A month in Wapiti and Cody, Wyoming…
Why we came…
To fish area lakes and streams and to check out Yellowstone National Park in the fall.
Sunset over the Absaroka Mountains
Fall in the Shoshone Valley
The campground…
We stayed at the Yellowstone Valley Inn near Wapiti, about 15 miles west of Cody. It’s a relatively new campground with good facilities though it’s mainly just a large graveled lot. There are also cabins, a lodge, and a restaurant. The camp sites are fairly close but views of the Shoshone valley are expansive. We had full hook-ups, good wi-fi, and a reliable data cell phone signal. Access to the North Fork of the Shoshone River was very limited from the campground, but there was a short section of public water just a mile upstream to the west. The valley was windy more often than not which sapped our motivation to play outside…we had a bunch of lazy days. There isn’t much to Wapiti. It’s mainly ranches and nice vacation homes. Supply runs were to Cody (elevation 5,000 feet and population 9,520) which has a big Walmart, Albertsons, two small health food stores, and a good selection of decent restaurants. The Ponderosa Campground in Cody may have been a better place for us to stay. Not only is it in within walking distance of the excellent museum and multiple restaurants, but it was usually less windy and closer to the lakes we wanted to fish.
Looking east. Buffalo Bill Reservoir is center left.
A nice morning on 9 Sep / 30 degrees with an inch of snow on 11 Sep!
Adventures…
On 12 Sep we went geocaching…
We let the winter weather get the best of us for a few days, but broke the lazy streak with a day of geocaching. First we grabbed a couple of rarely visited caches on the south side of Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The dirt road was a mud pit in places due to the recent rain and snow. There were a couple of tricky sections, so we stopped a little short of our goal. That’s alright…it meant more hiking and exercise which was what we needed!
The geocache logs warned of rattlesnakes, but we weren’t concerned due to the cold weather…we didn’t see any. The view of the large lake was impressive and the surrounding Absaroka Mountains were pretty with inches of new snow.
Our next stop was the Shoshone River canyon below the dam. We did a pleasant three mile hike to grab two geocaches stashed along the river. Again, the geocache logs warned of rattlesnakes, but we didn’t see any. The Shoshone canyon is impressive and scented with sulfur from the numerous hot springs. In fact, we spotted a rock pool intentionally made to soak comfortably in a spring seeping into the Shoshone River. It was inviting, and though we mentioned a visit often during our month long stay, we didn’t go back. We found the two geocaches and I made mental notes of potential fishing spots along the river.
We ended up hiking about six miles and saw some incredible terrain.
Posing with a geocache above Buffalo Bill Reservoir / A geocache near the Shoshone River just west of Cody
On 13 September we fished Hogan and Luce Reservoirs…
The two lakes are about 25 miles northwest of Cody and known for good trout fishing. Hogan has a good population of cutthroat trout. Luce has “catch and release” regulations and grows big rainbows.
We donned our waders and started at Hogan. We fished with floating grass hopper flies and dangled chironomid flies about 20 inches below. The action was consistent with half of the cutthroat trout hitting the hopper and the other half hitting the chironomids. We caught about 20 fish. Most were 6-15 inches long with two pretty 18 inchers. It was a lot of fun!
Next we did the short 1/4 mile hike to Luce. We used the same tactics and caught five rainbow trout, 15-18 inches long. Each one was strong and rocketed out of the water after being hooked. The rainbow trout from Luce could have towed the cutthroat trout from Hogan all over the place! I noticed fresh bear tracks on the trail. Later, two other fisher people confirmed that a black bear had been roaming the area and they had also seen a couple of rattle snakes! Due to the recent cold weather, that came as a surprise. After that, we scanned the ground carefully, leery of the venomous critters. Thankfully, we didn’t see any and had a great day of fishing!
Fighting a nice one at Hogan Reservoir / An 18 inch cutthroat trout! Note the unusual yellow belly and fins.
A 17 inch rainbow trout from Luce Reservoir / Arleen fighting one at Luce / A nice rainbow trout for Arleen!
On 15 Sep we hiked to the top of Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone National Park with Christian and Alayne…
We met Christian and Alayne in the campground the evening prior and made plans to do a hike. They have been traveling in a small motorhome for about 18 months. Unlike most full-time RV’ers who are older and retired, they are young and just scraping by as they “workamp” to fill financial gaps. They have a great blog:
The RV Nomads
We chose to hike Avalanche Peak on the east side of Yellowstone National Park. The roughly five mile hike is tough with over 2,000 feet of climbing.
We started at about 8,500 feet just east of Sylvan Lake. The first half of the trail climbs steadily through a lush evergreen forest. We were a little nervous about running into large four-legged critters so we repeatedly clapped and said “hey bear, go away bear”. We didn’t see any bears but shared the trail a couple of times with deer. We also spotted a few chanterelle mushrooms…one of our favorites! It was hard, but we abided by park rules and left them in the ground.
We took a break before we left the forest and headed up the exposed scree slope. The trail was still good, but the footing was tricky on the loose rocks. Thankfully the recent snow was pretty much gone, however, the winds were howling! We gladly took a long rest in the first wind break along the ridge. The “U” shaped belly-button high, rock wall provided a comfortable stop with an incredible view.
We hesitantly continued to the top. It was just a short climb, but we were completely exposed to the 30-40mph winds. Braving the winds was worth it! The 360 degree view from the 10,600 foot summit was spectacular. Hazy skies prevented us from seeing the Tetons to the south, but we were blown away by the view of Jackson Lake and the Absaroka Mountains. There were two or three more wind breaks that allowed us to get comfortable after posing for some pictures.
The trip down went smoothly and we were thankful to be in the trees and out of the wind. We even had to shed a layer of clothes as it got comfortably warmer.
Meeting good folks like Christian and Alayne is truly a benefit of living on the road. This was an excellent adventure that was even better with their company!
Hike route to the top of Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone National Park / Chanterelle mushrooms along the trail!
Being silly near the top of Avalanche Peak
Hanging out in a wind break far above Yellowstone Lake / Walking the ridge along Avalanche Peak
At 10,600 feet in Yellowstone National Park!
On 17 September I fished the North Fork of the Shoshone River by the campground…
The campground owners have a couple of hundred yards of river access, but due to liability issues, they rarely allow access. They hesitantly gave me permission after I convinced them that I would be careful, release the trout, and not sue them if something went wrong.
It was very pleasant…a rare fall day with warm temperatures and light winds. The cottonwood trees were aglow in gold and the good-sized river flowed clear…a beautiful contrast to the mostly barren, rugged terrain.
I caught 10-15 rainbow trout, mostly 6-14 inches long with a couple big ones that were 18-20 inches. They were thick-bodied, colorful, strong trout that put up a splashy fight. The big ones were hard to handle as they used the current to their favor. Most of them hit either a grasshopper fly or a parachute adams fly. It was so much fun to see those trout materialize from the depths and hammer my floating flies! I hooked the biggest trout swinging a big black woolly bugger through a deeper pool. My fly stopped, I set the hook, and that big guy took off. He put on a good show as he danced across the top of the water…it was a good battle and a fun afternoon of fishing!
Fishing the North Fork of the Shoshone River / A pretty rainbow trout that nailed my dry fly!
Fighting a good one amongst autumn’s splendor
On 19 Sep we fished East Newton Lake…
The Newton Lakes are just six miles northwest of Cody. West Newton Lake is managed as a “put and take” fishery and is a popular place to bring kids. East Newton Lake has special regulations that allow fishermen to keep just one trout that must be over 22 inches. We like those kind of rules! That usually means that there are a bunch of 18-21 inch trout. It also means that they can be tough to catch, but when you hook one, hold on!
We wanted to get the kayaks on the water, but 15-25mph winds would make it too tough to fish. So we put on our waders and positioned ourselves with the wind at our backs. The decent sized lake is a shallow bowl that has a lot of aquatic vegetation that harbors tons of insects, that feed the glutinous trout. It’s tough to fish from the bank. You just hope the trout are feeding within a long fly cast. Thankfully, the best time for that is spring and fall with shorter days and cooler temperatures.
The willows and cottonwoods were golden yellow and rustling in the gusty wind. We went the hopper/chironomid technique that worked so well on Hogan and Luce lakes. My first trout, a 20 inch rainbow, gently slurped my grasshopper from surface. It took off on a couple strong runs and it took me awhile to subdue it. The rainbow trout was thick bodied and blushed with the tell tale red stripe along its sides and gills.
The fishing was slow, but steady. We had three or four opportunities each hour, sometimes hooking them and sometimes missing them. Just a couple of them hit the floating hopper. Most hit the chironomid about 20 inches below. We ended up catching five or six that were 14-20 inches long.
East Newton Lake is a good one! If I lived in Cody, I’d fish it a bunch.
Willows changing color at East Newton Lake / A colorful 20 inch rainbow trout
Arleen fighting a biggun at East Newton Lake
On 20 Sep we hiked near the campground…
It was windy, but we needed some exercise so we hiked the Four Bear Trail that begins across from the campground.
The first mile or so is relatively level before it takes a left turn and heads up Jim Mountain. It gets fairly steep and the trail has a bunch of loose rock…it’s pretty tough. It had been warm for a few days, so we were leery of rattle snakes but didn’t see any. The view over the Shoshone Valley was excellent. Some of the bushes had turned flame orange and were very pretty against the mostly desert-like landscape. We walked about two miles up, gaining 700 feet the last mile, turned around, and walked back. We enjoyed the view and got a much needed workout.
On the Four Bear Trail near Wapiti WY / More fall colors in the Shoshone canyon
On 24 Sep Ellen arrived and we did the Cody Trolley Tour…
Arleen’s mom, Ellen, drove from her home north of Billings, Montana, to spend a couple of days with us. We made plans to do the Cody Trolley Tour that afternoon. The tour runs two or three times every day during the summer. Our tour was the very last one of the season!
It was fun and informative. Both the driver and guide tell stories and jokes as they talk about Cody’s history and the area’s geology. They show pictures of Cody’s early years and pass around items relevant to their discussion. Ellen was hilarious when she got a hold of the old revolver…don’t mess with this grandma!
After the tour we had a really nice dinner at the historic Irma Hotel, built by Buffalo Bill Cody in 1902. The food was good and the place just oozed with history.
The sun was setting on our way home. A few miles west of Buffalo Bill Reservoir, we noticed a few cars pulled off the road. They were watching a hundred elk grazing in a recently cut field by the river. The cow elk and youngsters gorged peacefully while the bull elk showed early signs of the testosterone-filled rut. They pranced back and forth, bugled, and kept a close eye on the other bulls and their future mates. It was quite entertaining!
The following week was warm and we slept with our window open each night. Bugling elk serenaded us to sleep a couple of times…it was very memorable!
We really enjoyed the Cody Trolley Tour!
A big bull elk rounding up his harem
Short video of elk bugling near Wapiti, Wyoming on 24 September 2014
On 25 Sep we went to Yellowstone National Park with Ellen…
Our goal was West Thumb Geyser Basin on the west side of huge Yellowstone Lake.
It was a lengthy 80 mile drive from our home in Wapiti, but it was very pretty. We kept a close eye out for critters and saw a few deer, elk, and a big horn sheep. The first steam plumes reminded us that we were on one of the world’s largest supervolcano calderas.
The West Thumb Geyser Basin has at least 18 named thermal features and a bunch more that aren’t named. The easy trail is mainly boardwalk that totals about 3/4 mile around two loops. We were there in the “off season” and there were still bus loads of people! A couple of times we found ourselves between crowds and it was peaceful. The crystal clear pools, towering steam plumes, and gurgling vents were amazing! My favorite was the “Fishing Cone” because of its history of old timers catching a trout, and then dipping it in the boiling water. Cooked trout just seconds after catching it…very cool!
Later that evening we went to Dan Miller’s Cowboy Music Revue in Cody. Dan Miller has been doing the show for 10 years. It features four talented musicians singing mostly older country songs. It’s also sprinkled with some unexpected funny stuff and a couple of sing-along songs. I think everyone sung “Home on the Range” loudly and proudly! We really enjoyed the show and would gladly see it again.
Entering Yellowstone’s east entrance / A lone elk cooling in Yellowstone Lake
The colorful pools of the West Thumb Geyser Basin
Posing by the pretty Abyss Pool / The famous Fishing Cone
Lakeshore Geyser bubbling in Yellowstone National Park
Wendy, Hannah, and Dan putting on a great show
On 27 September we fished the Shoshone River below the dam and had a nice afternoon with Anne, Ardie, Sean, and Eric…
It was windy with rain expected by dinner time.
We spent the first half of the day fishing the Shoshone River a couple of miles below the dam. Thankfully the 15-30mph winds were blowing upstream in my favor. I caught about 10 rainbows, 5-14 inches long. They were hitting nymphs fished deep right along the bank.
Arleen chose not to fight the winds, and hiked along the pretty canyon instead. She kept the camera and took a bunch of pictures of kayakers and me.
Arleen’s friends, Anne, Ardie, and their two sons, visited from Billings, Montana. We met them that afternoon and did a pleasant three mile hike along the Shoshone River in Cody. Then we walked around Cody for a bit and they treated us to an excellent dinner at Adriano’s.
Fishing the Shoshone River below the dam
Kayakers playing on the Shoshone River
On 29 September we fished East Newton Lake…
We went back to East Newton Lake to target the big trout. Unlike last time, the winds were more manageable and we got the kayaks on the water.
The results were similar. It was steady, but slow with three or four opportunities each hour. We caught five or six rainbows that were 14-18 inches long. Most of them hit a chironomid fished slow and deep, but a couple hit a leech fly. The bigger trout actually tow the kayak and spin it around…it’s a lot of fun!
Kayak fishing East Newton Lake / Fighting a big trout
A nice rainbow trout from East Newton Lake
On 3 and 4 October we went to Yellowstone National Park to fish the Lewis River…
The three to four mile long Lewis River, or “channel”, connects Shoshone and Lewis Lakes. Each fall, usually in October, many brown trout leave the lakes and enter the river to spawn. The colorful browns average 15-22 inches with fish 25-30 inches taken every year. It’s one of the best places in the country to tangle with a truly huge trout!
Fish usually start to enter the river the last week of September, but they are most numerous the second half of October. Unless…It’s been a warm fall! There had only been two winter-like storms in the last three weeks. Otherwise, it had been pleasantly warm.
As we gathered our gear at the trailhead, we spoke to other fishermen that were leaving. Their report, “Slow, not many fish in the river”. And even more ominous, “This time last year, we were practically kicking them out of the way”! It was certainly not what we wanted to hear, but we stayed hopeful.
Our goal was about 4.5 miles up the trail. The trail snakes mostly through the woods and occasionally follows the shore of Lewis Lake and the river. It also undulates up and down and we were surprised to wrack up a thousand feet of climbing over the roughly 10 mile route.
Lewis River hike route
As with anywhere in Yellowstone, we had to be cautious of big four-legged critters. Elk can be dangerous during the fall rut. Bison can be unpredictable and ornery bears can pop out of nowhere. We didn’t want to surprise any of them so we regularly let them know we are there. We saw elk and deer tracks, but no bear or bison sign.
And the fishing? “Slow, didn’t see too many fish.” But I did briefly hook an 18-20 inch brown! Arleen sat on a rock perched about 20 feet above the river and was a great spotter. She spotted an occasional trout and told me where to cast. She saw the one fish hit and watched the brief fight from above. It was exciting for both of us!
The most memorable part of the adventure were bugling elk. Multiple elk serenaded us all day long! There were a couple on each side of the river that were quite vocal…it was so cool!
We slept in our truck that night at the Lewis Lake campground. On the way there, we were treated to a spectacular sunset over Lewis Lake. Check out the picture below…
The temperature dropped to about 25 degrees that night, but we were comfortable. We were slow to get out of our warm sleeping bags and didn’t start our hike until 11:00. In two days, we hiked over 20 miles, and our bodies were tired. During the drive, we saw a grizzly bear, a black bear, bison, deer, and a bunch of elk. Though we failed to catch a big brown trout, it was a hell of an adventure!
Lewis Lake and the Tetons
Fly-fishing the Lewis River / Arleen posing on a rock point of the Lewis River
Sunset over Lewis Lake, Yellowstone National Park
Misc…
It’s “Shoulder Season”…our favorite time of year! Shoulder Season is the month after Labor Day and the month before Memorial Day. The weather is variable, but it’s usually comfortable. It can snow one day, and be 70 degrees just two days later! Kids go back to school and summer vacations are over. Campgrounds empty and the wilderness feels more like wilderness. It’s peaceful and we love it!
Empty campground during the “Shoulder Season”…our favorite time of year!
Next…
We will spend one week in Thermopolis, Wyoming to check out the famous hot springs and fish the Wind and Bighorn Rivers.
Parting shots…
A group of pronghorns feeding near Buffalo Bill Reservoir
Two momma pronghorns with their four youngsters laying in the grass / The daddy pronghorn
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park on 3 October
A brilliant spot of fall color with Pilot and Index Peaks looming high above
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