Hansen Dam Lower Lake Turned Into a Spiritual Journey LOL

[camdozer]

So as I stated earlier on this forum, I've been intending to go ninja fish the lower lake at Hansen Dam for some time now, and I finally got out to do it yesterday. What started as a simple relaxing day in my fold up chair next to the banks of the water, turned into a journey, a quest of personal discovery.

I went down to the waterfront and found an alarming number of fishermen there, especially considering everything I've hears and read about it being illegal. I start walking the wooded path along the water in hopes of finding a more secluded spot. This is a fairly treacherous little path that's only maintained by the footsteps of those who walk it, so it got a little gnarly, and I found several spiders crawling on me along the way. It was kind of awesome and made me feel like I was doing it "the old fashioned way" or something along those lines. Just a dude who stumbled on some water and went hunting for freshwater game in it.

Finally after about a 45 minute hike through the muck and the mire, I find a perfectly secluded little sandy beach with lots of cover for the fish in all directions. I believe it was on the southwest side of the lake, as my GPS was not having fun in the trees and could never seem to give an accurate location. I unfold the chair, crack open the red bull and the snacks and drop bait.

I bought some nightcrawlers, figuring those would be the most universal bait in there since I had heard it's mostly carp and the occasional lmb that live in there. I get some nibbles on my worms every time I cast, but only manage to land two carp, pictured below. I suspect I was being nibbled by little guys because they definitely weren't strong strikes until the two that I managed to bring in. Anyway, around 1 o'clock I decided it was time to go home to the wife.

And then it began, my suburban walkabout. I followed the path I that I was pretty sure got me where I was going, and stumbled upon a creek that I did not see on my way in... I was clearly heading a different direction than I had intended. I look at my map, despite the inaccurate readings on my current location to find said stream and then navigate my way back to the parking lots. I found the stream on the map and felt as though I had gathered the necessary information to reach home. Turns out I had misidentified WHICH stream I was at.

I cross the little brook and head further along a path that I was quite sure would get me home... only the reach the stream again. It was not the same part of the stream, but I knew I shouldn't find that stream again if I was in fact going the direction I should be travelling. I cross the stream again and take a turn at the next opportunity that should lead me home.

The stream again. Now the path is following alongside the stream. I notice horseshoe tracks in the mud and decide to follow those. Surely they must lead to some sort of civilization as my GPS is still saying I am in the middle of the Lower Lake, i.e. actually on a boat out there.

An hours hike and I see my first sign of humanity... a giant power line. I hear the faint humming of cars rolling by. "That must be the 210!" I exclaim to myself. Hope! It was, but the new problem was that I was going UNDER it...

Desperately clinging to my confidence and running out of water, I press on heading East of the freeway. I start to see some horse properties and another bridge ahead. "Please be Foothill Blvd." One more check of the GPS...

Eureka! It's Foothill! I now know where I am, on Foothill Blvd. just south of Conover St.

I am fenced in, and now surely tresspassing. A moment's panic. I reach the fence, throw everything over to the other side (I was careful with the rods lol), and climb. I thought reaching this point was difficult, but the hardest part of my quest had yet to come as I was now out of water and still a great distance from my car.

I walked for what felt like miles, pushing myself one step at a time, forcing myself to recall the voice of my old football coach yelling "Dig deeper, Reed!!!" Finally I arrived back at the intersection of the 210 and Foothill Blvd, knowing I was mere minutes from my car, from salvation.

The car was hot. God damn was it hot. The AC took FOREVER to actually start blowing cold air. Finally, I headed home at about 4:00 p.m. (my initial decision to head back was at about 1:00 p.m. you'll recall), dog tired but spiritually enlightened. I had reached to the deepest parts of my spirit and pulled out the strength to find my own way, to stand on my own two feet. I did not hail any drivers. I did not call for help. I simply marched on.

My wife laughed at me when I told her the story, and said I was a real jackass for not just calling her once I got back to the street. She just doesn't understand what this became in my mind. I was not merely searching for my car. I was searching for myself, and recalling a human strength I had forgotten I possessed.

*******

LOL ok, so back to writing normally, I am an idiot who got lost at a tiny lake HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. In hindsight it was actually a pretty awesome adventure. Also, it was only a 3 hour hike. I'm just reeeeeallllly out of shape! Were the two carp worth it? Probably not, but I don't regret a minute of it!

[shinbob]

Holy crap that is a harrowing tale! That's some Man vs. Wild stuff there, a survival situation while in the middle of 1 million people!

Did you really go all the way to Foothill and Conover, by the giant church there (that's my church, BTW). If so, that's a hell of a hike. Sounds like you followed Big Tujunga instead of Little Tujunga. You're lucky you missed the torrential downpours yesterday, you might have been washed back down to the lake and had to start all over.

[camdozer]

Yeah, that was the first intersection I came to when I started walking up Foothill. I did see the big church, and a lot of horse properties and stables along Foothill. It never rained on me, but it start getting really muggy a bit into my hike. A crazy downpour may have been all it took for me to submit and call the wife for a ride, lol!