The Clegger
It was a rather ominous trip to begin with as my son had just been killed in March and the trip was later that same year. However I agreed to go, as I couldn’t turn back time or change in any way what had already happened.
My friend and I headed for “The Clegger” Cleghorn Bar in the Feather River canyon area of the North Fork. It was a couple hours of highway driving followed by an hour or so driving through the mountains on a fire road and then another hour and the last 6 miles or so on a four wheel drive road that would scare a Mountain Goat, to get to the bottom of the canyon and the place we like to go fish for wild “Bows” and “Browns”.
The road so steep that with a four wheel drive in compound low you still need your brakes most of the way down. Without compound low you would probably burn your brakes up reaching the bottom safely.
Without four-wheel drive you almost certainly will not get out. Besides being extremely steep, at some points with out seat belts to hold you in you would literally be against the windshield. There are two places that are hairpin turns at both ends of a torn up piece of road that is so steep even putting on your brakes will not stop your descent toward the edge, you’ll just keep sliding. At the bottom of one of these hairpin mofo’s is tree stump that sticks out into your path causing you to swerve around it and coming within inches of going over the edge. The entire road is steep mountain on one side and drop off on the other.
At the bottom of this canyon is a place, a very private place that is one of my favorite places on the Earth. The Feather River is completely wild and untouched in this area and the animals don’t see enough human traffic to really change their habits much. At a certain time of year, end of summer early fall there are Banana Slugs and Newts or Salamanders everywhere and they can be quite fun to pick up and carry around in your pocket all day. They’re a little like living rubber toys.
The fish although wild and small, averaging about 7 to 10 inches with some bigger ones coming out occasionally, are all but begging to get on your hook.
You can walk 20 feet from your campsite and catch them almost anytime you wish. There are only 5 campsites down there so it never gets really crowded or noisy. Because of the degree of difficulty getting in and out usually the only ones you may run into down there are fairly serious about solitude and fishing. Although you tend to worry the whole time your there about if and how you will get out, it is well worth the stress.
This particular trip was going to be quite different from the times before because we had a plan. We had heard that there was some fantastic fishing to be had 10 crossings up river. That is how you navigate in this area, by crossings. Because the banks of the river become impassable at times you must cross in order to proceed up river. There is no other way. Because everyone must cross at the same places at certain points it is easy to judge distance, not in miles but in the number of times you must cross.
In some of these crossings you are absolutely going to get wet above the waist and in a couple you will get the top of your hat wet.
We took “el cheapo” air mattresses to blow up and float our equipment on and then deflate afterwards to solve the problem.
On this particular trip we had planned to go up 10 crossings but didn’t make it. We made about 6 crossings before running out of time and heading back. This is not a place you want to get caught in after the Sun goes down without the equipment to spend the night.
However when we reached the end of the trail we proceeded to fish the deep holes just below the falls where our trail ended.
It was here that the most amazing thing in my life happened. I was fishing and thinking of my son and as I looked up into a blue sky almost completely void of clouds except a small group directly above and out in front of me. I stared at those clouds as they moved around until they spelled out my sons name “Eric”. I naturally couldn’t believe my eyes and took several glances until I was absolutely sure that it had happened and then they dissipated almost as quickly, before I had a chance to get my friends attention.
As extraordinary and unbelievable as this may sound, it happened and I know it. I didn’t tell anyone because I know how it sounds but a short time after that incident another supernatural event happened to verify that my son was contacting me and letting me know he was alright. It was that second event that substantiated the first and although it doesn’t ease the longing it does something for me, I just don’t know what.
My friend and I headed for “The Clegger” Cleghorn Bar in the Feather River canyon area of the North Fork. It was a couple hours of highway driving followed by an hour or so driving through the mountains on a fire road and then another hour and the last 6 miles or so on a four wheel drive road that would scare a Mountain Goat, to get to the bottom of the canyon and the place we like to go fish for wild “Bows” and “Browns”.
The road so steep that with a four wheel drive in compound low you still need your brakes most of the way down. Without compound low you would probably burn your brakes up reaching the bottom safely.
Without four-wheel drive you almost certainly will not get out. Besides being extremely steep, at some points with out seat belts to hold you in you would literally be against the windshield. There are two places that are hairpin turns at both ends of a torn up piece of road that is so steep even putting on your brakes will not stop your descent toward the edge, you’ll just keep sliding. At the bottom of one of these hairpin mofo’s is tree stump that sticks out into your path causing you to swerve around it and coming within inches of going over the edge. The entire road is steep mountain on one side and drop off on the other.
At the bottom of this canyon is a place, a very private place that is one of my favorite places on the Earth. The Feather River is completely wild and untouched in this area and the animals don’t see enough human traffic to really change their habits much. At a certain time of year, end of summer early fall there are Banana Slugs and Newts or Salamanders everywhere and they can be quite fun to pick up and carry around in your pocket all day. They’re a little like living rubber toys.
The fish although wild and small, averaging about 7 to 10 inches with some bigger ones coming out occasionally, are all but begging to get on your hook.
You can walk 20 feet from your campsite and catch them almost anytime you wish. There are only 5 campsites down there so it never gets really crowded or noisy. Because of the degree of difficulty getting in and out usually the only ones you may run into down there are fairly serious about solitude and fishing. Although you tend to worry the whole time your there about if and how you will get out, it is well worth the stress.
This particular trip was going to be quite different from the times before because we had a plan. We had heard that there was some fantastic fishing to be had 10 crossings up river. That is how you navigate in this area, by crossings. Because the banks of the river become impassable at times you must cross in order to proceed up river. There is no other way. Because everyone must cross at the same places at certain points it is easy to judge distance, not in miles but in the number of times you must cross.
In some of these crossings you are absolutely going to get wet above the waist and in a couple you will get the top of your hat wet.
We took “el cheapo” air mattresses to blow up and float our equipment on and then deflate afterwards to solve the problem.
On this particular trip we had planned to go up 10 crossings but didn’t make it. We made about 6 crossings before running out of time and heading back. This is not a place you want to get caught in after the Sun goes down without the equipment to spend the night.
However when we reached the end of the trail we proceeded to fish the deep holes just below the falls where our trail ended.
It was here that the most amazing thing in my life happened. I was fishing and thinking of my son and as I looked up into a blue sky almost completely void of clouds except a small group directly above and out in front of me. I stared at those clouds as they moved around until they spelled out my sons name “Eric”. I naturally couldn’t believe my eyes and took several glances until I was absolutely sure that it had happened and then they dissipated almost as quickly, before I had a chance to get my friends attention.
As extraordinary and unbelievable as this may sound, it happened and I know it. I didn’t tell anyone because I know how it sounds but a short time after that incident another supernatural event happened to verify that my son was contacting me and letting me know he was alright. It was that second event that substantiated the first and although it doesn’t ease the longing it does something for me, I just don’t know what.
posted by half_cent | 3:53 PM
1 Comments:
Half_Cent, that was a beautiful story. Maybe what you have come to know is that your son lives on and is alright. This might sound stupid, but I think love is a powerful force that can transcend the physical, and maybe your son's love for you is allowing him to have the power to communicate with you.
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