Still, live as long as Miles has, and you’ll find ample opportunities to re-create yourself. Prior to WWII, his first job was as a “ring boy” running a merry-go-round on the Santa Cruz boardwalk. Then came gigs as a shopkeeper and gas station attendant. After the war, he worked as a cowboy on the 38,000-acre Paicines Ranch near Hollister, CA; as a special education di-rector; a developer; and finally—his favorite job—a sought-after domestic and international Sierra Club guide. In his time with the Sierra Club, Miles led count-less trips to locations as varied as the Grand Canyon, the Caucasus Mountains and Soviet-era Yugoslavia, as well as canoe trips in Sweden and horse-trekking trips in Kenya at the height of the wildebeest migration. He is a traveler in the truest sense, not preoccupied with the destination but focused on the journey. He has vis-ited 57 countries and, though the appeal of extended expeditions has lessened with age, his desire to travel is as strong as ever. Though it’s probable there have been, and possibly currently are, other actively flyfishing centenarians, aside from Ross Miles I have never met or heard of one. THE FLYFISH JOURNAL 099
The Flyfish Journal Volume 13, Issue 2: Page 99
