Success is measured by the size and quantity of smiles.
Our family started skiing a few years ago and this weekend was our first adventure to a ski hill with a chair lift. We have been talking about an adventure to Mt. Timothy Ski Resort for a while now and thought a day of fishing Timothy Lake would be a great way to finish a fun weekend away from home.
We arrived at our cabin late Friday night. The road in was well marked from the highway which made navigation easy at night. Upon our arrival, we were amazed at how great the log cabin looked under the stars. The welcoming lights and day passes left on the table (previously arranged before our departure) kept us excited for a day of skiing soon to come.
Alarms were set, but not needed. We woke anxiously and ready to ski until our legs could not take it anymore. As we cooked up our bacon, egg and sausage breakfast to prepare us for a day on the hill, we watched from our cabin as the chair lift started making it’s morning test run. It was like Christmas morning. The boys quickly ate, then unpacked our ski gear from the Thule in our car and laid it all out front at the cabin deck. Stepping outside and into a set of skis was something new to all of us. We couldn’t stop smiling with excitement as we skied away from the cabin down to the chair lift.
While we were excited, we were also nervous about the chair lift. Thankfully, the staff were amazing and explained how it worked. They even slowed down the speed of the chair lift so we could safely load up for our first trip up the mountain side. Once on top, we waited to meet friends who had driven to the hill to meet us. What an amazing day!
The boys ended up skiing a few more difficult runs with their friends than Sarah and I. We both grew up close to the mountains, but did not have much experience skiing. Thankfully, our boys have learned how to ski with multiple trips to our local ski hill Troll Ski Resort and are now teaching us.
We picked up stickers for the boys at the lodge. This has now become a tradition and they look forward to collecting stickers at each new ski hill we go to. Now to decide where to go next.
Since our adventure was focused more on skiing, we slept in (which was much needed after a long day of skiing). After another hearty breakfast we packed the car and said goodbye to the cabin. We will definitely be going back more than once to this great ski hill. I even question if my legs will allow me to use a T-bar again. A chair lift is worth the extra drive time.
We arrived at Timothy Lake later than anticipated, but the morning of family relaxation was well worth it. I was surprised at how steep the path was down to the lake and the parking lot was smaller than I had imagined it to be. Either way, the outhouse was amazing and a kudos is well deserved for those who built it. We unpacked the car and made sure everyone was able to carry everything down to the lake. Sadly, my truck needs new ball joints and we decided taking the car would be a safer option. Unfortunately, we were not able to fit the ice tent, sled and heater in the car as our bedding, pillows and bags took up a good portion of space.
We fished three different spots on the lake. Sadly, we did not mark any kokanee on our Garmin. We thought we had some, but instead we caught multiple species of coarse fish and even a rainbow.
I was amazed at how many coarse fish were in Timothy Lake. Everyone we talked to said it was not uncommon to catch 30 coarse fish in a day. Where did the kokanee go? One person we talked to was leaving with his limit and said he was sight fishing kokanee thru his ice shack. He said it was the only way to ensure you weren’t wasting your time unhooking coarse fish as they were all over the water column.
While we came home empty handed from Timothy Lake, I was reminded of some valuable core objectives and why I fish with my family. Everyone in my family was smiling on the ski hill and the lake. The ski hill smiles were definitely the biggest, but the smiles on the lake came a close second. Catching “a” fish was what put a smile on everyone’s face. To me, it’s the smiles that make it worth it. It’s not the size of fish that matters, but the smile a fish puts on everyone’s face that makes a trip successful.
Next time, I hope to plan more like I normally do. A map might have helped find fish more readily. Or, maybe having our ice tent and being able to sight fish might have landed us a few tasty land locked sockeye. Or, maybe I need to ask for help more often and learn what works for others on a new to me lake.
As we drove away and left for home, I couldn’t help think about what I could have done differently this trip. This was the second time this year I talked to someone about the lunar table and they believe that fishing can be slower after the full moon. Could there be truth to this? Will we go back and try our luck again and will the stars align (or moon)?