The West Fork is the sort of destination that a person will either prize or despise. The same bluffs, boulders, craggy ledges and currents that make it beautiful also make it seriously demanding, and the hike into and down through the river gorge is exhausting. The fish can also be seriously fussy, especially during mid-summer.
Nathaniel's inaugural West Fork adventure included some misadventure, including my friend and I losing the only semi-beaten path at one point and the three of us having to descend a steep ridge a few hundred feet through thick rhododendron. We walked and waded about four miles by day's end, each fell down more than a few times and all left the river totally spaghetti legged. And we didn't actually catch many trout. All that said, Nathaniel now stands firmly in the camp of prizing my favorite river, and I believe he'll be happy to join me again as often as I want to go.
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