June 30

Today was spectacular! Jack and I drove out to my favorite area of Wrangell Island, Thom's Creek. Few are willing to drive the thirty miles over rough roads to get there. Bears, moose, wolves, and wolverines all prefer this end if the island for the same reason as I do....no people.

The summer has been so dry that the creek was nothing more than a trickle. Since the water level was so low, I was hoping that we'd be able to catch salmon at the mouth of the creek at the salt water...fish that were unable to swim the creek due to the low water. We waked about two miles over slick boulders or along bears trails at the stream's edge when possible. As we walked, we munched on blueberries and made lots of noise - everyone we talked to warmed us of the brown bears that frequent the area. Have driven over scat piles the size of Clydesdale road apples, I knew that large bears love this end of the island.

We stopped to fish a few of the deeper holes along the creek and again at the mouth. We caught nothing more than a snag or two. Several of our friends had been down the creek and had a similar experience the week prior.

On the way back, Jack slipped on a rock and landed flat on his back in a deep hole, soaking our Forest Service radio in the process. "I might as well go swimming" was his response. He stripped down to this pants and boots and swam for about ten minutes in the frigid water. We disassembled the radio and warmed it in the defrost vents on the way home. I'm hoping that a day or two in the sun will get it back to working condition.

Jack and I returned to camp and made BBQ chicken on the grill.