Days 5 and 6: Nearing the Border

Day 5

And Then I can’t walk. I went to bed last night with aches and pains all over my body.  My low back was growling and I was afraid that I could pull it out of whack soon.  I did stretches for my back before I fell asleep. I woke up feeling great, until I started walking.  I’m limping right now with pain behind my right knee and a much greater pain in my lower calf, just above the Achilles. I’m going to have to rest and if I do fish today, it will be at a single spot, probably the one the guy had last night.

So, another run into the big city to purchase stuff sacks at REI, flies and tippet materials from the Bend Fly Shop, a cigarette lighter 3 port USB charger to link to the house batteries and not the starter battery, and groceries and soda from Safeway.

I came back to an empty camp site, and after hobbling / limping all day my calf started loosening up. I put on shorts to wet wade and made it to the spot “the guy” was doing well yesterday. No luck tonight, at least for me. The fishing boots held my ankles firm and my leg was feeling fine. One the way back to camp I made sure my left leg was muscling me up the stairs. On one stair, I lost balance and all my weight went to the right foot. I heard a loud pop in my right knee, and I fell forward to the ground. I was afraid I tore something in my knee. However, I made it back to my van and slept through the night.

Day 6: On The Road

So this morning my calf was much better, but my knee was horrible. There is no way I can put my gear on and fish today. Since I have a couple of days off my feet, I decided to drive north to the Oregon border, and then, to Yakima Washington.

I am staying in a hotel (65 not 200 dollars) and this was planned. I need good Internet to sign in to cross the Canadian border, and to figure out how to change currency and where to fish in BC. Not too exciting so I’m going to spread out the maps and get to work, ignoring my right knee as much as I can.

Tight Lines!