A couple lessons learned

As promised, I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and got out on the water this past weekend.  It was my first trip of the year and, while my camera skills were weak, I did manage to learn a couple important lessons.

Lesson One: Water levels are stupid low.  This river normally is around 2,500 to 3,000 cfs when it's in its prime, and current water levels put it around 380 cfs.  I saw two other boats on the water--both of which involved everyone out of the boat walking it through a riffle.  I'll wait until water levels come up a bit before putting the new drift boat in the water.

Lesson Two: I don't know the first thing about spey casting.  I've watched a few short videos and read up on the subject online, but, as things sit right now, I've got serious work to do if I want to get the most out of my new switch rod.  At least it roll casts a mile.

Lesson Three: Even though Karta is turning gray, she's still got it.

Some Wisconsin stoke

So the picture quality is a bit rough, but it's good enough to tell that Tom is ripping lip out of the great lakes and I'm not.

This might be just the inspiration I need to put the skis away for a couple days, grab the pooch, and flog the water.  Stay tuned; a trip report will follow.

Sheep!

When I tell people I live in Anchorage, they often make the mistake of thinking I live in Alaska.  Sadly, I do not.  I live 20 minutes from Alaska.  However, now that the days are getting longer 20 minutes isn't so bad.  Here's what went on after work yesterday:

Karta, showing Evan and I the way up:

Go go gadget zoom (there actually were three):

Self-shot by The Wife looking out over Turnagain Arm:

Doug getting after it:

Evan, not afraid of refreezing sun-baked mush:

Karta and I pushed on past the rest of the crew to the saddle, eventually getting an up-close-and-personal view of the sheep from above and milking about 2,200 vertical feet out of the day:

It's been snowing off-and-on for the past week, and temperatures have been warming.  We were skiing on 6-8 inches of fresh that had warmed up during the day and was started to refreeze as the evening wore on.  Not bad, all and all.  Of course, the sheep were a great bonus.

Out of the office

I've been traveling a ton over the past few weeks--Juneau three weeks ago, Seattle last week, and now back to southeast.  Of course, not all work travel is bad:

The Wife is coming around

The Wife has always tolerated my fly fishing and skiing addictions, but I never really believed she would fall victim to my same afflictions.  Then, over the past year, she's started to show many of the very same symptoms I've exhibited for most of my life. 

It all started a couple years ago when not long after moving to Alaska she couldn't stop rubbing in the fact that she got out on the water before me.  Things got even more serious this past summer when work kept her on the river and she started showing up on other's fishing blogs. 

Skiing has followed a similar trend, culminating with The Wife ditching me for a day on the slopes after a fresh eight-inch dump a couple months ago.  Things were getting dire.

Then her ailments went to new heights when, after making a low-ball offer on a drift boat on something of a whim, The Wife was legitimately disappointed we drove home without the boat.  If my concern for her well being wasn't so overshadowed by my own desires for a boat I'd have sought serious help for her.

And now, this happened: