Spring has Finally Sprung
Saturday May 7th found me on highway 95 headed south. I had the bed of the truck full of camping and fishing supplies and a vague idea of where I was headed. Rod had indicated a place called Spring Valley out of Troy (Idaho) that would be a great place to spend a weekend just fishing and relaxing...so I was headed there.
The trip seemed to fly by and pretty quick I was on roads I've never seen and getting excited to see this reservoir that was supposed to be phenomenal fishing. Well, once there, it was very apparent that I would never be able to survive. First of all it was CROWDED. People in house-sized RVs, some tents, folks on the docks, and the reservoir itself was just a small pond (think White Sands for those of you familiar with Powell.) Plus, I was in need of more trees around a potential camp so I could rig up tarps against the anticipated rain. No good.
I poked my way out to the main road and had to make a quick decision. Left would take me to St. Maries and the St. Joe...but I knew you couldn't get too far up the Joe before the road was closed. Recall last year's trip up there...not bad but not great either. The plus was that it would be closer to home i.e.) less driving. Turning right would take me south toward Kendrick and eventually the Clearwater and the Selway. Didn't take me long to decide and before I knew it I was headed south.
I came up out of a valley and had three messages waiting on my phone and two of those were from work!! WTF? So I called the guy at work and asked if it was so critical that I came in immediately...he said no, he just wanted to give me a heads up for the following week. Hmm, waste of time much? People get pretty excited about things around my office. The other was from Sarah telling me how much she wanted to be with me, camping in the rain, and generally just milling around the wet woods. She apologized for not being able to make it, but it was totally understandable. SOMEONE has to take care of the wedding stuff!! ;)
Well, I hit Kendrick and then took another road that I wasn't familiar with...the Cavandish road that leads up and over hill and dale...eventually dropping you at the fish hatchery in Orofino. It's a slow, curvy, but scenic road that takes out going through Moscow, down the Lewiston grade, and that whole mess. I liked it, plus the traffic was light. After a couple hours I made it to Two Shadows and wandered around for a bit. For some reason it just wasn't working for me that time, I needed less traffic and more privacy for a relaxing weekend...which only leaves the Selway!
So I went up to the Falls and the end of the road scoping out campsites along the way. Fortunately, the camp that Rachel, Krista and I had on our first night of the Crags trip was open, so I dropped into that fairly quick! It's a nice little place tucked into the trees with a BIG beach, it's own toilet and a picnic table. And the sun was starting to shine...perfect!
Saturday afternoon
Not too shabby!
My view downriver...look familiar?
View upriver
After getting camp set up, I hauled out my fishing gear and decided to throw some lures into the nice eddy near the camp. (I had forgotten my flyfishing gear.) That's when I noticed my reel handle was broken off! One of my big, unsecured boxes full of camping stuff must've got it on one of the many curves of the road down there. I dug out some "extreme tape" (which is like super-electricians-tape) and repaired it as best I could. It didn't do too bad, but every time I'd get a strike, I seemed to always pull the handle back off. Reeling in a fish without a handle on your reel is interesting...but it still worked. I hauled in some cutthroat and a single whitefish that I kept for dinner.
I seemed to be the only person on the river except for some bear hunters that cruised by once in awhile. It was a nice relaxing evening and the weather just kept getting nicer!
Until Sunday morning, when around 0700 it began to rain HARD. I got up and mosied around for awhile and decided if I was going to fish, I'd need a new reel...so I was off, headed for Dale's Cashway. New reel in hand I decided to stop by Smith Creek road and look for some morels...with no luck. Pounding rain. I stopped in Kooskia and called my Mom to wish her a happy Mother's day. Pounding rain. Made it back to camp and tried to fish in....the...POUNDING....RAIN. I had called Sarah from Dale's to let her know I was going to stay another night...counting on the rain to stop and the fishing to pick up again. I was confident it couldn't last all day!
Well, it didn't quit. The fishing stunk (I managed to pull in a single 5-inch cutthroat.) That got boring, so I pulled out the camera and got nice and muddy taking photos. While I was stomping around I managed to find the only morel of the trip...almost stepped on it before I noticed it. It blended in with the grass it was growing in perfectly!
My only morel
Heart leaf
Not sure what this flower is...
Neat against the black background though...
Horsetail along Slide Creek
More horsetails
New growth
I always call this stuff skunk cabbage...even though it's not right. But it fits! (This is the young stage obviously.)
Well, that's about all that happened. The rain never stopped and I never really dried out. I DID discover some holes in the fly of my tent though! Made some nice wet spots on the inside...time to do some repair work I guess.
Kinda sums up my attitude. Cold, wet, and lonely...plus you can see the rain!
Cold, wet view upriver
I was up early Monday morning to the rain continuing to fall. I packed quickly and was on the road. Now, Highway 12 on a Monday morning isn't fun as it's full of commuters...by the time ONE person would get off my butt, another one was there to take his/her place. Consequently, I turned back up the Cavedish highway and took the backroads home. It took awhile to make it through Boville and the like, but I made it to St. Maries and then took the backroads the rest of the way home. It was great...good scenery and NO TRAFFIC!
I'm not sure if it's fortunate or not, but by the time I got home, the sun came out and I was able to dry all my gear prior to putting it away. It was nice to have company and some sunshine. Overall, it was a worthwhile weekend...always good to get out of town for awhile...even if it does rain the whole time.
The next week I went on a short hike and found some morels! Too bad when Sarah and I went back up there this past Sunday, there were very few to be found! (Someone must have been in there...it was barren.)
Not a lot for a couple hours of looking...
I'm happy to report that the weather is improving around here...as are everyone's attitudes. Amazing what a little vitamin D can do for a person! However, we've gone from snow and rain to 70-degree days! Winter to summer...hard to transition, but I'm NOT complaining!
The trip seemed to fly by and pretty quick I was on roads I've never seen and getting excited to see this reservoir that was supposed to be phenomenal fishing. Well, once there, it was very apparent that I would never be able to survive. First of all it was CROWDED. People in house-sized RVs, some tents, folks on the docks, and the reservoir itself was just a small pond (think White Sands for those of you familiar with Powell.) Plus, I was in need of more trees around a potential camp so I could rig up tarps against the anticipated rain. No good.
I poked my way out to the main road and had to make a quick decision. Left would take me to St. Maries and the St. Joe...but I knew you couldn't get too far up the Joe before the road was closed. Recall last year's trip up there...not bad but not great either. The plus was that it would be closer to home i.e.) less driving. Turning right would take me south toward Kendrick and eventually the Clearwater and the Selway. Didn't take me long to decide and before I knew it I was headed south.
I came up out of a valley and had three messages waiting on my phone and two of those were from work!! WTF? So I called the guy at work and asked if it was so critical that I came in immediately...he said no, he just wanted to give me a heads up for the following week. Hmm, waste of time much? People get pretty excited about things around my office. The other was from Sarah telling me how much she wanted to be with me, camping in the rain, and generally just milling around the wet woods. She apologized for not being able to make it, but it was totally understandable. SOMEONE has to take care of the wedding stuff!! ;)
Well, I hit Kendrick and then took another road that I wasn't familiar with...the Cavandish road that leads up and over hill and dale...eventually dropping you at the fish hatchery in Orofino. It's a slow, curvy, but scenic road that takes out going through Moscow, down the Lewiston grade, and that whole mess. I liked it, plus the traffic was light. After a couple hours I made it to Two Shadows and wandered around for a bit. For some reason it just wasn't working for me that time, I needed less traffic and more privacy for a relaxing weekend...which only leaves the Selway!
So I went up to the Falls and the end of the road scoping out campsites along the way. Fortunately, the camp that Rachel, Krista and I had on our first night of the Crags trip was open, so I dropped into that fairly quick! It's a nice little place tucked into the trees with a BIG beach, it's own toilet and a picnic table. And the sun was starting to shine...perfect!
Saturday afternoon
Not too shabby!
My view downriver...look familiar?
View upriver
After getting camp set up, I hauled out my fishing gear and decided to throw some lures into the nice eddy near the camp. (I had forgotten my flyfishing gear.) That's when I noticed my reel handle was broken off! One of my big, unsecured boxes full of camping stuff must've got it on one of the many curves of the road down there. I dug out some "extreme tape" (which is like super-electricians-tape) and repaired it as best I could. It didn't do too bad, but every time I'd get a strike, I seemed to always pull the handle back off. Reeling in a fish without a handle on your reel is interesting...but it still worked. I hauled in some cutthroat and a single whitefish that I kept for dinner.
I seemed to be the only person on the river except for some bear hunters that cruised by once in awhile. It was a nice relaxing evening and the weather just kept getting nicer!
Until Sunday morning, when around 0700 it began to rain HARD. I got up and mosied around for awhile and decided if I was going to fish, I'd need a new reel...so I was off, headed for Dale's Cashway. New reel in hand I decided to stop by Smith Creek road and look for some morels...with no luck. Pounding rain. I stopped in Kooskia and called my Mom to wish her a happy Mother's day. Pounding rain. Made it back to camp and tried to fish in....the...POUNDING....RAIN. I had called Sarah from Dale's to let her know I was going to stay another night...counting on the rain to stop and the fishing to pick up again. I was confident it couldn't last all day!
Well, it didn't quit. The fishing stunk (I managed to pull in a single 5-inch cutthroat.) That got boring, so I pulled out the camera and got nice and muddy taking photos. While I was stomping around I managed to find the only morel of the trip...almost stepped on it before I noticed it. It blended in with the grass it was growing in perfectly!
My only morel
Heart leaf
Not sure what this flower is...
Neat against the black background though...
Horsetail along Slide Creek
More horsetails
New growth
I always call this stuff skunk cabbage...even though it's not right. But it fits! (This is the young stage obviously.)
Well, that's about all that happened. The rain never stopped and I never really dried out. I DID discover some holes in the fly of my tent though! Made some nice wet spots on the inside...time to do some repair work I guess.
Kinda sums up my attitude. Cold, wet, and lonely...plus you can see the rain!
Cold, wet view upriver
I was up early Monday morning to the rain continuing to fall. I packed quickly and was on the road. Now, Highway 12 on a Monday morning isn't fun as it's full of commuters...by the time ONE person would get off my butt, another one was there to take his/her place. Consequently, I turned back up the Cavedish highway and took the backroads home. It took awhile to make it through Boville and the like, but I made it to St. Maries and then took the backroads the rest of the way home. It was great...good scenery and NO TRAFFIC!
I'm not sure if it's fortunate or not, but by the time I got home, the sun came out and I was able to dry all my gear prior to putting it away. It was nice to have company and some sunshine. Overall, it was a worthwhile weekend...always good to get out of town for awhile...even if it does rain the whole time.
The next week I went on a short hike and found some morels! Too bad when Sarah and I went back up there this past Sunday, there were very few to be found! (Someone must have been in there...it was barren.)
Not a lot for a couple hours of looking...
I'm happy to report that the weather is improving around here...as are everyone's attitudes. Amazing what a little vitamin D can do for a person! However, we've gone from snow and rain to 70-degree days! Winter to summer...hard to transition, but I'm NOT complaining!
posted by geotracker12 at 8:51 AM
2 Comments:
Mmmm... Fresh morels and the Selway! Living the good life.
Z
This is interesting...Paul wrote this in a note the other day when I told him about this trip: "I would rather sit in the rain on the Selway than any place else on the globe that I have ever been."
Quite a place.
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