釣りは今季初、というYさんと、馴染みの山岳渓流へ。

Yさんは夏仕様のウェットウェーディング仕様。僕はいつものヒップウェーダーに、膝にはテレマークスキー用のニーパッド、頭には山岳用ヘルメット。Yさんも同じくヘルメットを着用。背中には登山用ザックを背負い、ロープやツェルト、着替え、替えのスニーカーまで詰め込んでの入渓です。

さて、山岳渓流の釣りは、「圧倒的に時間のかかる沢登り」と言える現実があるわけです。

釣りを始めてしまうと時間はあっという間に経過します。ゆえ、なかなか前に進まないうえに、魚に集中するあまり休憩も水分補給も忘れてしまう始末。ふらついてから初めて、「あ、水を飲んでない」と気付き、既に脱水や熱中症の入り口だったりすることも。

こんなに水が流れている場所なのに、と。

この点については一人より二人。誰かと一緒だと「ちょっと休もう」「水飲もうか」と声を掛け合える。

今回もお互いに気を配りながら、休憩を挟み、水を飲みながらの遡行となりました。

そして魚のほうはというと期待どおり！出そうだな、というポイントではきちんと反応があり、サイズも25cm前後の満足サイズばかり。安心、そして安定のコンディション。

だから今回は、「出そうな場所だけ」をテンポよく狙い、「どうかな？」というポイントは潔くスルー。そんな足早で軽快な釣行となりました。

入渓から脱渓まで約4時間。途中で3回ほど休憩を入れ、お昼には下山。まほろばに戻って道具も服も全部洗濯し、シャワーを浴びてから白馬へ買い出しです。

スーパーでつまみとお酒を調達し、まほろばへ戻って「反省会」という名の飲み会に。スバラシイ。

心地よい風に吹かれながら飲む、キンキンに冷えた無濾過生原酒。これはもう、アウトでしたね。

しっかりと昼寝を挟み、夜は野菜中心の夕食をウイスキーハイボールと一緒に。

釣りをして、昼酒を楽しんで、季節の野菜を味わう。

「ああ、夏だなぁ。」

そんな一日に。

Yさん、ありがとね。

皆さん、釣りをはじめ、自転車に山歩きにと、どうぞお出かけくださいな。

It was Y's first fishing trip of the season, so we headed into one of my favorite mountain streams.

Y was geared up for summer wet wading. As usual, I wore my hip waders, telemark ski knee pads, and a climbing helmet. Y also wore a helmet. Our backpacks were packed with ropes, a bivy sack, spare clothes, an extra pair of sneakers, and all the other essentials before we stepped into the stream.

The reality of fishing in a mountain stream is that it's really "stream trekking that takes an incredibly long time."

Once you start fishing, time simply disappears. Progress is slow, and because you're so focused on the fish, it's easy to forget to rest or even drink water. Sometimes you don't realize you've had nothing to drink until you start feeling light-headedーby then, you're already on the edge of dehydration or heat exhaustion.

Funny, isn't it? Surrounded by so much water...

That's one reason why two people are better than one. Having someone with you means there's always someone to say, "Let's take a break," or "Time for a drink."

So this time, too, we looked out for each other, took regular breaks, stayed hydrated, and made our way upstream.

As for the fishing, it was just as we'd hoped. Wherever a spot looked promising, a fish was there. Most were around 25 cmーbeautiful fish that gave us a real sense of confidence and consistency.

So we kept a brisk pace, casting only into the places that looked certain to produce and completely skipping the "maybe" spots.

From entering the stream to hiking back out took about four hours. We stopped three times along the way, and by noon we were back down at Mahoroba. We washed all our gear and clothes, took showers, then drove into Hakuba to pick up some snacks and drinks.

Back at Mahoroba, we held our usual "review session"ーwhich, of course, was really just an excuse to enjoy a few drinks. Perfect.

Sitting in the cool summer breeze with a glass of ice-cold, unfiltered nama-genshu sake... well, that completely got me.

After a proper afternoon nap, we enjoyed a vegetable-centered dinner with whiskey highballs.

Fishing, a little daytime drinking, and a meal full of fresh vegetables.

It simply felt like summer.

Thanks, Y.

And to everyone elseーwhether it's fishing, cycling, or hikingーI hope you get outside and enjoy the season.