Wilderness Blues- Ramblings from the Great Land

Several days ago my friend, Bob Pinard , asked if I wanted to go hunting. The weather was supposed to be good, and since I didn't have anything pressing, I agreed to go, although I had to think about it for a little bit. In years past when I've hunted with Bob it required my being up well before daylight, packing a ten thousand calorie lunch and taking enough ibuprofen to pre - empt the pain that I knew I would suffer after traipsing through the thicket, up mountains and down ravines. He always seemed to choose the very places that I would never even consider hunting. He's one tough fellow. At sixty-nine years old, he's got eleven years on me, but you would never know it. He seems to have the ability to shrug off pain and most challenges don't seem to bother him. Though he wouldn't approve of my saying anything, it's my blog, so I'll mention that he's one of the most generous people I've ever met. On the day we went out hunting we took his truck...

I was going to post something here several days ago, well, actually it's been longer than that, but I didn't want to just be putting anything on here. I guess that's what Twitter or tweeter or twiddle dee, twiddle dum, or tweetie bird or whatever that site is, is for. I didn't think anyone would be overly interested in, say, my shopping experience at Costco. "Well, I'm pushing a huge cart right now. It's really getting heavy. I just picked up four cans of Folgers and I'm heading for the green olives. Maybe I'll buy a jar of pickles while I'm there." Maybe I'm fooling myself. Perhaps what I write about is less interesting than stale bread, but I do have some nice pictures now and then. If nothing else, it's fun to share the beauty of this place with those who can't be here. This past Sunday was one of those days when I can't imagine being anywhere else. It was so beautiful -sunny and warm too. I sat out on the front porch and...

With fishing season over for the year, at least for me, I'm left with my annual inner conflict of what to do with my time. I absolutely hate wasting time, but I'm so undisciplined that unless I go to bed with some idea of what I'm going to do the next day, I drift about like a man without a country and then suffer with a guilty conscience for not accomplishing anything productive. As long as I'm not doing anything else, I don't mind cooking and cleaning the house. I'm not going to run out and buy an apron or anything, but it gives me something to do and it gives Jan a break. Yesterday I was making supper- shrimp salad. I don't know why it takes so many utensils to cook a couple pounds of shrimp and cut up some veggies, but it does. I wonder if Martha Stewart makes a big mess when she cooks. I guess it doesn't matter if she does, someone else will clean up after her. I don't have that option. While the shrimp was boiling I did some dishes and dried th...

My favorite place to shop in Hoonah is here at the Tideland Tackle and Marine store. If they would expand their inventory a little to include perhaps milk and bread and of course cheese and Pace chunky salsa, there might be little reason for me to shop anywhere else. No doubt I'd probably get in trouble if Jan sent me down for a loaf of bread and some lunch meat and I came back with a box of 8/0 stainless steel hooks and a pack of OG55R glow in the dark hoochies, but it would still be nice to have a little larger inventory. Unfortunately, I don't know where they would put anymore stuff. The store is painfully small as it is. As you can see, they carry a pretty good supply of guns and ammo, reels, trout lures, spoons, hooks, flashers and my favorite, hoochies. For anyone who doesn't know, hoochies are little vinyl octopus lures that come in a variety of colors that you tow behind a flasher to catch salmon. Those wicked employees at Tideland intentionally order all manner of ...

Before summer becomes too much of a distant memory, ( and before I lose the fact sheet that my grandson Kristian gave me) I wanted to do a post on the zip line, one of the popular attractions at Icy Strait Point. This isn't the best picture ever- I was shooting into the sun, but it was the only one I could get at the time. I was coming back from a days fishing earlier in the summer and I had a chance to get the most breathtaking, clear shot of the zipline- the wires were visible right unil they disappeared into the mist at the top of the mountain. It would have been a world class shot. I turned the boat around so I could get the best advantage, I turned on the camera and got just the right placement, and right when I pressed the shutter button, the battery died. Go figure. It was a classic Botts situation. After I got done swearing and a little time passed,I could see the humor in it. I still wish I could have gotten that shot though. Just looking at this picture is enough to make ...