THE THINGS WE DO FOR FUN
Skirting the Line Between Hardcore and Dumbass
Fishing during a wildfire
Connected by Beauty and the Cloud That Started It
I step into the Deschutes, my favorite river. It’s shaded where I stand, but the tops of the canyon walls sport golden hues. I imagine beachgoers at the coast almost 200 miles away strolling barefoot in the saturated sands, with the sun still high above the ocean’s horizon. There are solo walkers lost in contemplation, new couples holding hands, old couples going through the motions, sand-covered dogs, and kids splashing.
The horizontal rays shoot across their smiling faces, over the coast mountain range, past my home in Portland, and stretch over the snowcapped peaks of Mt. Hood, finally hitting the twisted basalt cliffs above me. I can feel the joy of those beachgoers.
Nature and beauty connect us all.
The river temperatures are barely cold enough to safely fish for the elusive steelhead, a rainbow trout that migrates to the ocean and returns to its birthplaces like salmon. Steelhead are sometimes called the fish of a thousand casts, and I agree. Every steelhead I’ve caught is special.
