Life

The Scandinavian shop of the author’s great-grandma. (Photo provided by Victoria Petersen)

Why fall is a favorite

This is my favorite time of year. Maybe because I was born teeter-tottering on the cusp of Leo and Virgo, one part holds on to… Continue reading

The Scandinavian shop of the author’s great-grandma. (Photo provided by Victoria Petersen)
Christa Kennedy and Izzie Giacomangeli double-buck a downed tree in July 2018 on Surprise Creek Trail within the Andrew Simons Wilderness Unit. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Traditional hand tools maintain trails in Kenai Wilderness

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is 1.92 million acres. What many people don’t realize is that 1.3 million acres of this was designated as Kenai… Continue reading

Christa Kennedy and Izzie Giacomangeli double-buck a downed tree in July 2018 on Surprise Creek Trail within the Andrew Simons Wilderness Unit. (Photo provided by Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
The writer is seen here paddling on Sept. 13, 2018, during a trip throughout the Swan Lake Canoe Route in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and out the Moose River. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled up in Blue: About regrets

I spent a recent warm September morning gliding across Gavia Lake in the Swan Lake Canoe Route on a stand up paddleboard, casting my line… Continue reading

The writer is seen here paddling on Sept. 13, 2018, during a trip throughout the Swan Lake Canoe Route in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and out the Moose River. (Photo by Kat Sorensen)
Right Mountain reflects off of Kenai Lake on June 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: That was summer

In Alaska, seasons seem to be things that are not so much enjoyed, but gotten through. As I say this, I hear the chorus of… Continue reading

Right Mountain reflects off of Kenai Lake on June 6, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A pink salmon fights to escape an angler’s hook Aug. 24, 2016 near the Soldotna Visitor’s Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Lull between silver salmon runs on the Kenai, plenty of pinks

Kenai Peninsula local’s process for catching pink salmon: —Throw a line out. —Get a tug, catch a glimpse of the prominent dark hump on the… Continue reading

A pink salmon fights to escape an angler’s hook Aug. 24, 2016 near the Soldotna Visitor’s Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Unhinged Alaska: Slip slidin’ away

Can you feel it yet? There is definitely something different about nature’s pulse and the actions of her minions. It started several weeks back while… Continue reading

Danielle Lowrey, a Bristol Bay Native Association intern from Bethel, prepares a Van Dorn, which takes water samples that will later be filtered for algae concentration, on Kulik Lake in the Bristol Bay watershed on August 9, 2018. Mary Catharine Martin | SalmonState

Fish people: Upriver during a record year at Bristol Bay

As fishermen leave Dillingham and canneries shut down, the Wood River system in the Bristol Bay watershed brims with sockeye salmon. The second week of… Continue reading

Danielle Lowrey, a Bristol Bay Native Association intern from Bethel, prepares a Van Dorn, which takes water samples that will later be filtered for algae concentration, on Kulik Lake in the Bristol Bay watershed on August 9, 2018. Mary Catharine Martin | SalmonState
Cars pass over the Warren Ames Bridge over the Kenai River on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Anglers focus in on silvers and pinks on Kenai

Between the anglers lining the banks and the darkheaded seals bobbing up and down in the water, salmon headed up the Kenai River to spawn… Continue reading

Cars pass over the Warren Ames Bridge over the Kenai River on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
The author is seen here running the Lost Lake Trail. She is signed up for the 16-mile run on Aug. 25 and training for the race while dealing with a sprained ankle. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled up in blue: A Sprained Relationship

A lot has been said about love. A lot has been said about running, but I never thought I’d look for a way to say… Continue reading

The author is seen here running the Lost Lake Trail. She is signed up for the 16-mile run on Aug. 25 and training for the race while dealing with a sprained ankle. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)
Fishermen cast for silver salmon from a boardwalk near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Coming up silver on the Kenai

The silver salmon tease the fishermen on the Kenai River. A few inches away from an angler’s bobber, a silver salmon’s dark back will flick… Continue reading

Fishermen cast for silver salmon from a boardwalk near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon caught in a dipnet from the Kasilof River lies on the beach on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof dipnet fishery hot on high tide, silvers reach Kenai

Tuesday night brought a ray of sunshine, a high tide and a fresh bloom of fish into the mouth of the Kasilof River, straight into… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon caught in a dipnet from the Kasilof River lies on the beach on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Gentoo penguin contributing nutrients to Cuverville Island. (Photo provided by Sue Mauger)

Polar Connections: Penguins and Salmon Transform Emerging Landscapes

As we stepped out of zodiacs and landed on Pleneau Island off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, we saw green. In an environment… Continue reading

Gentoo penguin contributing nutrients to Cuverville Island. (Photo provided by Sue Mauger)
Smoked salmon strips hang in a smoke shed during a demonstration July 20, 2018, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish Week teaches how to smoke delicious salmon

Smoking salmon may not be as time-consuming as one may think. Yes, it does pay to allow a lot of time to let the meat… Continue reading

Smoked salmon strips hang in a smoke shed during a demonstration July 20, 2018, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Personal-use dipnet fishermen pull up to the bank of the Kenai River beneath the Warren Ames Bridge on Saturday, July 21, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

78-pound king caught on Kenai; sockeye fishing up and down

Despite its nickname as the Land of the Midnight Sun, there are in fact hours of darkness on the Kenai Peninsula in July. But the… Continue reading

Personal-use dipnet fishermen pull up to the bank of the Kenai River beneath the Warren Ames Bridge on Saturday, July 21, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Tangled Up in Blue: Mouse Traps

I got lazy last week. It was the middle of July and things in Seward got a little hectic. The weather was warm, the town… Continue reading

Melissa Garcia Johnson separates foraged wildflowers at a beach on North Douglas Highway. (Photo by Kevin Gullufsen/Juneau Empire)

Foraging a homemade bouquet

Homemade gifts hold a certain charm.

Melissa Garcia Johnson separates foraged wildflowers at a beach on North Douglas Highway. (Photo by Kevin Gullufsen/Juneau Empire)
Tasi Fosi of Anchorage, who has been dipnetting in Chitina since 1991, holds up two king salmon on July 9, 2018 as seagulls hover overhead. (Photo courtesy Mary Catharine Martin)

Low Copper River sockeye return effects ripple outward

It’s a summer tradition for many in Alaska: pack up the car, drive to Chitina and dipnet for Copper River red salmon. It’s a tradition,… Continue reading

Tasi Fosi of Anchorage, who has been dipnetting in Chitina since 1991, holds up two king salmon on July 9, 2018 as seagulls hover overhead. (Photo courtesy Mary Catharine Martin)
An angler casts her line into the Kenai River near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The water in the Kenai River is a little higher than usual — about 9.71 feet, according to U.S. Geological Survey’s gauge at Soldotna — but has fallen since last week and is significantly below the flood stage of 12 feet. Anglers were hitting the banks on Wednesday morning for sockeye salmon, which normally peak in returning numbers to the Kenai River in mid-July. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Sockeye fishing remains slow on Kenai, counts pick up on Kasilof

Anglers are hitting the banks of the Kenai River in more serious numbers now, though the sockeye have yet to show up in real force.… Continue reading

An angler casts her line into the Kenai River near Soldotna Creek Park on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 in Soldotna, Alaska. The water in the Kenai River is a little higher than usual — about 9.71 feet, according to U.S. Geological Survey’s gauge at Soldotna — but has fallen since last week and is significantly below the flood stage of 12 feet. Anglers were hitting the banks on Wednesday morning for sockeye salmon, which normally peak in returning numbers to the Kenai River in mid-July. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
The author stumbles at the rock marking the race point on the Mount Marathon Race trail during one of her many training runs in preparation for the July 4, 2018, race. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)

Tangled Up in Blue: Making friends is hard to do

In my first week of college, I opened my front door and saw Camille to the right. She was splayed across the concrete floor of… Continue reading

The author stumbles at the rock marking the race point on the Mount Marathon Race trail during one of her many training runs in preparation for the July 4, 2018, race. (Photo provided by Kat Sorensen)
Sean Carlson shows off the 50-inch king salmon he caught on the Kenai River. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)

Kenai dipnet opens slow

The fishermen on the beach for the opening day of the Kenai River personal-use dipnet Tuesday got the benefit of a relatively uncrowded beach. However,… Continue reading

Sean Carlson shows off the 50-inch king salmon he caught on the Kenai River. (Photo courtesy Scott Miller)