Steelhead and Spines - Volume Two

"In the spring of 2015, we began another pursuit for big lines and wild fish. Once again, our direction was north to Alaska, just as it was 3 years ago on our first trip to capture steelhead and spines. Since then, our burning desire to explore around the next bend, to see what's on the other side of the mountain, has grown to an inextinguishable level. We found ourselves back in a corner of southeast Alaska where for a few months of the year, some of the steepest, fluted lines in the world can be ridden, while chromed out steelhead run up and down the coastal rivers. This is the place for us to step outside the bubble of modern society, and into a world of our own making, where skiing and fishing and camping is everything. We returned home with these images, and memories of battling storms and mountains on the glacier and of an island where pure fish swim beneath the old growth hemlocks."

             

              (click images for full size)

           

       

 

The Forgotten Trails of the Uintas

One of the most stimulating adventures I've ever done, right here in my backyard, the Uinta mountains. Alongside my brother Neil and Eric Porter, we used mountain bikes to access 4 different trout streams along the north slope, creating a loop out of dirt roads, game trails, and long forgotten single track, camping along the way. Agonizing stretches of non-existing trail and deadfall, hurdling our bikes and heavy packs over no less than 200 trees, led to some beautiful lengths of uninterrupted and largely unridden single track. At the end of each descent was a trout filled creek. I can't think of much else that makes me happier in life. Fly-fishing, mountain biking, backpacking, getting lost with your friends and exploring new routes, wild, fresh caught fish over the coals with grandmas fish spice? What more?

Check out the video below, and pick up a copy of the December adventure issue of FREEHUB MAGAZINE to read the full story from Porter, and see the photos in print. 

What Kind of Meat? - A fly fishing and mountain adventure to Bolivia

   I never would have thought we'd make it to Bolivia when we did. It was a rather spontaneous decision to drop everything and invest it all into something my brother and I have dreamed about for years. Bringing a dream to reality, executing it successfully having researched only enough to do it safely, but leaving plenty of mystery to keep the adventure pure, that is our approach. We made a film that shows our passion and dedication to fly-fishing, in one of the most exotic and threatened locations on earth, the Amazon. We camped in the Cordillera Real, where snow from the 20,000' peaks feeds the great Amazon basin, and had our first experience at high altitude.  It turns out that Bolivia really is an adventurers paradise. From the mountaineering, backpacking, biking, skiing, to the fishing, it's hard to imagine anywhere else in the world where these outdoor pursuits exist on a greater scale, in such close proximity to one another. It's an incredibly fulfilling and organic experience to go from an idea to a film, something thats tangible, something that I can share with others, instead of keeping the memories locked up in my brain. Anyways, I think it's worth sharing. I hope you enjoy :)





If you're interested in a Golden Dorado fishing expedition to the Bolivian Amazon, contact our friends Patrick and Federico from Angling Frontiers, they will take you on the trip of a life time : https://www.facebook.com/anglingfrontiers

Reconnaissance Loop - Uintas

   The Uintas are right out my front door and have provided us with years of easy access to mountainous adventures of all kinds. But I hadn't been up there all summer, and a quick retreat to Utah's largest wilderness seemed long overdue. Four days should do it. You could traverse the entire range from west to east in 4 days if you wanted, but that doesn't leave a whole lot of time for fishing. My summer itineraries are usually based around fishing, so I thought about a loop out of the Highline trailhead that would take us through some new terrain, over a few mountain passes, down and up a river valley, with plenty of scheduled stops to wet a line.

 Kalen and I took the highline trail about 17 miles east on the first day before we setup camp. We wanted to make it to a secluded basin on the far side of upper Rock Creek drainage where a fantastic scene awaited us. Halfway there, the weather changed and set the tone for the rest of the trip.

We came across these goats on Rocky Sea pass and I thought, "I should have a goat".

The hike went by quickly, and before I knew it we were in the basin, in the alpine. The joy of reaching such a spectacular place after a long day of hiking was short lived. Before we had a chance to set up camp, thunder claps and cloud to ground lightning strikes had us running for lower ground. A few hours later the storm pushed on, as they usually do, we built camp, and I raced with my fly rod to the upper lakes to get a few casts in before dark. 

Reconnaissance Lake is an alpine jewell that I was very happy to finally see for myself. 

The second day we came over dead horse pass which is where our hike officially turned into a loop. Crossing from the upper rock creek drainage to the headwaters of the west fork Blacks fork river, and then over another un-named pass into the Bear river was our plan for the day.

We decided to camp at dead horse lake. Getting caught in the lightning storm the day before scared us enough that we didn't want to cross another high mountain pass in the afternoon when the storms roll in

There are many things that make the Uinta mountains unique. All of the headwater systems provide refuge for two of Utah's native trout, the Colorado river cutthroat and the Bonneville cutthroat. You can fish for them both in a single day, separated only by a few mountain passes and a mile or so as the raven flies. This fish above lives at the source of the Colorado in a small lake at 11,000', feeding on anything thats been blown in by the wind.

Continuing our loop, we made our 3rd camp along the banks of the east fork of the Bear river. This drainage is home to the Bonneville cutthroat and the headwaters of the largest terminal river in the western hemisphere.  Our last day of hiking would have been a big one. My feet were cursed with blisters from not wearing shoes for a month, and the weather kept us from our intended pace. After a little debate, we hiked to the Christmas meadows road and down to the mirror lake highway where we hitched a ride from a friendly old couple back to the truck. We didn't make the full loop and the weather was kind of shitty, but it was still one of my favorite treks through the Uintas to date.

Sunsets in Nicaragua... and waves

   Looking back on my first month long trip to Nicaragua, I have to say, at times it was pretty rough. On day 4,  I was coming out of the water after catching what had been at the time, the best wave of my life, only to get attacked by a sting ray. 4 more steps and I would have made it safely to shore, but no, the prehistoric animal stabbed me through the foot with his razor sharp, bacteria infested barb. At that point the most painful 4 hour experience of my life commenced as the poison pulsed through my leg. I was out for a week and a half, couldn't surf, and I thought my vacation was ruined. Eventually the infection began to dissipate and the gaping hole in my foot started to close up. I was able to get back into the water and surf, finally. More than five weeks later and my foot still hurts, and its still infected.

   Other than the bloody sting ray attack, the waves went flat for a short time. Mostly during the period when I was healing my foot which was ok with me, but still, that usually never happens. In a place known for having the most consistent surf in the world, it was kind of shitty. But for someone like myself who still doesn't know any better, it was awesome. Besides, when the big swells hit I can't surf those waves yet anyhow. 

   And then there was the fishing. We didn't catch a single fish on the fly on our trip. It was a huge let down. I went to Nica thinking we were just going to kill it! The locals said we were bad luck, but I think that someone told the fish that the Provo bros were coming and they all fled. But seriously, even the locals were catching jack shit. Even the seafood restaurants on the beaches of the pacific, at times had zero fresh fish to serve. Unseasonably cold water and relentless offshore winds were really to blame for our poor showing. But it was not for a lack of trying. We still cruised the beaches looking for Rooster fish, casted off the rocks hoping to lure in a big Cubera snapper, and headed to blue water in hopes of finding sail fish and Dorado on a bait ball. I will still bring my fishing gear every time I visit, because I know there is good fishing to be had in Nicaragua, it may just take a little time to discover. 

Here are some images from the Playa Santana area:

(click on the images for larger viewing)

Popoyo outer-reef on July 5th. Barreling 

At this point we figured we weren't going to be catching shit. But, you gotta get your bait in the water if you want to have even the slightest chance. As long as the wind was calm, it was a beautiful place to cast a fly rod

Toña tour of Grenada

15th century colonial architecture in Grenada

every night was a different sunset 

my incredibly sexy girlfriend

my older brother Justin showing us how its done

finding a moment for myself

tidal pools reflecting color at Playa Santana

Land of the lefts, land of the volcanoes, land of the offshore wind, etc etc.. Sunset land?

the end of another epic session with my bros

Fly-fishing in Bolivia: The Green Forrest Lodge - Caño Negro

The second part of our Bolivian exploits brought us to the jungle once again, but this time to experience our first taste of the fishing lodge life. The Green Forrest Lodge is a fishermen's paradise, where on any given cast you might hook into one of 29 species of game fish. River monsters abound.

Read the full story here :  http://bit.ly/1aqtPLO

18 minute film: