“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”


John Muir

Monday, April 19, 2010

Mammoth Springs - Spring River Arkansas April 2010

First trip to Mammoth Springs - Spring River Arkansas April 2010

Mammoth Spring is a very large and is the largest spring in the state of and the 3rd largest spring within the region. It is located in Mammoth Spring State Park, The spring's large volume of water travels a few hundred feet before merging with the to form the headwaters. The cold water provides excellent trout fishing conditions in addition to ample water for float trips on the Spring River. It was declared a natural landmark in June, 1972.

Early nineteenth century settlers in the Mammoth Spring area formed a village known as 'Head of the River. Local folklore claims that the spring first emerged when an Indian chief was digging the grave of his son who had been killed while searching for water during a severe drought. Legend holds that the massive spring will flow forever because the young Indian brave had died while searching for water.

The Capsize Camping Mattress


Since I am getting sick of hearing how my mattress pad is too large and occupies far too much space in the boat I thought that I should share share the photo on the left.

Pictured left is a state-of-the-art "camping mattress pad" circa 1924

This capsize master series 2 camp pad was at the time the world's lightest and most advanced answer to outdoor comfort. The Triangular Core Matrix internal truss system eliminated the instability and the down filler was up to three times warmer and far more stable than other uninsulated camp mattresses. When it came to space in your pack, one could appreciate that it was no bigger than 243 two-liter water bottles and weighed in at just 124 lbs. No inflation was necessary.

No longer can anyone complain about the size of my camp mattress pad.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

NFOW Late March 2010


This weekends trip included many nice Browns on the upper stretch above Blair Bridge.
We also encountered strong thunderstorms on our mid point camp. Hats off to my friend
Judd Claussen who did a great job on his first experience fly fishing.