My Perfect Day: Dream Lake

This past week we went on our fly fishing trip to Estes Park, Colorado…and on Saturday we went to a place up in the Rocky Mountain National Park called Dream Lake. And Saturday was not a dream, even though it felt like one. I told Cory and Xan at the end of the day: “That might have been the best day of my life!”

The 4 of us guys, Xan, Cory, and our guides Ron, Tim, and Andy headed out to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday morning (the last full day of our fly fishing trip) with our sights set on reaching a glacier lake at the elevation of over 10,000 ft. called: Dream Lake…We ran into a full parking lot at the trail head and we ended up turning around and loading onto a tour bus (with a crowd of tourist) at the bottom of the mountain in order to get to the trail head. (this is a story in itself that ill write about in a future blog).

Finally, reaching the trail head we strapped on all of our fly fishing gear including a float tube and flippers and we head up the trail towards Dream Lake. After a mile hike up the trail and through a little snow we cross a creek and I see the lake…it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. The water was like glass and you could see straight to the bottom, two massive peaks rising into the sky behind the lake, pines all around it and boulders surrounding the banks. We were fishing for a rare trout called the “green back cut throat,” and we could see them swimming everywhere because the water was so clear. By this point my was pumping with excitement and anticipation, I was ready to catch some fish!

Ron said “Campbell, follow me! Let’s go to the other side and get out on the boulders in the middle of the lake!” So I followed him on a side trail through more snow and down to the opposite bank. We waded through the icy water out to a rock where I tied on an ant fly that I had tied the night before.

This is what made the day so special for me…the night before Ron and Tim showed Xan, Cory, and me how to tie flies. I asked him to show me how to tie a fly that would work well at Dream Lake and Tim showed me how to tie an ant.

So I’m out in the middle of this gorgeous heaven like lake and I’m sitting on a rock trying to decide what to tie on first, and I thought “when would be a better time to catch a trout on a fly that I tied myself?” so I chose my ant. After a few casts I landed my first trout of the day! It was a spiritual experience to be taught the art of fly fishing then the art of tying flies from older men who have gone before me. Their was more to it than just catching the fish. I had been shown the way and directed, and through humbly seeking the instruction from our guides I had accomplished something that not many men can say they have done. I had caught a green back cut throat trout at Dream Lake on a fly that I tied the night before, in the company of the men who had shown and taught me the way.

I stayed on that rock the rest of the day catching fish after fish, often I was mesmerized by the world around me, I would be distracted by the mountains and just stand there in awe of what I had entered into… I was standing in a post card! I would focus on fishing for a while then take a moment to soak it all in. The beauty around me was magnificent, and I felt close to God. His glory was all around me and as I continued to catch fish my heart began to feel a part of this beautiful picture. “I was made for this!”

I will never forget the end of the day though. The sun was getting low and about to go down behind the mountains and I had caught 9 fish and I wanted 10 sooo bad (I felt like I was 9 under going into 18 wanting just one more birdie!). The afternoon sun was shining on the lake and a fly hatch was starting to hover over the water. I had about 30 feet of line out and I was whipping it through the air trying to get my fly deep into the center of the lake where a school of fish was. I felt uplifted by Ron and Tim’s words of affirmation as they expressed their delight in my form. It was the point that I truly came into my form and felt confident with my casting…I felt a peace, and a sense of belonging among all that was wild surrounding me.

When I was out on that rock in the afternoon sun Ron yelled from another rock “You look like that guy from A River Runs Through It!” Ron was talking about Paul…I was shocked that he had said that. It was a reconfirmation from God that I am becoming the man that I am meant to be. The reason this was so significant to me was because while we were on our backpacking trip in Wyoming the first week of Training Ground Xan and Cory gave us all characters from movies that depicted our personalities and stories…They gave me Paul that week. Im seeing Paul come out in me more and more, to the point that Ron saw him in me.

On that perfect Saturday I came close to catching #10 but it wasn’t meant to be, and it left me wanting more. Not just more fish, but more peace among the wild, more exploration of the unknown, more men to show me the way, and more delight from the Father.

Afternoon Delight

Pleasure would not be the same without hardship. Good would not be noticeable without a contrast. Mountain biking and fly fishing would not be the same without work.

Work is the main substance of Training Ground, but the best part of work is getting off for the day with a few hours of sunlight left! I’ll leave the work site with trout on my mind, get my gear together at the cabin, hop on my bike with my fly rod on my back, and head up to the reservoir! It’s a 20 minuet bike ride up to the first reservoir in the mountains behind the cabin.

The hill going up to these reservoirs is long and steep, and we always have to end up walking our bikes up this steep trail, but last Tuesday I told myself I was going to get to the top of this trail without stopping to walk my bike. I set my mind to it and made it! This was physically and mentally one of the hardest things I’ve done since being in Colorado, but I made it and now I could enjoy the rewards of my pain………Trout!

Without the struggle, fly fishing would not be as sweet…I’m learning more and more that the beauty of life comes through anguish. The struggle is God’s way of refining us into who he has made us to be. Embracing the fight that comes with the pain, through the faith that God’s hand is guiding us, is how we grow as men.

The saddest picture is when men fear the agony so much that as soon as the trail begins to get steep and the pedals are hard to turn, they quit by accepting their failure by turning around and going back to the comfort of the cabin…these men will never learn what it takes to fight for their desires. They will never affirm that they have what it takes. These men don’t see the big picture of what God is doing in their lives and they miss the glory that He has in store for them at the top of the mountain, so they just accept defeat with a careless heart and never challenge themselves again because they don’t want to experience the anguish again.

This becomes a life wasted and a generation lost…

God has everything to offer if only we will follow…he will take us up some steep and slippery slopes, but what he offers at the top is a world and life of strength, mystery, and beauty.

11 Mile Canyon

Today I caught my first trout on a fly rod! I could not have chosen a better place or time to learn how to fly fish. We have 3 of the most knowledgable fly guides, and I'm learning details about the sport that some men dont learn in 40 years of fishing. These men are passing down skills and wisdom that they have learned over their lifetime to us, and we are being led into the world of flyfishing.

The greatest part of learning from Ron, Tim, and Andy is the fact that we are being taught the correct and proper way to fly fish. This sport comes with so much common knowledge that without older and wiser men to teach us we would be lost....and without fish. But I love the idea that today I steped foot into a raging river with the fear of failure and no confidence in my form. Ron took me to his favorite hole "Old Faithful" and with patience he guided me on what to do in every situation. I had a few hits and one hook but I had not landed one....after a couple hours on the river I told Ron that I would give him a cigar if he would guide me to catch my first ever trout. So he accepted and led me to a hole where we hid behind a boulder and Ron pointed me towards where to cast my fly. In about 3 or 4 casts I caught a 10 inch rainbow trout!Along with the skill of fly fishing I realized something today, I trusted Ron. I trusted in every word he said to me, knowing that it came from the wisdom and knowledge of years of experience. I never second guessed him or even doubted. Even in my failure I knew that if I was patient and continued to follow Ron's teaching, then I would develop the correct form and eventually succeed.

I was initiated into flyfishing today by Ron the same way that God initiates me throughout life, but the difference is that I dont usually trust God. I tend to do things my own way, no matter what God is trying to teach me. God will point me in a certian direction and I baisically cast my fly in the opposite direction, on the rocks or in the thorn bushes, but I dont care because I did it my way. I dont need direction, I can handle this life on my own, I'll succeed in my own way...

Soon enough I've broken my line, lost all my flies, and more importantly I haven't caught any fish.

Through the context of fly fishing and faith in Ron's teaching I caught my first trout. Now if I could only trust God with the same faith.

My Desire

Adventure has always been something that I've loved, and I cant seem to get enough. When I was growing up I satisfied this desire for exploration and adventure through fishing and camping on the golf course where my dad worked. (this doesnt sound to adventurous but the course was out in the country west of Nashville, it had lakes, streams, and rolling hills that we would explore when we wern't playing golf). Anyway, my brother Clark and I made it feel as far away from society as possible by packing all our gear in backpacks and hiking down the streams in the summer and setting up camp on a rock island or a river bank. At least it felt like the real thing.

This was fun for a while, but I wanted the real thing! I have always desired adventure, and this side of me was to some sort suppressed by growing up on the golf course. To a certian extent this desire is why I love golf so much, because it is played outside in nature. I loved that aspect of it, but it was to safe for me I needed something dangerous. I had no place to take these desires, and no one to take me out in the wild and teach me how to meet these needs.

This was partly due to my determination as a golfer, and the fact that I was so focused on my goal of college golf that I ignored my longing for the outdoors.

As I said I grew up on a golf course, but this wasnt just any golf course it was a private, high class, members only course, and I got to play for free everyday! So I took advantage of my opportunity as a golfer, and ended up practically living out there! My point is that I was constantly around older wealthy high class men. Some were great men and I learned alot from them, if anything I learned how to approach these men without hesitation and have conversations with them...I look back and see this as a blessing, it was a privelage to be in their company.

The main reason I say this is to paint a picture of a boy who grew up in a mans world, It was a blessing. At the same time it was a proper society of men and women who lived in a comfortable world, and it was secure and predictable. I was a boy who wanted adventure and wilderness, I didnt want to be tamed by the society that I was brought up in. I needed adventure, risk, and danger.

I didnt realize this until our backpacking trip 2 weeks ago. I mean I always knew I had it in me, but God spoke to me out in the wilderness of Wyoming, standing on the top of a 13,000 ft. summit I said to myself "I was made for this!" The desire i've always felt as I grew up was met during that week in the mountains.