July 20th

Bob called early and asked that I meet him at his boat at ten.  Jack asked if he could spend the day in town - the weather called for rain and he wasn't thrilled about spending the day in an open boat under a steady downpour so I gave him the option of staying back and he took it.

Bob and I planned on fishing for Coho salmon which are just beginning to start their run toward the freshwater streams.  You fish Coho in a similar fashion to King salmon- with perch pulled on down riggers without the heavy sink weights used when fishing for Coho.

While the weather was a mixture of fog, low clouds, and drizzle, very little rain fell throughout the day. 

Anan

Janet arrived yesterday and the connection from the site has been very weak.   We picked up Janet from the airport from the evening jet from Juneau around five and had a glorious dinner at our favorite eatery, the Stikine Inn.  

My friend Bob called just as we were finishing dinner and asked if we'd be interested in some salmon.  "Of course" was the answer - we stopped by his place and then the town fish cannery for ice and drove back to the site to fillet and vacuum pack it - doing our best to prepare for an early morning. 

We drove into the office early, dragging ourselves from bed into the cold confines of our camper.   A brisk drizzle fell from the sky and fog enveloped the island - I ran the heater in an attempt to warm and dry the air in the trailer.   We drove into town and were on the boat by eight o'clock heading for the Anan wildlife area.  We had an incredible day at the falls - there were tons of bears in the area, including a large number of the huge coastal brown bears.   We stayed on the platform for most of the day watching the bears gorge themselves on the hoardes of salmon struggling to swim the falls.  It soon became obvious that the bears have a preference for only a few select parts of the fish - that being the egg sack, brains, and skin (not necessarily in that order).  As soon as they've finished ripping these from the salmon, they dump the headless, belly-less carcass back into the stream for a fresh replacement.  

On our way back to the boat, we encountered an adolescent brown bear traveling the opposite way on the trail.   As you'll see, it took some coaxing to get it to give way.   I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

Potluck Timelapse

I made this timelapse of Friday's potluck.   Look closely as I prepare the site for the night's fesitivities.   I used one frame every five seconds.

July 19th

Jack and I made our rounds early as we had planned to go fishing with our boss Bob.   

The sites have not seen much action in July.  I believe that only we've only seen one camper who was not from Wrangell and only a handful of campers from town.  

Jack and I retuned to camp only to discover that Bob would have to cancel.    Jack cleaned up the camper while I cut grass at the site in preparation for the evening's potluck.  

The potluck was well attended - all locals, with the obvious exception of the hosts.    The presentation was a comparison between the rainforest of the Tongass and the tundra of the North.  The presenter was Harriet Schurmer, a long time resident of Wrangell and retired physician.

The bugs did a fine job of ending the conversation and we fell into bed around ten.

July 18th

Jack and I had a great day of relaxation.  We ventured into town around nine, stopping for breakfast at the Diamond C and then the laundry room at the bunkhouse.  While our clothes spun away, Jack swam laps at the rec center while I ran on the treadmill.

Jack and I spent the afternoon at the library reading and taking advantage of their internet.  We'd been there whike when the librarian came up to me and asked if I'd ve willing to help a fisherman with a math problem.  She brought over a couple who recently had a gas tank fabricated for their boat.  His wife knew the exact dimension but where at a liss as to how to calculte the its volume.   I did the calculations for them and then taught them how I went about it.  Teaching a person to fish after giving them the fish - one upping the famous proverb in the process.

July 17th Part II

Here are a few more shots from our day at the mountain top.

July 17th

The forecast called for sunny skies and a high of 78 degrees which turned out to be right on the money. Bob and I decided that today would be an ideal time to stain the high country shelters as the sunny days ahead would give the coats plenty of time to dry.

We hiked in three gallons of stain, brushes, and rollers to the Wrangell High Country shelter - it was in far worse condition. Its location on the ridge-line exposes it to the driving winds that scour the area every winter.

The heat was incredible as we walked the endless set of steps to the shelters - over 4,000 of them in all. The stain dried quickly under the blazing sun and we were able to cover it with two coats before packing up and hiking to the Shoemaker Bay shelter. It was almost as warm and humid as Illinois in July...... come to think it, not even remotely close to Illinois but still very warm and humid.

The views from either shelter are worth the effort required to reach them. From the High Countey shelter, you are rewarded with 360 views of the surrounding island and snow capped peaks on the mainland. The view was partially obscured by a thick haze of smoke that was drifting over SE Alaska. The haze is really smoke from a fire somewhere in the Yukon. If you look carefully, you see the silt line created as the muddy water of the Stikine enters Zimovia strait. The location of the silt line changes daily with the height of the tide, the flow rate if the Stikine, and timing of the tides.

Back at camp, I discovered that I'd left one of our water jugs in the sun. Much to Jack's dismay, I set up a shower using the bear resistant storage box, our cooler, and a second water jug and took a warm shower in the sun right there at our site. It was bliss - not quite what you see in a Kohler commercial but close - the pale man and horse flies being the most obvious differences.