noasobi essey scene08“ Summer, char and thunderclouds”
Fish of the salmon genus like char prefer cold water.
If you want to fish for them, you have to head for streams in the depths of the mountains.
But since that is also where bears live, there is a possibility that you meet up with one.
Especially in recent years, you have to fish with fear in your heart,
seeing all the signs and posters all over the place warning against the appearance of bears.
But once you catch a single fish, your awareness of the danger completely disappears and you cast your rod with increasingly intense passion.
And one fine summer day, I caught a huge char. Resting afterwards, without a care in my heart, I looked up at he thunderclouds and lit a cigarette.
Then there was a bear, just ten meters away from where I sat.
A bear that was looking toward me.
I was so shocked that I fell into the water, making a huge splashing sound.
The result, however, was positive, for the bear disappeared without a sound.
I came running away making sloshing noise.
Published "Snow Peak Outdoor Lifestyle Catalog" in 2008.
This series reprints the articles published in the Snow Peak Outdoor Lifestyle Catalog since 2004.