Shelf Lake and Fishing

Last week I had a great camping trip with Tanya and her daughter Hannah. We camped at Chalk Creek Campground and wandered around the Buena Vista/Nathrop area. It is a beautiful area and I strongly recommend visiting it.

During that trip, I was able to have some successful fishing in at Chalk Lake. The fish were active and it was the best day fishing I’d had in a while putting me in the mood for some more.

Shelf Lake is a moderate 7+ mile hike I love to do especially since there are nice cutthroat fish in the lake. Normally I can catch at least a few so I thought it would be a good chance to get out, enjoy nice views, and fish!

First, some rambling background

The trailhead for Shelf Lake is located off Guanella Pass Road. This road has particular importance to me. Some 40+ years ago when I was a kid, my family took a trip out to Colorado. My wonderful Mom, as well as all us kids, wanted to take a scenic route when we were coming up from Colorado Springs. Dad wasn’t as keen on the idea but he was thankfully overruled. The “scenic route” we took was Guanella Pass Road up into Georgetown. We also took the Oh My God road too, which at that time was definitely a scary road.

In the late 1970’s, Guanella Pass Road was not the road it is today. It was a rough, gravel road that winded its way through the mountains. My sister was not happy because the drop-offs scared her. She had to take an inside seat just to survive the drive.

During that drive, I became convinced I wanted to live in Colorado. Once we got home, I started drawing up my dream home in the mountains, helipad included. My passion for the mountains never left me after that trip. While the home with helipad never came to fruition, I credit Guanella Pass Road with guiding me to the best place I’ve ever lived. It’s a paved, easy drive now, but still, it will always have a special place in my heart.

Onto the hike!

Weather had turned a bit cooler with a cold front moving through the area the previous night. While I was a little worried this might put a damper on the fishing, my enthusiasm built as I made the bumpy drive out to the Shelf Lake trailhead (4WD clearance highly recommended!). It was 53 at the trailhead and a pleasant change from the 90’s we’d been experiencing in Denver the past week.

Shelf Lake starts out with a relatively easy altitude gain and the trail is well marked. There are a couple of steeper sections on the way up but nothing too terrible. AllTrails ranks the trail as moderate which I think is accurate.

The beginning of the trail had quite a few downed trees across the trail. There were more downed trees after mile 2 as well. It reminded me of the strength of the wind, storms, and snow avalanches in the mountains.

Lots to see during the Shelf Lake hike

There were lots of flowers out and I tried to get several shots on the way up. If you’ve read previous posts, you know I like taking pictures of flowers. It’s important to me to appreciate the beauty around us in these mountains. I’m always surprised at the amount of plants living at high altitudes.

Views back to the valley are amazing as you start to approach the lake.

The streams were running strong.

The last bit of the trail involved some steep climbs, crossing snowfields and cresting the ridge with the view of Shelf Lake. You should be prepared for a lot of water on the trail the last quarter to half mile before the lake. The feeder streams follow the trail and there has been water on the trail every time I’ve hiked it.

One of the best moments of the hike was when I first arrived. No one was there and I was tying my fly on the line when I heard a baby sheep bleating in the mountains. I couldn’t spot it to take a picture but heard it on and off for about 5 minutes. Good to know there are baby lambs up there!

Fishing at Shelf Lake

Usually when hiking and fishing, I’ll pack my fly box and some tippet in my backpacking fly road case giving me a simple setup to bring along. This time I tried something different by packing waders and my fly vest in a small REI backpack my sons used to use for backpacking. The waders and vest only weigh about 8-10 pounds so it isn’t much weight to bring them along. It was a test to see how things work as I’d like to do this more often on the South Platte and other high lakes. Overall, the setup worked great so I’ll probably do this more often. It sure makes getting around the lake a lot easier.

It was pretty cold at the lake with a slight wind coming across, probably the low 40’s. There were several spots where I knew fish liked to hang out. I slowly waded out and spotted 4 pretty quickly. I cast right to them with a dry fly indicator and several different nymph droppers. Nobody was interested in anything I had to offer. 🙁 It seemed to me they weren’t feeding which could have been related to the cold front. It’s just as likely they were feeding but didn’t like what I was throwing but I’ll stick with the cold front excuse.

After trying several spots on the lake I decided to give up. I was getting pretty cold standing in the water next to ice chunks watching fish ignore my setup. It also looked like some more clouds were moving in and I didn’t want to get caught in a thunderstorm. That didn’t work out the way I wanted.

Some weather sneaks up on me

The ridge line of Shelf Lake is on the western side. There isn’t a good way to see what weather is coming until it’s on top of you. Right after getting packed, I noticed some dark clouds were quickly coming over the ridge.

Time to hurry things up a bit. Just as a went over the crest leaving the lake, I heard the first thunderclap. I knew it wasn’t right on top of me yet but the trail is pretty exposed for at least a half-mile to mile. What a great opportunity for trail running! 🙂 With an increased heart rate (jogging or lightning, you choose), I quickly sloshed through the muddy trail and snowfields.

There was only light rain and some sleet on the way down. The storms were just another example of the mountains teaching me humility. Nobody beats the mountains or their weather. They demand your respect.

Forest Service trail work

I met two Forest Service workers on the way down. They were clearing the trail of the downed trees. Couple of nice guys to chat it up with in the middle of the forest. Later, I was able to see their handiwork.

The Forest Service staff do such a good job with very few resources. Writing this reminds me I need to find some time to volunteer for trail maintenance.

Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn sheep are pretty common to see on the southern part of Guanella Pass Road. They didn’t disappoint as I saw a few on the way back including this one who seemed to be posing for my picture.

Shelf Lake Hike