I’m opening my eyes and I can tell by the sparse light in the room that it’s still way early.
I sit up to see my clock and realize it’s even worse than I thought.
2:34? Seriously?
I’m laying in bed and I know I won’t be able to fall back to sleep so I get up and start getting things ready.
I grab my fishing gear and hurriedly stumble out the door.
I have a couple hours to drive so maybe I will get tired again when I get to the trail parking lot and I can nap for a bit before hiking.
The morning comes quickly and I grab my stuff from the car and start hiking up the trail.
It’s a beautiful lake with steep cliff walls named Causey reservoir in northern Utah.
There are 4 rivers that feed water into it and I’m hiking up to fish one of them.
The hike takes about 90 minutes and it’s not too steep or difficult.
The air is warm and comfortable and the smell of trees and brush move through my nostrils as I make my way winding through a few small canyons up to the river fork where the magic really begins.
I reach my beginning destination and I notice someone has taken camping gear up in a canoe and is camped out by the river.
I move quietly through the camp site to get to where I can start showing these fish who their one true master is.
As I move forward I can see a rustling in the bushes ahead.
It’s definitely bigger than a squirrel or bird that I’ve seen so many times along the trail this morning.
I watch the other side of the trees assuming a deer or two will pop out into visible range.
Maybe I will get lucky and see an elk!
I watch and moving out of the brush I see something that stops me in my tracks and changes my smile to one of deep concern.
It’s a black bear.
It’s moving away from me and I don’t really feel instant danger.
However, I suddenly realize that I don’t have bear spray or any way to defend myself if I get attacked.
I just stand there for a few minutes weighing out my options.
I drove almost 2 hours and just hiked almost 2 more hours to get to this spot and the fishing is always incredible here.
Perhaps, I can fish and I won’t even see the bear again.
Maybe the bear has “family” around and I haven’t ran into any of them yet.
After some deliberation, I decide to hike back to my car.
I’m kind of bummed out and by the time I make it back to the trailhead, the lack of sleep has also set in and I feel immensely tired and sleepy.
I decide to park my car in a shady spot and take a nap for a bit.
I have nowhere to be since I was going to fish the creek for most of the day.
I wake up two hours later and realize I still want to go fishing.
So, I sit for a minute and try to think what other rivers are around that might work.
I drive over to a stream I have fished in late spring before but it’s dried up.
Then I remember a place I tried to fish years earlier but it was too early in the season and the water was brutally ice cold because it was still snow run off.
I didn’t stay long when I went because I was hiking in snow and couldn’t stay in the water for the cold.
It’s the creek above another reservoir north east of where I am and I know it’s another 90 minutes further away.
I make the decision to go to the reservoir and try it out.
At that point, at least if nothing else, it’s a scenic drive and another good hike.
I get to the lake and it’s much more remote.
I start hiking up the side of the lake and I can see cattle grazing there.
I’m getting stared down by a bull with balls so massive, they are literally almost touching the ground when he stands.
Clearly, I knew I would be in this situation when I dressed myself so I’m also wearing a bright red t-shirt to match the occasion.
He decides I’m not worth his time and I’m relieved I don’t have to enter into combat with the beast.
I arrive at a fishable section of the river.
It’s not as pretty as the first area but it’s high desert and pretty in its own way.
Plus, there is not a soul around me for miles.
I start casting into the deep river pockets and undercut banks.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you it was one of the best fishing days of my life.
I lost track of how many fish I caught in a few short hours but it was at least over 2 dozen.
Every little “hole” had a fish and sometimes I would pull 3 or 4 out of the same one.
It was an incredible experience and the brutal truth is it would not have happened if I hadn’t ran into that bear in the morning.
What seemed like such a downer turned into an awesome day and much more enjoyable than I would have had at the other spot.
Now, to drill that point home, I went back to that original spot a couple days ago (with some bear spray and a couple ninja throwing stars just in case).
It was also a great fishing day, but not near as good as the one I went to last week.
Plus, there were groups of wasps trying to kill me and although I’m not versed in bee lore, I’m fairly certain most of them were murder hornets.
Many times, things happen to me and I make a judgment on whether they are good or bad based on my perception.
However, there are benefits and drawbacks to everything we experience.
You can list them and make an equal list on every single thing if you are honest with yourself about it.
I would never have gone back to that other river if I hadn’t been “scared” away by the bear maybe ever again.
I also would not have had that awesome fishing day if I had not been determined to have a fishing experience after the first one got sidetracked.
It was a lesson for me in other areas of my life.
Where do I give up or fall into despair when things don’t go how I planned.
Those moments can be turned into huge victories if I just figure out a workaround, or try a different path, method, or approach.
What’s the end goal? Can it still be reached in another way?
The answer most likely is always yes if I am open to other ways of doing things.
Sometimes, perceived failure is really just setting us up for a bigger win.
Thank you for reading.
Phillip Adams
The ending is just the beginning.
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