Ketchum, ID: Day 2

I woke up at 9:00 am the following morning. My breakfast consisted of a bagel and a glass of orange juice. After breakfast, I loaded the rental car with a tent, firewood, a sleeping bag, matches, a fishing pole, bait and tackle, a fillet knife, and a hatchet. My day's destination would be Redfish Outlook Lake (www.tripadvisor.com).

When I arrived at the lake after a short drive, I set up camp for the night. Once that was taken care of, I rigged up my fishing pole and prepared for a day of nothing else but fishing and relaxation. It was then that I really came to love fishing. I finally became familiar with that feeling of being in tune with nature that Hemingway valued so very much. With the birds singing and the fish biting, the day proved to be a wonderful one.

By the end of the day, I had managed to catch three small-mouth bass and five blue-gill. I threw the blue-gill back into the lake, but I cleaned the three bass and cooked them over an open flame. The fish cooked well, and I found satisfaction in being self-sufficient. I slept in my tent that night instead of going back to the lodge. I wanted to spend my last night of the trip as close to nature as Hemingway would have wanted to. I was asleep by 10:45 pm.