Camping and fishing and BEARS...oh my !!

Friday, July 22nd

Our work week ended with some interesting developments. We had our highest number of campers for this season...53 (we have 92 sites) and Lori had the highest "one transaction gift shop sales" for the month of $236. If that stays tops until months end she will get a $25 bonus of "gift shop bucks" to spend wildly as she pleases and we will have to call her "Sales Queen butt kisser". 

Lori, Spaz and John Deer "bringing home the bacon"

 Also, Lori went grocery shopping !!

I know it doesn't sound like much but this was special. Fred (our boss) went to Juneau on the ferry for supplies so Lori was able to put in an order from Costco. Groceries here are very expensive so when you can stock up, you do it. The only trouble...when you order from a catalog, you don't see the size of your order and if you live in a trailer, storage is limited and the freezer is small. So even though it took the John Deer and trailer to haul it, she did manage to cram it all in the MLS thus avoiding hearing "I told you so" from me for the next 2 months.

Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Juneau

Fishing at the Chilkoot river is getting more exciting by the day. There are more salmon running up the river to spawn (there were over 1,200 counted at the weir yesterday) which makes for more exciting fishing. It also means that more bears are coming to fish which REALLY makes it more exciting.

Speedy and one of her cubs

The bears are always fun to watch, it never gets old. There are 2 sets - a sow with 2 cubs and a sow with 3 cubs - that seem to frequent the river this time of year and come and go daily. Both sets of cubs appear to be about 2 years old. Both sows have been in this area for some years, are fitted with some type of collar for research and have been given names by the locals; "BMJ" (Big Mama Jama) and "Speedy".

While you are fishing, you really have to stay alert with one eye on your pole and one eye watching for bears. They come down the hill from the forest behind you so you have to pay attention to where you are fishing and make sure you have room to vacate your spot if the "owners" come to fish there.

 

 

The bears seem to be used to having to share the river and fish with the 2 legged fishermen. They get curious and quite close sometimes but I have heard no stories about anyone being attacked. However, we have all heard about mama grizzlies (Sarah told us) and how they protect their cubs, so only a fool would get too close. I have heard lots of stories about guys crapping in their waders and losing their catch to the bears when they fling the fish to the bears in acts of self preservation or run leaving their stringers behind. None of those stories involve me but I have had to abandon my spot every day this week while they pass through. 

This is one of the Humpback (Pink) salmon I caught. They are one of the smallest members of the salmon family and some people (not me) don't like to eat them. This is how they look when they first enter the fresh water from the ocean. As they travel up river they begin to change; the males will develop large humps on their backs (hence the name) turn splotchy red and their mouths will become hook-jawed. After cleaning this female, I kept her eggs which are all stuck together in 2 separate membranes for use as bait in the lake later. The Dolly Varden go crazy for the eggs and when I fish with them, the hook barely hits the water before I start getting bites. It's tricky to get the eggs to stay on the hook but they sure do work well and we caught 4 delicious trout in less than an hour.

We decided to try camping again, this time out at Chilkoot Lake State Park. I made sure Lori did not forget the sleeping bags this time. We picked a great site right next to the lake and set up camp.

Lori did forget to bring any side dishes to go with fish or maybe she just did not have any faith in my fishing prowess. Either way, we went with the original plan for dinner, besides, what could be better than spaghetti, cold beer and a great view from your table ?!? Spaz kept us safe from the ferocious chipmunk who came into camp when he smelled our dinner being cooked by chasing him up a tree where he yelled  at us for the next half hour. The ranger came by and reminded us not to leave any food, ice chests or stoves out because of the bears and Lori slept with her can of bear spray. Luckily, we did not have any problems from them or the chipmunks during the night.

 We were treated to a beautiful sunset around 11pm and a very peaceful night on the lake. It is really wonderful to have such a nice spot so nearby to be able to "get away from it all" and enjoy...

Camping and fishing and bears...Oh my !!

Hooray for weekends !!

Sunday, June 17th

All of our blog posts lately seem to center around our weekends and this one is no different. After all, when you have to work for a living, you live for the weekends no matter where you are.

Our jobs are great and we are enjoying working at such different jobs. However, they are jobs and basically, all jobs suck.

Lori is a bit disappointed because she doesn't get to work outside in the flower gardens all day like she wants while the weather has been so nice.

I am disappointed because it hasn't rained much at all (1/4" in the past 8 weeks) so the grass won't grow and therefore, I don't get to drive the John Deer mower as much as I wanted to.

Spaz is disappointed because she has to stay inside the MLS while we are at work.

It's also funny how some things are the same. No matter where you are, there will be some A-holes.

A-holes in the RV park - Fred has had to "call the police" when some guy tells him he doesn't have to follow the rules, he'll do what he wants and nobody will tell him what to do (except his wife apparently).

A-holes with road rage in town - who flipped us off and called us "stupid morons", apparently cause we were riding our bikes on the wrong side of the street in the sooo busy downtown.

A-hole grizzly bears - cruising the RV park at night looking for free food, leaving crap piles we have to clean up. One tried to break into the state troopers mobile home which is next door to the Hitch Up.

So we decided we needed to "get away from it all" and go camping. We headed out the Haines Highway to mile 26 where we turned off, drove 3 miles and came to "Mosquito Lake". There are only 4 campsites on the shore and we were the only people around this calm, peaceful lake. The only sounds were the fish jumping and calling my name (mocking me I'm sure).




We launched the 2 man kayak and took turns paddling around because we are too afraid it will sink if we both managed to somehow get into it. Even Spaz is too scared to get in with one of us and is happy to watch from shore.

 We didn't seem to do a very good job of packing for our overnight trip. After gathering some firewood and starting a fire, we thought we should set up the tent when we realized that Lori forgot the sleeping bags (of course it was Lori, what did you expect, I write the blog). We decided if we tried to stay the night anyway we would die, so instead, we decided to make dinner and enjoy the evening before driving home.

That's when we found out she also forgot the spatula and the can opener. We knew we wouldn't die without those items and Lori improvised by using my trusty Swiss Army knife to open the can and then whittle a spatula out of a stick (she is becoming an Alaskan). She saved the dinner but could not find any big game to kill and make sleeping bags with (guess she still has a way to go since most Alaskan women can). Dinner was great and we also found that the lake had an appropriate name.




We still had a great time, beautiful scenery, peace and quiet, fishing and no A-holes. I only caught one fish, a nice 13" Cut Throat trout that we didn't eat for dinner because it wasn't big enough to keep. In this lake they need to be over 14" but less than 24" to be keepers.

We headed home about 10 pm and just a mile from town we came upon a couple of moose on the side of the road. There was a big bull and his cow who didn't seem to mind us getting close by in the truck. It wasn't until I rolled the window down and Spaz barked at them that they went into the bushes. Not sure what she thought of them, she has never barked at other animals (except cats) and has seen horses, cows, elk, bears, etc. She acts like a big tough Alaska dog from safely inside the truck.

This was the beautiful sunset we stopped to enjoy as we headed back into town. That is the Klehini river just above it's confluence with the Chilkat river. It is in this valley that the famed Jack Dalton pioneered the Dalton trail that many gold seekers took to the Klondike gold fields. He was one of the most famous of Alaskan pioneers, to learn more about him http://alaskamininghalloffame.org/inductees/dalton.php 

Hunter - Gatherers

Saturday, July 9th

Moon rise at about 10 pm

This is how our week ended and our weekend began.

We got off work at 9:30 pm, changed clothes and headed "out the highway" to mile 19. We went to meet up with our old Vegas neighbors Jason, Christy and their family who were fishing on the Chilkat river for salmon using gill nets. Residents of  Alaska can get "subsistence" fishing permits which allow them to harvest many fish each year by this method. When the salmon start "running" up the rivers to spawn, they no longer feed and gill netting them is the best way to catch them.

When we found them along the river bank, the net was already in the water and they had already pulled in 12 nice sockeye (red) salmon. The net is about 25 feet long, 4 feet tall and is set from the river bank, usually in a back current where the fish will swim into it while resting. They planned to leave the net soaking overnight in the river and camp on the river bank. Lori and I planned to "camp" all cozy back in the MLS and come back out in the morning to help haul the net and clean the fish...I mean...I would help clean the fish while Lori played with the kids and dog.

Wesley "the wild man" showing off the nights catch

Sunday, July 10th

Back out in the morning to mile 19 and the fish camp. We brought out the coleman stove and Jason cooked up some great breakfast burritos with potatoes, egg (yuck) and bacon (mmm...bacon). We hauled the net again and plucked another dozen sockeyes out.

!! Super Scary Alert !!

We almost lost Spaz today !!

While we were cleaning the fish, Wesley and Kayla were throwing sticks into the very cold and fast moving Chilkat river. Spaz saw them throw something and did what Spaz does...goes to fetch it. She ran into the river and quickly found herself being swept down stream while she dog paddled for her life. I ran down the bank about 20 feet, laid stretched out over the bank while Jason held my feet and I grabbed Spaz by the hair on her back as she swept by - eyes HUGE with fear - legs paddling furiously. This dangerous stretch of river has claimed 5 lives in the past 3 years...but not this lucky dog.

Jason and I mending the torn net

The thrashing salmon ripped the net beyond our field fixing capability which ended our fishing day. However, I know Jason will be back before the salmon are gone by the end of September. There are 4 main salmon types, each run at different times and each have harvest limits. Something like:

     20 King salmon

     50 Sockeye (red) salmon

     80 Pink (humpy) salmon

     30 Coho (silver) salmon

That's a LOT of good free eating that can really help offset the high price of groceries in Alaska.

Kayla snapped this nice shot of a woodpecker that was hanging around the fish camp with his mate. The males have this bright red head and are about 6-8" tall. Bird watching up here is very entertaining and there are lots of them to watch. Bald eagles are very common and we see them everywhere. Ravens are also very common and VERY annoying - but smart. They make a lot of noise, especially early in the morning on your roof. They also can mimic sounds and we have heard them making cat sounds to torment Spaz when she is laying around outside. 

Since we could not gill net any more, Jason asked if we wanted to go back to town, get his boat and cruise out to Strawberry Island. The island is about a mile out into the bay and was rumored to be overflowing with wild strawberries that no one would have gone out to pick. Who could resist that chance...YUMMM!

Lori and her berry bucket on the hunt

If you have Google Earth and want to fly there and check it out, the Lat/Long for Strawberry Island:

                                     Lat. = 59.144830°      Long. = -135.396299

If you don't have it, you can see on this image where we are talking about. You can see that Haines sits on a peninsula with the Chilkat river inlet on the left and the Chilkoot river inlet on the right. You can aslo see the Davidson Glacier in the lower left corner.

We did not have much success finding strawberries, but we did have a good time. The weather was great, seas were calm and we had a picnic lunch with us. We found wild strawberry plants everywhere, however, they all had dried up flower buds where berries should have been. We have had an unusually dry summer up here (less than a 1/2" rain so far when normal is 5-7") which may be why there were no berries to pick. The tide ranges 25' or more this time of year so you always need to be aware of it when you are on the water or even fishing.

 

On the way home we stopped to get some bottled spring water...rather...we stopped to bottle some spring water. Alongside the highway is a natural spring that has been tapped with 2 small pipes sticking out from it. The water flows constantly with cool, pure spring water and the best part...it's FREE. Considering a case of bottled water from the grocery store is around $10 and this is even better tasting, we have saved a case worth of bottles that we fill ourselves...I'm trying to think of how to get it to market so we can make some money on it but I don't think mail order or internet sales is practical. Think about that next time you buy a bottle of water...it might have come from some dude filling them out of a piped spring somewhere.

Happy 4th of July !!

July 4th - Independence Day

they call me the "Fish Slayer"

 WOW !! What a great way to celebrate America's Indepence Day. The 4th was the start of our weekend and we kicked it off by getting up early and heading to the lake for some catching (it's only fishing when you don't catch fish). In an hour, I had landed us a couple of delicious trout using a lure called a "pixie".

We didn't stay long because we wanted to make sure we didn't miss the parade down Main Street and all the fun planned at the city park. We had looked forward to seeing the 4th of July parade from the moment we knew we would be in Haines. If you are in a small town on the fourth, there is not much that is better than seeing the parade. Any and all who want are encouraged to join in the parade and most everyone does. We saw a small boy (maybe 10) riding his mini-bike down the highway to join and both him and the bike were decorated in stars and stripes. He looked like Uncle Sam Jr.





We were getting ready to walk to downtown for a prime parade viewing spot when Shirley (our other boss) knocked on our door. She asked if we wanted to go flight-seeing for 2 hours over Glacier Bay National Park in half an hour. The day before, Lori had sold a couple from Sweden tickets for this flight, there were 2 other seats available and we were offered a free ride by the pilot as thanks for bringing him business. For about ten seconds, we were bummed about missing the parade but really it was a no-brainer decision...

...of course we wanted to go !!

 As you might imagine, the flight was SPECTACULAR !! Glacier Bay National Park is less than 40 miles over the mountains from Haines as the crow (or in this case...the "Bush Hawk") flies. It can only be reached by plane or boat and has no roads.

The mountain peaks range from 5,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level and with the cloud ceiling at 3,000 feet, we would be flying through valleys covered with ice to get there. It was a bit windy which made the ride bumpy and exciting, however, Paul had been flying here since 1987 and was one of the few pilots with rights to land inside the park.There are only a few left who fly tours into the park so we felt very fortunate to be taking this free ride. We flew through a few rain showers and could see spots of fresh snow (in July!!) on some of the peaks above us.

The park contains over 3 million acres of unspoiled fjords and mountain peaks. It is also home to 16 tidewater glaciers, 12 of which regularly calve icebergs into the bay and miles of ice-fields. The grandest glacier in the park, the Hopkins Glacier, is closed by the park service to boats this time of year because seals and sea lions birth and raise their young on icebergs in the bay. They come here to avoid whale and orca predators who do not like these silty, cold glacial waters.

The glaciers have receded drastically in the past 200 years since Capt. George Vancouver mapped the bay in 1794. At that time, the glacier in Icy Strait was more than 4,000 feet thick, up to 20 miles or more wide, and extended more than 100 miles to the St. Elias Range of mountains. But by 1879 naturalist John Muir found that the ice had retreated 48 miles up the bay. If you want to check out more about this amazing place here is a link http://www.nps.gov/glba/index.htm .
Be sure to check out the map, it shows the retreat of the glaciers throughout the recorded history of the area.
http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=glba&parkname=Glacier%20Bay%20National%20Park%20and%20Preserve

Cruise ships making the inside passage venture up the main channel and look tiny among the grand landscape.

Glacial lakes trapped up in the mountain valleys were everywhere and the contrast of their clear waters with the silty bay was dramatic.

WOW !! What a ride of a lifetime !!

 

After coming down to earth, we headed to the city park to catch up with the 4th of July celebration. It looked like everyone in the whole town was there having a great time. The cheeseburgers were sold out (crushing...what I wouldn't give for a "5 Guys" double right now) so we settled on a bratwurst which didn't seem very American to me (it's not even a hot dog). We were too late to get Lori signed up for the pie eating contest (lucky break for the competition) and I missed the running race up Mt. Ripensky (my running shorts were dirty anyway) but we were in time to watch all the races for the kids. They had all ages racing all kinds of races including somersault, cartwheel, wheelbarrow, rolling and crawling.

Later that night we went to the Fort Seward parade grounds where they had live music on the grassy field where you get an incredible view of the Lynn Canal and the fireworks show that has to wait until 11pm for it to get dark enough. We met some great people throughout the day and ended the fourth partying with this group of adventure seekers who are filming a show they call "Dangerous Waters". They are a great bunch of guys and we wish them good luck on the adventure. Stay safe guys !!

Dangerous crew and the "Frisbee Fox" in the command center

These guys are on a Seadoo adventure that started in Seattle and will end when they trek to Nome Alaska where they will then ride across the Bering Sea and plant the stars and stripes on Russian soil. After riding up the inside passage, they had just arrived in Haines today and were met by their team mate who had driven their command center and trailer up the Alcan. Their show has been picked up and will air in March of 2012.
You can find out more about their adventure and show by visiting their website http://seadooadventures.com/

They have future Seadoo adventures planned for all 7 continents including riding up the Amazon and rounding Cape Horn (the most dangerous waters on the planet). They have even talked with the crew of the Sea Shepard from "Whale Wars" about teaming up while in the southern ocean. I plan on talking them into having me drive their command center on future treks (they don't know it yet) with the help of Lori and "Frisbee Fox"

The fireworks show was unforgettable set against the Alaskan backdrop with live Bluegrass playing. The mosquitoes tried to run us out but we battled them off splatting them wherever they landed. Lori ended up with an almost patriotic hairdo - white hair (ok...maybe grey) with blood red spots, all she lacked was blue.

Hope you all had a FANTASTIC 4th of July !!

I know we did.

What a COUNTRY !!

 

Crab Feast

Thursday, June 30th

That is part of Lori's flower garden in front of the Hitch Up office. This is the same garden we planted on our first day of work. They are doing fantastic. I think it is the long days of sunlight, but Lori says it's the way she talks to them and loves them. (it's probably some of both).

 This is the other part of Lori's job...the part she hates. She checks in campers, sells souvenirs and tour tickets. She is always trying to find ways and stuff to do outside (she even tried to move in on my John Deer gig) and the owners are not sure what to make of her doing "mans" work. However, Fred (the Boss) thinks it's cool and gives her more and more outside work. Now she is even painting parts of the new shed and digging it.

We have had incredible weather since we got to Alaska. We have had less than a 1/4" of rain the whole time when the average for June is more than 2". It's kind of nice but I wish it would rain so the grass would grow so I could cut it with the John Deer. We are staying busy all the time (Fred makes sure of that) and have started building a shed to cover the propane and heating fuel tanks.






We went to the weekly Crab Feast that is hosted by the only other RV park in town (shhhh...don't tell Fred).

It was really pretty cool. We tell them how many Dungeness crab we want for dinner by noon. When the fishing boat comes in at about 4pm, we get a call to meet them at the dock. They have just come in from hauling their crab pots and we get our order counted out right on the dock.

Lucky it didn't pinch my nose

Then we eat them right there on the dock...live...no cooking...just crunch into them. Yeah right, they're tough in Alaska but not stupid.

I did have to clean our own crab right there on the dock. You can't be weak or you won't eat crab. You have to grab them (carefully) by all their legs and claws while they are alive, turn them upside down and bash the edge of their shell on the dock. The shell pops off, then you break them in half so you have 4 legs and a claw on each half. Then you just have to scoop their poop out with your finger and you're done...ready to cook em and eat em...yummmmmy.  

The cost is $5 per crab and we have to bring a dish for the pot luck supper, our own silverware, plate and drink.
The host cooks the crab and sets up tables and chairs. The feast is right next to the boat harbor right on the beach with spectacular  Alaskan scenery for a backdrop. One crab is plenty for a feast but we got 4 so Lori could make crab salad for tomorrow.

 

Sounded gross didn't it? But it looks good now huh?...What are you waiting for...dig in !!

Mt. Riley

Tuesday, June 28th

Awwwww...the end of another work week !! You know what they say "red sky at night...sailors delight".

We started our weekend with the forecast calling for the best chance of rain since we arrived in Alaska. However, the old saying proved more true for when we woke, there was no rain, only high clouds. So, we decided that we should hike Mt. Riley. The trail-head is on the coast just 3 miles out of town so we threw some lunch, water and dog food in our pack packs and drove on out.

The trail to the summit is steep and climbs 1,800' over 3 miles through thick, lush forest. The forests here get so much water from the rain and snow that the roots are very shallow and often exposed at the surface. They make the hiking difficult as you have to always watch your step carefully. They often form stairs along the trail giving your legs a real workout.

Lori and Spaz on top with Haines below

After coaxing ourselves up switchback after switchback and standing on top, it suddenly seemed painless. The view was breathtaking !! We could almost see Russia from up there. Seriously, we had a 360 degree view for miles.

Self timer portrait of the 3 stooges

Mt. Riley and Haines are on a peninsula with the peak about 5 miles from the tip. We could see Haines below us nearby to the west with the Chilkoot valley on one side and the Chilkat valley on the other. To the north, up the Lynn canal you could see Skagway, 14 miles distant. To the west, down the canal the view disappeared towards Juneau and the pacific ocean. Across the canal to the south we had a spectacular view of the Rainbow Glacier and waterfall.

 

We were looking down on the bald eagles for a change

 After eating the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ever (with crunchy Cheetos of course) and enjoying the summit all by ourselves, we headed down.

Yes, those ARE red Alaska suspenders (you want my pants to fall down??)

By the time we got down, even Spaz was wiped out. We celebrated our conquest with a soft serve vanilla/chocolate ice cream from the "Hungry Moose" (a trailer drive thru in town). Later, we grilled some fat cheese burgers and had a few beers with Rob and Megan, some nice Alaskans that were camped next to us. The next day (our Sunday) was a little rough so we took it easy and had a "I don't feel like doing anything" day. We blamed it on being over-served by Rob & Megan but it might have been cause we are old, stiff and sore from Mt. Riley...naaaaw...we were over-served.

SPAZ WAD (Wilderness Alaska Dog) on the trail