Rearview Mirror
The clock reads 4:15am. The alarm is set for 4:45am. A few minutes pass and I decide attempting to sleep any more is futile. Like a kid on Christmas, I still have trouble sleeping when I’m heading out early to hunt or fish. I toss and turn and often am up before the alarm goes off. It catches up with me later, but I’m always eager to get out the door.
As I sip coffee in the dark cab of the truck I see hints of pink on the horizon. Cruising down the two lane highway the world lights up with colors only seen during the first few moments of the day. Looking back I take a final look at the sunrise as I pull the boat towards the river. In these moments I am always filled with optimism for what lies ahead.
I am 67 years old and over decades of fly fishing I have had the opportunity to fish a lot of great places in the U.S. and Caribbean for virtually all the best fly fishing quarry. Now I mostly fish my home waters in the southern Appalachians. Yesterday, I got to fish a local trout stream that I could fish almost any time I want. Yet, when I woke up, the day was better than the day before. On the thirty-five minute drive to the stream, the excitement and anticipation raised me up physically and mentally. What is it about hunting for beautiful fish on the fly that is so special it creates such personal excitement over and over? For me, that never changes, which is a blessing I treasure.
Ralph, thanks so much for your perspective. It’s inspiring to hear that the passion continues to burn hot after so many years.
Very well said. The anticipation of hopping into the truck and heading out for a mission before dawn never fails to get me out of bed well before the alarm. Such a rad feeling. Trout season starts on our home waters tomorrow, and I will definitely be sleeping restlessly all weekend. Keep it up STS, love the posts!
Have an awesome day tomorrow and enjoy your sleepless night ahead! Thanks for the support.
Almost exactly the same story for me last weekend – alarm set 4:30am, up 4:05, rationally I should try to sleep for 25 more minutes, but then again rationally I shouldn’t be going to ride my bike in the spring snow and wind in the fog on Beaver Rim before the sun comes up. So, might as well get up and go and gain another 25 minutes to cover some ground that I wouldn’t have seen if my alarm would have woken me up. We should get together for an irrational morning sometime – I’m sure we can come up with a location that suits us both. 😉
Sounds like a plan Phil!