Went up higher in elevation this week to a small lake at about 4,100 feet, hoping to find cooler temperatures and cooler water. There were small patches of snow around 4,300 feet and above, but no snow below that altitude. The road in was full of potholes, as bad as I've ever seen it. I thought this lake would be nice and cool, so I was surprised that the air temperature was quite warm at 74 degrees, but even more surprised to find the surface water temperature at 71 degrees. Must have been a temperature inversion, as the higher I drove, the hotter it became; the air temperature at Cayuse Pass was 84 degrees! Maybe the warm temperatures put the fish off the bite, as fishing was very tough and I only landed a 10 inch Tiger trout (not often that you'll find a Tiger in a high elevation lake):
But, at least I had a great view of Mount Adams from this lake:
Lots of wildflowers are blooming, like the White Avalanche Lilies near the melting snow:
And the Bunchberries around the lake:
Also saw some interesting birds up there, like Common Nighthawks (contrary to the name, in the middle of the day, not at dusk or night), Swifts (Black Swifts, I think, but they are hard to identify when they are zooming around at high speeds), Western Tanagers, Varied Thrushes, an Olive-sided Flycatcher (song sounds like "Quick! Three Beers!), a Turkey Vulture, Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Belted Kingfisher and a female Mallard with 10 ducklings.
Rex
I bet you made this up to make the rest of us feel better. It's always great to be out even on a slow day.