So I had the weekend all to myself for once, and decided to do a quick overnighter somewhere. Wanted to check out a local stream to get a little fly fishing in. My stepson decided to join in on the festivities. Brought the pooch too. Picked out a place off of an old oil road where it got close enough to the stream that we could bushwhack in.
Weather had been great all week (for the past few weeks, really), but the night before a big storm system has gone through. Hoping the river wasn't in too bad of shape, we headed out.
Start of trail:
We slogged through the forest OK, but as we got further down towards the river, we encountered a lot of deadfall and swampy areas. managed to get to the river OK, and found an area to set up.
Somebody found the river:
The elusive dogfish:
Brought some tools (duh, of course); first up was the trusty BK4 to make a bough bed for under my hammock, so I can stand, and the dog has somewhere to sleep off of the mud. Then I set up my Hammock:
After the sleeping areas were tended to, we hit the river. But just as I had feared, the was high and muddy and fast. Not the best for fishing. Went out anyways to try.
Didn't catch a thing, and to top it all off, a huge storm cell came through as we were up the creek. Got pelted with hail as we were trying to get back, and we both managed to get dunked in the even faster flowing water.
Got back to camp, changed clothes and started processing some wood for a fire.
Coffee's on:
Evening was spent around a smoky fire, eating non descript freeze dried meals and drying our clothes.
The next morning, the sun was out in full force. got better fire going this time, cooked up some breaky, and enjoyed the scenery.
Showdown across the river:
Tried a little more fishing, but the river was still in poor shape. Went back to camp for some lunch.
Packed up just as another storm cell was heading in. Managed to slog our was through the swamps, over all the deadfall, and back up to the truck. Slowly. I managed to step into a seemingly innocent soggy patch of land and sink damn near up to my nipples in swampy water. Still showering that stink off...
Anyways, still had a fun time. I'll leave you with this parting shot of the Machax in its natural environment:
Thanks for looking!
Weather had been great all week (for the past few weeks, really), but the night before a big storm system has gone through. Hoping the river wasn't in too bad of shape, we headed out.
Start of trail:
We slogged through the forest OK, but as we got further down towards the river, we encountered a lot of deadfall and swampy areas. managed to get to the river OK, and found an area to set up.
Somebody found the river:
The elusive dogfish:
Brought some tools (duh, of course); first up was the trusty BK4 to make a bough bed for under my hammock, so I can stand, and the dog has somewhere to sleep off of the mud. Then I set up my Hammock:
After the sleeping areas were tended to, we hit the river. But just as I had feared, the was high and muddy and fast. Not the best for fishing. Went out anyways to try.
Didn't catch a thing, and to top it all off, a huge storm cell came through as we were up the creek. Got pelted with hail as we were trying to get back, and we both managed to get dunked in the even faster flowing water.
Got back to camp, changed clothes and started processing some wood for a fire.
Coffee's on:
Evening was spent around a smoky fire, eating non descript freeze dried meals and drying our clothes.
The next morning, the sun was out in full force. got better fire going this time, cooked up some breaky, and enjoyed the scenery.
Showdown across the river:
Tried a little more fishing, but the river was still in poor shape. Went back to camp for some lunch.
Packed up just as another storm cell was heading in. Managed to slog our was through the swamps, over all the deadfall, and back up to the truck. Slowly. I managed to step into a seemingly innocent soggy patch of land and sink damn near up to my nipples in swampy water. Still showering that stink off...
Anyways, still had a fun time. I'll leave you with this parting shot of the Machax in its natural environment:
Thanks for looking!
. He's a husky-collie mix.
