The Great Road Trip

Contributors: Amanda Reynolds

This July marks the one year anniversary of our three week road trip from southern Idaho to Edmonton, Alberta. So, in light of the occasion, it’s only fitting that this Throwback Thursday post is all about our Alberta trip.

I have to say that our trip to Edmonton, Alberta took a bit of planning and a LOT of saving. Being in the military didn’t make it easier, but somehow we managed it and on July 1st, 2017 three friends and a furry adventurer were off for three weeks!

Our reason for trekking up to Edmonton, Alberta: Northern Pike.

Our first destination on our voyage was Missoula, MT to spend the 4th of July with family.

Missoula, Montana

I have always loved Missoula, and as the Mecca of fly fishing thanks to Norman Maclean and A River Runs Through It, it was only fitting that we start our journey in the Bitterroot Valley.

We spent our first few days in Missoula with family, and fished Kootenai Creek and Blodgett Creek in the Hamilton/Stevensville area (USFS, 2018). We also explored the idea of floating and fishing the Bitterroot since we had brought along our newly-invested-decked-out fishing raft.

Historical Notes: Stevensville, MT

Stevensville is a “town of firsts” for the northwest and Montana. According to the Stevensville Historical Museum: “In 1805 the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery walked through Stevensville close to what is now Main Street on their journey through the northwest” (2018). Not long after Lewis & Clark the first school and mission were established in 1841, giving the town the mark of one of the oldest settlement establishments in the northwest.

Stevensville Historical Museum: https://www.stevensvillemuseum.com/about.html

Stevensville Historic Hotel: http://www.stevensvillehotel.com/

Kootenai Creek at the time was a little blown out due to high water and snow melt-off still happening, so more of our fishing and actual catching-of-fish happened at Blodgett Creek and on the Bitterroot River. The area is mostly populated with cutthroat and rainbows, and we were able to catch some really beautiful examples of what our trip would continue to offer.

We knew we would be coming back through Missoula on our way home, so in our short amount of time we mapped out a few places to go on our way back. The wonderful thing about the area is the amount of water available. The creeks, streams, and high-mountain lakes all nearby make it a great place to explore if you’re into stream-fishing, hiking, and backpacking. The Bitterroot itself is float-able and fish-able, but there are some important local laws that you have to watch out for and the strainers are plentiful (so, be prepared to scout and know where you’re going).

River Guide Information: Bitterroot River, Montana

Big Sky Fishing: https://www.bigskyfishing.com/rivers/southwest-montana/bitterroot-river/#overview

Glacier National Park

Our next stop on our journey to Edmonton was Glacier National Park. Turns out, July is a popular time to be in the area of Kalispell and Glacier National Park, so make sure to have camping reservations! We spent the better part of a day trying to find a place to camp for the night before going through the park. Also a word to the wise: Glacier is NOT dog friendly (BringFido, 2018). The crowds and the fact that we couldn’t bring our pup on any of the trails made this beautiful national park only a momentary spot on the map for our trip. However, for others traveling to Glacier without a dog, it is highly recommended. Glacier boasts a rugged mountain range, some glaciers (not as many as when I was little and on my first trip in the park), lots of wildlife, and some beautiful scenic views. But if you’ve been to Glacier, and enjoyed it, you should really keep reading. We were able to find just as spectacular (if not more) places that were much more remote, beautiful, and less populated.

Travel Notes: Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park: https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

Calgary, Alberta

The second stop on our trip was Calgary. Once we hopped over the Canadian border and dropped into Calgary, we were plunged back into society. If you’ve never been to Calgary, and are thinking of driving through, please know that Calgary is a major metropolitan area. We had no concept of this when we planned on going through. We also had no concept of how busy it would be during the Stampede. Think of your small-town carnival and rodeo and how much your small town grows when the carnival/rodeo comes in. Then times that by 100,000 people and you’ve got a sense of what the Stampede is like.

Travel Notes: Calgary Stampede, Alberta

Calgary Stampede: https://www.calgarystampede.com/stampede

We ended up not staying long in Calgary. Before we left though, we were able to enjoy some local cuisine and construction.

Banff & Jasper National Parks

Banff was a breath of fresh air after the metropolitan crowd of Calgary. Everything you have heard and haven’t heard about Banff is true. It’s beautiful. It’s breath-taking. You can hike up to and on glaciers. And there is water everywhere. Our drive through Banff took half a day, and we stopped as much as possible to enjoy Canada’s stretch of the Rocky Mountains, the scenery, the wildlife, and the pristine wilderness the park has to offer.

If Banff was a breath of fresh air, Jasper was wonderment. It’s hard to describe the stretch of Rocky Mountains that progresses from the Canadian border up into the wilds of northern Alberta and British Columbia. The two parks combined are around 300 miles in length, and nearly each of the peaks in the park are well over 9,000 feet in elevation. Traveling through the canyon and looking up is like peering into the heavens.

Travel Notes: Banff & Jasper National Parks

Banff National Park: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/banff

Jasper National Park: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper

We weren’t able to fish in the park, but we were able to hook into some nice fish just outside its borders.

Wildhorse Lake Campground, Alberta

Wildhorse Lake Campground was one of the few places we were able to find and keep a reservation at. Did I mention that July is a popular time of year for traveling through national parks?

It’s a pretty little lake, with a very nice campground area with wood for campfires and clean campsites/toilet facilities. It’s a wash-boarded dirt road to get there, but honestly, what isn’t at this point?

Be advised though. Wildhorse Lake has mosquitoes. Lots of mosquitoes. So many mosquitoes that they formed clouds over the top of our tent and swarmed even with the campfire smoke. So many mosquitoes that we almost lost our minds. Though it was probably terrible for our health we dunked our clothes and skin in eucalyptus and lemon spray or “koala sex” as Wes so lovingly called it, and sprayed the area around our tent with a fogger (thanks, Mac).

The lake itself made for an awesome base-camp for access to the other rivers and streams we fished: Athabasca River, McLeod River, and tributaries. But as for a lake to fish, we found much better closer to Edmonton.

The fish we caught on our various river adventures along the Athabasca and McLeod included mostly Athabasca trout, a protected native species, grayling, and rainbows. The Athabasca trout has a very interesting history, and the conservation efforts for rebuilding this native population are important to consider when fishing for and possibly catching these fish (Alberta Gov. 2015). As a group of fisherman who are dedicated to such conservation efforts, we’ve come to always use single-barbless hooks when fishing and do our utmost best to practice sustainable catch-and-release policies. Also…a single barbless hook is easy to remove if you decide to catch yourself while casting.

Fish Notes: Athabasca Trout

Athabasca Recovery Plan: http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/species-at-risk/species-at-risk-publications-web-resources/fish/documents/SAR-AthabRainbowTrout-RecoveryPlan-Jun2015.pdf

Wabamun Lake & Northern Pike Fishing

After a little over a week and a half of travel time, we finally reached our destination just outside of Wabamun Lake. We did laundry, slept in a real bed, enjoyed real showers, and leisurely took our time finding food, drinks, and enjoying the comforts of small-town civilization for awhile. Our stay in Stony Plain was relaxing and refreshing after camping for five days at Wildhorse Lake with our now-friends: the mosquitoes.

Our scheduled guide trip on Wabamun Lake was with Get Hooked Fishing Adventures. GHFA is a well established, smaller guide company out of the Edmonton area, and we found them through our year-long research escapade in planning this trip. After our trek up from southern Idaho, fishing with Mike was easily the highlight of our trip. And even though we didn’t expect to catch very many Northern Pike, we caught more quality fish than we could have imagined.

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One of the many highlights of our guided trip included putting Mac on his first Pike that actually made it into the boat. He had hooked into at least a dozen, and the afternoon turned into getting his fish in the boat. Naturally the one he brought in was dwarfed by the net.

Then, on the last cast of the day…he thought he was snagged. But of course, a log doesn’t swim away when you start to reel it in. He hooked into the second great-sized pike caught on the boat that day. Fighting it and getting it into the boat was a process, but when he finally did the fish measured out at around 38 inches. It was right up there with the one Wes caught earlier in the day at around the same length. Those fish combined with the immense amount of Walleye caught and hooked into, we landed well over 100 fish in the boat making for a banner day on the water.

Our Guide: Get Hooked Fishing Adventures
Mike Maidens, Owner
https://gethookedfishing.com/

We will be back to fish with Get Hooked Fishing Adventures again. Next time, chasing Pike and Walleye on the fly.

Back to Missoula, MT

After our awesome Pike trip, we made our way back down into the states and to Missoula where we split the last week of our trip. Falling in love with the area the more places we visited, we spent time fishing Kootenai Creek (which had come down to wet-wading levels), and Fuse Lake. We took an overnight backpacking side-trip up to Fuse which has an abundance of Grayling, and caught as many as our hearts contented us. The fish were actively feeding throughout the day and a great afternoon high-mountain hatch meant we were catching fish pretty much the whole time we were there.

The beautiful scenery made for a peaceful afternoon and the hike was a relatively easy uphill climb from the trail head parking area. The trail itself is about 2.6 miles, and is mostly forested making it a cool escape from the July heat. It’s a popular destination for mountain bikers and day hikers, but we didn’t run into too many other fisherman during our overnight camping trip.

Travel Notes: Fuse Lake, Montana

Fuse Lake Trial: https://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/national-forest-trail/fuse-lake-trail-12.html

Grayling Quest: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/sep/06/grayling-quest-is-arctic-event/

Grayling are unlike any other fish I have ever caught. If a unicorn could be transformed into a fish, I feel like the grayling would be the end result. Their silver sides put off as many colors as you can think of, and their top sail-like dorsal fin is like a mini-rainbow flashing above their body. Our pictures can hardly do justice.

Baker Lake, Idaho

The last leg of our trip brought us back through the Sun Valley area of eastern Idaho, and to Baker Lake. As I mentioned in my last post: this was our first trip up to Baker, and after three weeks of hiking, backpacking, and traveling, the short distance from the trail head and the campground just about did Wes and I in. As a former runner, Mac didn’t have a problem, but in reality we’re just jealous of his level of fitness when it comes to hiking.

We camped overnight at Baker and fished the lake the afternoon we got there and most of the next morning. Baker, like many of the high-mountain lakes we have been to since, is the most breathtaking in the morning. The water is glass, no breeze, and sometimes there’s even a morning hatch.

Catching cutthroat, rainbows, and watching giant brown trout cruising the waters was a perfect end to a much-eventful and lengthy adventure. We can’t wait to return to the places we discovered for more lifelong memories.