Tuesday, March 17, 2020

A Pool on a Stream in the Woods

I have been trying to get into this one pool on 18 Mile Creek (left) on the Chequamegon National Forest all winter. The first time I tried, in December, the trailhead hadn't been plowed yet and I couldn't get in past the plow berm. I tried again in February and I had a double snowshoe binding failure Finally, in early March I was able to get in after digging the Jeep out of the ditch it dragged me into. (right) Even with my good snowshoes, getting in there wasn't easy. The snow was still about 2 1/2 ft deep in the woods, what skiers call "corn snow." I was able to use my new Tiny Tenkara rod (below left) for the first time and got a nibble on a golden bead red dragon nymph. I also tried my Badger Tenkara rod, but it managed to snag on the one tuft of frozen grass at streams edge, and I lost the leader and fly. Was it worth all of that? Absolutely! 


Now we're in the midst of this COVID-19 thing, and we're being advised to avoid groups of people greater than ten. My wife is working from home because she can. My job doesn't allow that, so I essentially have at least two weeks off with pay, which would be so bad if the weather would just cooperate. I think the best way to avoid large numbers of people is to head into the backcountry. Now if I could just find someplace to go where the water is open and legal this time of year. I'll keep you posted.