I waded waist-deep in a fast moving river, wearing cotton pants and someone else’s felt-soled boots because I never have the right outfit on. When I discovered that catching fish for their eggs did not involve a boat, I felt like an idiot. A complete idiot. The professionals wore a uniform of polypropylene long-johns under synthetic shorts. I totally have that outfit! But I was wearing khakis. I spent several long minutes going through my entire wardrobe, mentally assembling outfits that would have been better suited for the occasion and wondering why I thought the khakis would be OK.
Then I saw that several of the dozen volunteers were wearing jeans and tennis shoes. And I didn’t feel so bad. Those guys wound up swimming fully dressed in the river by day’s end.
Unlike some of my outdoor excursions in recent years, this one actually became more fun as it went on. I only was waist-deep in the water for a brief time (although that did mean I was wet for the entire day) and managed to stay knee-deep for much of it. I didn’t drop my camera in the river and only fell on my butt once. Love my job.
Also since my last post, I saw “The Bourne Ultimatum” and got stung by a bee. Unrelated events.
Kari Neumeyer 