Earlier this week, several members of Jorgenson Industrial Companies had the opportunity to leave the office a bit early and escape into the nearby Uinta Wilderness to decompress and not worry about locker sales for a few hours.
"It was great that our boss, Dustin Jorgenson, was willing to bring his ATVs in and take the time to haul us all of us up there for a great day of fishing," said IT Guru Jason Pearce. "It was very generous for him to take us."
The catch
Not a bad haul, guys! Five of the guys left the office and within a little over an hour they were at the trailhead unloading the ATVs—their mission? To arrive at a seldom visited lake called Little Elk Lake and from there, then proceed to pluck as many high mountain trout out of that lake that state fishing regulations would allow.
"It was fun to get to know everyone outside of work," adds Pearce. "I mean we know each other at work and all enjoy each other's company but this was sort of unique to be able to get away from everything."
Piling the gear and themselves into the two ATVs, the newly formed "Jorgenson Gang" headed up the narrow path towards the objective, sometimes at near break-neck speeds.
Lino enjoys the scenery
Lino Velarde takes a moment to enjoy the scenery.
"I was trying to keep up with Dustin who was driving his Razor going almost 100 miles an hour down the narrow dirt road," said Lino Velarde who works in the SchoolLockers.com Sales Department. "There these big drop offs right next to him and he sure knows how to drive that thing!"
River crossing
One of the many ponds/puddles the intrepid Jorgenson Gang had to crash through!
Crossing streams, scrambling over large boulders, hurdling small wildlife and essentially pushing forward over and around any and all kinds of obstacles, the guys arrived at this pristine lake.
Secret fishing hole
One of Dustin's secret fishing holes. The rest are secret–so don't ask. 🙂
Once the fishing poles were unpacked, each headed to what they believed would be the shoreline with the most prospects to land the big one.
Taking up positions
Taking up positions and surrounding the pesky and elusive fish, everyone picked a spot around the tiny lake.
"We were catching fish like crazy," said Dustin Jorgenson. "I mean everyone was having great luck and that is what made it so much fun."
Gregg makes a cast
Gregg Lowry makes a cast.
…However the day wasn't without incident. Mother Nature had a little surprise for the Jorgenson Gang.
Hail storm
"There was this BAD ASS hell storm," said Pearce. "It came in and then all of a sudden these pieces of hail fell that were the size of quarters."
Hailstones
Being pelted with these humdingers was clearly not part of the plan. Once the storm quickly passed, the hooks were again being dunked.
All in all, the guys from SchoolLockers.com had a day not to be forgotten soon. Here are some of the photos of our intrepid crew's catch.
Jason's tiger trout
Jason Pearce's unique and eye-catching tiger trout.
Gregg's big ones
Gregg Lowry pulled in some big ones.
High Uinta Mountain trout
One of the High Uinta Mountain trouts which we in Utah are so blessed to have here.
Big fins and bigger grins
Big fins…and even bigger grins.
Finally as the sun set, they mounted up again and sped through the darkness back to the car.
Heading back under the moon
Dustin Jorgenson leads 'em back to the corral.
So we just wanted to share with everyone that here at Jorgenson Industrial Companies, there is more to life than just punching the clock day in, and day out. We love being here in Utah and wanted to share a bit with all of you.
"We are a team, and a family and therefore the moments we share inside and outside work are important to me," said Jorgenson. "That is why I did this, to show the Jorgenson Industrial Companies employees that they are important and valued–It helps that they are great fishermen, too!"