Great Blue Heron - Now THAT'S fishing!

My dissertation advisor at UC Santa Cruz was Todd Newberry.  He is a marine biologist, and he is  also an avid birder.  He enjoys leading bird walks and loves it when people have what he calls "Audubon Moments".  This is when someone takes the time to be still and observe nature.

Last week I had a fantastic Audubon moment, well, actually nearly an hour, of watching and photographing a great blue heron as it worked its way along a river bank, fishing as it went.

Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodius) are among the largest birds in North America, often standing over four feet tall.  They are wading birds that eat fish, frogs, or whatever else can fit down their craw.

Anyway, my wife, daughter, and I went to Warm River, ID - one of our favorite day outings.  As we sat and relaxed, snacked and read at the Warm River Campground, I noticed a blue heron among the vegetation and rocks on the other side of the river.  It was slowly picking its way along the river's edge, standing, looking, fishing, and moving on.

Luckily (OK, it wasn't luck), I had my camera in hand and was able to grab some great shots of it fishing.

Here we go...as it came around the back side of a boulder it stopped and looked...Whep!?  Is that a fish?

I better take a second look.  Yep, fish!  I'm going for it!

Yeah, baby!  Got it, but can I hang onto it?

It's a pretty big one...the dang thing could come back on me...I better give it a good shake!

That's enough shaking!  Now I've got shift it around and get this thing headed head-first down the old gullet.

That's better...

Hey, check it out...I really nailed this fish...put my lower bill right through its head!  Now THAT'S fishing!

Now to swallow this slippery thing...now if I can just flip it just the right way around...

Awesome!  First try!  Just like I planned it...

Hack, gnaw, whthreawght...

Check out this pose...and some people out there don't think I'm really a dinosaur!?

Big gulp...man, that's a long way to swallow.

And I'm off...

This was a fantastic time.  I actually saw it catch a couple more fish, and a corn cob!?  Well at least it let the corn cob go.  Good call.  Now if it were a seagull it'd probably still be trying to hack down the corn cob just so another gull couldn't have it.

So there's one of my latest Audubon moments.

Looking For A Great Place To Go Cross Country Skiing? Try Warm River, Idaho

Last Saturday we went cross country skiing at one of my favorite places in the world: the Rails to Trails Route at Warm River, Idaho.  This trail is readily accessible, beautiful, and doable for just about any skier.

This image (courtesy of GoogleEarth) shows the general location of Warm River.

To get to Warm River, drive north on Hwy 20 toward Yellowstone National Park.  When you reach Ashton, Idaho, turn right on Hwy 47, which is also Main Street in Ashton, and follow that road.  You will drive past many farm fields and then down into the river valley of Henry's Fork of the Snake River.  As you continue on Hwy 47 you will see the Warm River Campground to your right as you drive up out of the valley.  This campground is on Warm River. 

If you want to, you can access the bottom of the Warm River to West Yellowstone Rails to Trails route at the north end of the campground.  It is well marked, and is located on the west bank of Warm River.  During the wintertime the entire trail is open to snowmobiles, so there is sometimes quite a bit of activity on the trail from the campground northward.  Personally, I choose not to ski this part of the trail because the snow mobiles tend to chew up the course.  My preference is to access the Rails to Trail route at Bear Gulch.

Bear Gulch is a turnout at the end of the stretch of Hwy 47 that is maintained and plowed by the state.  This is also a popular jump-off spot for snowmobilers, most of the snow machine riders who start here do not go over to Warm River, they continue up Hwy 47 where they can really open up their machines.  We, however, pop up onto the road from the parking lot and drop down to Warm River via a well traveled trail.  Granted, this route is also accessible to snow machines, and can also get chewed up, but we were able to find pretty good snow along the edges of the main track.

I enjoy going to Warm River not only in the winter, but it is also my favorite fishing spot.  You don't tend to catch a lot of big fish there, but it's highly unusual to get blanked.  

Anyway, when we went on Saturday we got there around 11:30a or noon, and we skied up the trail for about 3 miles, as marked on the image above.  This is a beautiful place.  It was a nice day, though overcast.  The temp was not too cold, and it snowed on us on and off, with huge flakes.  A perfect winter day outing.

Here are some things you will see if you visit this area in the winter time.

This is a shot looking south, up the hill from the Bear Gulch turnout - note the trailers and snow machines.  We drive to the north end of the lot and park there.  This puts us out of the way of most traffic.  This is a nice turnout, and it has restrooms (though without running water).  It is, after all, on National Forest land.  If you look closely you will see where people have hiked up or were driven up this hill on snow machines and then skied or snow boarded down.  It beats paying for a lift ticket - at least according to some.

This is a panorama collage I put together using 6 shots taken from just down the trail from the RR tunnel.  The tunnel is visible as the dark object at the end of the trail at the left-hand end of the image.  The Warm River is visible at the bottom of the valley.  It is surrounded by pine and snow-covered hills. It's beautiful.

This is a shot of just the river valley.  In the spring, summer, and fall, there are also stands of aspen trees that you can see in the valley as well.

This is the southern end of the old RR Tunnel.   A few years ago here was a partial cave-in midway through the tunnel, and the USFS blocked both ends, and built an extension of the trail around the outer edge of the tunnel so you can still easily access the trail above the tunnel.

This is a shot of my wife and daughter on the bypass trail around the tunnel.

Once you finish the bypass trail you can look back and see the north end of the tunnel.  Well, you can actually see all the way through it...the tunnel isn't all that long.

While the section of the trail below the tunnel is scenic, my favorite stretch is above the tunnel.  Here are some shots from the trail as it travels along on the west bank of the Warm River.

This is a shot I took through a natural frame of snow-covered pines.  I love the way the snow piled up on boulders in the middle of the river.  This next set of shots were taken as we continued north on the trail.  There are places where there are volcanic outcroppings above the river, as shown below.  

The shot below shows ice cycles that form where the river water splashes onto logs that have fallen across the river.  I also really like the layering in the snow along the riverbank.

This shot shows a favorite fishing hole of mine that I visit several times each summer.  This trip though, all I'm taking are photos.  Well, actually, I am mostly a catch-an-release fisherman, so I don't tend to take that much even when I do come here fishing.

Note the large snowflakes falling with the dark water in the background.

And you will be treated to many scenes like this one all along this trail...and did I mention that you don't even have to pay any access fees!  Yeah!

Eventually it was time to turn around and head back.  Because the trail is an old railroad bed the grade is quite gentle, and when you are outbound it's not all that noticeable that you have been climbing in altitude.  But when you turn around you can tell the difference, and while you don't ski all the way down, you will find that the going is quite a bit easier.  And, you will notice that the difference in perspective of heading south gives you a different view of things you passed when you were outbound. 

And here we are, back below the RR tunnel, with Warm River in the background.  Until next time!

Oh, and when you're done and you're on your way home, don't forget to stop at Dave's Jubilee in Ashton for ice cream or a bite to eat at the deli!  Yum!

Scatter my ashes, at least some, at Warm River

I'm not saying I'm going to be cremated when I die, and I'm not saying I'm not, but if I were, I'd want at least some of my ashes scattered in the Warm River Canyon, Idaho.
This canyon is one of my favorite outdoor destinations in eastern Idaho. This is where we like to camp, and where I prefer to fish. There aren't a lot of big fish up here, but there are usually plenty of them (last week I caught 16 in about 3 hrs of fishing).
In this entry I want to share some of the beauty of part of the Warm River Canyon. To get to where these photos were taken you need to drive north from Rexburg, Idaho, on Idaho Hwy 20, and then east on Idaho Hwy 47 through Ashton, Idaho. Stay on that road for about 13 miles and you will come to the Bear Gulch Turnout which is maintained by the Forest Service. Park at the north end of the pull-out and walk down and through the culvert that goes under the highway.

Turn left when the trail splits. You are now on a rails-to-trails route that was once part of the Ashton to West Yellowstone RR that was in service as recently as 1979. Within about 1/4 mile or so you will see the old RR tunnel.

When I started coming here nearly a decade ago the tunnel was open and you could walk or bike through it.  Two years ago, however, there was a partial cave-in. The Forest Service then closed the tunnel and blocked the entrances with chain link fencing. Since then the USFS made a trail that goes around the outer edge of the mountainside, bypassing the old RR tunnel. Before you get to the tunnel though, stop and look off to the south. You can see the Warm River winding its way downstream. That is an impressive vista during all seasons of the year.

Now you are past the RR tunnel. As you walk you will be presented with many nice views of Warm River. You can get even more if from time to time you walk to the edge of the trail and look down. You will also see many nice fishing holes.

The trail is smooth and gradual, and is an easy walk for just about anyone. The trail actually goes all the way to West Yellowstone, though I've never been that far, so you can walk as far as you'd like, though after a while the river and trail diverge. Anyway, The the left of the trail is a steep uphill slope, and to the right of the trail is a rather steep downhill grade going to the river. In many locations you can see the river easily and climb down to the water's edge. This usually involves climbing down rock falls, but it's not too bad if you take your time.

Before you have gone too far you can look upstream and see the first easily accessible fishing hole. I call it the Beaver Pool because the first time I went to Warm River my sons and I saw a beaver swimming there. Also, as you can see, this is prime trout habitat, with many large boulders, pocket pools, fallen trees, etc. The river is also small enough that it is not too difficult to cast a fly all the way to the opposite bank. You do, however, need to be careful wading in at this point because there is a lot of vertical drop, the water moves quickly, and things can get dicy if you lose your footing.

This a view of the Beaver Pool from downstream. The pool is formed by a mass of fallen trees and boulders.  There are upper and a lower segments of the pool, and I've caught fish in both. This is a great place to bring kids fishing. This particular pool typically has fish in a few spots, and if you just sit at the edge of the trail and look down into the pool on a sunny day its often easy to spot trout.

Here's another small hole upstream of the Beaver Pool. I think most people hike back up to the trail and skip this little hole because it's a little tough to get to, but I've found that it's worth the work. There are often a few fish hanging out here. Plus, it's absolutely beautiful!

If you keep heading upstream you will see a somewhat imposing formation of rocks on the opposite side of the river. Below those rocks is a long, smooth, beautiful pool. It's got good fishing, and if you get too hot I you could even take a dip here. I've seen people swimming and playing in the water in this pool. If you decide to cool your feet or swim, though, you will soon learn that the Warm River doesn't actually have warm water.
The Warm River is only relatively warm. It got its name because it is primarily spring-fed, and it has a more or less constant temperature year-round...and the water is somewhere in the 40s. You get used to it...you know, once your legs go numb. If you visit Warm River in the winter you usually see it steaming...but in the summer this is probably one of the most picturesque spots along this segment of the river.

Here is a closer view of this same hole, and like the Beaver Pool, it's not at all unusual to see fish there.

As you continue upstream you will see downed trees, and some more nice pools - again, prime trout habitat.  I think that many people skip these holes because it takes some negotiation to get to them, but I think it's great fun!

The scenery just doesn't quit...it just keeps going and going and going. If you decide to fish, don't be surprised if you catch brook, rainbow, and brown trout along this stretch of river. Again, they won't usually be especially big, usually between about 8"-12", but it's a good time.

To wind up this entry that is already too long, most people who come to eastern Idaho to fish either skip the Warm River in favor of the South Fork or Henry's Fork of the Snake River because it lacks the fame of those rivers as fishing destinations, or they just don't know that it's here. And, if someone is touring and sightseeing Warm River is a well-kept secret. Most people just drive right by on their way to the upper and lower Mesa Falls.
. But for me, a wading and shore fisherman, the Warm River has the perfect combination of fishing, hiking, and camping. So, on those highly unusual days when I don't end up catching anything I'm still glad I was there, because the canyon is always beautiful and relaxing.
Oh, and as far as wildlife goes, you often see osprey and many other kinds of birds. I have also seen marmots, moose, black bears, and other critters from time to time. Nice!
So, when I die, if I do have ashes to spread, make sure that at least some of them end up on the river upstream of the old RR tunnel.