The River....

I recently got to get on/in the Upper Owens River near Mammoth Lakes, CA. It was cold. There was 3-4 feet of snow along the highway and I was knee-highing my way to the water through soft snow. I also had to negotiate over a barbwire fence with my waders. Not a time for sissies or for slip-ups.

Actually, to back it up a bit, I had started fishing the Lower Owens River, where it comes out of Lake Crowley, near Bishop. But, the water was flowing too fast...there was too much of it moving. The fish were 'off' or maybe I just sucked. Nothing was biting.

As I was standing in the water though, I could feel it moving around me. It could not be stopped. There was a certain pressure I had to keep using in my legs, just to make any progress as I made my way up the river. Of course if I fell on my butt, I would just be flowing with the river. I'd also probably drown as my waders filled like a water balloon. A totally heroic way to go for sure. [Gravemarker: He left like he came...in a water-filled sack].

I started getting all thoughtful about it though...the flow; the stream. The Bible teaches that if we know Jesus, living water will fill me and flow out of me and that it cannot be stopped. It is moving in and around me. It is full of life. I can try to stand up against it, but that takes pressure. In a good way, if I just flow with it, I get carried along. I may not know what is around the next bend, but I am flowing with the river. It was a cool thought.

Then, my overwhelming frustration at being mocked by fish got the better of me. I needed to get somewhere else. That is when I jumped in the car and drove another 40 minutes to the Upper O. It was another experience entirely, but I will save that for next time.