Living The Dream? The Life Of A Guide's Wife. PART 1

My husband has been a fly fishing/hunting guide for most of our 20 years together.  For years, as I've stood by his side chatting with various people, as he casually mentions he is a fishing guide during conversation there is a phrase I have heard repeatedly: " You are so lucky, you're really living the dream!"  Then they look at me and say, "you must feel so fortunate!" The true answer is a complicated one.

Every job you will ever do will have its ups and downs.  With guiding there certainly are a lot of ups.  Most of the guests you take out every day are cool people from all over, each with their own amazing story to share, plus you get to show them the beauty of this place we call home.  There are several of Brooks' repeat clients we have also been able to call our friends.
"Make hay while the sun's still shining."  A phrase strewn about in conjunction to any seasonal job, including guiding.  This is not a Monday through Friday 9-5 type career.  This is a Spring, Summer, Fall any time you are available type.  If the fishing is slow the float times are often extended, sometimes meaning that the place you were originally planning to hop off the river gets extended out.  Sometimes adjusting your hours to an early float or a very late float, whichever is most optimal to hit the sometimes allusive hatches.  Sometimes guides will have several weeks on the river with guests without days off.  When the guide drops their guest off at the end of the day, that doesn't really mean it's the end of their day.  Now it's time to clean your boat, maybe catch a quick bite to eat while conferring with other guides, coordinating the next day and getting the full river report.  At this time you may be switching to a different boat depending on the river and conditions as well.  With the evening coming to a close it may also be time to tie/replenish flies/line.  Spend a little family time and crash for the day.
Working outside on the river is a factor that has pretty drastic ups and downs, for Mother Nature has a prerogative all of her own.  Sometimes weather ranges from brutally cold to blistering heat, the river treacherous to navigate.  It is the job of your guide to keep you safe and provide a fun day, most often guests are unaware of the peril around them.

Today, I'll share a little from my perspective, maybe a little advice to families new to guiding from a wife of a seasoned veteran. 
First, we have truly met some amazing people, from guests to guides and their families.  Wives typically look forward to the end of the season, especially the Christmas parties.  This is the one time we all get together, as we chat we share similar stories about the previous year.  There are times, especially late fall where you feel like you are going out of your mind! You think you are crazy, your family is crazy and so is everything you do.  At these gatherings over a few glasses of wine typically, we realize we are all at the very least, the same kind of crazy.  We laugh and make promises to visit more often because we have so much fun together, but we know it's hollow.  We love each other in this strange fellowship, but as soon as the next season begins the clock has a way of speeding up, and all you really hope is that you survive the season.  I'll explain:  Winter is not a time of rest necessarily.  We usually try to use any spare time in any way shape or form as quality family time (this goes for any time of year really).  While our kids were young I would end up bulking up on the hours I worked during the day while Brooks bar tended evenings.  We would also tie flies that we knew he needed in bulk, repair and replace equipment, and make sure all licenses are up to date.  Not to mention filling in the schedule for the upcoming season.

As the snow begins to melt and the robins sing their little tune, the rivers begin to clear, spring is upon us.  The first few times getting out, guides/outfitters tend to get out to scout the rivers.  The channels sometimes change, sometimes there are log jams or other obstructions.  Some sections may be too dangerous now that were fine the previous year.  This process can be dangerous and is nerve racking.  If you spend a lot of time on the river at some point something will happen, sometimes the river wins and will claim her prize, most often it's a heart pumping near miss.  High water, during the evening report when Brooks calls to let me know he is off the river: someone fell out of the boat, a boat sunk, everyone got cold but they are alright.  I try to make sure there is a hot meal and a drink to look forward to at the end of the day.  For me, the day is business as usual, I don't think about what could happen, I feel worry is an unnecessary emotion for the most part (this, I tell myself often), I get Brooks out the door, the kids to school (this is a bit of an outdated outline as our kids are teenagers and only one in school, they help quite a lot now and did as much as they could when they were younger). This may seem like an exaggeration, but at some point everyone sinks a boat, never feel immune.  All it takes is one little mistake.
Several years ago, mid-spring, the evening was dragging on, I remember just feeling like something was wrong.  I tried to justify, maybe he just picked a really long float, maybe the shuttles took longer than normal, maybe he has a flat tire, I knew he didn't have cell service.  Eventually the call came, a weird phone number, the boat sank but number one, everyone was okay.  He was able to retrieve the boat, and recover about a quarter of the gear.  Brooks was still quite a ways out but he needed me to get new oars, a cooler, phone, keys and new gear (as much as I could before businesses closed-I do remember one place stayed open late for me) so he could do it again tomorrow-minus the sinking.
I think the hardest part of these close calls is knowing regardless of how I feel, the realization I almost lost him, I can't show it.  When he gets back on the river tomorrow he can't be thinking of me worrying, to know everything at home is solid and safe so he can focus on the task at hand, having fun and keeping everyone alive. This may seem like a dramatization, but it isn't, the river has claimed many lives, one mistake and a fun vacation becomes a nightmare.
Flood stage rivers, extreme cold/heat, heat stroke, a year here and there of drought and fires.  We roll with it, like the river ever pressing on, we continue.  

Why do we do it? We look for the beauty in every day.

The genuine smiles, the laughter, the love of the day, and we get to share it with you.

Stay tuned for PART 2