A day of fishing....

Yesterday we went fishing. Our mission was to get enough fish for the winter, and some extra to give away. This was our second trip to the same spot this fall.

We had planned the day before to go fishing if everything was "good". Good weather, good vehicle, good wind, good amount of gas, good food we could bring. We decided to take the dogs with us, hoping to burn off some of the major energy they build up over a few days. It was a good distance away, over some foothills, through the Anaktuvuk river, and over some more foothills. But it's worth it, as the fish are plentiful and if the wind is there there will be no bugs.

The drive out was uneventful. We stopped frequently to look around for animals. Moose, bear, caribou, wolf, even the cream colored sheep high in the mountain crags. The dogs hunted for ground squirrels, but they were so noisy that they were heard a mile away. I picked blackberries along the way, and tested to see if the cranberries were ripe yet. They held a hint of sweetness, not quite ripe enough for picking.

When we arrived at our destination we were greeted by sun dappled mountains, and a brisk wind tormenting the bugs. Perfect.

We stopped and immediately pulled our fishing rods out. After 15 minutes of fishing we caught 10 grayling. We picked the two biggest ones and cleaned them, stuffed them with onion and spices, and then wrapped them in a thick layer of tinfoil. Along the way we collected dried willow wood, which we then used to create a small fire. We threw the fish onto the fire along with a few small pieces of caribou we had brought along. We unpacked the food and settled in. Listening to the crackle of the fire, poured a cup of coffee from the thermos, and waited for the feast.

Me drinking coffee. I was shocked to see how absent I was from our photo albums. So I promised myself I would hand the camera over to B3 once in a while. I exist after all!

Two of the dogs decided that swimming was on the fun menu and so had to be tied up to the argo so that we could fish. Here you can see Bullet the husky mix, watching the fire and it's cooking morsels to the left off camera. He was not too angry as he took the opportunity to take a long nap in the sunlight. In the background is B3, watching a couple of sheep across the valley in the mountains with his spotting scope. He is today stalking those same sheep I'm sure.

We caught 30 large fat grayling.

We started back just in time, with just enough light to make it back without using our headlights. The mountains darkened to the color of fresh bruises, behemoths of weight and age. The moon made an entrance, like a jealous cousin, flashy and unnecessary on such a pastel night.

We also caught some of a jet flying overhead, like a comet burning. I always wonder if the people look down and wonder if there are people on the ground, looking up at them, wondering if they know they exist. Or if they are only paying attention to their watches, tiny task masters with clicking voices.