July 13: Waiting to fish

But we're making good use of the time. This is one of the many great qualities David possesses. He is leading a group on "a long explore". Pederson Point has put in a new road and we're curious about it. So they're hiking down there, fully armed with cameras (and a phone!), to see about this road. David is also the reason we finally learned that we can get to Katmai by skiff. I was pretty sure we'd fall off the edge of the lake if we tried and really resisted trying, but he finally shamed me into it - when I had to admit that probably, I really was just afraid of falling off the edge of our flat world. It may be a true fear of my stomach, but it's not much of a justification for saying "No." So we went and it worked out well (even though I thought the bears we saw on the way could probably catch up with the skiff and maul us of we didn't stay out of range).

And we had a really nice visit today from John and Raymond, from Alaska Department of Natural Resources - John worked with Mom and me to get the lease of her site transferred to me since she has stopped coming out fishing. It was a complex process and he was extremely patient. They would have liked to have seen some fishing, and I would have liked to have shown them some. Alas.

Today's update said about 50K went up each river - not enough, so we're still not fishing. And I remain confident that fish are still coming, so I'm baking bread, working on taxes, trying to get equipment repaired, and sleeping. Tomorrow night might be a good night for a bonfire. We have responsibility for a whole bag of marshmallows...

Not everyone is as optimistic as I am - Harry has decided to pull up early. The Janice E is out of the water and just about buttoned up. They're flying home to Palmer tomorrow. It's so sad for me!

End of the day update: the crew successfully hiked all the way up to Leader Creek on Pederson's new road and Chris and Hugh also hiked back. It's a very long walk. David, Sarah, Jeff, Roger, Evan, and Jake met up with Harry and Makenzie and they all came down in the truck. Josh and I stayed at camp to keep Sage company. They came across a bulldozer (or is this a backhoe?) that Jeff just fit in. And I've never understood it, but we've always had a cotton crop here on the tundra - Grandma Nicklet used to say, "Lots of cotton; lots of fish." We have lots of cotton. But it did seem to be especially thick where the tundra fire from 2009 left its scars.





They got back just as the cinnamon rolls were coming out of the oven and the tacos with fresh salsa and Spanish rice were ready. We do eat a little better when we're not fishing.

But the very big news is: we have an opening! I hope John and Raymond find out so they can come out for a spin in the skiff. It is a surprise - we weren't expecting to hear an update until noon on the 14th. Dare we hope that this opening could mean that there is a mass of fish out there and they want nets in the water ASAP? I do wish the ranger were running. Maybe it will be by 11 am on the 14th. I think it could be a big tide. And if they're Kvichak fish, we may have a lot on the ebb, which means... we'll need a ranger. Tomorrow will tell us.

For tonight, it's clear and beautiful with a stiff onshore wind. Probably about 20 MPH. With an already high tide, we decided not to chance it and moved the trucks and the new four-wheeler off the beach. Two of the rangers are already down there and the other ranger and the other four wheeler are parked up pretty high on the cliff. The wind shows no signs of laying down. Walking back from parking the trucks, I was struck by the vivid colors. And what would the end of the day be without a sunset.

I'll let you know tomorrow how the opening goes.