Accepting failure in the search for spots

Everywhere has its best spots. It could be a restaurant, hotel or something outdoors.They get that way thanks to discovery, then verification by others - but not too many. Overuse begets ruin, just as curiosity begets exploration.In the context of the outdoors, it's so much easier to go to a new best spot with someone else. Otherwise, you're by yourself and the possibility of failure increases.Plus, no one wants to waste the good portion of a day finding something not worth visiting again.That leads to self-scolding. Had you been a little less Lewis and Clark you could have been hiking, camping or catching fish in great familiar spots. Instead, you just forged through heavy brush, following a trail made by things that don't believe in catch-and-release fishing and don't hike for the view.Sometimes, though, it pays off big time.All that said, on Monday I went to a river I usually ignore. The next group of buddies I have coming up from California have already been here more than once, so I wouldn't want them to get bored and return to their wives and kids with the same stale tales of Alaska. (See sarcasm, noun, from the late Latin sarcasmus.)See full column at:http://capitalcityweekly.com/stories/062514/out_1210567853.shtml