The Great Viking Campout 2018

April 13, 2018 in Fly fishing

This was Tony's year to host the Great Viking Campout and he took the boys to Asheville, NC. I drove directly from a work conference in Atlanta and started a day early spending the night in Brevard for craft brews and wild brown trout. The Davidson River has been on my list to wet line and and it lived up to its reputation. It was a beautiful, gin clear freestone that gets tons of pressure which in turn creates very challenging and technical fishing. Catching a few of these trout exceeded my expectations and really started the trip off on the right foot.

This Davidson River (freestone!) wild brown rivaled the awesomeness of any I've caught on my native PA limestoners.

The rest of the boys showed up Friday afternoon to set camp outside of Asheville for a fun couple days of disc golf, corn hole, Polish horseshoes, fishing and, of course, more good beer. The weather was perfect and the camping location was outstanding. Great 2018 camp out and looking forward already to 2019.

The Garden Preseason

March 17, 2018 in Gardening, Harvest, Family

March means its time to get the early season gardening activities in as Spring is right around the corner. Onions, potatoes, and peas all go in and we've started all the seedlings for the May plants. Each year the number and variety of plants increases and so does the size of the garden. The kids are great with planting the garden and harvesting; now we just them to do do some of the weeding this year!

Tying Buddy

March 10, 2018 in Fly fishing, Family

The last couple weeks after surgery has slowed me down as I just focus on getting back on my feet for the spring time. Fortunately, Declan is at a point where I can keep him semi-occupied while I tie up some new trout streamers for the early season. I can't wait!

Surgical Streamers

February 24, 2018 in Fly fishing

February is a great time of year to restock the fly boxes and stave off the cabin fever. So, it was no accident that I strategically scheduled my needed hernia surgery for mid-February right between hunting and fishing season. I was also smart enough to place an order for new materials and hooks that came right before my surgery date. #DaddyDowntime.

By day 3 post-surgery, I was able to sit in a chair and it was time to lash some feathers and flash! I probably should have refilled my nymph boxes, but tying streamers and dreaming of two-foot browns was so much better than tying size 16 Pheasant Tails.

As I cleaned up the explosion of hair, feathers, flash, and fur, I got a little creative and took some finished fly pictures. My wife made fun of me as I set them up like my 5 year-old lines up his to cars and dinosaurs. I believe her comment was ' I'm surprised you don't have them in the bathtub with you swimming laps to test them out....." Hmmm, now, that's not a half-bad idea!!!

Sauerkraut Stomp '17

October 29, 2017 in Harvest, Family

It's a fairly predictable event that it will rain on a Sunday in late October and there is no better time to get our sauerkraut stomp on with the kids. This year, my father-in-law really led the whole effort with the kids as I did a thousand other things plus carved some pumpkins. The best part of this whole tradition is spending time with the family.

This year, we even had a debut appearance by one week-old, Declan. My wife was none-too- pleased with my decision to drag him out into the cold, but it really is a family right of passage. And, it will be great to benchmark him up against this crock next year to see how much's he's grown!

One unintentional outcome of celebrating the annual family tradition is a a get a yearly data point with the kids with the same brown crock as a reference to how much changes in just one year! Not even first-day-of school and Christmas can benchmark a year like that brown crock.

...For proof to this, here is some pictures from October of 2015.

Yes the garage was much cleaner too!

Declan Adam

October 23, 2017 in Family

October 23, 2017 we added to the team by welcoming Declan Adam to the family! It won't be long until he is right there along with us on some new adventures.

Cabbage Voyage to Somerset County

October 21, 2017 in Harvest, Family

This year was not the year we needed to make the trip to Somerset county to get the cabbage for sauerkraut. We have some kraut left from last year and we are busier than ever in preparation for the new baby. My wife bestowed this logic upon me multiple times, along with the fact I tend to take on too much. She may be correct, but I was adamant that it still just had to happen. The torch has been passed to me and so I go get cabbage each Fall. It's simple; it's tradition. Plus, I love the process and it creates an excuse to hit the Laurel Highlands in the peak of the Fall season.

Upon arrival at Lehman's cabbage farm, I was greeted by the two largest Rottweilers I've ever seen in my life. I asked the farmer how big they were and he said 'bout 200 lbs'. That's the size of a bear. Considering the beast's head was 5-7 times the size of a head of cabbage, I don't think he was lying. My next question was are they friendly with kids. He didn't have to answer that one...his hesitation before his uncertain answer was all I needed. Needless to say, the kids stayed in the truck the entire time. So, I loaded 250 pounds of the best cabbage in the country and we rolled.

The kids were ready to be out of the truck, so we made up for it with a wonderful hike in Laurel Highlands State Park. I love this part and I love the delayed harvest section of the trout stream. The water was low which allowed for some real life Q*Bert on the rocks that were exposed from the recent drought and an old dead fall allowed them to practice their balancing skills. It was the peak of the Fall foliage and about 70 degrees. It was a prefect day and we even watched a few trout rising in the stream.

Harvest

October 13, 2017 in Family, Harvest, Gardening

The one thing the kids are really great at doing is picking! Its harvest season and they are great at finding anything ripe. From raspberries to tomatoes, strawberries, and cherries. If its red, they are all over it!

DIY 2017 Colorado Elk trip

September 11, 2017 in Hunting

I just returned from the Colorado DIY Elk trip with the guys. Bowhunting elk in the west has been on my bucket list and I finally pulled it off. Many consider a western bull elk with a bow to be the ultimate hunting challenge and DIY in Colorado with an OTC tag makes it that much more difficult. This was my first hunt out west and I didn’t get an elk, but had an overall amazing experience. I am super grateful to my wife who let her oldest ‘child’ go on this hunt, leaving her with 3 little ones and 32 weeks pregnant. She promised not to have the baby while I was gone and I promised to come home in one piece – we both lived up to our word.

Roadtrip

This was a no-joke 28-hour epic drive with only two dudes (first two left 4 days earlier). There isn’t much more to say about this other then it was the first physical / mental test. I have no idea how truck drivers do this work. On the way out, we literally drove straight through. It was dumb, but we were excited to get there. My back is still sore.

Altitude

When we arrived to camp, I noticed I was getting short of breathe as I bent over to tie my shoes. This was my first clue that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. I later learned that anything above 9,000 feet and you run the risk of getting sick without acclimation. Well, we camped at 10,600 feet and 3 out of the 4 experienced pretty severe altitude sickness the first night. Puking, diarrhea and severe headaches were our reward for making the 28-hour drive on no sleep. At 1:00 AM on the first night, I thought about driving off the mountain to relieve the pressure and pounding as I thought my skull was going to explode. So far, this is turning out to be a wonderful vacation.

Base camp

We had an old-school 40-year old vintage canvas wall tent where we set up the cots, another full size tent for bins and gear, fly canopy over a kitchen table, multiple coolers, a grill, a hammock, clothes lines, a solar shower that never heated, and a poop shovel. There really wasn’t much we didn’t have in camp. And though I was prepared to live off self-purified water and dehydrated backcountry meals, a cold beer and grilled steak at night was pretty dang nice. We couldn’t have found a better place to set up camp and were surrounded by some of the most amazing peaks in the Colorado Rockies.

The picture slider (click left/right) gives only an idea of the shape of the SW Colorado landscape. Steep and rugged!

The Hunting

I’ve been out west fly fishing a decent amount, but never hunting big game. This was a completely different experience. The back country was so vast and the terrain was incredibly rugged. Dense black timber, boulder walls and aspen meadows all intertwined on some of the steepest mountains in the west between 10-12K feet.

We mostly ran day-trips from our centrally located camp and hunted mornings / evenings. The afternoons were in the mid 70-degrees and pretty much dead for hunting. We filled this time playing cards up on the mountain, fly fishing, napping in hammocks, shooting bow, or sitting in the ‘top secret’ local natural hot springs.

Honestly, my expectations were fairly (and intentionally) low going into this hunt. Not that I wasn’t confident, but I wasn’t going in expecting to shoot a bull elk in a brand new place when I truly had no idea what the hell I was doing. That wasn’t a realistic expectation. Elk Hunting DVDs, podcasts and calling in my truck can only get you so far without hunting experience.

The experience and the learning curve was what I was after on this trip. I’ve hunted for almost 3 decades now and consider myself fairly versed with just about anything woods or stream related. But, this elk hunt was a very different experience. And for this first trip, I wanted to immerse myself and learn as much on my own through my own observations. Some of my best days were out hunting and learning by myself. Without a guide or even a buddy, everything becomes so hyper-focused.

My goal really was to hear a bugle and get into elk at some point in the week. Fortunately, these were both exceeded as we were into elk every day and we had bulls bugling within 100 yards. And when we didn’t see, hear or smell them, there was elk sign pretty much everywhere we went – shredded trees, mud wallows, trails, beds, etc. And we had them at our doorstep – we had one guy miss at 25, had another bust us at 5 yards. On my last evening hunting, I had clear shots at a group of 3 spikes and a 4 pt. I just needed one legal bull, but they were all too small. In the end, getting a good bull close into bow range just never happened.

Learning Curve

At the end of the week we met a guy camping up the road from us we’ll call the Billy Goat. He earned this nickname from his friends for his ability to scale, climb, hike where most mortal men don’t venture. He was an elk hunting machine. It’s a small world and he was a former Olympic-level wrestler and after a few beers over an evening campfire, he offered to take us out in the morning. What I learned that morning with him in 4-5 hours might seriously take me 10 years on my own. He was an elk calling machine and could speak the language as good as anyone I've watched / listened to anywhere. He was an aggressive hunter and chased Elk like we hunt turkeys. He definitely set the bar for going forward. The guys are their camp were great and they bagged a couple of bulls that week. Without a doubt, the best part of this trip was we left with more friends than when we started the week.

Hooked

I had a feeling that this might happen. After this trip and experience, I am already thinking about the next trip. It’s not the simplest thing to pull off year in and year out, especially with (about to be) 4 young kids, but I must get back again. Maybe it’s starting to collect my preference points in a few states and maybe it takes a few years. But, chasing elk with a bow out west was too much fun to only do this once in my life. Ideally I could pull this off a couple time over the next few years. Then I'll actually know what I'm doing and be able to take my kids when they get older. Alone in the wilderness with my boys for a couple weeks would be amazing. And maybe then, we'll loosen an arrow.

#elkshape

August 04, 2017 in Family, Hunting

The elk trip is on. I am rolling out with 3 good dudes the first week of September to chase elk with a bow in the high country of Colorado. This trip has been just what I needed to whip the old body back into shape. I might not get an elk on this trip, but I will be in shape. I laid out a 90-day plan that's I've been marching to that includes all kind of cardio / strength training to handle the intense Colorado Rockies at elevations between 10,000 - 12,000 ft.

I've been pretty creative and having fun with the workout plan. But, by far the most fun is loading the kids up in the backpack and climbing the local hills. Of course, this wont be the same as packing out a quartered elk in the Rockies at elevation, but it sure is fun and the kiddos love it.

Intro to Archery

August 03, 2017 in Family, Hunting

We took a recent trip to Cabelas to get a archery target for my new Bowtech Reign7. Imagine the excitement of a brand new bow and on my first two shows, they blew directly through my old, dilapidated Block. Even Amazon was not fast enough to get me a new target to my doorstep. I immediately had to go to the store to get a new target so I could actually shoot. While we were there, we came across a $10 youth bow. I lit up with excitement as I really hadn't thought much about getting them into shooting yet, but this was a no-brainer. The toughest decision was whether to get one bow or three. We're working sharing and on not having triples of everything, so we opted for one.

Now, that I had my new target, I finally was able to shoot my brand new bow at home. But the funny thing was all I wanted to do was shoot the little orange bow with the kids. I was so excited. We started with a thorough safety lesson and I could hear my father's words coming out of my mouth. Somewhere I knew he was smiling.

The kids took to shooting like a duck to water. Clara was the first one up and once they got the concept of what a bow and arrow was doing, it was pretty natural. Even Hunter at the ripe old age of 3, had no issue with launching an arrow 15-20 feet down the hill. Success at this point is not a bulls eye, but rather forward momentum of the arrow. Of all the kids, Jack was the one that really got it quickly. Once he got comfortable, he would pull his bow back, pause to anchor the bowstring, adjust his pitch and launch into the air. They all loved watching the arrow sail with amazement.

Now, every time I got shoot, I have a few little shooting buddies that go with me. Of course, now they want to do that whole thing themselves and it takes them some time, but they gain confidence and a sense of accomplishment with every arrow flung into the air. I am glad I kept all my youth starter bows, as they will grow into them in no time at all.

Mountain Pond Bluegills for Kids

July 24, 2017 in Fly fishing, Family

Every two years our family has a reunion up in the Ohiopyle, PA area. All the kids love to fish and there is a little unknown mountain pond that we found with walking distance to the house we rent. There is nothing more classic than fishing a worm under a bobber for some bluegills. The kids squeal with joy every time that bobber starts dancing on the pond water until it finally darts down.

I give the kids credit, we got drenched with a flash rainstorm on the way to the pond. We asked them if they wanted to turn back, but they all screamed 'no way!' So, we pushed forward and after 15-20 minutes the storm passed. Their perseverance was rewarded with dozens of bluegills and plenty of proud little fisherman.

Backpack Fly Fishing with Hunter

June 28, 2017 in Fly fishing, Family

I took my little sidekick on a backpack fly fishing adventure up through our favorite canyon in Virginia. It doesn’t matter what it is, Hunter is absolutely game for anything I want to do. I love it. And it’s so nice when we can get the opportunity to spend time with each of the kids one-on-one. Strapping him to my back and going on a fly fishing getaway was a blast. He just never stops talking. And having him a foot away from my ears and commentating my fishing was just hilarious. There is nothing like having a witty 3 year old busting your chops for missing a fish. And the system we had going when I did hook one was great…I’d hook em and then hand the rod back to him to hold. Then I would strip the fly line in with the little wild rainbow in while he squealed with delight. It’s a memory that I will have forever.

It was also a great workout for me as I continue to get into hardcore shape for my Colorado backcountry elk hunt in September. I had him on my back for a few hours and I am guessing the total all-in pack weighed about 40 pounds. It was definitely work carrying him up through the stream and over boulders and good training for carrying a pack that hopefully weighs 3 times that much in Colorado. We stopped midday on a huge rock in the middle of the stream and enjoyed lunch before catching a few more trout and hiking back out. Great day with my little buddio.

10 Great Smoky Years

June 16, 2017 in Family, Fly fishing

For our ten-year anniversary, we were fortunate enough to have the time and backup team (thanks Grandparents!) to take a week long trip sans kids. This was our first trip longer than 1-2 nights since the twins were born 4.5 years ago. For everything we considered, we landed on Asheville, NC as the perfect location under the following criteria.

- Neither of us had ever been to Asheville / the Smoky mountains.

- The craft beer scene is amazing.

- The wild trout fishing is world renown.

Our first part of the trip was spent in Asheville, NC. We’d heard great things, but overall the (small/quaint) city way exceeded expectations (that were already somewhat high). We hit a few restaurants and the food was amazing. The music was awesome and the beer was as advertised. Disc golf was totally rad, but the highlight was our Penguins won the Stanley Cup Sunday night. Back-to-Back baby! The celebration was so much fun and the shots of Jameson with random strangers were flowing. The trip started well.

We moved to Franklin, NC for an amazing 5 days and got into some real peace and serenity. These were the mountains of the true Cherokee Indian tribe, which I have lineage to (and explains a lot). They were powerful, stoic, and you could really feel the ancient energy of these mountains. The mountains were deep and on most nights, the fog would roll in to completely consume them in a cloud of mist. It was so cool to watch and felt so mystical. And each morning, we’d sit on a rocking chair with a cup of coffee and watch the fog lift back off the range and return to the nothingness that they came from. We hiked, did some gemstone mining (hit it big with some Rubies and Sapphires!), read, relaxed and ate some good food.

The trout fishing was our thing though. It always has been since even before we were married. Just getting back up to the mountains and disappearing on some small trout stream taking turns casting and working the small pools was so much fun. It’s been years since we could do this. I did the research and we explored a decent amount of the under the radar mountain trout waters. Overall, I found the fishing to be a bit tougher than I expected. With wild mountain trout, I thought every fish in the stream would be fighting to be the first to eat my Royal PMX or terrestrial pattern, while elk bugled in the background. But, what I quickly learned was that by mid-June these fish can get highly educated and become pretty selective. Nonetheless, I was wet wading and in a dry fly state of mind for the week, so opted to net less fish for simplicity. Spence did her usual thing, which is fish a fraction of the time I do, but still manage to land the biggest fish of the week. It’s beyond a coincidence at this point….she just always catches the biggest fish on our trips. I love it.

She also took her camera and was able to get back into photography, which hasn’t been pursued in the last 5 years either. We were at the perfect rhythm and it was fun enjoying the time to ourselves. But, with Spence pregnant with our 19 week baby, it was a constant reminder that much has changed in the past 10 years for us. And though the vacation was so nice and much needed, by the end of the week we missed all our kiddos and looked forward to getting home to see them.

The Great Viking Campout

June 05, 2017 in Fly fishing

Each year a group of high school buddies get together to camp out for the weekend. At this point in our live's we have the means to do a little better than the $15/night campground, but we dig camping. I didn't come up with it, but camping is really the only prerequisite for the annual trip. We all grew up in the country, so there is that element of nostalgia. But, probably more important at this age, is that no one needs to get in a bar fight or get a DUI, so we camp. We typically just play corn hole, Polish horseshoes, listen to Tom Petty and usually partake in one main event to pretend the whole weekend isn't about drinking.

This year was my year to pick location and I took the boys near my old stomping grounds on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, Virginia. The river was super high and murky for this time of year, which made the fishing tough. But we all caught some smallies and the day was absolutely beautiful.

The highlight of the float was a class 2 rapid that had a knack for swallowing canoes. Only one out of three canoes in our our convoy made it through dry and I was glad to be in this good fortune. Similar to allowing your friends to putt first on the green, going last has some of those same advantages. While, watching your friends kamikaze cluelessly down the river wont guarantee your own success, it sure helps to know what line NOT to take. There were a lot of rods and tackle boxes lost that day and we were able to document the floating yard sale once we made it through.

We capped Saturday night with a Penguins playoff game. We may have been camping in the middle of nowhere, but missing the game was not an option. These boys came prepared and with an extension chord, flatscreen, and Apple TV, we were able to catch the game right out of the back of a Jeep Cherokee. We didn't win the game that night, but I'd venture to say we had the best seats on the planet. I'm feeling another Cup run.

Sunday morning @ Morel Creek

April 23, 2017 in Family, Foraging

There is no better quality family time than a Sunday hike with the family. We went to our favorite Morel Creek spot and did a little hike for our favorite springtime mushroom. I have no idea what the real name of this stream is, but its been a honey hole introduced by a friend years ago and we have dubbed it Morel Creek.

I think we were just on the front end of the morel season as we found a dozen or so singles, but the 'flushes' of yellows that this spot is known for where not up yet. But, I will be out of town on some business travel and you got to make hay while the sun is shining. Plus, the kids were in full blown Easter egg hunt training, so this always translates well to the woods.

Spence is now 12 weeks pregnant with baby #4 and is already showing really quickly. I feel like it was yesterday when we were at this same spot with the twins when they were just a few months old. We ended the morning with a stream side lunch and then it was nap time for the kids on the way home. Time to go fry up some morels for dinner!

Ramp-o-mania 2017

April 22, 2017 in Foraging

One could argue there is no better foraging event than spring-time ramps. And if you know what you're doing and where you're going, it more like production digging than actually foraging. I've found them in small patches before, but one of my best buddies called me and said he found the mother load. I take no credit for this one....but I can follow directions very well. And he was right. A shovel and couple bags was all that was needed.

To simply call it a cross between a onion and garlic would do this spring delectable a disservice. But, it would get you in the right direction. For 3 weeks I eat them fresh in salads, on sandwiches, fried with venison, steamed / sauteed as breakfast side, deep fried, or just straight raw. For breakfast you saute the entire ramp (leaf and all) and you pair these with sunny-side-up dippy eggs. Trust me, Its a match made in heaven.

With the surplus I had this year, I ended up pickling them. That was a production in itself. i will post details in the recipe section. In short, if you happen to be in the fortunate position to have more fresh ramps than you know what to do with, this is a great (and fun) option. Be forewarned though, this takes some serious time and work to clean and prepare them. But that is all part of the fun.

A couple weeks after this, my sister-in-law sent me a picture from Brooklyn, NY where they were selling 4-6 ramps in $5 bundles at a local farm market. I'm pretty sure this hillside has about a million dollars in ramps! Maybe next year I can start a ramp side business.

Second Creek, WV

April 12, 2017 in Fly fishing

Chasing wild rainbows with the twins

April 11, 2017 in Fly fishing, Family

In PA we have an abundance of wild brookies, but not as many wild rainbows (those spots will remain very secretive)! In the mountains of Virginia though wild rainbows can be found.

The Cascades Creek, in Hot Springs Virginia is one of the most unique fly fishing experiences due to the amazing Cascades that plunge through the gorge AND the man-made bridges and walk ways.

I’m not spot burning here….if you want to pay to fish this Gorge section it’s about $50. A little known fact is with a Trout Unlimited membership, it’s like $25. I am not the kind that likes the pay-to-play on streams, but I can make exceptions (oh, sweet DePuys...) In this case I feel the money goes to the upkeep of the stream and it honestly keeps the traffic down. And ‘most’ of the fisherman from the resort are fishing the stocked waters down below. I’ve heard they put big ones in there, but we always go upstream and fish for the little wild ones on dries. So, the only people we usually see are hikers on the ‘gorge tour’.

I took Jack along with my sis-in-law, Meg, one day and then came back and took Clara the next day. they were wonderful days and I really love spending time in this gorge. It' so beautiful. Of all the kids Clara shows the most interest, as she can just actually focus on what you are telling her and teaching. She is a very good student for a young age of 4.5. Jack was a bit more interested playing in the dirt with stick figures. Boy will be boys.

The Trout pond

March 24, 2017 in Family, Fly fishing

A good friend of mine invited us up to his property where he stocked a pile of fish into his spring fed pond for a the kids to fish. After a long week of work, I couldn't think of a better thing to do with the family.

The kids were off-their-rocker excited to do some fishing. Most of our bed time stories include camping adventures, long hikes for hidden treasures and of course fishing. The story typically ends with someone catching the biggest fish ever, and its always a big hit. So, for many winter months we talked fishing and now were able to go actually catch some fish!

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