Sorry for the wait

So the last month has been pretty hectic, as is evident by my lack of blogging. However I cannot blame my nonexistent updates on the amount of fishing I have been doing per say.

Week one at the lodge was a blast, I met a lot of like-minded folks who for the most part love fishing, adventure and the out of doors. Setting up camp was strenuous but rewarding, lots of carpentry, electrical, and plumbing work was needed as the Alaskan winters take quite a toll on the buildings here. The weather was cold that first week, and frozen waterlines were a daily nuisance (we would keep them dripping overnight but folks would think we were wasting water and turned them off). There were no fish in the river that first week. I came to this conclusion after not catching anything within my first three casts and having my guides freeze solid. I thought you weren't supposed to worry about frozen guides any time after April? I guess Alaska says “nay nay”.

I got quite the surprise that first Friday afternoon when the lodge owner came up to me and told me I would be flying to our out-camp, called Bear Camp for two weeks to set it up. Bear camp used to be a fishing camp, but has now been converted into a bear viewing lodge and is located on the outskirts of Lake Clark National Park, in Chinitna Bay. I was ecstatic, as I had only heard good things about Bear Camp from those I worked with and couldn’t wait to see my first coastal brown bear.   

I flew out of Soldotna in a Sesna 207 (I think?) crossing the Cook Inlet and going over some of the most rugged terrain I have ever laid eyes on. I left the Kenai Peninsula wearing a flannel and jeans, and as I went over the snow covered mountains and frozen lakes I quickly realized I would be cold upon landing. Prior to this trip I had never been in a bush plane, nor had I ever experienced a beach landing - both were bumpy and exciting, and filled me with adrenaline.  That first day we decided to only set up our personal wall tents and then go explore the property. How did I like my tent you ask? Well, interestingly enough I didn’t get one. I was told that someone had to sleep in the kitchen (a small cabin) every night with a shotgun in case the bears tried to get into the food, and it didn’t take me long to realize that I had been volunteered to be “that guy” for the full two weeks.  I was given a mattress, a 12 gauge, a can of bear spray, an air horn, and a “good luck.”

Over the course of two week we set up many wall tents, rebuilt decks, walkways and bear viewing platforms, and had a great time. I saw upwards of eighty bears, more eagles than I could count, and fell asleep to the sound of wolves howling. 

I have many stories of bear camp, I had a bear run after me while on the four wheeler, I bathed in a glacial-fed stream that was thirty three degrees, I “noodled” a cod, clammed on the flats, was chased by nesting ravens, and helped prevent a forest fire. Maybe I’ll go into depth on these adventures someday when the fishing is slow…