Road Trippin’

 

This past weekend I decided to go camping for Memorial Day. Memorial Day is special for several reasons. First, is the holiday, remembering those who gave their lives for our country. Secondly, it’s the unofficial start to summer. And lastly, on a personal level, Saturday would have been my mom’s 75th birthday. I try to do something fun on that day each year. I celebrate life and not mourn her death. 

I randomly found a campground that was near a 21 mile waterway trail along the Conewango Creek. It’s about 1 hour 20 minutes away from my house, not too far, but far enough to be completely new to me. 

I hit the road at 2pm for a 3pm check in. I rented a small (10x20) cabin that has electricity, water (no bathroom), and a small fridge/freezer for $55 a night. The plan is to set up camp Saturday, enjoy the day, then get up early and hit the trail Sunday morning, with line in the water by 6:00 AM. 

I’ve arrived, time to set up my home away from home for the next 3 days. 

 

Now on to important things…food. 

First I started with corn on the cob

30 minutes later I added my shrimp, pineapple, and jalapeño kabobs 

10 minutes after that I added my venison steak

My hillbilly surf and turf is complete 

The rest of the day I relaxed by the fire. The highlight of the evening was watching people off road with their side by side four wheelers

The next morning I got up by 5 AM, with the uncomfortable feeling of having to poop, but not quite remembering where the bathroom was because I got drunk last night and pissed in the woods. I was able to find the restrooms without incident, they were a two minute walk from my site. 

I didn’t make my 6AM goal, but I arrived at the Marden E. Cobb waterway trail by 6:30

The beginning of the trail is a nice park with a boat launch for kayaks and canoes 

I spent the next couple hours working my way down the bank of the creek, starting at a bridge just upstream from the trail

I tried earthworms, minnows, fly bait, plastic lures, and a fancy looking Rapala floating minnow lure that caught my eye while buying some clips and swivels. Yeah, that balsa wood minnow painted like a rainbow trout that I hemmed and hawed about even buying, but decided to treat myself to something, caught a low hanging branch and indeed looked like a real minnow dangling from a tree on my second cast with it. YOU WIN THIS ROUND, Mother Nature! 

I wasn’t getting any action, and as I slowly moved down the bank two things became obvious, the water was low and stagnant, and it was VERY muddy. 

The funny thing about hunting and fishing at someplace new is how your expectations and reality rarely align. I was picturing a nice babbling stream with new and exciting fishing holes around each bend. But what I got was low hanging trees, shallow brown water,  6 to 10 foot high muddy banks that liked to crumble under foot if you lingered too long in one spot. I nearly slipped in a few times until it became apparent that I had to stay back a foot from the edge at a minimum. 

But your mind tells you that something better is always “just around the corner”. So I hiked on. Waiting for the elusive “perfect spot” to show up. 

On I went, but the perfect spot never came. Barely even a decent spot to fish came. 

I did manage to find a tree with a growth that looked like a dick, so that was pretty cool. 

Shortly after seeing the dick tree I encountered an older couple walking the trail. The gentleman gave me a few key pieces of information. First, the creek is at historically low levels, and secondly, it’s a man made creek, thus the mud banks and bottom. He cautioned against going in the creek and shared a few stories of people needing assistance from shore to get back out. 

I guess my fishing trip would be a hiking trip, carrying an extra 20 pounds of gear I didn’t need. Oh well. I pushed on a little farther, just hoping for something better to show up. It never did. I lost my shoe in some soft mud while crossing a small tributary, had to crawl back and pull it out. I did see a bunch of deer along the trail, so that was nice.

Eventually I found a clearing in the woods and set up my lunch break spot. 

I had cold leftover shrimp, pineapple, and jalapeños, with some cranberry cheddar cheese. I drank two beers and smoked a doobie for dessert, then headed down the trail back to where I started. 

Finally made it back to the park. Yes, I lost my other shoe in the same mud on the way back and had to do another careful extraction. I stunk like sweat and mud. I was beat up, dirty, and without the fresh fish dinner I had envisioned, but I survived my 5.5 mile trek. I headed back to camp to ponder the day. 

I spent the evening soaking it all in. Life. It’s not a movie or reality show. There isn’t always a tidy ending. The trip didn’t go exactly as planned, but I’m damn proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and going for it. There is no loss in that. I gave it my best shot. That’s all you can do, and live with the results.