Hi friends, family, enemies, and anyone else who is bored enough to read my blog.

I remember being sixteen and it was the first year I raced a full season of  motocross.  I was going to be a junior in high school that fall.  It was the first year since 7th grade that I couldn’t play football because of a destroyed rotator cuff from a mx crash.  Every time I’d hit some one, or try to make a tackle, my shoulder would pop out if it’s socket.  Most of the time I couldn’t get it back in place by myself and someone would have to yank it back into place for me.  It hurt worse than anything you can imagine, the first couple of times you would have thought somebody ripped your arm off and was holding it above them as a grotesque trophy like a Viking warrior might do during battle, or maybe just for fun!

January 2016 Holter dam, it beat’s sitting at home!

Any way the best memory of the year and maybe my life up to that point, was when my Dad gave me a big pat on my back and a hug after I finally won a moto and an overall race after getting my ass kicked most of the season!  I dug down deep, worked hard, and persevered in what I still feel today is arguably the toughest and most competitive sport in the world.  But that’s an argument for people who only observe my sport and probably played golf, soccer, wrestled, played football or something, while they watched other sports on TV.

Now to my current Sweet Sixteen.  2016 will be my sixteenth year as a licensed Montana Fishing and Hunting guide.  I took a break in 2014 and didn’t guide very much, went back to my roots racing MX.  I had a awesome year, but ended up crashing and breaking my back after winning a Montana state motocross championship.

We’ll thanks to my Scandinavian ancestry or stubborn toughness,  I was able to once again persevere last season.   I rowed my drift boat another 150 days with clients, like I’d done in previous years.  The reason I say I struggled is often I felt like one of my Viking descendants buried his axe in my upper back.  That’s the spot where a handy neurosurgeon fused some vertebrae and installed a bunch of shiny, unseen titanium.  Luckily as I plugged away everything felt better eventually and by the end of the season I felt pretty much normal, and happy to still be a functioning biped.

Well here we Go 2016,   Joe Cummings and I went to the MO last week and did a little fishing and floating.  Headhunter’s ran our shuttle, the temps got up in the high 30’s and we stuck some MO rainbows.  A great day spent with an old friend, the drive over and back was nice just talking about the past and future to come on a scenic drive across the majestic great divide/ Rogers Pass.

I feel happy  to be back in the Saddle again and I can’t wait to see you guys.  I am also getting committed to blogging again if you guys get bored, check it!

Peace!
Brooks

The Bitterroot River in February is a lonely place!