Winter is here – it came early this year. I’m slow on the uptake and sold my fat bike – shit. The last few months of cycling were a blast. I got in some great local riding, dropped 14 minutes from my time at Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, and got lost but stayed happy at Heck of the North up in Northern Minnesota. For some reason, the north shore is where my spirit thrives. It’s rugged, unforgiving, and gorgeous. If I had one place to live, I’d likely choose there over some mountain town. What’s not to love about 110+ trout streams, endless trails, and endless logging roads to explore? I’m a sucker for remote simplicity.
Wrapping up the activity calendar was almost as heavily anticipated as the races themselves. Though it was fun, I was longing for some river time out west and a change of pace. The weather had slightly different plans. I flew into Seattle to join my bro on a long weekend adventure in Northern Idaho. We got to CdA late afternoon, did the last-minute adventure scramble through stores, and headed off to the North Fork of the Coeur d’ Alene. It was wet, cold, and had no signs of a break – though fly shops kept promising October caddis hatches.
It ended up being streamers, whiskey, and nymphs, punctuated by constant rain and snow. It was warmer chucking than it was doing anything else, so that we did as daylight allowed. Layers were soaked and I’m pretty sure we both reached the saturation limit on jackets, waders, and everything in between. Despite fickle weather and fickle trout, fall was in full bloom and brothers united for another type II adventure away from the daily grind. Mountain time is never bad.
I haven’t completely recouped my focus for events next year. That’s alright with 8 months of winter ahead. It’s been nice trail running, doing some cycling, and just relaxing. Soon enough I’ll put together the list for next year so I don’t miss out. In the meantime, I’ll await this latest snow to melt. Still holding out for a few more trail laps in November – we’ll see about that.
Wrapping up the activity calendar was almost as heavily anticipated as the races themselves. Though it was fun, I was longing for some river time out west and a change of pace. The weather had slightly different plans. I flew into Seattle to join my bro on a long weekend adventure in Northern Idaho. We got to CdA late afternoon, did the last-minute adventure scramble through stores, and headed off to the North Fork of the Coeur d’ Alene. It was wet, cold, and had no signs of a break – though fly shops kept promising October caddis hatches.
It ended up being streamers, whiskey, and nymphs, punctuated by constant rain and snow. It was warmer chucking than it was doing anything else, so that we did as daylight allowed. Layers were soaked and I’m pretty sure we both reached the saturation limit on jackets, waders, and everything in between. Despite fickle weather and fickle trout, fall was in full bloom and brothers united for another type II adventure away from the daily grind. Mountain time is never bad.
I haven’t completely recouped my focus for events next year. That’s alright with 8 months of winter ahead. It’s been nice trail running, doing some cycling, and just relaxing. Soon enough I’ll put together the list for next year so I don’t miss out. In the meantime, I’ll await this latest snow to melt. Still holding out for a few more trail laps in November – we’ll see about that.