So I went up to Summit County this last weekend, with the intention of being my wife's support crew and get in some fishing on the Blue. The fishing reports for the Blue were off the hook, right until the day I left. Apparently, the water department decided to let more water out of the Dillon reservoir, and blow out the fishing holes. The reports at the local fly shop read like, Don't Bother" "Wait a bit, it'll get better soon" and my favorite, "Get a tube and a 30 Pack".
Heading into the weekend, I must admit, I was more concerned about which spot to fish, instead of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer itself. I figured there were people who had that organized, and my wife is one of those corn-fed girls from the midwest. In other words, she's tough. What I did not figure on, was the production value that was going to take place that weekend. There were obviously a lot of pink license plates, and a lot of pink t-shirts and caps in town. The only comparison I could come up with was a 'Dead show. Cars were well appointed with messaging, pink ribbons, signs, pictures, flags, boas, and just about anything pink that you could figure out how to attach to the exterior of an automobile. The support crews were amazing. There was a group of bikers, as in Harley not Trek, who stopped at a few places along the way to tell jokes and cheer on the participants. There was the self-named Moo Crew, dressed in bovine themed attire, likewise providing encouragement and improv. humor. One lady, whose granddaughter is a 3 time survivor came to support the cause and held the sign in the photo above.
Overall, it was an awesome gathering of folks who came together to support a cause and did as much walking as they did talking.
The one altercation I heard of included a biker, Trek not Harley, who yelled at the ladies on the path to share the path because they were in his way. Sidenote: In what frame of mind does it seem that yelling at 50-100 ladies all wearing pink and on the same 39 mile hike is ever going to sound like a good idea? According to my wife, the ladies responded with a plethora of pejoratives that would have made any rugby club proud.
All in all, ~1100 people participated in the walk. Approximately 10% were survivors, and $3.3 million dollars were raised by the participants through donations. The walk itself was no mean feat. 39.3 miles in two days at 9300 feet, is nothing to sneeze at. I must admit that the takeaway from the weekend was the magnitude of the weekend, and the dedication of the participants and their supporters.
There were a few fish caught, but at the end of the day, I can't really say that counts.
The fly of the week, going with the theme of pink, is the Hi Viz Caddis: (Courtesy of the folks at Royal Gorge Anglers.)
Tight Lines,
Dave
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