Over the course of 6 trips, in and out, and nearly 40 miles, I question whether or not it’s worth it.
The day is perfect. No one is on the river except us. Golden leaves adorn Cottonwoods along the bank. The sky is a deep blue laced with a few wispy clouds. Temps are in the low 60’s and there is nary a breath of wind. These days are rare. But everyone’s cranky. It’s nap time. Or, Read More
Glassing up hill I strain my neck to view through dead timber. Like a bunch of intertwined skeletons the trees offered little respite. Out of nowhere an ear and antler fills my view. A double take confirms it’s not an aberration. A third look and a glimpse of a royal tine the size of, Read More
How do you thank the animal that ignored your faults and saw in you, without exception, the person you wish you were?
Extended backcountry trips are part of the fabric of my DNA. My wife is no different. When we had kids there were no intentions of throwing that part of our lives away. Admittedly, we were rocked as much as anyone with the birth of our daughter and it wasn’t until she was two that we decided to head, Read More
Big Horn, Shoshone, Yellowstone, Madison, Gibbon, Firehole, Snake, Wind. This could be a tick list of must fish Western trout water or the index of a fly fishing guide book. Instead it’s a list of rivers I passed by this past weekend, without stringing up a rod. Yet I couldn’t be happier. With a, Read More
“Not a chance” I told my wife, when first approached with the idea. Born and raised on a Montana ranch, I wouldn’t be caught dead with a bunch of camelids. But with two small children and a wife who is highly persuasive my bravado quickly waned. Three years ago we embarked on our first, Read More
A picture of a young man hangs in my workspace. Four young men actually, but there’s one in particular looking directly into the camera and, as the frame’s orientation would have it, over my shoulder while I write. I knew this man to be, among many other things, a natural storyteller, so it’s a, Read More
He hung in there for six hours. Fueled by gummy worms, twizzlers, and blue gatorade, he flogged the water with a thrift store rod and an indicator. Taking occasional pause to point out a seagull, cow, or family of geese, his focus was unwavering. For the first time all year sun screen was more, Read More
I love to hunt and fish more than most. It’s an urge I can hardlyresist, and I pursue it with reckless abandon. But not all of my mostenjoyable moments happen on the river or in the mountains.Recently, I coached my daughter’s first soccer game. My dad, whocoached my first game nearly thirty years ago,, Read More