Thanks Kilowatt for posting the pics. Here is the story. this was the 17th year in a row my younger brother and I have made this trip. It is still as good as the first time.
We hiked, er slid, down Slide Draw in the National Park. The trail is short but very steep, 1660 vertical in one mile. I use the word trail loosely because it is just a talus and scree filled chute (picture number 2) with sheer walls on both sides. Fishing was a little sub par for the Gunnison, still leaps above just about anything else in Colorado. The BOR was testing some new turbines so they were running the water at 1550cfs which is much higher than the 350cfs we usually have this time of year. it made fly fishing very difficult as most of the holes were running too swift. I pulled out my spinning reel and a rapala shad rap which always works here. I caught 21 fish in one afternoon and morning, the largest being 18" or so. My purist Brother stuck to the fly rod and caught quite a few, the largest, a rainbow about 19" which is picture number three. 17 years ago we would catch 90% rainbows and 10% browns. Because of whirling disease this is now reversed.
Saturday night the Ringtail cats that slink about in the canyon made a raid on our camp. They are bold and will stop at nothing to get in your food or packs. After the third attempt we put on our boots and headlamps on and chased them off with a barrage of rocks chasing one into a crack in a rock where we poked it with a stick. It screamed so loud it echoed and they didn't come back again that night.
Thanks for reading, it was a great trip.
BeanMan