Advise to young guys ( fishing related)

[JayB]

I don't disagree with Rob, but my advice is a little more expansive. To people of all ages: do it until you can't. I'm in the middle of planning another off trail backpacking trip into the Grand Staircase Escalante wilderness again this spring. I was so touched by my experience last year, I decided that if I ever wanted to do it again, sooner is better, and more probable, than later. At 74 I can still do this stuff. At 84, who knows? At some point I'll age out of doing these fun things.

And Rob, 700 vertical feet into and out isn't that big a deal, so long as it doesn't include any 150' rappels over the cliffs of insanity.

Got captivated by that place in my 20s.

This is one of my favorite passages that captures some of the magic of that landscape:

"Even after years of intimate contact and search this quality of strangeness in the desert remains undiminished. Transparent and intangible as sunlight, yet always and everywhere present, it lures a man on and on, from the red-walled canyons to the smoke- blue ranges beyond, in a futile but fascinating quest for the great, unimaginable treasure which the desert seems to promise. Once caught by this golden lure you become a prospector for life, condemned, doomed, exalted. One begins to understand why Everett Reuss kept going deeper and deeper into the canyon country, until one day he lost the thread of the labyrinth; why the oldtime prospectors, when they did find the common sort of gold, gambled, drank and whored it away as quickly as possible and returned to the burnt hills and the search. The search for what? They could not have said; neither can I; and would have muttered something about silver, gold, copper -anything as a pretext. And how could they hope to find this treasure which has no name and has never been seen? Hard to say -and yet, when they found it, they could not fail to recognize it. Ask Everett Reuss." ~ Edward Abbey

 

[JayB]

Well yeah, there are different levels of this. Some people do get obsessive. I thought we were talking about some backpacking for trout.

Probably multiple angles on the same topic, like most threads. I'm all for carpeing the diem and all that, and in some sense that's sound advice but you've still got to figure out how to navigate through most of the tradeoffs that keep everyone else from exploring all of captivating thin blue lines they might see on a map.

I think a more interesting and helpful thread would be hearing the strategies that people have used to get to a point where they feel like they were able to make the most of their youth and satisfy their yearnings for whatever adventures they were into and transition into a mature adulthood that they felt content with.

Most of the folks that I've run into that fit that description had a game-plan/foundation in place that allowed them to ski, fish, climb, paddle, sail, etc, etc, etc their brains out for a few years *and* a clear exit strategy that would allow them to transition to the next phase of their life when they felt like they'd had their fill, but that's just one of many strategies that I've seen people put to use to accomplish something similar.

 

[DimeBrite]

I like to keep a journal to collect ideas, big and small, for what I want to do in life. If something excites me or I hear about a new opportunity I write it down before it vanishes. Periodically I journal about how to make a few of those things happen over the course of the next year or several years. Then the fun of planning, preparing, visualizing begins. Activities that require some strength and stamina need to be prioritized of course. The biggest problem is that the more you experience the greater the thirst. New adventures and ideas multiply quickly. The journal seems to help me to make the decisions to act on a select few. Without journaling, I tend to drift into repetitious patterns that can be fun and comfortable, but are less rewarding over time. Finally, I try to leave room for the wild card. Say yes to least one or two things each year outside my known plans that are uncomfortable and "scary". Keep growing and learning. The hardest journeys that most of us never take are the inner explorations.

 

[NRC]

Also, as this still semi-young person recently learned - whatever it is, do it before you have a kid!

 

[TicTokCroc]

I have major guilt issues with leaving the wife and kids at home while I 'play.' I try to include them but they arnt... pioneer women let's say. My goal is to get out more this year though no matter what... with a renewed lease on life.

 

[Rob Allen]

I have major guilt issues with leaving the wife and kids at home while I 'play.' I try to include them but they arnt... pioneer women let's say. My goal is to get out more this year though no matter what... with a renewed lease on life.

Montana is very family friendly. Fish mornings and evenings and doing family stuff during the day...

 

[wetline dave]

I totally get where Salmo is coming from about pushing ones limits and at 74 he is still going strong and good for him. At 73 I was still gong strong but then over the winter las year the circulation in my lower legs went bad and now my walking distances are severely reduced.

The point being is that you don't know when the bottom is going to drop out so do it while you can.

Dave

 

[Matt B]

Go adventuring, ask the hot guy or girl out, but also take naps. Balance.

 

[Mossback]

Doing stuff is fun, going places is fun.
I'd encourage everyone to do it, and soon.
Haven't been to a ton of places, but the ones I went to are memorable.
Did some stuff in my early 50's that I worked a second job to afford, it was worth it.
Wanted to go back to Nicaragua for Tarpon, and wanted ' that day', the one that flat kicked your ass from fighting big fish in hot weather, looking for that monster fish that got away the last time.
Dangerously high expectations, totally unmanaged even...this after a case of heat stroke one year, and dysentery another year.

Third trip I finally punched that ticket...6 fish in 6 trys, all on a Sardine pattern I made up for the trip, all huge Tarpon.
I'd go back, because it is such an incredible spot.
But I don't need too.

Go do stuff, and if it needs to be done when you are in good physical shape and young, then figure out how to figure it out and go.

 

[mcswny]

Go adventuring, ask the hot guy or girl out, but also take naps. Balance.

So far this is the best advice I’ve heard.

 

[Hem]

I'm with Old Man.
Shoot, I scouted and hunted for my bighorn ram 25 days two years ago. Climbed almost 30k of vertical, over 120 miles. I was feeling good about that at 58. Same year a guy who was 81 killed a huge ram after getting after it hard in the mountains.
Its a state of mind....also working parts that still work.
I'm not crying uncle until I can't crawl.

 

[Rob Allen]

I'm with Old Man.
Shoot, I scouted and hunted for my bighorn ram 25 days two years ago. Climbed almost 30k of vertical, over 120 miles. I was feeling good about that at 58. Same year a guy who was 81 killed a huge ram after getting after it hard in the mountains.
Its a state of mind....also working parts that still work.
I'm not crying uncle until I can't crawl.

I can crawl all day, I just can't breathe. Particularly after eating or drinking.

 

[Yard Sale]

My advice to young folks is learn to float. Learn to raft/kayak/canoe while you can. These skills will get you into wilderness areas for a loooong time.
Second, learn how to camp proper. Learn how to camp in the pouring rain with a tarp and a cot. Learn how to make a proper fire. Figure out what gear you do need and what you dont need. Camping in terrible weather is one of my favorite things.
Basically, these are skills that get you away from the crowds with minimal effort when done right.

Personally, I made the choice to live life backwards. I was good at a sport early in life and chose to see how far I could take that in expense of building a career. I didn't reach my ultimate goal but got close enough to learn some real life lessons and a lot about myself by my mid 30s. I was able to turn those into a decent but unsexy career(logistics) quickly. I don't recommend this to anybody but it worked for me. I got to do a lot when I was young and vigorous that I certainly couldn't do even in my 40s. Everything from here is a bonus.

 

[RCF]

Go now when/while you can.

Access restrictions are increasing---> think of the Enchantments as an example.

Go while they still exist ---> think about glaciers disappearing.

Go while it is not as crowded. Used to be 5 miles in and there was no one else. Now lots of people and trash all over.

Lots of wilderness fires and with increased frequency ---> Go before another one torches one of Mother Nature's beautiful gifts to us.

Based on the past few decades, Mother Nature and fishing will never better than now.

 

[JACKspASS]

An older friend of mine whom is 74 and as active as any 30yr old was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago and can no longer enjoy hiking, fly fishing, and skiing that he lived and breathed for. It is incredibly sad, and yet has reinforced what Rob is talking about. If someplace is calling you, just make it happen.

 

[Wadin' Boot]

I don't disagree with Rob, but my advice is a little more expansive. To people of all ages: do it until you can't. I'm in the middle of planning another off trail backpacking trip into the Grand Staircase Escalante wilderness again this spring. I was so touched by my experience last year, I decided that if I ever wanted to do it again, sooner is better, and more probable, than later. At 74 I can still do this stuff. At 84, who knows? At some point I'll age out of doing these fun things.

The older I get the more time I spend thinking about the weird beauty of the desert southwest (and less about fishing). Have fun out there, find some cliff ruins and petroglyphs...

 

[RCF]

^^^ deserts have a very definite beauty. The Saudi sand dunes have embedded a permanent place in my memory.

 

[Old Man]

Ron mentioned driving on dirt roads and he doesn't like to do that. One day when I lived in Dillon I took off to do some exploring. I left Dillon on Sweetwater road which is a gravel road. I came home the same road after driving over 200 miles on dirt, gravel, and goat trail roads. I was out in the tullies enjoying life. Found a few other places to drop a line. I was up in the area of the head waters of Red Rock River. I didn't make it that day but swore to myself that I would be back. Maybe this year is the year I make it back. I really don't know the answer to that.

When I get out and away from people, I feel like I'm in a different world. Just me and the outdoors.

 

[krusty]

As I've gotten older (now 71) I've become far more cautious. I'm plenty active, healthy (for now anyway), and consistently exercise. But I once had a fire for far more dangerous things (like mountaineering) than I do now. Burnt the candle at both ends.

Perhaps that's because I felt invincible as a youngster and envisioned an infinity of days ahead...but as a senior I certainly have an appreciation that there are a lot more days behind me than those ahead.

Raising a family, an intense career, and simple human drama took its toll on my enthusiasms, but now being retired, and reasonably comfortable, I face the challenge of rekindling some of those passions.

There's an old eastern European proverb; "Eat when you're hungry. Make love when you're young".

 

[Rob Allen]

Ron mentioned driving on dirt roads and he doesn't like to do that. One day when I lived in Dillon I took off to do some exploring. I left Dillon on Sweetwater road which is a gravel road. I came home the same road after driving over 200 miles on dirt, gravel, and goat trail roads. I was out in the tullies enjoying life. Found a few other places to drop a line. I was up in the area of the head waters of Red Rock River. I didn't make it that day but swore to myself that I would be back. Maybe this year is the year I make it back. I really don't know the answer to that.

When I get out and away from people, I feel like I'm in a different world. Just me and the outdoors.

That's a gorgeous area. I took the Sweetwater road from the upper Ruby to Dillion in my 1991 Ford escort gt.. not a goat trail and not particularly long but pretty sporty drive trying to stay on top of the ruts in that little car..
The road you took up over to red rocks was it down low or did you have to go up in the Gravellys?