Trail Creek Pond, Victor, ID

Trail Creek Pond, Victor, ID (Feb. 13 2016)

Porter (my brother), Hunter, and Alice inspecting a new hole.

When my brother Porter is in town conversation and activity has a tendency to rapidly move in the direction of a line and reel. It could be dipping flies on the South Fork in the summer, flipping a spinner on a backcountry creek in the fall, or drowning worms on the frigid ice in the winter. Somehow or someway we always end up chasing fish when he is around. 

On this particular visit it was decided that we would give an old favorite a try for some rainbow trout. Trail Creek Pond is a fun little family fishing spot. In the summer its an excellent location to take the kids outside for a picnic and an opportunity to catch some rainbows! In the winter the pond freezes leaving about 6-8 feet of water and a whole bunch of hungry trout under the ice.

Alice trying to decide how to walk in all her layers!

It's always interesting trying to brave snow and cold with little ones but Erin and I have never liked the idea of just calling it quits on activities because we have kids. So, I find that I'm always looking for some way to make outdoor activities easier and more comfortable for the wee ones. Hunter is old enough now (8) that he can pretty much take care of himself or at least let me know when he has a problem. Scarlett and especially Alice are still young enough that they don't understand the importance of staying dry and how to layer to stay more. Scarlett still gives me silly looks when she says, "My fingers are cold." and I tell her to put her beanie on and zip up her jacket. "Dad my hands are cold not my head!”

Tyler (my other brother) with the first catch.

Part of the problem with outdoor activities and kids is that gear gets expensive!!! and kids grow so fast that it is physically painful to drop $140 on a Gortex jacket that your kid is only going to fit into for about 4 months. Consequently, I have become a huge fan of thrift store or second hand shops. You wouldn't believe some of the cool stuff people drop off at thrift stores. I have found name brand stuff like Patagonia, North Face, and Marmot. The kids all have pretty nice three layer systems (base layer, fleece insulating layer, and Gortex outer layer). The nice part is that I'm probably only invested about $50-$60 into each kid. 

Hunter, Teal, and Alice hamming it up on the ice.

Alice is still so tiny that after I stuff her into long johns, fleece, Gortex, gloves, a beanie, and pack boots she can hardly move! But she is a trooper! She was pretty content to waddle around each fishing hole and peak down to see if she could spot any fish. Normally, I have a jacket on her that is a little smaller but I decided to put her into this REI brand jacket that doesn't fit Scarlett anymore. The arms are still so long that her hands don't stick out the ends. As it turns out I think this is an excellent idea for toddlers. Normally, Alice tries to escape her gloves and hat as quit as I put them on put with her hands stuck inside her jacket she couldn't get her gloves and hat off!

The fishing wasn't great on this particular trip, it happens sometimes, but we had an epic snowball fight and the kids enjoyed themselves, which makes it a win!

-Adventure on!