Never trust a fisherman!

They only tell fishy stories!

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Never trust a fisherman!

They only tell fishy stories!

Now wait a darned minute, Saeed. Next thing I know, you won't believe me when I swear to you I had salmon swim between my legs up there in Alaska.



P.S. Actually true -- they were pink/humpback salmon, typically under five pounds, but salmon nonetheless!

Now we miss Tasunkawitko, and his Montana pictures...

Places i have been and hunted or visited and would go back in a perfect world. The Selous, Cold Bay Alaska, Robb Alberta, Williams Lake BC, Craig Colorado, Tres Piadras New Mexico, Leander Ranch Colorado, South Fork and Creed Colorado, Yosemite California, Glacier Park Montana, Red Wood forest California, Napa Valley California, Tipperary Ireland, Normandy France, Banff Canada, Lake Iliamna Alaska. All have a soft place in my heart. Good Shooting.

There are many "best" places. Individually, we can't visit them all, which is why sharing and thinking about them is good.

One of my favorite places is the Stikine River in BC and Alaska.

I suppose this qualifies as a fishy story, since I did see fish.

From what I know, the Stikine River is divided into three sections - the lower, the canyon, and the upper. The upper, or headwaters, is where John Muir hiked and wrote in his journal about.

In the first video they are on the lower section. The boat they are using is a Svendsen Skiff, made in Wrangle Alaska, especially for running the Stikine with a jet outboard. I had one of these boats. I lived in Petersburg, AK for a while and had a few friends who owned a cabin on the Stikine. I managed to run the river several times, but not all the way to the Canadian border.

http://www.svendsenmarine.com/skiffs

https://youtu.be/6ZWOh6BMPWY?si=dssvU7u_PryGdsXx

Wrangell, Alaska Stikine River: 1st Summer Jetboat Trip & Returning via North Arm

The Lower section is navigable all the way to Telegraph Creek, BC. There are tributaries. such as Alpine Creek shown in the Video. When I went there, the Chinook Salmon were spawning, and the water was clear.

Above Telegraph Creek is the Canyon.

Here's what Nat Geo says:

The Grand Canyon of the Stikine, Northwest British Columbia
The Grand Canyon of the Stikine, Canada's most impressive canyon, has in all of its history never permitted the passage of a raft. Perhaps a dozen individuals, quite likely fewer, know the full length of its rim. Less than a hundred intrepid world-class paddlers have run its course in kayaks.

If the Colorado River has a single Class V rapid, Lava Falls, and only at certain water levels, the Stikine features 40 or more that come at the paddler with incessant zeal. The Stikine Canyon is the K2 of white-water challenges. To add to the delight one moves beneath sheer walls of basalt and sedimentary rock that rise 1,600 feet above the water.

Inhabiting those cliffs are hundreds of mountain goats, a population that has inverted generations of instinctive behavior. Mountain goats normally go up to protect themselves from predators, wolf and grizzly and men who almost always come at them from below. In the canyon the goats go down into the belly of the Earth where no predator can reach them, from above or below. The result is the greatest concentration of mountain goats in North America.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...hannel=DonnaMcMaster

Grand Canyon of the Stikine - 1st Descent 1981

The part about the Stikine starts at about 5:00

The place where they put in is on the Cassier Highway just south of Dease Lake, BC.

Here's another video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...=SerrasolsesBrothers

So, of course I didn't do the canyon by water, but I did it by road, in March - to Telegraph Creek, then Glenora. The shady side of the switch-backs were ice, the sunny side was mud. I did it in a Toyota 2 WD pickup. Drove the Alcan south to Cassier hwy, Got a room in Dease Lake, then arranged a stay several days with a woman in her mid-60's who had a ranch across the river from Glenora. She picked me up in an old Skidoo and we crossed the river on ice. The path was marked by willows stuck in the ice. She heated the place entirely with wood stoves and cut the wood herself. She preferred birch. She had several hides curing on her porch, one was a wolverine. No indoor plumbing. The outhouse was okay even at 12 below zero. The wind just howled. She took me on a tour next day on the Skidoo. Moose kill - lots of wolf tracks. I figured out later that she killed the moose, and butchered it herself. The wolves were just eating the remains.

The next day, I hired her neighbor's son to take me on an excursion down river, on ice. He had a modern snowmobile. I had the Skidoo. He had to slow down partially due to my inexperience. Also, he had carbide cutters on the bottom of his skis. The Skidoo didn't. We went down river, on ice, as far as the first tributary, then turned around. The most treacherous part, for me, was the ice sloped due to the river water falling over the winter. In some places there was some space between the ice and the river, or sand below. So the Skidoo wanted to follow the slope. I didn't. I wore a float suit, which I used in Alaska during winter when out on the boat. It had a hood and was very warm. I also wore ski goggles, face mask and mittens.

I found out later that my "guide" was only 14 years old. He told me of his escapades by snow machine on the glacier nearby. His family lived in a cabin by the river. They had a very mean dog, which was chained up for my visit. They said he had killed wolves which ventured too close to the cabin. I believed them. That dog didn't bark. He just stared.

So, this is just one example of video of the road between Dease Lake, Telegraph Creek, Glenora.

https://youtu.be/jP_DRwnnEYY?si=ALpn6gK81ou23tlZ

Drive from Telegraph creek to Dease Lake

Bear in mind, this video was taken in April. I did my trip in March.

Here's another good video taken in summer, last year. It has good drone views. It starts on the Cassier highway.

https://youtu.be/M51ISiNfMLQ?si=Lnu0_nlihk8wwxRa

Heaven to me is the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I would take it as is. I believe God lives there.

A distant second would be Canaima in Venezuela, without the Venezuelans.

Honorable Mention:

Banff, Alberta, Canada, without the tourists.

Princeville, Kauai, without the tourists.

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain with Penelope Cruz.

The more infrastructure and tourists a place has, the less appealing it becomes.

These days almost everyone can afford to go anywhere in the world. We sometimes forget how good we have it. My parents and most of their friends could never dream of going to the places I've been.

Every few weeks you read about some asshole damaging some historical site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R8vxyJ-bUM Tourists are a menace.

quote:

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain with Penelope Cruz.

For many years and too many times I flew to and from Alaska when I lived there. Over the years they changed the rules, and it became more hassle to deal with commercial airlines, airports, layovers, etc. Bottom line - I refuse to ever fly again, with the exception of a bush plane. So, I go where I can drive. I won't be going to Mexico, but that leaves more places to go and explore than one can cover in 20 lifetimes. I also avoid National Parks - too many tourists - and avoid cities as much as I can. I like to camp in State parks, city parks, county parks, and Provencial Parks in Canada are favorite, yet they usually don't have electricity hookups. They are generally safe. I avoid boondocking because it's too risky for me. Some places in Canada may be ok. I tent camped for many years, but now I have a converted bus to travel and stay in. The darn thing isn't cheap to upkeep. I may get rid of it and get something smaller, newer, with less mileage.

I have driven to and from Alaska, to and from Georgia or Florida so many times I lost count. I've done probably eight or ten round trips, and a few one-way trips by road. I try to vary my route each time, but finally one can't avoid the Alcan. I've driven it in spring, summer, fall and winter. I don't plan on ever doing the trip in spring or winter again. My favorite hwy is the Cassier. As I recall, there's three Provencial parks and several recreation sites (free camping) along that hyw. I have also taken the ferry from Billingham to Juneau twice, and the reverse trip once.

So, as I'm reading this thread, posts, I'm thinking about my next trip North, next summer, and planning routes and side trips. It gets way too hot down here in the summer for me, so I might as well go somewhere cool and interesting, and wild. Usually, the route through southern or mid-states is the least interesting to me. Now, it takes me at least a week of driving just to get to the nearest border in Saskatchewan. So, to make it more interesting next time, I think I'll take a few days longer and take the Nachez Trace Parkway and turn west, just south of Nashville.

My normal destination is Hoonah, AK. But I sold my place there to some friends. I could still go there, but I don't want to stay there all summer.

Here's some videos about and in Hoonah. Sitka blacktail deer are usually plentiful, and one of my favorite and easy hunts. The season opens in August and stays open all winter. A nice fat button buck taken in August is tasty. I tried to find short videos, and it's difficult to find something that's not touristy. The place is now a cruise ship destination so sometimes it's full of tourists.

https://youtu.be/-f5mQGNZ_Co?si=OlfzEgWYDL3LxwK2

https://fb.watch/mVDJPTU6Sj/

Tourists catching puppy halibut out of Hoonah.

https://www.facebook.com/gamecreekguides/

https://fb.watch/mVGzLUEP1s/

Drone views of Hoonah, AK

https://youtu.be/pTzKUJl9wzE?si=WzKuabImncg-QNiC

There's lots of good places to go in the western states, all the way from N. Mexico, AZ to Idaho, WY, Montana, etc. But when I start such a trip I'm anxious to cross the Canadian border.

Next trip I plan on the afore-mentioned Rocky Mountain Trench route. I've driven that route before, heading south, but I didn't know it by that name.

At some time, I want to do the Top of The World Highway out of Dawson City. If I do that, I'll turn around before crossing the border into Alaska, to avoid the hassle. While I've gone that far, I would like to visit Tombstone Territorial Park.

https://youtu.be/X9t2IdZDdEI?si=zHc8GLAkwQJKwsUO

https://dawsoncity.ca/listing/...ne-territorial-park/

https://spectacularnwt.com/sto...-road-less-travelled

https://www.nwtparks.ca/explore/dempster-highway

quote:

There's lots of places on the UP of Michigan that are gorgeous

I was just there on Tuesday.

Lots of beauty for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by Magine Enigam:
For many years and too many times I flew to and from Alaska when I lived there. Over the years they changed the rules, and it became more hassle to deal with commercial airlines, airports, layovers, etc. Bottom line - I refuse to ever fly again, with the exception of a bush plane. So, I go where I can drive. I won't be going to Mexico, but that leaves more places to go and explore than one can cover in 20 lifetimes. I also avoid National Parks - too many tourists - and avoid cities as much as I can. I like to camp in State parks, city parks, county parks, and Provencial Parks in Canada are favorite, yet they usually don't have electricity hookups. They are generally safe. I avoid boondocking because it's too risky for me. Some places in Canada may be ok. I tent camped for many years, but now I have a converted bus to travel and stay in. The darn thing isn't cheap to upkeep. I may get rid of it and get something smaller, newer, with less mileage.

I have driven to and from Alaska, to and from Georgia or Florida so many times I lost count. I've done probably eight or ten round trips, and a few one-way trips by road. I try to vary my route each time, but finally one can't avoid the Alcan. I've driven it in spring, summer, fall and winter. I don't plan on ever doing the trip in spring or winter again. My favorite hwy is the Cassier. As I recall, there's three Provencial parks and several recreation sites (free camping) along that hyw. I have also taken the ferry from Billingham to Juneau twice, and the reverse trip once.

So, as I'm reading this thread, posts, I'm thinking about my next trip North, next summer, and planning routes and side trips. It gets way too hot down here in the summer for me, so I might as well go somewhere cool and interesting, and wild. Usually, the route through southern or mid-states is the least interesting to me. Now, it takes me at least a week of driving just to get to the nearest border in Saskatchewan. So, to make it more interesting next time, I think I'll take a few days longer and take the Nachez Trace Parkway and turn west, just south of Nashville.

My normal destination is Hoonah, AK. But I sold my place there to some friends. I could still go there, but I don't want to stay there all summer.

Here's some videos about and in Hoonah. Sitka blacktail deer are usually plentiful, and one of my favorite and easy hunts. The season opens in August and stays open all winter. A nice fat button buck taken in August is tasty. I tried to find short videos, and it's difficult to find something that's not touristy. The place is now a cruise ship destination so sometimes it's full of tourists.

https://youtu.be/-f5mQGNZ_Co?si=OlfzEgWYDL3LxwK2

https://fb.watch/mVDJPTU6Sj/

Tourists catching puppy halibut out of Hoonah.

https://www.facebook.com/gamecreekguides/

https://fb.watch/mVGzLUEP1s/

Drone views of Hoonah, AK

https://youtu.be/pTzKUJl9wzE?si=WzKuabImncg-QNiC

There's lots of good places to go in the western states, all the way from N. Mexico, AZ to Idaho, WY, Montana, etc. But when I start such a trip I'm anxious to cross the Canadian border.

Next trip I plan on the afore-mentioned Rocky Mountain Trench route. I've driven that route before, heading south, but I didn't know it by that name.

At some time, I want to do the Top of The World Highway out of Dawson City. If I do that, I'll turn around before crossing the border into Alaska, to avoid the hassle. While I've gone that far, I would like to visit Tombstone Territorial Park.

https://youtu.be/X9t2IdZDdEI?si=zHc8GLAkwQJKwsUO

https://dawsoncity.ca/listing/...ne-territorial-park/

https://spectacularnwt.com/sto...-road-less-travelled

U.S. 191 from border-to-border would make a nice trip, just give yourself maybe 50 miles either side and you can get to some of our best Parks and some rarely crowded.

quote:

U.S. 191 from border-to-border would make a nice trip, just give yourself maybe 50 miles either side and you can get to some of our best Parks and some rarely crowded.

I see that the route goes through Yellowstone. Last time I did that, I vowed to myself that I wouldn't do that again - too many tourists.

But, going around isn't a problem.

I've done parts of that route already. It's good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_191

U.S. Route 191

quote:

Originally posted by Kensco:
Heaven to me is the Mackenzie Mountains in the Northwest Territories of Canada. I would take it as is. I believe God lives there.

https://www.google.com/search?...imgrc=N921zIju36vUVM

https://peakvisor.com/range/ma...Yukon%20Highway%206).

I always wanted to visit Yellowknife and Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake. Unfortunately, as far as I can research, there are no roads to Great Bear Lake.

I think all the other routes plus would be too much for one summer. I've studied it, and there's a loop road starting or ending on the Alcan to Yellowknife that's interesting. With the fires this last summer, the strategy changes.

I found this video and wasn't looking for it. IMO, it's good enough to share even though it's not short. Of course, you can watch part or all or none.

https://youtu.be/qIvw8GjCsY8?si=WtiWZ3ryKTTRb65J

Telegraph Creek

I also unintentionally found this video. But it's so good that I thought I should post the link. Again, it's not short but very informative.

Syd Wright's Alaska: A tribute to a great story teller

https://youtu.be/8Z-T4QSWHmQ?si=AqlhJGSHCZo5jWPf

This video continues on where the afore video stops.

https://youtu.be/jdMrgU36jhU?si=_fHV40hdi2vVRL3f

To continue the "fishy" stories theme, per Saeed -----

Here's the Strangest Story Ever Told, by Harry D. Colp.

Apparently, the short story was published after his death, by his wife, as I recall, who found it among his stuff.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22452510

Here's the best narrative I can find:

https://youtu.be/qWPUkD56jJA?si=iNvk8aXsemSoDXi9

https://www.onlyinyourstate.co...and-otter-legend-ak/

This Alaska Legend Will Send Chills Down Your Spine

While we might think these animals are the sweetest things on the planet, the Tlingit people have a legend about them that will keep you up at night. Sometimes terrifying things come in cute, cuddly packages.

Note: I'm sure that the picture, taken from a boat, in this story (link above) is of the Town of Hoonah, Alaska.

Also Note: The Myth is about the River Otter, not the sea otter, as I understand it from the natives. They call the river otter a land otter for some reason.

Note: if you watch this video, (below) pay close attention to about :30. They show a small pool of water, with a layer of ice on top. In SE Alaska those holes in the muskeg are often deeper than 6 foot, and the bottom is very soft muck. It is possible to get caught in one and can't get out. I stepped into one, once, and had to swim and crawl out. Of course, I got wet all over. Fortunately, I was close to the cabin and a wood stove.

https://fb.watch/mX22sG0N7r/

Life Below Zero: Port Protection - The Kushtaka in the Woods

https://hwy.co/kushtaka/

You’ve Heard of Bigfoot But Have You Heard of Kushtaka?
BY
KYLE & OLIVIA BRADY
JULY 19, 2022
4 MINUTE READ

In this link is a topo map of Salt Chuck Bay, near Hoonah Alaska - scroll down .

https://alaska.guide/bay/salt-chuck/1416688

Note the narrow neck at the entrance of the salt chuck bay. It's best to enter at high tide due to rocks in the entrance and fast water.

Also there's a forest service cabin at the entrance narrows. I think it has been rebuilt since wind and fallen trees ruined the first one.

During mating season, you can watch brown bears mate on the beach in front of the cabin.

Also note, the beach off Salt Lake Bay, marked "tidal flat" is the place where the Alaska Bush People reality show people built their cabin, back in the woods - higher ground. The land is privately owned and the production company leased it for the show, which operated out of Hoonah. The land was for sale at one time for 1.2 million $.

Before the "Bush People" show, I used to put out a line for Halibut in the larger, deeper, section of the Salt Lake Bay (100 feet or more). I caught some whoppers. My Texas buddy boat camped there, and his son messed up their camping trip once when he caught a large halibut on a salmon rod there. It took several hours to boat it and they came back to town about 2 am to clean it. They called me of course to come help. They got to sleep in the next day. I went to work.

One of their favorite things to do was camp on their boat anchored in that bay (outside the salt chuck). To the east the mountains have a low place, a pass, where the wind funnels through. The wind whines and sometimes makes sounds like an organ (the musical instrument) playing out of tune in the distance. Often, I would run my boat down there and join them for dinner, and return to town later. The days were long, so I had plenty of daylight. So, they asked me about the creepy sounds coming out of the mountains. That's when I told them the Tlinkit Kushtaka Myth story. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushtaka

As I told the story, I noticed that I had their full attention and were very quiet. So, I assumed that they believed me, and I did embellish a little. I never did retract or clear up my story. Later, as the music from the mountains grew, after dinner, I told them that although the Kushtaka could swim like otters, they seem to prefer the mountain passes. Most likely they would be okay, but I'm going home - bye.

I have flown as a passenger many times in Alaska in the so-called bush planes; Otter, Twin Otter, Beaver, Piper Cub, Maule, home built experimental. I've seen some short runways.

But I've not seen any like this:

https://youtu.be/kY1V_l6gG3E?si=LgwZdEq8yofOfd34

Where no plane has been before...

I did see one like this, but we didn't land.

This is an example - not the place I saw.

https://youtu.be/0zDo7hkmCNY?si=Lu5dHAaRlYjE3Jvy

On the first pass I noticed the landing tracks where someone had been landing, so I asked the pilot to turn around so we could take a closer look. The place is near Hoonah, AK. The Sitka Blacktail bucks go up high in the summer to avoid bugs and where it's cool. On the same trip we saw bucks resting on a remnant snowfield on the shady side. Flying and hunting the same day is against the law, but I'll bet that's what those guys were doing.

I went on Google Earth and zoomed in on the landscape hoping to be lucky and find the actual mountain top with the tracks, but didn't see it for sure. In some places the view was clear enough to see game trails, but not all of it is clear.

The place I'm talking about is somewhere near the center within this picture taken off Google Earth.




==================================================================

BTW, if you want to see something that I think is awesome and if you have Google Earth, look up Grand Canyon of the Stikine, and scroll around, zoom in and out. I figured out how to save images off Google Earth for the above picture, but I would have to post many pictures of the Stikine to do it justice, zoomed in and out and surrounding areas and places with names.