Annular Eclipse at Ruth Lake, Trinity Co., California

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Annular Eclipse at Ruth Lake, Trinity Co., California

Postby 46Kit » Wed May 23, 2012 3:27 am

I've driven past Ruth Lake several times over the years during the course of various classic car and classic motorcycle rallies I've participated in and always thought it was a place that would be nice to spend some more time at. Being a "space geek" the annular eclipse of Sunday, May 20th, 2012 provided the perfect excuse as Ruth Lake lay within the central path of the eclipse so the wife and I packed up the '46 Kit and headed up there on Saturday morning. It was a long drive from San Francisco, about 7 hours, but at least included a lunch stop at one of our favorite restaurants, Diavola Pizzeria in Geyserville: http://www.diavolapizzeria.com/

Arrived at Ruth Recreation Area Campground about 4pm and set up camp. Our site was nice with plenty of space, two fire pits, good shade and views of the lake.

Once things were situated I was able to pursue my other motivation for visiting Ruth Lake: fly fishing! I had been a keen fly fisherman from about the time I was in 5th grade until I graduated high school. When I went off to college lack of opportunity and equipment rather stymied my fly fishing activities, but after a 30 year hiatus I have recently returned to the sport. One thing's for certain, in the interim my fly casting technique has definitely suffered! Unfortunately fly fishing from the shore of the campground was nothing to write home about. The area seemed to be teeming with potato chip-sized bluegill and nothing else. Regardless, it was fun to get a line wet, work on throwing good loops and pull in a few fish even if none of them were keepers!

Sunday morning I got up early and worked my way along the lake shore till I was about half a mile from the campground, but still only tiny bluegill were going after my fly. As the sun got higher and shade on the water became sparse I started working my way back towards camp. When I got within sight of the campground I began to see some different fish that clearly were not bluegill. Trout, maybe? These were still not keepers, in the 7" and under range, but as I studied these new fish I saw a much larger specimen swim by along the shore! Tried to throw my fly out in front of it, but no dice as it just continued along it's way. Worked my way another 20 yards along the shore back towards camp when I again spotted the big fish patrolling the shallows as if it were looking for something to eat. Of course I obliged with my fly and after a few feigns (and my having to fend off a few over-eager bluegill!) the big fish took my fly and was on the hook! Once I reeled the fish in I realised that it was in fact a bass, not a trout and this created a bit of a dilemma for me as I was totally unprepared to have caught a bass. I'd been studying the fishing regulations for trout and crappie and bass was completely off the radar. The only thing I could remember about bass was that a lot of lakes seemed to have a 16" minimum size limit and this guy was only 12" or so. My unfamiliarity with the regs along with no knowledge of how to clean or cook a bass led me to unhook this specimen and put 'em back in the water. At least my wife got a pic before we let 'em go:

Image

After my fishing adventure we needed to procure some ice and fire wood to see us through the night so we hopped in the truck and drove down past the south end of the lake to see what was on offer at the Ruth Lake Store. Pretty slim pickin's as the business seemed to be more oriented towards the bar that was on the other side of the wall from the store so we headed back to get our provisions from the campground store (where we had stopped first, but wanted to see what else was available...).

On the way back we stopped off to check out some signs that I had seen posted in some meadows on the side of the road. The signs explained that the area was for Day Use only, that the land belonged to the Humboldt Co. Water Dist., was managed by the Ruth Lake Community Services District and that motor vehicles were prohibited along with an accounting of what a first, second and third offence would cost you. I took all this info to mean (in a rather round about fashion) that the area was public access to the Mad River so we hiked on down to check it out. The river was absolutely pristine with water that was aqua colored and clear as crystal to the bottom of the deep pools, I've never seen anything like it. Then I saw several good sized trout swimming around in the pool! They were beautiful and so well camouflaged that they were very difficult to see at all, almost like ghosts in the river! Unfortunately trout season does not open until the last Saturday of May on the Upper Mad River and that was the weekend following our visit so those gorgeous trout were off limits at the time. They did, however, inspire a mild case of "trout fever" in me and I will be back to get some, soon!

Once we were provisioned and back at our camp site we set about making dinner. Tonight's menu, Paella Valenciana: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/authentic- ... alenciana/
We cooked this dish over a wood fire in my 15" Lodge skillet. Couldn't find rabbit so just used a whole chicken. First attempt at this recipe and it could have used more salt, but all in all I say it turned out pretty well and had good flavor. Lucky for me because we were expecting friends to join us for the eclipse and dinner, but they never showed up so I'll be eating leftover paella for the next week!

The eclipse occured just before we put the food on the fire. The moon was completely in front of the sun for a little over three minutes from where we were viewing it and I gotta say it was quite a sight. I had brought my welding goggles so we could look directly at the eclipse instead of using a pinhole viewer. I was surprised that it didn't get darker considering that the moon was blocking 94% of the sun. Still an awesome experience in an awesome location and now I can hardly wait for the total eclipse who's central path will pass over central Oregon in 2017!

Regards-HW
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Re: Annular Eclipse at Ruth Lake, Trinity Co., California

Postby The Teardrop Nanny » Wed May 23, 2012 11:42 pm

Great post, thought I was reading a travel magazine piece. Nice details, '//////hw. Looking forward to meeting you in July!
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Re: Annular Eclipse at Ruth Lake, Trinity Co., California

Postby 46Kit » Sat May 26, 2012 12:22 am

Thanks, Joanie. Some people accuse me of being a little on the stoic side, but when it comes to writing it just seems to flow. I actually cut this story a bit short because I had to go somewhere that evening. Probably a good thing as otherwise it would have been T-M-I!

Looking forward to meeting you at IRG, too. Saw both you and Dean wandering around various times at the Dam Gathering and wanted to come introduce myself, but something was always going on that required my immediate attention and then I couldn't find you guys when I was free again. See you in July!

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Re: Annular Eclipse at Ruth Lake, Trinity Co., California

Postby The Teardrop Nanny » Sat May 26, 2012 2:10 am

:thumbsup: :yes: :ok:
Life's uncertain...eat dessert first. Check out our cooking channel for cast iron:
www.youtube.com/outdoorcastironcook Dean & Joanie, your hosts
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