Hello all,
It's hard to believe it, but tomorrow we have to say goodbye. This trip has flown by and we are so grateful to have spent it with such an amazing squad! For the past two days, our trip floated the Yellowstone River. From our final backcountry, we drove north out of the park and down the Paradise Valley. The floats were super fun and in total we covered almost 20 river miles! We spent our nights on the river and got to enjoy stunning stars and some much-welcomed warm air.
Homemade pita pizzas and lots of snacks felt like a real treat after backcountry livin'! The fishing was great on the float and the chance to fish out of a boat is always a privilege. Fishing out of a boat lets us see lots of water, cast at lots of fish, and take lots of swims with our pals. After saying goodbye to our float guides, we headed west and back to Ennis. On the way we stopped in Bozeman for some ice cream in the park. We arrived and immediately got to the games — a big game of ultimate frisbee got everyone pretty tired. That night we slept well and woke up ready to eat some pancakes and eggs.
After breakfast we finished the trip well with some service and a good day of tubing that cooled us down on the world famous Madison River. The river felt great and tubing was an awesome way to hang out before sending everybody home. We tubed down the Madison and brought our Hess sampler along. Halfway through our tubing we stopped on the side of the river and ate some lunch. After lunch we took a couple of samples of river insects for the Salmonfly Project. The Salmonfly Project is a research program focused on monitoring and protecting aquatic insect populations. Aquatic insects are foundational to the healthy trout populations we all love, and feeling like we get to help protect the fish we love brings us all heaps of joy.
Tonight we will enjoy some pool, ping pong, and a big banquet dinner. On the menu is steak and potatoes. Our banquet is always a great way to recap our trip and we are all so proud of how everyone has grown on this trip.
These boys are backcountry ready and know how to hike! This trip has been so much fun and we can't wait for you all to hear the endless fish stories from our trip!
All the best,
Owen, Charlie, Kellen, and the Guys
