1. Polarized sunglasses.
2. A rain jacket (not a water resistant jacket [which
really just absorbs water at a slower pace], but a poncho or truly water
resistant lightweight/medium weight rain repellant)--we have had the weather
change from warm blue skies to cold (as in really cold) torrential rain and
then back again all within an hour--if you get wet on the river it is not a
pleasant experience--See 3, infra).
3. A dry bag/boat bag for a complete change of clothes
for the river.
4. Fast drying fishing shirts and pants.
In the past, the former has been a staple of what we hand out to you as you
arrive--history will repeat itself, by the way. As to pants, I highly
recommend the fast drying, zip off pants which serve as long pants in the
morning hours and shorts in the afternoon.
5. Brimmed fishing hats. Yes, history might
just repeat itself here again regarding a baseball type hat; for those of you
who are sunlight sensitive, I recommend a fully brimmed hat with a tie-string
[so that the famous and inevitable MT wind will not decrown you].
6. Layered clothing. Imagine that you are going to a
Niners game in September--you never know what you are going to get at The
Stick, so you wear a short sleeved shirt with a long sleeve shirt over it,
carrying with you a fleece and a warm jacket/raincoat--voila!! We will
have washers and dryers available to you if needed, so don't bring the whole
wardrobe but certainly pack an extra day's supply (remember that boat bag and
its contents-to-be in 3, supra?!?)
7. Waterproof sandals/fishing shoes. 90%
of our fishing will be in the boats, but you will be getting in and out for
entry, potty breaks, lunch and return, and will get wet to your knees as you
embark/debark. Tennis shoes are an alternative if you don't mind changing
their color [permanently]. Yes, fishing sandals are an excellent purchase
upon arrival--they have multi-uses and will last forever.
8. Sunscreen and bug-spray.
Bring sunscreen rated 25 and higher even if you think you don't need
it, as you will be on the water, unprotected, for up to 10 hours each
day--enough to challenge even the crustiest lawyer's skin! The bugs are
nothing like Minnesota and usually are not a problem at all, but have some on
hand and that normally makes the experience totally uneventful.
9. Fleeces (long and/or short sleeved). These are going to
be your best friend, both early in the morning and late in the evening after a
fully sating day. Temperatures during your stay see average highs in the
70's to 90's and evening lows in the 40's and 50's.
10. Casual wear. This is not a black tie event,
folks; shorts and Levis are standard fare [even in Missoula's finest
restaurants, I might add] both on the boat and at the house. Our fishing
focus is exclusively on the brightness of the color bands in your rainbow
trout, the brownness of your brown trout and on the scarletness of your
cutthroat's gill plates, not on that of your attire.
CAN BRING:
A.
Fly
rods and reels (5 and 6 weight rods are the order of the day)
B. Expensive
digital camera gear that you would like to get wet and destroy—I provide you
cameras for your usage on the boats!
C. Booze—we already have you covered, gang.
Greetings fellow Extravaganzers:
I am fresh in from the 80th anniversary of the National Wildlife Federation held in our nation’s Capital and am pleased not only to give you this E-16 date down but also to provide you with your attached E-16 Montana Camp List. As we celebrate the last day to timely file your annual tax returns, know that the Extravaganza is looming larger and larger on the horizon and is now just two months distant. So, check out your Camp List which gives you a good summary of all that you need to plan ahead for, remembering as you do so and begin your packing, that I reserve the right to treat each of you extravagantly upon your arrival(s) and you should leave room in your assemblage as you WILL bring home (a lot) more than you arrive with!
On all fronts things for E-16 are shaping up nicely, to wit: The last two open slots in Group Two were taken down over the weekend by NWF fellow director, Houston’s Mary van Kerrebrook and her son Bob; we now have a full E-16 contingency and will now launch over 75 (count ‘em!) boats during this year’s event; and Mother Nature is beginning to warm western Montana up a bit such that the upper clime snow pack is beginning its annual run/melt off but with the Bitterroot River Basis still boasting holding onto 88% of its 20 year average snowpack as it tracks 99% of two decadal average year-to-date precipitation.
Bravo, bravo, bravo, as the relevancy of it all comes into wonderful focus!
Rock Creek Ron
---<’///:><
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