September Update

When I posted my last blog, I was due to see the foot doctor about what damages (if any) that I may have done to my foot.  I was still limping and in some pain when I saw the doctor, and thankfully, he said I didn’t do any major damage, but did rupture some fibers along the Plantar muscle along the sole of my foot.  He ended up strapping my arch to ease the tension on the muscle and said to keep the wrap on at all times (except in shower) and give the muscle time to heal.  He also recommended some better shoes/hiking boots and  other types of arch support braces while walking.  I saw the doctor on August 26 and by the time we left for Alaska (September 6) I was able to walk carefully without a lot of pain.  It’s now Sept 24, and I can go out for short walks without pain, but if on longer walks/hikes, the muscle in my foot starts to rebel and I start limping again.  The doctor said it will take quite a while for the muscle to fully heal.

We were in Yakutat, Alaska September 7-15 for some great Salmon fishing.  The day we arrived (the 7th) it was gray and cloudy, but no rain.  It remained cool & cloudy with some partial sun breaks until the afternoon of September 9.  That afternoon the skies opened up and it started raining.  It rained all afternoon and all night, but when we got up on the 10th, the skies were clear.  We then had sun the next 5 days.  In fact, Yakutat had record warm (70 plus degrees) temperatures during that whole week.  It was wonderful, except for when the little “no seeum” bugs came out.  As I have said in previous posts, the perfume of choice in Alaska is DEET!!  I used a lot of Avon Skin So Soft and it helped a lot.  The bugs still swarmed around but none were able to get through the oil to bite.

The fishing in Yakutat was unbelievable.  We normally come home with about 140-150 pounds of filets.  This year, we had to buy 2 extra fish boxes in which to pack the extra fish we caught.  We ended up with a little over 200 pounds of Salmon Filets this year. The fish were much bigger and eager to bite our lures (grin).  We were never out later than 1:30 fishing.

These pictures are just a sample of what we caught!

Ken is getting ready to filet this beauty!

This is Ken's limit for one day.

All was not perfect because we did catch some fish that ended up breaking our lines and taking the hooks with them, and many were pink/red that we had to throw back. The worst and most expensive mishap was done on our second day of fishing. We were done fishing for the day and were heading in for the day when “somehow” Ken knocked my Loomis “graphite” Rod and Shimano Reel into the water (oops). Yep, it sank in the murky depths and we never saw it again. Thankfully, we were done for that day and Ken had an extra (duplicate) set-up back in our room.  It was an expensive day, but crap happens and the trip was still fantastic.

The day before we were to leave, we didn’t fish and since it was warm and sunny, we took a drive up the longest road in Yakutat called 29 Mile Road. That road dead ends at the Dangerous River, which is actually glacial water heading towards the ocean. The Yakutat glacier feeds into Harlequin Lake and the Dangerous River flows out from there to the ocean.

That's our rental van parked at the dead end turn-around at the end of bridge that spans the Dangerous River.

This is a view of icebergs in Harlequin Lake where the Dangerous River begins.

This is a close up of the icebergs at the head of the Dangerous River.

Here's an iceberg floating down the Dangerous River.  Look how milky the water is!

Here is some bear scat we saw on the road.  Notice the little red berries.  No it didn't smell like pepper spray, nor did it contain any tiny bells (grin).

Here I am hugging Yakutat Jack just before our plane arrived.

We left Yakutat on September 15 and for the first time in a long time, our plane was on time. We landed at SeaTac on time at 11:30 and surprise of surprises, it was raining.  We got our fish into the airport freezer, then checked into our hotel for some badly needed sleep.  It rained the rest of the night/morning and most of the next day (16th) while on our drive back to Salem.   It quit raining near Chehalis, WA, but remained cloudy the rest of the day.

If you wish, you can view many more pictures we have taken around Yakutat over the many years we have fished there.  The link to our Picasa Web Album is:  Yakutat

We are now in the process of updating some things in the coach and getting it ready for when we head to Arizona in October.