We’ve been focused on seeking out steelhead, with some limited success, during the last months of 2023. According to recent stats from the Idaho Fish and Game it is currently taking between 20-30 hours of effort to land a steelhead. That means we’re overdue for our next fish according to my records, so wish us luck as we head out to make the last cast of the year. Luckily as the year draws to a close, the steelhead are still in the river and the fishing continues in January.
The last day of the year seems like one for reflection of where we’ve been and where we are going. 2023 was a transformative year, and now it is time to start thinking about what 2024 has in store.
Where we’ve been – 2023:
We had exactly one day off in the first three months of 2023, so on the last day of March we quit our jobs and headed out on the road. Our East Coast Adventure took us from Vermont to South Carolina, and back north to Maine before we picked up what items we took with us for our move out east and we headed west to find a new home base. After about 11,000 miles and 11 weeks on the road we found our own little slice of heaven on a ridge overlooking the Clearwater River in Idaho and unpacked in June.
After our boxes were unpacked we spent the the second half of the year exploring of our new home state (the Lost River, Fishing for Cutthroats and the Magruder Corridor were a few highlights) as well as taking a couple of fishing trips to Oregon, among other adventures.
We’re closing out the year with 28 states and one Province of Canada visited, and 125 nights spent in the Four Wheel Camper. It had a slow start, but overall 2023 ended up being a good one for new adventures.
Where we are headed – 2024:
That seems to be the question, doesn’t it? Whether it’s a new neighbor we just met, or someone we’ve known for a long while, the question left hanging runs something along the lines of “Where are you headed next?” What more direct people ask is, “What are you doing now?” with “doing” usually meaning “doing for work”. It’s funny when you think about it, we as a society tend to identify who we are with where we work. So much so that many of the common last names reflect a profession (e.g. Baker, Smith) that may date back hundreds (thousands?) of years. After leaving our career oriented jobs behind before we could officially retire from them, and moving on to what we thought would be a slower working pace that ended up being anything but that, we’ve found ourselves jobless for the first time since our teens. I was recently told I have too much hair left to just stop working (ha!), but the thing is I’m not sure I want to trade any more of my time for another paycheck. It’s true, time and happiness can be traded for money but the time we are given is really the most finite and valuable thing we are gifted, and maybe we’ve done enough of that for a while.
So as our sights turn to 2024 we are going to be doing our level best to get by on what we have and spend our time in the wisest manner possible. That means exploring the outdoors of Idaho and beyond, fishing, hiking, camping and travelling. I don’t know exactly where we are headed as we race toward 2024, but we have an awful lot on our ever growing list of places to see and things to do, so it should be fun figuring it out. Rest assured that there will be a few fish in the future, along with seeing new places and spending as many nights with the top of the camper popped up as we can.
Just remember, as my favorite philosopher always said, “If you don’t do it now, you’ll be one year older when you do.” Here’s to tight lines in 2024.
Remember, you can follow along on our adventures by subscribing to the blog or to our YouTube channel. We wish you all the best in 2024. Happy New Year!
Words well spoken. You will never regret doing what your heart tells you but most likely would regret one day not having listened to your heart.
More power to you !!!
Rob aka Buckland
Yes, here’s to tight lines in 2024!