Today was our last day in Nordegg. We were up at 7:30AM, the weather was cool…47-degrees. We had breakfast at the restaurant, gassed up and left town at 9:30.

AM called ahead for reservations at the Mountain Aire Lodge, a place that JR found while researching lodging along the FTR. JR had contacted the Sundre Chamber of Commerce to ask about lodging on the FTR. To our surprise, the Mountain Aire Lodge was located on the FTR, far from any town and right on the Red Deer River….a perfect location for our needs.

At 9:40 we crossed the Saskatchewan River, a large beautiful river, flowing a powder-blue color due to the glacier melt influence. A road grader was working the road just beyond the river. The FTR is apparently graded regularly to repair the damage done by the heavy trucking loads and to keep the road in good condition. We found the road to be excellent in places, muddy or dusty in others, and some places in dire need of grading. After a rain on the FTR, JR’s Jeep may never be the same, there was mud packed on every square inch, even with a half-hour hose job it still looked pretty bad!

We continued south of the FTR crossing South Creek, water flows were low and the creek was pretty skinny; then crossed the North Fork Ram River at 10:10AM. The dust on the FTR is incredible. Turning onto the North Fork Ram road toward Rocky Mountain House, we spotted two large buck deer in velvet. 10:30AM; we pulled up next to the river. JR & AM went down to check it out, reporting a big fish in a pool right below where a lady was camping.

While gearing up the lady approached the truck and asked AB if he had matches. Her husband had gone fishing and she was trying to start a fire to stay warm and cook a lunch. AB gave her a book of matches as he carries several sealed packs in his fly vest for emergencies.

AB & JR crossed the river and went downstream; MS & AM went upstream. AB noted there were large chunks of coal in the river and huge seams of coal in the rock walls of the river bank.

Both AB & JR were fishing BWO’s and doing quite well on nice Cutthroat, AB also caught a nice fish on a "Roy Bugger", the green-crystal-barbell-head wooly bugger tied by friend Roy Nakano.

AM & MS were having similar good luck on BWO’s and Elk Hair Caddis.\

AM/MS saw a big buck on the walk back up the river, there were also Elk tracks everywhere.

Off the North Ram at 1:30, it was 70-degrees, the FTR headed up a steep pass with narrow blind curves and 1000’ drops of the edge of the bumpy gravel road. As we entered each curve, right on the edge of the mountain, the truck bounced so violently in the ruts we were sure we were going to bounce right over the cliff! MS & JR kept the vehicles on the road, but it was never a "sure thing". As we neared the top of the pass, there was snow along the side of the road. We eased our vehicles back down the pass, hoping there were no logging trucks coming around the curves!

Our next stop was the South Fork Ram River where an orange steel bridge crossed the river. The river had beautiful crystal clear green pools and huge black cliffs of coal along the banks. Small pieces of coal constantly trickled off the cliffs into the waters we were fishing.

AM & JR spotted a large fish in a pool but couldn’t coax him to the fly. We only fished this river for a short time, but all agreed the river was worth spending an entire day. 55-miles north of Nordegg at this point.

At 4:05PM we saw a sign that said "Elk Creek Trout Pond". We pulled in and JR saw several large trout (rainbows we think) rising. A sign at the pond said it was stocked with fish for the enjoyment of anglers passing by. AM tried dry flies, as did JR; AB tried a Red Carrie Special, a proven rainbow catcher, but the fish were driven down quickly without a strike. MS, who’d been driving all day, took a quick nap.

Moving down the FTR we went over a high pass into the Clearwater River drainage - magnificent country!

We came to junction 591 at 5PM (1,509 miles from Spokane) and turned up the road to an access to the Clearwater River. AM & JR walked upstream while MS & AB hiked downstream tossing large Bull trout flies into some great looking water for about a mile down river without a nibble. AM called on the radio and said he’d raised a large fish on a dry fly.

JR photographed a bear print in the mud. Later a Game Warden said it was a Black Bear print.

Without much success the call came to head back to the vehicles. On the hike back, AB just couldn’t believe these great looking waters didn’t hold some fish. He told MS that he wanted to try one more time and tied on a large Royal Stimulator. On the first cast he hit a nice Brown trout! MS switched to a dry fly and also caught a Brown. Since JR needed to catch a Brown trout as one of the species required for the IGFA Trout Slam, we put out a radio call saying, "Hey….Brown trout down here!" "We’ll quit fishing on this hole until you get here."

After more than a mile of trudging thru woods, bushes & loose boulders….blowing their bear whistles all the way from where they had been fishing, AM & JR joined AB & MS at the newly found "hot-spot". JR moved into the "good water" and couldn’t raise a fish. Frustrating! Meanwhile AM & MS fishing downstream, were catching Browns regularly, AM also picked up a Mountain Whitefish. AB fished behind JR and caught another Brown. Moving downstream JR had several strikes when AM gave him his rod & fly and a few more strikes with AB’s rod/fly. AB tried one last cast before we left and caught a Brown. We stayed on the Clearwater until near dark (8:45PM).

At 9:20 we crossed the James River, but it was too dark to see if the river looked good. A fawn ran in front of the Jeep, we slowed expecting the doe to follow, then a group of horses bolted across the road, followed by a deer, then another. Driving the FTR at night is a real white-knuckled ride.

Crossing the bridge on the Red Deer River we arrived at the Mountain Aire Lodge at 10:10PM….exhausted!

As we checked in; the young lady at the desk told us to "Be careful as we went back to our rooms!" "Ok,….Why?" "There’s been a Grizzly Bear hanging around in front of the lodge all day, after dark he went out back, we don’t know where he is!"

AB walked out the front door of the store and into the dark, just then a huge animal came at him out of the darkness. After settling back to earth, he looked……. it was a 150# Bull Mastiff dog! After getting his mandatory scratches behind the ears, he walked off. Whew!!

JR handed out the room keys and we headed for our rooms. As MS opened the door to his and AM’s room, he noted that the room was already occupied! Oops! A quick trip back to the office straightened out the problem.

Meanwhile, AB was unpacking his bag and discovered that his shave kit was missing! "JR, I thought you said you swept the room in Nordegg and we hadn’t left anything!" "I did, there wasn’t anything left in the room." "Hummm, I wonder where it is" as AB checked his suitcase for the fifth time. Then I looked on the bed, there was the missing shave kit, it was the first thing I’d removed from the suitcase…..old age?......memory loss?......or just plain exhaustion? JR was laughing hysterically.

(editor note: It couldn’t be memory loss….after all, I was able to remember all this stuff to be able to write this story!)

It also could have been pure hunger that was affecting my memory as we’d arrived after the restaurant closed.

Another dinner of beef jerky, trail mix & scotch…..plus an Almond Joy from the store.

A bed never felt sooo good.