual GST Gathering
Bishop Canyon
October, 2006
The 2006 GST
Get-together ran a bit late this year, Oct. 21-22.
As I packed and prepared for it, I couldn't help thinking
"Snow". To borrow a phrase from 'Alfred E...'; "What?
Me Worry?...". I laughed at the thought, as I packed. The
right sleeping bag and a tent heater should do the trick. Right?
After packing
my stuff, I waited for Daniel to get off work and toss his stuff into the
truck... and then leave L.A. for Bishop. As it often happens, we hit
the road around 7pm. With a 30 minute dinner stop, I calculated we'd
roll into the Four-Jeffrey's campground at
(or after) midnight.
The worst part
of every trip is getting out of Los Angeles. It usually take 1 to
1/-12 hours to reach Hwy 14. Jerky - check... Candy - check...
Coffee - check... Music - check., looks like we're good to go. Crew
aboard, Doors Closed, Check Light Out... and away we went. I settled
into a comfortable driving position and cursed the traffic on the way to
Hwy 14. Before too long, we'd be sailing up Hwy 14 without a care in
the world.
Our cruising
speed is classified, and that's all I'm going to say about that.
Strangely enough, we pulled into Four Jeffery's at 11:30pm. I tried
to keep the trucks' RPMs low, so as to not awaken those that might be
asleep. How many trips around the campsite loop is consider
normal? I'm thinking two. One to find an open site and another
to pay the fee and return to the site. Well, this time, I decided to
A) Look for the GST group and B) Find the nearest site to them.
Looking down at a group around a campfire, I thought, "Nope, that's
not them...". Turns-out, it was them. On the third pass,
jotting down open site numbers, we were set upon by one of them.
Hey, it's Mike!
I thought, for
certain, that everyone would be asleep and we'd have to figure it all out
the next morning. Mike motioned for me to back the truck into what
was left of their driveway. Mike, Rick and Sherry helped to unload
and transport our stuff down to the tent site. A big THANKS
for that! The truck was unloaded in a fraction of the time it took
to load it. Cool.
But wait,
there's more. Not only did they make short work of the unloading
process, the group was eagerly pitching in to setup our tent.
Another big THANKS. On the drive up, I had visions of setting
up camp with a flashlight. And if you've ever done that, you know
how much fun it can be. I was very thankful for the roaring
campfire, lanterns glowing, a pre-selected tent spot and eager
helpers. We had the tent up in no time. What a SUPER
Crew! After a brief period of talking, we were in our sleeping bags
by around 12:30am.
L-R Jon S, Gary C, Mark, Jon H & Gary W.
Saturday
morning we were greeted by the others, as they made their way to our
campsite. On seeing the site in daylight, for the first time, I
couldn't help thinking what a perfect group site it was. Everyone
milled around sipping coffee, eagerly looking forward to the day.
Judging from the snow accumulation in the foothills and above, we decided
the day hike to Blue Lake was off., and everyone would meet up and tube
North Lake.
L-R Lisa, Mike, Anthony, Rick, Jim & Sherry.
Although it was
a bit cold, it wasn't nearly as cold as I had feared. Jon S's
outdoor heater was/is perfect for warming up the bones. While Daniel
hid out in his sleeping bag a little longer, the others prepared their
breakfast and talked. Meanwhile, Mike did a little last minute fly tying.
Daniel making his way down to North Lake, with Sherry &
Rick in the background.
Eventually, we
(the stragglers) made our way to North Lake and joined the others already
on the water. Much to my surprise, the shore was lined with
anglers. The canyon was alive with anglers everywhere, which was
strange to me. I've been in this canyon during warmer weather and
didn't see this many people. Perhaps, the rush was on because the
season was coming to a close and many wanted to visit the area once
more. Whatever it was, it struck me as strange.
Mike making his way to the water.
With the
evident autumn colors, brisk air, patches of snow about and sheets of ice
on the water's edge., I couldn't help thinking we had selected the wrong
dates for this trip. Ah, but then we would have missed this
spectacular display of autumn colors. Still, there's a lot to be
said for warmer days of late summer and early fall.
L-R Gary W & Jim.
It didn't look
like the fish were very eager to play, so I took my time getting into the
water. Plenty of time to take some pictures and take in the
sights. To my left, I could see Gary C and Jon S working the water
with determination., while most of the others were content to drift around
and wait for the fish to come to life.
Anthony (left picture) and Mike (right picture).
After taking a few pictures, it
was time for me to get on the water. I worked the water aggressively
at first, then realized that the fish were not playing along. And
so, back to the camera I went., while trolling along. A few of the
anglers on the shoreline would catch a fish from time to time., but
nothing I would even remotely referred to as 'action'. Likewise,
most of the tubers were have a lack-luster time of it as well. That
is, with the exception of Gary C and Jon S.
Gary C with one of his Prize North Lake catches.
Gary and Jon seemed to be
having a good time working the shallows. At least they were able to
coax a few fish into playing along. I was happy to just float around
and wait the big fish to find me. They never did.
Jim & Lisa
I enjoyed watching Jim &
Lisa together with the mountains in background. It had all of the
makings of great shot, but the little camera's range was limited. A
combination of Telephoto and Wide angle lenses would have been
perfect. Cropping of the picture I took pretty much conveys my
point. I have to admit, I enjoy photography nearly as much as
fishing.
Gary W
Sherry showing us how it's done.
L-R Sherry, Mike, Rick, Gary C and Daniel.
After a relatively non-exciting
few hours on the water, for me anyway, we loaded up the tubes to break for
lunch. Then think about what to do next. I was thinking of
doing some creek fishing and Daniel was wanting to give Lake Sabrina a
try.
After lunch, Daniel, Mike and
myself went to Lake Sabrina. Daniel and I would fish along the
shoreline, while Mike gave tubing a try. Mike had better luck tubing
than we did fishing from shore. I did manage to get the attention of
a few fish, but none to the net. All too soon, the sun started to
drop behind the mountains. Standing at the snack bar and watching
Mike make his way back to the truck, we spotted a fellow who had landed a
2-3lb trout from the creek.
On returning to the campsite, I
set about preparing stuff for dinner., in my usual disjointed way.
Gary C returned to tell of his adventure along the creek near the
campground. Not sure if they'd be needed, he kept two trout for the
pot-luck. Gary and I would enjoy those later. Now, I don't
know if it's the cook or the fact that the fish were so fresh. The fish
Gary caught and prepared tasted really good.
One of Gary's creek fish.
Right - Jon H's artistic rendition of the campfire ...
Left - Jon S.
Eventually, the sun set and the
pot-luck dinner was assembled. I had brought my other camera gear
with flash unit and planned on taking a lot of pictures this year.
But again, I got caught up in the moment with the others and the notion of
taking pictures was far removed. Which is truly unfortunate, as we
had a really GREAT fireside Pot-Luck.
The food was great and the
company was even better. Rick and Sherry's Bratwurst were a big
hit. They went very well with the fine assortment of Top-Notch
bottled beer. Papa's (Jon H) beans and smoked
sausage were another great combination. Jim & Lisa prepared a
rice dish that Daniel and the others were highly impressed with. For some
reason, I didn't make it to that pot during my rounds. Eric's
pumpkin rolls and apple turnovers were the icing on
the cake. There were other items too, only I don't recall who
brought what exactly. But I will say this, once again, we had more
than enough fine food to satisfy the group.
Sitting
with Gary C, enjoying his prepared fish, we marveled at what our little
GST had become. Counting heads, we had roughly 20 attendees.
Not bad for a bunch of people just getting together. Had the date
been a month earlier, when it was a bit warmer, we may have had even more
people. I'm already thinking about next year...
It's the
People, that make it what it is. And that was never more true than
now. The fireside camaraderie was a joy to observe and be a part
of. I don't know how it came about, but we've somehow managed to get
really fine people in our group. Maybe it has something to do with
'Like Minds'. No need to psychoanalyze it, it's enough to know that
everyone enjoys each others company and this strange GST camaraderie.
After
dessert, it was time to discuss who was the winner of this year's GST
Fishing King/Queen title. The catching hadn't been spectacular,
though Spooky (Jimmy) and Jon H had a very productive time on the
creeks. Rumor had it, that Eric netted the biggest fish on
Friday. No picture was taken, but there were enough witnesses to
make it so. Besides, Gary C really wanted to get the crown off his
head. And so, there you have it... Eric was official titled the GST
Fishing King for 2006. Hard to imagine when you consider how many
times he was Skunked throughout the year. This year's prize
donations came from Gary C and Gary W. To say nothing of the fine
crown that comes with the title.
L-R Sherry, Rick, Eric (aka 2006 Fishing King) and Jon H.
When it
comes to talking, I'm like the Ever-ready Bunny. I just keep going
and going. Come to think of it, Spooky was pretty wound up earlier
in the evening. He was so excited about his fishing exploits that
day, being back in Bishop and visiting with the group. You could
actually sense his enthusiasm as he talked. It was a blast to be a
part of. The conversation went around the campfire several
times. It was passing midnight when I finally shut my mouth and let
everyone still awake go to bed.
The next
morning was all about Breakfast, cleanup and departures. Most had
banded into groups to test other nearby waters, while others (like me)
were intent on starting the long drive home. We set about breaking
camp, loading up and preparing our departures.
A Couple
Parting shots...
L-R Ken, Sherry, Rick, Eric, Gary C and Anthony.
L-R Ken, Eric, Rick, Mike, Anthony, Jim and Lisa.
Before long,
Gary C, Daniel and I were all that remained at the campsite. Daniel
and I were slowly getting the truck loaded when Pasha and his Dad drove
up. It was good to see Pasha, as we had all wondered what had
happened to him. Him being a regular fixture in the forums and not
having heard from him for awhile. We talked with Pasha and his Dad
for the better part of an hour and then finished with the loading of the
truck. With only a few items left, Jon S and Gary C stopped by on
their way out, for last farewell. And we were on the road for home
maybe five minutes later.
I knew the
event had been a success because Daniel kept replaying it (non-stop) on
the drive home. At about the half-way point, I had to tell him
"Ok, enough... time for music now.". The radio came on and
Daniel took a nap.
Driving past
the many life-long familiar scenes, I thought to myself "Who would
have thought...?". Who would have thought I'd return to my
childhood stomping grounds, nearly 40yrs later, which such great
people. In my Jr. High and High School years at China
Lake/Ridgecrest, I had a group of similar friends. Nearly every
weekend, and most of the summers, we chased trout in the waters from
Bishop to the Lower Kern. No matter who's family was headed towards
trout waters, the others in the group were always welcomed to join in....
and we often did. When we finally got our Driver's licenses, well,
there was no holding us back. The GST group reminds me of my
childhood pals & gals, only older now. And maybe that's the
mortar that binds us so well. That old, or newfound, inner-child
within us. Basically, we're just a bunch of adults who just happen to
still be in touch with their inner-child. That inner-child that
calls us back to simpler times. When the trappings of adult life
were non-existent. And, with the absence of those, we're able to
truly enjoy ourselves and this Gift.
Thanks to
everyone who attended and made this a special weekend. It's been my
pleasure and joy to spend time with fellow GST people., throughout the
year. There are times in our modern lives when we just want to give
up on humanity. And then we attend an outing with some fellow GST'rs
and discover there's hope for humanity after all. Thanks! It's
really not just about the fish, it's about people sharing in the joys of
God's given nature. The sights and smells of nature, intermingled
with fellowship.
Read more about
this event in GST Forums - 2006
GST Gathering Topics .
We'll
be back - looking forward to 2007
