33 years deep into my annual Sierra trip I've come to find that the bounty my 3 wt. provides is just icing on the cake. History has taken pole position.
This year we paid a visit to one of Plumas County's finest historic dig sites - the Round Lake Mine.
We stumbled across this old miners camp. With nearly 150 years of Sierra snowpack, it's seen better days. It was clear that these guys were not exactly spearheading any green movement - as evidenced by the amount of food and drink cans that littered the site.
These SOB's sure did work hard though. This particular shaft was 300 feet deep. Most of the work done with a sledge hammer, chisel bit, and gun power.
Even with the tailing slides, the lake produced several hungry brookies.
And, a 1908 Tin Lizzy engine block.
The hike gave me time to explain to my 16 year old sister how a little history lesson can be more fun than texting.
Our reward for this 7.5 mile hike was a rotund helping of Rathbun's not so famous ribs.
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