Author's Note:
This is to be a three part story. There are many story categories into which this story might be assigned. Given this I settled on placing it in the Novella/Novel. Thanks to Sam for your help and insights when editing this story.
All Characters participating in sexual activities are 18 years of age or older.
I hope you enjoy it!
A man totally unsuspecting and unprepared, takes a trip of a lifetime
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This trip had been long in the planning. For more than six months, two friends and I had been studying maps, searching the internet, calling guide services and meeting over many brews to plan our trip.
We were sure we had everything arranged. The plan was set for us to leave home on the third weekend in June. We would be heading North, traveling on the Interstate rather than the more scenic route. We wanted to get into the fishing as soon as possible.
We planned to meet a friend in Pinedale, Wyoming and float on the area's streams, including the Green. Then the three of us would continue our trek north fishing streams along the way. Our final stop would be Jackson, Wyoming. Here we would fish and float the Snake River beginning in the Grand Tetons National Park and float down stream to Jackson.
If fishing was good we would do the same float again, otherwise we would float other sections of the River. We built some flexibility into our plan. If the fishing were fantastic we would have time to stay longer in any location. We were to be back home by the fourth of July.
Rob, Kyle and I had long been fishing buddies and have gone on many fishing trips together. We had met through our having each joined the same fishing club in our mid-twenties. Once we discovered one person pontoon boats we couldn't be stopped. We limited our adventure only by our imagination and of course time and money.
Time is always a premium and our trips didn't cost very much as we already owned all our equipment. Sometimes we would camp, others we would stay with friends and motels were always an option. The only other real expense was gasoline but split three ways even though it didn't break any banks. We cooked our own meals sharing the task. We always had Rob make the breakfasts as he seemed to be the first to wake in the morning. His breakfasts were both imaginative and amazing. Kyle and I would split up the dinners with lunches being sandwiches, chips and fruit that we could eat on our boats.
The primary limitations on our time were of course work and family. Work is work, it was a matter of scheduling vacation time. Families were a little more restrictive. Kyle was married and had two daughters both in high school. Rob has a live-in girlfriend. I never asked why they were not married. The two of them have been together for as long as I have known them and that is at least 10 years. I have a wife, Debbie, and two daughters as well but my two daughters are six and eight.
Our wives and girlfriend understand our need to get away and have our adventures with the fish but scheduling is always an issue.
The trip began well. We left home early on Saturday morning. Rob drove his SUV pulling a trailer with our three boats on it. The drive to Pinedale took a large chunk of the day but we arrived early enough to take our friends and host out to dinner. Jerry and Sarah are long time friends that have offered their spare bedrooms and couch for us to stay. Jerry would be joining us on our three days of floating the area streams. Even if the fishing were to be fantastic we didn't want to overstay our welcome so we have agreed in advance that this part of the trip would be three days only.
We enjoyed catching up with Jerry and Sarah during our stay and the fishing was pretty good. The Gray Drakes, a mayfly, was hatching and the trout were keying on them. We caught mainly Rainbows and Browns with an occasional Yellowstone Cutthroat or cross taking our offerings.
We floated several sections of the Pine and the Green. Both fished well. It looked like this would be a good year for the trout. Looking east one could clearly see the snowpack was still heavy on the peaks in the Wind River Range.
Our plan called for us to leave Pinedale early and drive north on highway 191. Our research told us that there were many small streams that came out of the mountains and crossed or came close to this highway. Our plan was to explore these streams on our way to Jackson. If we found a gem we would stay for a while.