Page 61 - Flathead Beacon // 10.26.16

MOUNTAIN EXPOSURE
OUTDOORS IN BRIEF
PRIVATE DONOR OFFERS TO EXPAND PINE GROVE POND FISHING SITE
The popular Pine Grove Pond could be growing by more than 5 acres thanks to a private donation.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is seeking to accept the donation of a long, narrow parcel of land totaling 5.17 acres between the existing parking area at the shing site and the base of the hillside to the west. The donor, who is not named in the proposal, is o ering the land to the state to provide a bu er against potential future development west of the site and for potential additional parking in the future.
FWP is accepting public com- ments on the donation through Nov. 4. Contact Tony Powell, Region 1 shing access site pro- gram manager, at (406) 751-5423 or email him at [email protected] with questions or comments.
The 23-acre site o Rose Cross- ing east of White sh Stage Road in Kalispell is one of the most popular public shing sites in town. Open six months a year in a peaceful setting removed from the nearby urban cityscape, it boasts more than 25,000 visits annually, mostly among youth anglers and their families. It is ideal for fam- ilies looking to work on the basics of angling while also landing a memorable lunker.
Robin Street was honored last year for his e orts donating the original 13 acres that became Pine Grove Pond in 2011.
Pine Grove Pond is located 3 miles northeast of Kalispell o Rose Crossing east of White sh Stage Road and just west of the White sh River. The site is open April through October.
If you would like to be featured in “Mountain Exposure,” email information to news@ atheadbeacon.com.
OUT OF BOUNDS ROB BREEDING THE BEE’S KNEES
OCTOBER HAS BEEN PRETTY fair so far. It was too warm early in the month, and more recently we got buried in a winter storm that arrived a couple months too soon. But the snow is mostly melted now, except the stu up high where we need it.
More importantly, this fall I have become increasingly aware that there’s a hunting life expectancy in this body of mine. And while the sell-by date isn’t looming anytime too soon, I probably need to start paying more attention to those aches and pains, and to reducing, rather than expanding, my waistline.
I want to be sure I’ve got two more bird dogs in me beyond Doll, my 6-year- old English setter and current hunting companion.
I’m not getting old, mind you, just older. There’s good reason for concern, however. The stitches came out of my left knee this morning. The surgery was a minor arthroscopic procedure.
My meniscus, the pads of cartilage that separate the femur from the tibia was torn and the apping bits were caus- ing so much in ammation that I’d been reduced to a gimpy bystander as the fall hunting and shing seasons kicked o . I did get one day of good bird hunting in, but otherwise I’ve been pretty sedentary.
The meniscus in my right knee required a similar procedure about 15 years ago. That knee failed after an intense two-day quail hunt with my friend, the Long Walker. It was our rst time out together, and I didn’t know he meant business when we left the truck late in the morning. We didn’t get back until nearly dusk. We saw plenty of birds, and I even managed to kill a few, so I didn’t mind.
At the end of day two, however, my knee was done. I nursed it through the winter and spring, hoping for a miracu- lous recovery, but it never came. In June,
Iwentundertheknife.
When knee No. 2 went south this
spring, my doctor speculated that I just had joints built in a way that eventually wore out that knee cartilage. Like the right knee, the left seemed to just fail over time. It started aching last spring, afteracasualjogwithmydaughter.Itwas ne the day of the run, but I couldn’t walk the following morning.
So both knees just wore out. The right has been ne since surgery, and I hope the left will settle down soon so Doll and I can return to the chukar grounds. But the experience has been a bit sobering. While I sat in the waiting room at my orthope- dic surgeon’s o ce the other day, a video in the corner, running on a continuous loop, demonstrated the latest advances in knee replacement surgery.
You can get away with a bit of trim- ming on the meniscus, but that cartilage is there for a reason. Without it, bone starts riding on bone, which leads to arthritis, which can eventually ruin the joint entirely. That’s an outcome I hope to avoid.
I’m guring that, barring calamity, I’ve got another 15 to 20 bird hunting years in me — but probably not for chu- kar. The cli climbing skills required to chase those buggers probably won’t last that long. But for farm- eld pheasants or at-landquail,Iplantobeinthegame well into my 70s.
Calamity, in the form of knee failure, could change all that. Still, considering the wear and tear I’ve put on them, my knees are in decent shape. But the 10-to- 20 pounds I’ve been trying to lose since, well, forever, that’s no longer a matter of just trying to look good. That spare tire puts extra wear on the joints below.
Eventually, I’ll reach the end of my hunting shelf life, but I’m trying to put o that date for as long as possible.
IF YOU ARE planning TO WORK IN OR NEAR A STREAM...
You must get a 310 permit rst!
Rob Breeding writes and teaches when he’s not shing or hunting.
WHISKEY
So close you can taste it
TASTINGS, COCKTAILS, BOTTLE SALES
WINTER HOURS NOON–6PM THURS–SUN STARTING MAY 1: NOON TO 8PM DAILY
10237 HWY 2 EAST // CORAM, MT 59913 (406) 387-9887 // GLACIERDISTILLING.COM
CONTACT:
Flathead Conservation District 406-752-4220 • www. atheadcd.org
Locally-Led Conservation Since 1945
OCTOBER 26, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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