Howdy folks. Ken Hanson and I recently took a jaunt down to Arkansas and Missouri to get away from the cold weather for a day or two and to try our luck on some of the famous Ozark's water. As with all trips with Ken, it was a delight - good music, great conversation, lots of laughs. The good news was the weather was fabulous, highs in the upper 60's, lots of sunshine. The bad news was we spent an inordinate amount of time trying read the road signs in Arkansas and Missouri. Folks, trust me. If you go down to that beautiful region, get a DeLorme map. Both states do not believe in road signs.As it turned out, the White was generating at four units (meaning it was running extremely high), and it was imposssible to wade fish at Bull Shoals, which was our objective. After a short deliberation, we passed on Bull Shoals and tried the tailwater at Norfolk. The water looked fine, but there were a lot of fishermen plying the waters. Ken and I started to put our gear on, but oddly enough, neither of us had good karma about the spot. So, we bailed on Arkansas and made a bee-line to the Current River, one on the nicest pieces of water in Missouri.
After a night of sleeping out along the river (I had to go to WalMart for a cheap sleeping bag), we fished the Current pretty hard the next day. The water was beautiful; there were a few other fishermen; it should have been great. But, I caught two trout and five chubs, and Ken caught one trout. As far as we could tell, no one was catching fish. In the end, Ken and I fished until dark and then drove twelve hours back to the Twin Cities. Were we disappointed? Not really. That's the nature of a road trip to new places. I don't think either of us regretted the trip, but we did laugh about our "fluid" plan. The next time we'll be sure to do a little more research, especially if we only have two days to fish.
We'll be sure to post our pictures, and we'll discuss it further on the next episode of FWJ. If anyone out there has a good story about a road trip gone awry, or about a road trip to that part of the country, we'd love to hear from you. Be well all, and remember: Always grease your nymph. It gives you something to do with your cold hands.
joe
5 comments:
Pointers for jumping in:
Drink heavily before and after but not during!
Coat your skin lightly with Vaseline or similar ointment so that you will shed water fast upon emerging.
Build the campfire, prepare a small warm meal and beverage, and set out the dry clothes BEFORE you jump in.
About the warm meal: a big meal will send all your blood to your stomach, leaving your extremities and your brain without an oxygenated blood supply. Winter camping, you need your wits about you! So make that one pack of Ramen Pride, not three!
Warm up 2 big granite rocks in your campfire. These can be put into 2 extra wool hats, and then into plastic bags. To warm up, put one down by your feet, and have one for your hands. Warm extremities make a happy camper.
Consider using this old saying sometime real soon: "Let's not and say we did!"
Thanks for the suggestions. Good stuff. I'm looking forward to the experience. We're just looking for the right weather window. I'll be sure to "grease up" in the spirit of the occasion. I have a long history of winter camping; it's mostly a love/hate thing. I'm always glad I did it, mostly after the fact.
joe
I loved the latest episode. Can't wait to try the beans and rice. I see you made some updates to your web page. Nice logo.
Enjoying Episode 25 here this morning, it's cold and getting colder. Reminds me of your upcoming camp trip, and thoughts of a polar bear plunge.
When I was a kid, we used to "push the envelope" to see how early in the year we could make it into the water in the St. Croix River. May Day was early enough, still really cold, but I had a friend that went in earlier than that. He lived on the river off Black Bass road, and kept an eye on the river. Sometimes he'd go in when there was still drifts of ice tinkling along the shore. This same guy is now getting ready to ship out to the wars again; one tough kid, now one tough 45 year old guy.
The morning of my wedding, April 8, I dove into the Rush though not over my head. That was a great baptism to prepare me for the day, and cold enough to jolt away any Bridezilla tendencies.
And of course, I have jumped in the snow after a sauna, and then, of course, jumped right out again.
Having been in, though never in a polar bear situation, my advice to you is do the polar bear and the winter camping on two separate trips.
You want to keep that old core temperature up at any cost. If you are steaming hot in the morning, you can do it then, right before you hop into the car to drive home.
So my advice about the dive? Don't do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful Bob Evans fingerstyle guitar this morning. So light. Reminds me of the magical glistening frost we witnessed on Saturday night. Was that frozen fog, frozen mist, airborne hoarfrost, fairy dust, what was it? I took my kid out in his jammies to see it.
Nicely said, Anonymous. Thanks for reminding us of the beauty of a winter's day. It's currently 15 below zero, and anything that can take us away from the misery of wakening to that is welcome indeed.
We are still waiting for that winter camping window. I'm looking forward to it. It's been two years since I've camped in the winter. It's time.
I'm currently reading Gretel Ehrlich's The Solace of Open Spaces, a beautifully written book about living in eastern Wyoming in the Powder River region. Her descriptions of the landscape are breathtaking. She refers to Wyoming's weather as capricious and mean, but her respect for the land is immense. She misses nothing. A reminder to me to be more observant.
Chris and I will be back in the studio soon. He's been working on some new songs, and I've just completed another essay. If things work out, perhaps we can share some new stuff.
Keep writing in people! We love to hear what you're thinking. Any suggestions for futute shows would be appreciated.
joe
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