As the fall progresses I often debate whether to wear my waders. I prefer wading wet, but somewhere along the way it gets a little too chilly to simply step into the creek.
I chose wet wading this week. The Nantahala River wasn't that terribly cold, and it was so so low that I rarely stayed more than knee-deep for more than a few minutes. In fact, I often stood atop rocks, high and mostly dry.
My friend Calvin took his own approach. He put on neither waders nor wading boots, sticking with jeans and tennis shoes, and each time he came to a place where the rocks were more than a stride apart, he carefully calculated a leap and a landing place and then made his jump with confidence. Calvin fished everywhere Nathaniel and I did without ever getting wet, and he managed to leapfrog his way all the way across the river several times. His leaps were fun to watch and clearly added to my day, but I think I'll stick with short, cautious steps, whether wet or dry!
