Ten Years On, Still Learning

Rivertop Rambles debuted 29 October 2011 with a short narrative commencing my Slate Run Odyssey series and the quiet start of a 10-year journey with this blog. I was certainly new to the game a decade ago and, frankly, I’m still learning. When I started up this blog (with my daughter’s help) I had no idea of how to post photos till about the third or fourth attempt but what I did have was determination to learn the ropes and to speak about my passions for fly-fishing, hiking, and natural history. The years have flown.

I am grateful for my readers and especially those who click the Like button and/or take the time to comment, opening the channels of communication. The Followers of Rivertop Rambles, modest in number but typically faithful, are especially appreciated for they’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. They’ve been here, having found the site without a link from other social media. That’s right, I’ve not used Facebook, Instagram or anything like it for a purchase. They have been here because of their interest in outdoor recreation, conservation, and good narrative. This blog has floated some 630 posts so far (the vast majority my personal reflections and associations, with accompanying photos). That’s a pretty decent record, especially when considering the fact that the average life-span of a blog is said to be about 100 days.

When I started posting the long series called “The Slate Run Odyssey” in the fall of 2011, my wife and daughter had won a raffle by the Slate Run Sportsmen group designed to benefit a Pennsylvania effort to survey and to ultimately protect more wild trout habitat in the region. The prize, donated by the Slate Run Tackle Shop, was a premium fly rod and reel which I was privileged to use throughout my efforts to fish Slate Run from mouth to source. I still enjoy that Superfine graphite– a 4-piece 4-weight rod that measures 7-feet in length and wears its complementary reel with pride.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes over the years while blogging but when I learn of them I try to make amends. They’re sort of like a screw-up that occurred this summer while hiking in Costa Rica. I was walking down a gravel road, fascinated by the flight of Scarlet Macaws passing overhead. My head was in the clouds, so to speak, while I should have kept an eye on where I was heading. I fell flat on my gut, scraping limbs and injuring a shoulder that, two months later, requires physical therapy. I learned a lesson rather late but realized that, for some of us, school is never out.

Therapy takes many forms and, for me, one of them is writing. Also, not to be forgotten is that sweet rejuvenation gained from hours spent on a wonderful stream or mountain trail. Out there, I’ll look once again at the inscription on my little 7-foot fishing instrument, the one that entered my life about the same time that this blog was born. The script says “2011 Pine Creek Watershed Conservation Rod.” It’s suffered a few minor injuries throughout the decade but it’s primed, as always, for another gentle cast.