Life

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ready, set, skid

Exhaust plumes toward the sky and engines rev, clattering against the icebound trees and windblown snow around the frozen lake. Drivers in refitted older cars,… Continue reading

Drivers skid around one of the corners on the ice track atop a frozen lake at the Decanter Inn on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2018 in Kasilof, Alaska. Every Sunday in the winter, the Decanter Inn hosts Peninsula Ice Racing events for drivers to try their hand at the frozen track on the shallow lake at the bottom of the hill behind the inn. The racers can use studded tires on their front wheels only and equip the sides of their vehicles with bumpers as other vehicles are likely to slip and slide into them. Spinning out is common. A tow truck waits on the sidelines to retrieve drivers who get stuck on the berms alongside the track. Fans gathered Sunday despite the cold to cheer the racers on. The men race in the morning, followed by the women’s races in the afternoon. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Ways to go

Learning to move is a task that comes along just a few times per life. As an infant you get two opportunities: first learning to… Continue reading

Participants in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s “Stick and String Naturalist Camp” canoe across Dolly Varden Lake in hopes of catching rainbow trout or arctic char on flies that they tied themselves. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Magical moments on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

I have a collection of outdoor memories I carry around in my mind at all times. These are magical and unforgettable moments I have experienced… Continue reading

Participants in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s “Stick and String Naturalist Camp” canoe across Dolly Varden Lake in hopes of catching rainbow trout or arctic char on flies that they tied themselves. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Some of the tools for ice fishing, including a rod, holder and auger, are seen here during a trip fishing on Spirit Lake Dec. 26, 2017, while other anglers continue to set up their rigs to fish. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Embracing winter: ice fishing on the Kenai Peninsula

Fishing across the Kenai Peninsula this time of year is easy to find, you just have to drill through a layer of ice to get… Continue reading

Some of the tools for ice fishing, including a rod, holder and auger, are seen here during a trip fishing on Spirit Lake Dec. 26, 2017, while other anglers continue to set up their rigs to fish. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Snowfall increases avalanche danger in Turnagain Pass

Avalanche experts are warning people to stay away from high elevations for the next few days in the Turnagain Pass area. Heavy winds and curtains… Continue reading

An Outdoor View: Bonefishing, Part 6

Author’s note: This column is the sixth in a series about fishing at Christmas Island in 1987. — LP Feb. 26 — In the wee… Continue reading

Magellanic Penguins are only found along the coast of southern South America, not Antarctica. They are named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first European (Portuguese) to navigate around the tip of South America in 1520. (Photo courtesy John &

Refuge Notebook: Lessons learned from Tierra del Fuego

People recreationally travel for many reasons, but most often it’s to see new places, do new things, eat new foods or encounter new cultures. I… Continue reading

Magellanic Penguins are only found along the coast of southern South America, not Antarctica. They are named after Ferdinand Magellan, the first European (Portuguese) to navigate around the tip of South America in 1520. (Photo courtesy John &
A three-toed woodpecker rattles away on a beetle-killed spruce. The yellow staining is apparent on the tail, wingtips, breast, and throat. The gold cap on its head is the normal coloration. (Matt Bowser, USFWS, Jan 28, 2017)

Refuge Notebook: A splash of yellow on the winter landscape

A few years ago I received a call about an odd, unidentifiable bird. This is not an abnormal call to our office and we are… Continue reading

A three-toed woodpecker rattles away on a beetle-killed spruce. The yellow staining is apparent on the tail, wingtips, breast, and throat. The gold cap on its head is the normal coloration. (Matt Bowser, USFWS, Jan 28, 2017)

New years resolutions to receive big boost

Getting out and working on those New Year’s resolution fitness goals just got easier. With the start of the new year comes a bevy of… Continue reading

When bad conditions become challenging conditions

“It is not competing against yourself, or against other athletes, but it is ultimately the mountain that wins. What you realize after a time is… Continue reading

Tony Doyle points out the finer details in a photo presentation Dec. 20 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Doyle, Sexton open peninsula eyes to nearby backcountry skiing

Four hours of work for a 15-minute thrill may not sound like a reasonable payoff, but for backcountry ski enthusiasts Tony Doyle and Trent Sexton,… Continue reading

Tony Doyle points out the finer details in a photo presentation Dec. 20 at the Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

An Outdoor View: Bonefishing, Part 5

Author’s note: This column is the fifth in a series about fishing at Christmas Island in 1987. — LP My initiation to bonefishing was looking… Continue reading

YCC leader Nick Longobardi looks over Skilak Lake from the Vista Trail. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Thanks to those who serve at the Refuge

Each year — and 2017 is no exception — I look back and am thankful for the many volunteers and seasonal employees without whom the… Continue reading

YCC leader Nick Longobardi looks over Skilak Lake from the Vista Trail. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Matthew Pyhala, owner of the Immersion Paddling Academy, provides lessons during a Dec. 13 training session at the Skyview pool. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Kayakers take their paddles indoors

Kayakers used to braving frigid Alaskan waters will get a chance to train in a more leisurely environment this winter. Beginning in January, the Skyview… Continue reading

Matthew Pyhala, owner of the Immersion Paddling Academy, provides lessons during a Dec. 13 training session at the Skyview pool. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

The life-changing magic of being bad at things

The stubborn part of me keeps thinking I’ll find something I’m a prodigy at — that the first time I try, sparks will fly. Skiing… Continue reading

The weir at the top of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association’s Paint River fish ladder, photographed Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 near the McNeil River Game Sanctuary, Alaska, screens fish into a small opening before allowing them to pass into the upper part of the Paint River. CIAA operates the fish ladder to allow salmon to pass into the upper reaches of the remote river system to spawn. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

The mythology of salmon

What’s your salmon story? Everyone seems to have one. It might be about the day you struggled a massive chinook to the bank of the… Continue reading

The weir at the top of Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association’s Paint River fish ladder, photographed Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 near the McNeil River Game Sanctuary, Alaska, screens fish into a small opening before allowing them to pass into the upper part of the Paint River. CIAA operates the fish ladder to allow salmon to pass into the upper reaches of the remote river system to spawn. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
More than 30 percent of the Bighorn sheep population in Gardiner, Montana, died from pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae. (Photo by Deby Dixon)

Refuge Notebook: Alaska wild sheep and goats threatened by ‘Movi’

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae isn’t a commonly used name in Alaska but this little pathogen has been a topic of considerable discussion and debate recently. First off,… Continue reading

More than 30 percent of the Bighorn sheep population in Gardiner, Montana, died from pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae. (Photo by Deby Dixon)

An Outdoor View: Bonefishing, Part 3

Author’s note: I recently came across a journal that I kept while on a trip to Christmas Island in 1987. This column, gleaned from the… Continue reading

Records of migratory birds either banded on the Kenai Peninsula and recovered elsewhere (green) or banded elsewhere and recovered on the peninsula (red). Data from USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.

Refuge Notebook: Banded birds know no borders

One of the epic moments for any waterfowl hunter is the discovery of a bird band on the leg of one of their downed ducks.… Continue reading

Records of migratory birds either banded on the Kenai Peninsula and recovered elsewhere (green) or banded elsewhere and recovered on the peninsula (red). Data from USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.

Friday night broomball ready to roll

There is good and bad news regarding the upcoming Friday night Broomball League season in Soldotna. We’ll start with the bad news, which is the… Continue reading