Dip-Netting for Salmon on the Copper River

June 11, 2020

I wasn't there this year, so I'm only passing along the experience and the pictures! But I was at home waiting for the Copper River Reds to come in and pack the freezer for many weeks to come. Here is a picture of Brian fishing - it was a light year this year - 12 salmon apiece for the guys that went, and Brian caught a king that they split four ways. We had a piece of king salmon on the grill last night - probably two inches thick and VERY tasty. I should have taken a picture of THAT!

The year that I went there were 3 of us, and we brought home 55 salmon - and a king too, I think, if I remember correctly. This year Brian took plenty of clothes, because the year I was there it was really cold - I would have given anything for a winter hat and gloves and even a winter coat instead of a raincoat - and that was in June! The folks across from us that year were in full sun and stripping down while we were freezing! This is from 2017 - it looks dark and cold, but I AM smiling. 

One of the best parts of this trip is the scenery on the way up - no prettier place, probably in all of Alaska.

We've planned to take two trips in July, one to Denali and the other we're still undecided about, so stay tuned for more pictures!

Weekend in Hope, Alaska

Actually, weekend was more of an overnight, but we did get to hike two days! We camped in our Chinook along the Resurrection Creek last night and hiked the Resurrection Pass Trail, which we've done several times. I wish we'd get further along the trail, but we went out an hour and a half and turned around and came back. It's such a great spot along the stream, and the hike is a nice graduate uphill but still enough of a hike so that you feel like you did something - about 2 hours, 40 min. total.
Brian wants to come back and bike it, but we tried that once, and I was not stellar - he'll get a lot further without me - and he won't have to listen to me whine either!

We cooked a salmon filet and grilled vegetables for dinner - and we all slept well and were up early with the sun!

We had never done the hike to Hope Pt., and the trail, which was very steep, straight up, when we first moved here was made easier (but still substantial!) with switchbacks in 2012 or 2013 we were told. Kira was not at all thrilled to be hiking two days in a row and made two or three attempts to persuade us to turn around and go in the other direction - but in the end, she hung in there. There are great views of Turnagin Arm, Cook Inlet, and the mountains along the Seward Highway on the way up and from the top - well, we aren't really sure that we got to the top, but we were running out of water for Kira and went 6.4 miles - it said the actual top would have been 7 miles.

Love the different greens! 

 Quick stop here for water and treats for Kira - actually at first I thought this was the top.

 Next time we want to go back to the Palmer Creek Road - we did that with bikes partway and hiking the rest of the way 2 or 3 years ago, and it's a gorgeous drive up into an Arctic valley. with the Chinook we'll be able to drive in further, and we ran into someone who told us about another hike to two lakes - we hiked up to the old mine the last time - every hike we do here is unbelievable, and even the drive there in back is stunning. Another weekend they can never take away from us!

Hiking and Biking - The Weather's Been Great!

It's been our perfect idea of weather here in Anchorage - 60-65 degrees, cooler at night, sunny most days. Last weekend we had intended to go out in the Chinook at least overnight, but we got waylaid with "cleanup" in a number of ways - including selling our 1994 Winnie Minnie and deciding to keep our 1977 18Plus Chinook. I put the ad on Facebook Marketplace at 9 o'clock at night, and it was sold at 9 am the next morning! So what we did instead:

Just before the weekend, we'd been meaning to climb Flattop - it's that early season test to see how out of shape we are! And it turned out to be not too bad! Very popular hike here in Anchorage, and easier now to do from the recommended "backside" where new switchbacks have been constructed (off Canyon Red.) We met a couple at the top - and found out that she is from Buffalo, NY - not too far from where we lived in upstate New York. They've been hiking in the Adirondacks too, where we climbed the 46 high peaks over time!

And then Sunday, a hike TOWARDS Rabbit Lake - we didn't go all of the way. Kira was very excited to see how much snow was still there on the trail - and it's still a beautiful hike and a beautiful day.

Biking has been perfect this spring, but we always have to keep a lookout for the moose on the trail!
We ran into this one over on the Campbell Creek trail and waited patiently until he moved in his own time to the other side of the bike trail and was at least facing the other way. We had company - there were 5 of us by the time he moved! The picture of Brian biking with Kira is from earlier this spring, but she was in the bugger with us when we ran across the moose so I included it!

Breakup in the Time of the Coronavirus

Breakup in Alaska refers to the breaking up of the ice, literally when the ice leaves the river, beginning a season that the river can be navigated. "In town" breakup means a time when roads and sidewalks become temporarily unnavigable themselves, an unpleasant time for recreation, since skiing is done, it's too slushy to bike (for me anyway), and walking is wet, uneven, and mostly not fun!

In this time of the Coronavirus, it's seemed more important than ever to be outside, and for the past 5 weeks, it's been great to take an hour or two or more each day to get fresh air, think of new ways and new places to be on our skis or fat tire bikes. But now the skis are put away, and the studded tires will soon come off the fat tire bikes. In the past week it's been strictly walks - and the trails are not in great shape - neither are the sidewalks. And do you wear the recommended face mask to walk? Or just if we're picking up bread from the bakery? Even though it's a handoff outside in the parking lot? Yesterday we picked up coffee from the back door for wholesale delivery at Kaladi's to avoid going to the larger grocery store when the Amazon coffee delivery was put off til mid-May. These parking lot handoffs are starting to feel illicit!

We still have snow, and at the same time, it's time to clean off the deck, anticipate a time when it will be warm enough, especially in the bright sun of afternoon, to want to sit out there - not quite yet, but you can feel it coming! The afternoon walks are feeling repetitive, though the birch forest trails are still beautiful, and Kira still loves bounding in the snow, seeks it out even when there is bare pavement. In the last two days we've walked downtown, along Ship Creek (bare pavement!) and along the Park Strip and winding around through Bootlegger's Cove and downtown (footing not too bad, pools of water in spots.)

And, we have our masks, our new ways of venturing forth in the world. We don't venture forth much, instead, hunkered down with each other and with Kira - a world of entertainment in herself!

A Fat Tire Bike to Knik Glacier

Okay, this one is Brian's not mine. Although I would have loved to have gone, not quite in good enough shape to keep up this year. Brian has been wanting to do this bike in, and the pictures say everything. He did take a wrong turn or missed a turn on the way out, so I'm glad he made it back, since he was out there pretty much alone. 

And, a few days before this, we did BOTH ride from the Hillside trails back to our house, about 90 minutes on mostly frozen trails. That was fun, and we had intended to go again this week, but with the thawing and re-freezing after people and bikes mushed up the sloppy snow, probably not! 

A Slow Sunday . . . and Sewing Face Masks!

It seems that in the time of Coronavirus, Sunday mornings have gotten even slower . . . longer reading of the New York Times in bed . . . with coffee . . . no rush, especially knowing that it got so warm that the slushy snow wasn't going to be good for much outside.

No pictures, but the crabmeat quiche made for a good late breakfast, and we decided to move ahead with the face masks that are now requested to be worn outdoors (when going to a store we assume, not just if we're biking or skiing.) I found two bandanas that I've had for a while, a pillowcase for good lining, and a pattern with a pocket for an additional filter if desired. The one thing that we didn't have, and that no one seems to have is elastic, but we found some old cording that Brian had from years ago and used that for around the ears.

I wore mine to try it out when we walked to Fire Island Bakery to pick up our order (in the parking lot, enforcing social distancing), and Brian tried his and tried to get Kira to participate when we got home!

Kira was far more interested in laying in the sun on our deck and watching for the pesky squirrel that's eating the bird food.

And I got to pick up a donation of sourdough starter from Corrie Whitmore that she thoughtfully taped to her porch wall so that we could come and pick it up! I can't wait to make something with it! Pancakes? Bread? All in all, another good Sunday!

It's Been Three Years . . . and We're Back!

I've been regretting that I didn't keep up with this blog posting, and I've especially thought in the last few days that during this coronavirus thing we're going through that it may have been useful. Brian and I have still gotten outside for at least an hour each day, and we've taken short trips, around an hour or less, to do outdoor things.

On about March 11, we went to a movie and a quick dinner before with a visiting friend, but since that time, we've only been together the two of us, one trip to Natural Pantry for replenishing fresh food, and our outdoor recreation, alone. So we've been "Hunkered Down" as Anchorage has termed it rather than "Shelter in Place." And even before that, we were largely doing that anyway since returning from our trip to upstate New York 2/14 and a quick trip for me to Seattle returning 2/16.

Days have been kind of long, probably similar to how it is for a lot of you, but I've worked from home a lot for my Wisdom Course accountabilities - on the phone or Zoom meetings online - and I've been enjoying cooking, writing, and watching things on Hulu or Netflix that I'd never explored. A couple that I've really liked: The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, 10 episodes for Season 1; Fosse & Verdon, 8 episodes, I have one left - it's really good; a documentary on Baseball that I don't think I've finished (PBS); and the new documentary on Hillary Clinton, 4 episodes - loved this - and I have one left to watch! And we've been doing a little of this mid-day too!

What I've been cooking: Moosemeat chili, lots to freeze, banana bread, homemade pasta, very good salmon with a little soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil baked at low temperature, and recently almond cookies. I was talking to my son about cooking stir fry and asked if he remembered the Chinese dinners we used to make when he was a child, always ending with homemade almond cookies that I would keep in the freezer for the occasion. He said he hadn't remembered until I said that but then he could even remember the taste right in that moment! He remembered when we made pasta too years ago and asked me to leave him the pasta maker in my will!

And not to make this too long, I have to show you some of the pictures we've been taking outdoors - the weather has been extraordinary, and yesterday we took our back-country skis along a stream an hour south of here in Portage - on the way to Whittier, where Brian did a little maintenance work on Kakwik, the boat that we share with Carl & Diane. With the social distancing requirements, the boat isn't going in the water yet, and it remains to be seen if it will go in this season for shrimping! The day was gorgeous though, and I appreciate that Brian thinks of these perfect things to do with the snow conditions.

I continue to appreciate living here in Alaska!