When I was in my early twenties I experienced a period of two years right after my husband got out of the Navy, where we caught or shot nearly everything we ate. The season started in September with dove hunting, then by November it was duck hunting and by December we were after geese which lasted until the end of January. The the early trout fishing began by the end of February and we chase various fish such as shad, steel head, salmon and crappy.
But the experience of travelling up north to an area called the Hog Back, slightly south of Red Bluff. It required a four-wheel drive area to get back into the area.
We slept it the bed of the truck to avoid being at risk of the rattlesnakes, it was very remote and picturesque. The first day we were there I followed the creek in the opposite direction of my husband and tried my hand for the first time at fly fishing.
It was exhilarating and awe inspiring! I cast my line, swung it back and out again and again for nearly a half hour before I had a strike. I landed a 21″ German Brown trout and had never felt anything as exciting!
Even though I knew it had nothing to do with who I am as a person, it was a marvelous feeling.
However, more than catching the fish, the reward of isolating myself in the wilderness and listening to the winds rustle the leaves on the trees. I loved being in the outdoors and the freedom of being in an area where no one else was.