Off the Grid

The days surrounding the traditional opener of Connecticut's trout season are sacrosanct.  Like Christmas morning when I was younger, the anticipation for the third Saturday in April builds weeks in advance.  For four days and three nights, our crew will be off the grid in the woods of northwestern Connecticut and camp life takes over. 

By rough estimation, it's been about 18 years since my uncle introduced me to this tradition.  We've camped through just about every type of weather over that stretch, but not many years have we seen these kinds of temperatures.  The nighttime lows this year resemble what we usually have for daytime highs.  Our waterways are extremely low for April and the Farmington River where we stay is no exception.  The soaking rains coming towards the end of our trip are much needed; I'm just glad I picked up the fresh 200 hundred clams and oysters from Long Island Sound before they came.