Thursday, September 5, 2019

Darren Exploring New Water

Darren Petersen got out for a bit of exploring some water he was unfamiliar with, a copy of Barry Mitchell's Trout Highway in hand.  He had his buddy Dean's Brittany along, Marten is a hard working hunting dog and he was impressed by his stamina and fearless approach to river crossing in places where most would think twice about.  Marten wasn't too interested in fish but kept the squirrels on their toes!

A smattering of mayflies and small lime and yellow stoneflies were active mid-day and migrating Wilson's warblers and Say's Phoebes darted out from the rock cliffs to fuel up on them.  The whitetail fawns are getting bigger but still have their spots and they saw a doe with twins.  The rock formations covered in moss and rugged cliffs were impressive and their day packs grew heavier as the guys hiked and collected interesting stones for our rock gardens back home.

The guys caught an even mix of Cutthroat and little Rockies.     

Marten growled several times in the darkness around the campfire and later from Dean's tent which made for a lighter sleep, my vivid imagination fretting about whatever the brittany was hearing.  The courage that bear spray and a long blade give in daylight in grizzly country is substantially diminished at night.  Darren laments that it makes a person feel alive being in situations where you might not be the top of the food chain.














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