Planning 2017 Outings

At left, public domain photo of the 1922 British Everest Expedition which worked from the North Face.

They all look so happy here. This troop recorded the first seven deaths on the mountain and failed to summit. Also, first group to try oxygen at altitude.

I don't see their fly rods in this picture.

Outings for 2017?

I'm flying into the Wabakimi Wilderness park in Ontario again. Northern Pike on the fly, walleye on jigs. Toothy critter leaders.

Apart from that, my trip agenda looks local. I'd like to get out to the Columbia but we'll see how that shakes out come fall. The budget is somewhat constrained next year as I prepare the final alignment for Beargirl's retirement. I'll never stop working but she wants to so there is a little adjustment in the run rate that has to be made.

Boardman River - Forks Campground. The Boardman is the birthplace of the Adams fly and I didn't make it there this year. Priority outing next spring. Late May. Will try and catch the early mayfly hatches.

South Branch Au Sable. This will again serve as brown trout homewaters for me as I camp at Canoe Harbor. With a new trout car, I'll have much better access to the upper river including Daisy Bend. Warm April, May. October.

Deward Tract, Upper Manistee. Brook trout central for my efforts. Again, with a new trout car I'll be able to navigate the extremely rutted sand roads for better access. Last year, the three mile hike-in became daunting. There are better places to hike. May. June. September.

Club Stream and Sturgeon River - Green Timbers hike-in. I'll make a Friday-Saturday-Sunday hike-in and wild camp (allowed in Green Timbers) covering both the Sturgeon and the Club Stream. It's taken a bit to get the gear pared-down to make this sort of event comfortable but enjoyable. Early July looks like a good time. Maybe June. Could be June's "big trip" pretty easily.

Mainstream Au Sable. There is a canoe/tent campground upstream of a great deal of angler activity [ Au Sable River Canoe Camp]. Night streamers for large trout. September.

Jordan River. Pocket water fishing in the heat of the summer. Brookie fishing. The waters of the Jordan remain cold. Running the river involves some hikes. Great! July, August.

Fox River, Two Hearted River. These Upper Peninsula rivers are obligatory scout trips. They are deeply linked to Michigan lore. I've a short 5 wt. from Chris Lantzy that is perfect for pulling nice fish out of timber. I look for a fair amount of hiking to be required so say, a four day outing. June, definitely. I'll have to plan my season around this expedition and the end-of-July fly-in to Ontario.

I want to make it to Isle Royale but my outing to Wabi is going to eat into the true expedition time in 2017. Canadian fly-in to a park or boat-in to U.S. park: I'm going fly-in. There's more adventure in a two-and-a-half hour floatplane ride.

How about you?

Time to plan. I've got more snow to shovel here after dinner (blower engine has a compression problem: valve). I'm at about nine inches for the day so far.

Prost.