Brother Matt is one of my go to adventure partners. Whenever I have some hair-brained trip idea, he is one of the first I approach, and almost always says yes. While our days off don't always line up, we often make a point of driving the three hours through Yellowstone to meet up mid week. Even though one of us has to work, we often find time to wet a line or rip some single-track post/pre work. This week, Matt drove down on Wednesday afternoon, and I snuck out of work an hour early. By six we were gearing up on the local river with 2-1/2 hours of sunlight left.
It's finally spring here in Yellowstone country, and the snow melt and rain have risen and colored the rivers. Many people take one look at a dirty river and assume the fish aren't biting, or can't possibly see a fly; I am forever grateful for their ignorance. The recent lull in the sunny weather has brought the rivers down slightly, but still only have about a foot and a half of visibility. I caught a 20 inch rainbow on my third cast. Yes, it's not worth fishing a dirty river. Say at home!
We fished until dark, both catching some amazingly beautiful fish. I am constantly astounded by the beauty of the oncorhynchus (rainbow, cutthroat) and salmo (brown) genius. Simply awesome. The black bear, elk, mule deer, geese, beaver, and bighorn sheep we spotted that night were't too bad either.
Taking full use of the midweek adventure, we rose early on Thursday and hit the local trail system. A quick ten miles before work is a great way to start the day. Also scouted some future bike hunting areas for the fall. Midway through the ride, we swapped bikes. Matt's is about 8 years old. Not outdated per say, but his expression after riding my new whip was the best: "Holy $hit, this thing is f'ing awesome!" The bike industry has grown in leaps and bounds in the past 16 years. Sometimes you don't remember just how fast things change until you jump on another bike.
This week was a good reminder for me: Don't wait until the weekend to have fun. Adventures happen when you make them happen.
