The adventure "point guard"

As is true with all who knew Mark - our lives are forever stamped with the imprint of who he was and the memory of the good times we shared. One of Mark's gifts was bringing people together. He was the organizer, planner, the schemer truly "the adventure point-guard" for so many people.

Since Mark's death, a group of us have been fishing together once or twice a year. We all met through Mark. Mark worked in MN with Eric, met and became fishing buddies with Steve when Steve worked at a fly shop, went to college with Tony Barthel, met Ben ended up rooming with him for a summer in College, met and became neighbors and hunting buddies with Tony Coniaris through Ben, etc.

Mark was the hub who brought all of us together. This past April (2010) we all re-connected (or 5th or 6th trip together since Mark's death) on the Muskegon river for some Steelhead fishing. Further proof of Mark's influence we all caught fish, including Ben's first steelie ever: http://www.hogstalkers.blogspot.com/

I guess you could say, our blog was Mark inspired as well... because he was the first guy you called to moan about the one you missed, or brag about the one you landed (or almost landed). The pre- and post-adventure cell phone updates, and text-messages, were part of the routine, an element that extended the adventure just a bit further, a little bit longer.