SNP 2009

We, friends and I, have been going down the the Shenandoah National Park every spring since 1993, or '94. We made the discovery that some of the best wild brook trout fishing in the east can found in the many tumbling streams off the slopes of the mountains. This year, I had the pleasure of taking my son Kyler along for the first time.

We started our adventure at the Holiday Inn in Winchester, VA Friday evening. We had a great time swimming and then watching Friday Night Smackdown. We got up early, swam again, had breakfast then proceeded down to the park

We arrived at the trail head around 9:30, and began the 3 mile trek up to our favorite camp to meet Andy B. and Kyle F. For his first time backpacking trip, Kyler did great. We established a nice pace with frequent breaks, and made a few minor adjustments to his pack. We arrived in camp around noon.

After setting up the tent and eating a little lunch, we headed downstream to fly fish back up to the camp. Kyler got a little frustrated because of stinging nettles and the cold water. Also, the Hughes River is tough to fish up near where we were. I should have taken him downstream a little farther. In any event, he persisted for a little while, and almost caught a trout, but the nettles got the better of him, and he wanted to head back to camp. I took him back to camp, then fished just below where were set up, and managed to bring in a few brookies. When I arrived back to camp, Kyler was out like a light. He had a tough day, and the nap did him good.

After supper, we took a little hike upstream to play on some big rocks. Later, when it grew dark, we went on a salamander hunt, and found some really nice species.

After the hunt, Kyler tucked in. Andy, Kyle and I sipped a little scotch cut with mountain spring water. The moon was out and it was a nice evening. We were fortunate to not get rained on.

Sunday morning, the rains finally came and we packed up in a steady drizzle. Kyler and I hit the trail around 9:00, and we busted out in just a little over an hour.

Kyle and Andy came down after us, so Kyler and I drove the car to the trail head and picked them up. We then headed into Sperryville to our favorite lunch stop, Rae's.

It was another great trip to the park, but I was unable to take Kyler up Skyline Drive, because of the weather. Oh well, we'll be back down soon enough.

SNP 2009