Knee Deep

We're getting a lesson here. People like us who's lives are so tied to mother nature should never really be surprised by what she does. After all I've been here going on 40 years and spent most of that outdoors, on the river. But its still amazing to me that the same forces, the same randomness that created this wonderful crescent shaped formation of mushrooms also created this scene at Mile 14...

I didn't want to say it before but now its a done deal, we're at full blown declared by the government, take-it-out-of -the- bank, emergency sit-rep, move into the shelter ...flood stage. We'll see what happens or has happened here at Mile 14 when the water recedes but right now I'm half sick for the fish. We and every set netter in our area suffered the worst to get some Kings in the river this year and it worked, we had them spawning all over, great news. But now, all that seems for naught as the juvenile fish that were making their way slowly and methodically upstream to winter over in Skilak Lake are now being washed to sea...and I don't even want to think what it could be doing to our adult silvers. But we do know that these salmon are amazingly hearty and durable so as long as the jokulhaup doesn't occur right now it oughta be OK....I think. The jokulhaup is an Icelandic term for a phenomena that all glaciers experience to greater or smaller extent. Its when the melt water that puddles under the glacier is released all at once when the 'glacier dam' lets go due to the limit of the ice and waters head pressure. Some glaciers in some parts of the world will have this event every 20 or 30 years, here it seems to happen every 2 or 3....It released last year so lets keep our fingers crossed that we get through the next week or so without the jokulhaup.

This pic is from our overlook, you can see the water that's cutting the corner at Big Eddy and running through the wetlands. The next pic is the neighbors bluff right next to our overlook that slid into the river yesterday. I'm only guessing but its maybe 50 to 100 tons of earth, gravel and trees that are now part of the Kenai River.

Those of you that know the launch here at Mile 14 will appreciate this next pic. Its only an hour old and you can see that the water is right up to the top and threatening to spill into the parking lot.

I kinda wish my running partner and common sense miester was here. For one thing I've moved that red gutting table 3 times by myself now and that bugger is heavy.  I just hope it doesn't get to our sauna-office shed, that would be some work trying to move or defend it. So me and Jet-Dog decided with things as quiet (with people) as it is around here we'd put out some decoys and do a little duck hunting. So tonight about cocktail thirty I'm gonna set up behind that fish hanging rack and see if I can't call in a couple of nice mallards for this high protein diet I'm on.

I drove over to get some pics of Big Eddy road, those folks who live there have to be tired of this. The houses are built in wetlands, actually the flood plain so they are all on pilings but still, all their stuff like trailers and cars and, well everything has to be moved.

So as I left Big Eddy I got onto Knight Drive, once again I was taken by the contrast of Alaska. The suns come out, the rains over for now, people are working to save their property and minimize damage....all under this gorgeous back drop...That's it man, life in Alaska.

And oh....as soon as I get a couple pics of the Brown Bear that scared the #^&**@ out of me this morning I'll give you a full report on that deal  to , so stay tuned.