I was at BB's 73rd B-day concert tour here in Fairbanks years ago. Good show. Was given some heirloom, limited-circulation cuttings brought up by some young men from Anchorage who were here for the show.
Got back from the Yukon Territory a couple days ago, after staying with another half-century-long surrogate family member in our deceased friend's cabin. More about being there than catching fish. Didn't really expect too many lake trout on that stretch of water this time of year, in that proximity to the Village across the water; pressures on fish and all of that considered. Did expect to memorialize those who are gradually dropping off the planet for the last time... and we accomplished that with several strains of herb and 3 or 4 varieties of hashish. Good stuff, despite our getting older and pains here and there.
Prepping for another trip out to the Wrangell-St. Elias Range (Park & Preserve) for my annual lake trout and burbot ice fishing trip into the mountains and some more 'greater solitude'.
Older son who was going along saw about a shot-glass' worth of blood in the stool of his 3-year-old male dog, so he might not be going with me this year, which would mean that this will be the third of the last 4 trips in three years out into that wilderness area that I do a solo trip. Getting a little old for that higher risk stuff, but reportedly no serious overflow on the ice as of a couple weeks ago, and at that time, only about 6" snow base, and I just had another spinal steroid epidural to the lumbar a couple hours ago, so I'm in better shape for splitting 7-8 days' worth of firewood immediately after arrival, pulling an auger out of 4-5 ft. thick of lake ice numerous times a day, and loading and unloading the truck, larger trailer, sleds, cabin, etc. a couple times each.
Smells like ice fishing weather and spring outside here, despite the notably warmer winter and early spring here. Just hope the 16 miles of trail into the cabin and associated lakes maintains enough surface snow or hardpack to not have me dragging two or three freight sleds over open moss, mud and gravel as we've sometimes done in the past. The uhmw runners on my freight sleds often resent that shit. Though I've got ice scrapers on the machine for picking up some liquid 'lube' for the slides and such on the freight machine.
Alone or with my older boy, either way, ought to be another glorious (albeit notably warmer) season out there.
Saved a whitefish for bait for the lakers and burbot. They prefer the whitefish. And it's always good to have bait that you can eat if you get skunked, though I typically travel with LOTS of good homemade gourmet grub in the freeze and do-not-freeze coolers. Whitefish in tempura beer batter, deep-fried = freshwater halibut. Mmmmm.
Not many of these trips left in my future, is my estimate, so I hesitate to miss even one. And my wife's income might be in the crosshairs of the current slashing of jobs, so... make hay while the making's good, I guess.