The Red Carpet Dilemma

We were hiking in to the water we wanted to fish. Hot. August in Colorado can get that way. It’s amazing to be at 9500 ft and still feel oppressive heat.

“How are things in your world?”

“Can’t complain, I’m here aren’t I?”

This is one of the classic beginnings for a hike into some off the beaten path water we often seek to fish on GFW.

These times are like Gold.

The conversations that naturally result from walking together offer a richness that’s hard to find anywhere else. We catch up, we bullshit, we seek advice, we make fun of each other, and we laugh. It is one piece of a long weekend that brings us closer. Strengthens friendships.

There is also a desire in us to find water that isn’t packed with fisherman. We like our space. We also know that some of the best fishing experiences take effort to ensure we get what we want.

So, we hike.

Inevitably, there comes a point where we stop. Usually because stretched out before us is a section of water that presents itself like a Red Carpet…stunning to the eye of a fly fishermen due to the knowledge that it contains the structure and contours that offer fish a plenty!

And with the increasing excitement that comes from the imagination of standing in the middle of that water, casting and hooking fish in every direction, always comes “The Dilemma”…stop and fish it or keep going?

Conundrums like this are as old as time…Izaak Walton famously contemplated the idea of what brings more richness to a man’s life: material “goods” or the experience of a day fishing on a river?

Henry David Thoreau followed suit with Walden, telling the tale of arguably the world’s first Dead Head, choosing to find a spiritual reckoning by giving up his possessions to live a simple life of self-reliance. I’m sure if he had kept one material thing, a phonograph, The Grateful Dead’s “Ripple” would have been blaring from the windows of his “simple” cabin.

The point is that we are faced with philosophical dilemmas regularly. And although making the decision to fish a stretch of water NOW or keep hiking deeper into the wilderness may not hold the same value as the life contemplation that Thoreau and Walton offered, it is still a complex decision that can make or break the “fun” factor for a day on the water.

Life is muddled with predicaments. And choices aren’t usually black and white. They force us to contemplate the “what ifs.” I don’t like the “what if” world…usually, I’m more of a realist. Most of the time simplicity makes logical sense; however, Ripple is a great tune! And worth listening to on the regular. Sorry, Henry…I’m not giving up the record player!

When we are faced with the “Red Carpet Dilemma” on GFW, there is always someone who will plummet down the bank and take full advantage. They just can’t help themselves. It’s too good to pass up.

However, when this scenario presents itself, I like the more musing option.

I know I can keep hiking and enjoy the conversations that ensue. I know I can keep walking and laugh some more. I know something positive will come from that time spent with one or more of my closest compadres. For it is in these moments that, selfishly, I become a better human.

I’m pretty sure I’ll catch fish. And even if I don’t, I can revel in the joy of knowing that one of my best friends did because they didn’t pass up that Walden like beauty of a stretch of water.

That kind of thinking would undoubtedly make Isaak and Henry proud. It certainly makes me feel that way.