Harman's North Fork Cottages Revisited

So the wife and I just got back from another trip to Harman's North Fork Cottages.  We left on Sunday and returned on Wednesday.  It was a great time and I caught some big rainbows.  As I was packing for the trip, it dawned on me that I never even finished blogging about the last time I was there.  I have to admit that Greg was also kind enough to point it out as well.  So, my plan was to finish the trip in the evening while we were there as well as write how the trip was going as it was happening.  How does the saying go, best laid plans?  Well we were having a terrible time with our computer and the WiFi while we were there so I gave up and planned on finishing the trip once we got home.  So two months later, here is how the trip continued and finished!

Quick Recap: The wife and I took Greg and his soon to be bride at Harman's as our wedding present to them.  It was also supposed to be my birthday present and our vacation.  Greg and I came and conquered the browns, rainbows and tigers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings.  I broke my 3wt on Thursday and Greg Broke my 5wt on Friday.  Saturday, my birthday, our vehicle broke down and we had to call a tow truck to have it towed back to Maryland.  The tow truck was scheduled to arrive Sunday.

Sunday dawned a new day.  I figured why even bother at this point to get up early and chase the fish.  Everyone was afraid to find out what would break next.  Some even thought it would be a broken bone or two the way our luck was running this trip.  So we got up, had breakfast and lounged about waiting for the tow truck to arrive.  Finally, everyone headed out to meet the tow truck.  Everyone but me.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  I stayed behind and attempted to find something to do to past the time.  Eventually I turned back to fishing, saying to myself what else could happen?  So rod and reel in hand, I marched back out to reclaim some of my lost glory.

Only to fail!  In all I landed two fish.  Just two sad fish who apparently took pity on me and ate my fly.  One was a smallie and the other was a red eyed rock.  I couldn't have even bought a trout that day.  I eventually gave up and headed back to the cabin.

When I got back to the cabin, I found a new friend.  I named him Horace.  I think he is pretty cool.  I have no idea what kind of beetle he is but he is a big one.  I located him out back on the porch.  Here he is in all his glory:

Apparently Horace brought some friends with him.  I also found these guys along the window:

As a fly fisherman and tyer, I always try and take photos of bugs so I can study them later.  They make great reference material.

As we were all sitting at the cabin, we heard some thunder in the distance.  Before long, the rain came.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, Tropical Storm Lee had arrived in the area.  We lost the satellite feed and we were left with nothing to do.  We had brought games to play and my Xbox but we packed everything up and sent it home in our vehicle.  We needed the room since we now had to travel back to Maryland with everyone and everything in one vehicle.  With nothing else to do and everyone on edge, we all decided to take a nap.  By 5 Sunday evening, we were all asleep.

Greg and I checked on the weather and the fishing conditions a little after 7 Sunday evening.  What we saw wasn't promising.  It appeared as though we weren't going to be able to do anymore fishing.  In just two short hours, we went from this water:

To this water:

If that photo doesn't explain the difference in water, maybe these will:

So, we gave up fishing for the rest of the trip.  There was nothing we could do as there was no way we were going to be able to fish the stream with the water moving that fast.  It was an early night that Sunday night.  Everyone was sad and a little disappointed about the trip.  Melissa and I were sad because this was supposed to be our wedding present to our two wonderful friends.  I was sad because Greg broke my favorite 5wt and I broke my 3wt.  I totally felt like Clark W. Griswold when he took the family across country to Wally World.  Everything on the trip went wrong and ended up costing us twice as much as we thought it would.  The tow bill alone was 700 dollars.  We were finally able to get the vehicle fixed to the tune of over 2200 dollars. 

Well that is it people.  I truly believe I didn't really do the trip justice in my description of it.  The feelings of dread and despair as things went wrong day after day was hard at times to convey or put into words.  I hope thought that you understand just what a disaster this trip was for all involved.  I would like to point out that the trip went wrong for a number of reasons none of which had anything to do with Harman's.  The place and the people are simply wonderful.  The wife and I couldn't wait to go back which is why we did two short months later.