Life

Last week of July means reds, kings

It’s the final week of July, and on the central Kenai Peninsula, that means sockeye and king salmon.The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on… Continue reading

Alex Douthit, Salmon Buster's Guide Service Douthit dropped a group of personal use fishermen off at Cunningham Park and was waiting for another to arrive. "People seem more interested in king salmon than reds," he said. "Today is my last dipnet fishing trip for the year."

Anglers come from near and far to fish the Kenai

Tom Pelfrey, WasillaPelfrey, and a group were dragging a cooler of sockeye salmon up the shore toward Cunningham Park after a guided personal use fishing… Continue reading

Alex Douthit, Salmon Buster's Guide Service Douthit dropped a group of personal use fishermen off at Cunningham Park and was waiting for another to arrive. "People seem more interested in king salmon than reds," he said. "Today is my last dipnet fishing trip for the year."
A beautiful postcard shot of the boat launch at the Upper Skilak Campground, one of many lakes with boat trailer access on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo Credit Nick Longobardi/USFWS)

Refuge Notebook: At a loss for what to do? Camping opportunitites galore

Whether you enjoy lounging around listening to a babbling creek in Upper Skilak Campground, watching a colony of beavers collect logs for their lodge on… Continue reading

A beautiful postcard shot of the boat launch at the Upper Skilak Campground, one of many lakes with boat trailer access on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo Credit Nick Longobardi/USFWS)
Becca Miathias looks through a refractometer to measure salinity in an ocean water sample taken.

Kachemak Bay tour offers science, sightseeing

All we needed were red knit caps.On a recent weekday tour of Kachemak Bay, I felt like one of the crew of Jacques Cousteau’s famous… Continue reading

Becca Miathias looks through a refractometer to measure salinity in an ocean water sample taken.
The beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus) is one of two pea species on the Kenai Peninsula. The other species is vetchling, Lathyrus palustris, and neither is known to be poisonous. Vetchling is found in wooded areas while the beach pea is found along the shore. Photo by Jenny Archis/USFWS

Refuge Notebook: Eat your peas – just not the ones you find in the wild

The story “Into the Wild” is one of the most wildly popular Alaskan stories out there. Whether you follow the story with a sense of… Continue reading

The beach pea (Lathyrus maritimus) is one of two pea species on the Kenai Peninsula. The other species is vetchling, Lathyrus palustris, and neither is known to be poisonous. Vetchling is found in wooded areas while the beach pea is found along the shore. Photo by Jenny Archis/USFWS
A self portrait shows Josh Mumm hiking on a ridge near the Yentan River. (Photo courtesy Josh Mumm via the Homer News)

Homer man wins Wilderness Classic

In the grueling Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic, where contestants race unsupported through the wildest country of Alaska, just finishing can be an honor. But when… Continue reading

A self portrait shows Josh Mumm hiking on a ridge near the Yentan River. (Photo courtesy Josh Mumm via the Homer News)

Fishing report: King fishing improves, sockeyes building slowly

There are more salmon streaming into central Kenai Peninsula streams, but anglers may have to put in some time to catch their limits.Sonar estimates from… Continue reading

Chris DesOrmeaux shared this photo of Jon "Beaver" Madison living off the land, with the comment "fishing so good it's almost unbelievable."

Nice catch

… Continue reading

Chris DesOrmeaux shared this photo of Jon "Beaver" Madison living off the land, with the comment "fishing so good it's almost unbelievable."
European bird cherry (Prunus padus) in blossom in a Kasilof wetland, June 1, 2015.

Refuge Notebook: Bird cherries on the Kenai – a preview

Earlier this summer as I walked the beach north of the Kasilof River mouth, I did a double-take as I passed a shrub that seemed… Continue reading

European bird cherry (Prunus padus) in blossom in a Kasilof wetland, June 1, 2015.

An Outdoor View: Fish wars

Seduced by the word “fish,” I watched the reality TV show “Alaska Fish Wars” on National Geographic Channel last year. The most exciting part of… Continue reading

Students Ella Keenan, Laurel Rand-Lewis and Eric Van Dam listen as Polly Bass, kneeling, introduces them to a variety of alpine flora. (Photo by Mary Catharine Martin/Juneau Empire)

JIRPers start 68th summer on Juneau Icefield

JUNEAU ICEFIELD, CAMP 17 — At the Juneau Icefield Research Program’s Camp 17 this week, 32 students — and more faculty — got comfortable on… Continue reading

Students Ella Keenan, Laurel Rand-Lewis and Eric Van Dam listen as Polly Bass, kneeling, introduces them to a variety of alpine flora. (Photo by Mary Catharine Martin/Juneau Empire)
Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion King salmon fishermen ride upriver during the first day of fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon on Wednesday July 1, 2015 near Kenai, Alaska.

Fishing report: Slow start for kings, but plenty of other options

The Kenai River opened to sport fishing for king salmon on Wednesday, and despite restrictions on bait and the area open to king fishing, a… Continue reading

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion King salmon fishermen ride upriver during the first day of fishing on the late run of Kenai River king salmon on Wednesday July 1, 2015 near Kenai, Alaska.
Once spruce-covered hills in the Deep Creek watershed on the Kenai Peninsula were converted to extensive bluejoint grasslands in the aftermath of a spruce bark beetle outbreak and the 2007 Caribou Hills Fire. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

Refuge Notebook: Common grass has uncommon attributes

Perhaps the most common plant on the Kenai Peninsula is Calamagrostis canadensis, the bluejoint reedgrass. This perennial grass grows in dense colonies near the coast… Continue reading

Once spruce-covered hills in the Deep Creek watershed on the Kenai Peninsula were converted to extensive bluejoint grasslands in the aftermath of a spruce bark beetle outbreak and the 2007 Caribou Hills Fire. (Photo courtesy Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)

An Outdoor View: Tourist trap

Wikipedia defines “tourist trap” as “an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their… Continue reading

In this photo taken on June 16, 2015, a young angler participating in the Next Cast Flyfishers camp ties on a small streamer while preparing to fish for rainbow trout in Shevlin Park pond, in Bend, Ore. (Ryan Brennecke /The Bulletin via AP)

Fly-fishing camp hooks the next generation

BEND, Ore. (AP) — Like a fly-fishing veteran, Branson Broderick set the hook, stripped his line in, then bent down to net the flopping rainbow… Continue reading

In this photo taken on June 16, 2015, a young angler participating in the Next Cast Flyfishers camp ties on a small streamer while preparing to fish for rainbow trout in Shevlin Park pond, in Bend, Ore. (Ryan Brennecke /The Bulletin via AP)
Rickey Scott, Bradden Scott and fishing buddy Clayton Hindman pose with the barn door halibut which weighed in at 265.6 pounds. The fish was caught on June 20 and was in first place in the $10,000 Seward Halibut Derby until an angler from Michigan landed a 291.2-pound halibut.

Hefty halibut

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Rickey Scott, Bradden Scott and fishing buddy Clayton Hindman pose with the barn door halibut which weighed in at 265.6 pounds. The fish was caught on June 20 and was in first place in the $10,000 Seward Halibut Derby until an angler from Michigan landed a 291.2-pound halibut.

An Outdoor View: Words too good to die

They don’t make words like they used to. Some of my favorite words not only convey meaning, but are fun to say and hear. Words… Continue reading

Refuge Notebook: Legacy of a tiny leg-banded bird found on the refuge

Thirty-three years ago on June 4, 1982 a husband and wife — the Peralas — decided to take a walk one evening along one of… Continue reading

This Aug. 27, 2014 photo shows hikers making their way down Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine. The mountain is nearly a mile high and is the tallest mountain in Maine. Its peak is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

Maine mountain climbing

BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine — I don’t remember much about my climb up Mount Katahdin 25 years ago. I was young and fit. It was… Continue reading

This Aug. 27, 2014 photo shows hikers making their way down Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park in Maine. The mountain is nearly a mile high and is the tallest mountain in Maine. Its peak is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)
File--In this Aug. 30, 2007, file photo, Andrew Schurr leads Cal Seabaugh up the Pacific Crest Trail near Santiam Pass, Ore., in the Oregon Cascades. For the first time, the U.S. Forest Service has restricted, to 50 per day, the number of "thru-hikers" embarking from the trail's southernmost point in Campo, Calif. (David Patton/Albany Democrat Herald via AP, file) MANDATORY CREDIT

Trail drawing upsurge of hikers seeking a ‘Wild’ adventure

MEDFORD, Ore. — Build a trail from Mexico to Canada, and a trickle of hardy souls will see if they can cover it, pushing through… Continue reading

File--In this Aug. 30, 2007, file photo, Andrew Schurr leads Cal Seabaugh up the Pacific Crest Trail near Santiam Pass, Ore., in the Oregon Cascades. For the first time, the U.S. Forest Service has restricted, to 50 per day, the number of "thru-hikers" embarking from the trail's southernmost point in Campo, Calif. (David Patton/Albany Democrat Herald via AP, file) MANDATORY CREDIT