where have my friends gone?

On Feb 2, 1:00 am, "JT" wrote:
"riverman" wrote in message

ups.com...

It's cold as hell here in the NW and there isn't a thing to post about!
Da can't get a rise out of anyone on his Fly Names, Wolfie can't get a
flame war started with Ken, the expo sounds like a flop and it hasn't
even
started, and cabin fever is on the rise. It's just down right frinkin
boring
around roff....

JT

Hmm, you probably don't want to hear that I've set up a week long
canoe/fishing trip to Mongolia this June, then. ;-j

--riverman

Details man... Details....!

I have a bunch of neat $hit planned for June too! However, with tomorrows
forecast of morning lows below zero, it just seems like years away!

JT

Ya want details...details ya get.

In an effort to primarily satisfy my longing for canoeing, especially
in a place (HK) that has no rivers larger than a trickle, I got
together with several other open boaters and we started reviewing
rivers in Tibet, Nepal, western China and India for a late June trip
this summer. It turned out that either the logistics or geology were
insurmountable; most of the rivers off the south side of the Himalayan
Massif either run hellaciously big, or dry up to a rock-filled empty
gorge immediately after the snow melts. The only canoeable stretches
are downstream, among the populations and pollutions, and though the
humid swamplands. Additionally, setting up shuttle logistics from here
was just too hard to do.

Also, it seems that there is a serious deficit of canoes in this
hemisphere.

So I had the bright idea of contacting some flyfishing outfitters in
Mongolia to see if any of them would be interested in hosting us;
providing shuttle and transport services, doing the food shop, etc.
Most of the outfitters were not interested; they wanted to sign us up
for one of their commercial trips (mostly using rafts). Ordinarily, I
would just hop on board, but the main emphasis of this trip is
supposed to be a Canoe Expedition more than a fishing trip.
Unfortunately, it also seemed that none of them have canoes.

Then one particular outfitter rose to the challenge. He's looking for
some sort of niche that all the other outfitters don't occupy, so I
convinced him that running canoe trips on one of his fishing rivers
would entice a whole new group of adventurers to do business with him.
We certainly are interested in fishing along the way, but we really
want to see the countryside by boat, and I know that there are many
like us out there.

One thing is leading to another, and the way it stands now is that he
is fully onboard. I'm advising him on some canoes to buy (solo and
tandem models), and he is contacting manufacturers to see if he can
get a good pro-deal to be the first person to import canoes into
Mongolia. He is setting us up with a 7-day onriver itinerary,
providing transport and logistics, and sending a fishing guide along
with us. We'll train the guide on how to run a river trip out of
canoes (no raft support), and the guide will help those of us who fish
get into some taimen. We also will take photos for his brochures, send
some along pics to the equipment manufacturers, and write an article
for Canoe and Kayak magazine. I might also write something for a
Flyfishing magazine, if any of you have any leads on editors or how to
submit to them.

So far, I have 3-4 teachers who are also open boaters on the definite
list, one of the officers of the China Exploration Society, and a
National Geographic photographer. I've contacted a couple of equipment
manufacturers (LL Bean and Lincoln Canoes) where I have some contacts
about getting some equipment sponsorships, and we're working with the
school to see if we can get some discount airfares through official
channels.

As much as I love flyfishing, this is more than just a fishing trip.
Its hopefully going to be the first all-canoe expedition run on this
particular river (although the entire stretch we are doing is
regularly done in inflatables), but we will, of course, fish along the
way. Hopefully, it will become an annual event where I can work with
this outfitter and run a different stretch of water each year.

I'll keep you guys updated as the plan evolves. 80% of it is still in
the planning stages, but the biggest hurdle (getting an outfitter to
agree to import boats) has been passed.

--riverman