This is my favorite (of two) "Curtis Creeks" I have been blessed to fish over the last 12 years
After plunging down from the heights it levels off in a small steep gorge. There a road intersects it in one location where it happens to be too swift and shallow to hold fish which may be why I have never encountered another angler there. But hike a couple of hundred yards from the road and it's full of these
The stream continues relatively level for about 4 miles from the road, but just 50 feet from the road you will encounter lots of this
and a jungle of these prickly darlings right up to the water's edge
So wading is the only practical way to travel up or downstream. But if you are going to hike more than 100 yards from the road you will encounter this
At the end of that gravel bar is a 5-foot deep hole in early summer, that I am not foolish enough to cross.
I've taken to carrying a good pair of *garden pruners* on my wading belt however it can be difficult to cut a path through the jungle of Devil's Club just large enough to avoid turning me or my waders into a pincushion using *one-handed pruners*. So I've been thinking about a small machete. My Dad used to have an 11" Marine Corpsman's Knife but it was a heavy beast and was lost by my little brother many years ago. After some research I am thinking of a Golok - Parang style blade that has a thicker blade than most other machetes, with a prominent primary grind that prevents the blade from lodging in green wood. The Condor 12" Pack Golok has some very good online reviews with similar blade and pommel length as the Corpsman's Knife but a thinner height near the handle. It still weighs in at 1.75 lbs.
Any other Creekers carry a machete?
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