We got up at 5:00 AM to get down to Phillips Junction early to catch warm showers before everyone else used up the hot water. PJ's showers are propane. After showers, we ate breakfast and picked up 4 days of trail food for the rest of the trip. It was an easy hike down to Fishcamp, but there were several "interesting" stream crossings. If you picked the right one, you might not even have to cross the stream at all.
Fishcamp is a staff camp situated at Waite Phillips (of Phillips 66 fame) fishing lodge. The program included a lodge tour, fly tying and lessons on how to cast. The staff picked up on Justin's prankful nature right away and wouldn't give him a break. After buying licenses, we tried our luck but no one from crew 1 caught anything. The flies were cool looking and made a nice addition to the hat. Word has it that the fish are trained and that that area is fished out. One report said that the fish just looked at the fly and swam away. Another said that the fish would go for worms.
The area was hit by a flood in 1962. You can see where the meadow stops and where the flood carved out a gully of rocks - a geologist delight. The area has many beautiful rocks of almost every type. We tented on the meadow just above the rocky gully. That evening, the advisers cooked dinner. Clark mixed while Rich stoked the stove. A brief shower showed up at serving time but quickly passed.
Today's quote from Justin: I feel nice. Oh, like sugar and spice.
