AK07

home again home again

2007-10-19T02:17:00.000-07:00

I have safely returned to my mountain retreat in Colorado.

I believe this will be the last entry in this BLOG

Perhaps I will start another after I get unpacked and winterized

The weather on my drive home was terrible.

It seems a storm system found me the day I left Anchorage and traveled south with me the whole way.

I had one day of sunshine in Canada and managed to take a few pics.

road home

2007-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

i am currently on the road between alaska and colorado
encountering lots of rain snow and fog
scenery would be spectaculay if the sun came out
not sure wnen will get back to the net
stay tuned..j

lynx

2007-08-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

(click to enlarge)

lynx meets bear

2007-08-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

self portrait

more pics

2007-08-02T11:30:00.001-07:00

a summer of bears continues

click to enlarge...jc

need captions

2007-07-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

summer of bears

2007-06-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Things have been incredibility busy.
The salmon have arrived!
The bears have arrived!
The visitors have arrived!
I see so much while in uniform without my camera it is incredible
clouds and rain are constant
I have managed to take a few pics while off duty

Here we are discouraging bears from coming into camp
I had two on my porch a few days ago

...

dinner

2007-06-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Caught 5 of these (lake trout) today yummmm.

Fishing buddy

season has started

2007-06-07T00:24:00.000-07:00

Elder Hostel hike to Mt Dumpling with Ranger John.

Bear Drinking

Moon Over Naknek

2007-06-01T19:45:00.001-07:00

The mailman came today. That's him on the left.

popeye woke up

2007-05-27T22:44:00.000-07:00

many of the same bears come back to this spot each season
we can not help but give them names
this is a 8 years old male named Popeye
He woke up this spring with a very sore paw but seems otherwise healthy

the bears are thinnest this time of year

they will get much larger when the salmon arrive

looking at this guy it is hard to imagine!

bugs

2007-05-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

my office

2007-05-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

This is a view from the visitor center where I will be spending part of each day...

Summer of Bears has officially begun

2007-05-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

The bears have started waking up

this one is a four year old named divit

...

2007-05-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

I flew from Anchorage to King Salmon on 5/5 in a small turbo prop

My rig is at a storage lot in Anchorage waiting for the drive home on 9/20ish

I met my teamates and we spent a week getting to know each other in training. The training included getting strapped in a cage and dumped into a pool upside down to learn how to react if you are in a plane that goes down over water. It was great fun.

We flew in a small float plane from king salmon to Brooks Falls in a small float plane.

There is still a small amount of ice on the lakes and the weather is quite cool.

Here is where we landed at Naknek lake. We will be living and working on the shore of this lake all summer.

This is my home for the next 5 months.

It is somewhat comfortable and will improve when the plumbing thaws.

This is the falls where the salmon will be jumping and the bears will be fishing.

I wonder how many pictures i will take here this summer?

We have seen some bears already.

I have my first two days off starting tomorrow and will get back to my BLOG soon...j

Denali

2007-05-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite mountain showed me part of her shoulder yesterday

I love it when she teases me this way

I had a wonderful extended layover with all my friends and hidaways in this magical place
I am soooo fortunate to have spent the last two summers here
On to anchorage now and a flight into King Salmon for a week of training and then to
brooks falls/Katmai thru Sept 20
...j

North Pole

2007-04-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

North Pole Alaska

Here is a view entering North Pole Alaska

Arrived Fairbanks 4/27

Road to Whitehorse

2007-04-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather as I pull into Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.

To early for the bears this year.

Last year saw 7 grazing black bears along this stretch.

- no cell coverage for awhile

Whitehorse is a real oasis in a very long drive

- will hang here for a day then on to Kluane country...j

Traffic Jams In The Yukon

2007-04-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

entered yukon today
lots of "traffic"
rear view mirror
along the way
thru my dirty window

carabou xing

moma moose and yearling

moose

stone sheep

carabou

whitetaild deer

grouse

good day

status 4/23

2007-04-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Arrived Fort Nelson British Columbia 4/23
Things going well
see
http://www.hellobc.com/en-CA/RegionsCities/FortNelson.htm
...jc

on the road again

2007-04-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

hit the road at noon on monday 4/16

bypassing Yellowstone - Way to early to go over Teton Pass

In Great Falls Montana 9PM Tuesday

Here is my dirty rig at the Judith Gap Montana wind farm...j

landing zone

2007-04-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

here is the "airstrip" where I will be landing

Thats a Cub on Moms back

The more I look the more I see

2007-03-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is where I will be ! (click to enlarge)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

johns great adventure chapter 3

2007-02-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

I am on the cusp of yet another great adventure.

After a long snowy winter in Colorado I am about to head north to Alaska for my third consecutive summer.

I am heading for a job at the premier bear viewing location - Brooks Falls in Katmai National Forest where I will be a roadguard at the bear viewing platforms protecting the bears from the people.

I visited Brooks for a few days last summer and took the picture above.

Here is a link to some information about where I will be.

http://www.johncastor.com/katmai.pdf

I hope to keep this blog updated as this adventure unfolds.

...j

(click on comments to leave a note)