Our first outing at the All Alaska Lodge began at 8:30. Nice to have a leisurely start after stressful travel day yesterday. We boarded the plane and hour late and had to wait there for 3 more hours for a maintenance issue involving a leak in a water pipe. At Anchorage all of the car rental agencies were closed due to a hazmat spill in the garage. Took about an hour or so to reopen them.
Today, things ran smoothly. Guides were waiting for us along with pilots at float planes parked right in front of the lodge which is next to a lake.
We (2 planes with 9 fishermen)took off and landed in a remote part of Kenai Fjord National Park. From there we walked about a mile through a rain forest following a small river which flows into the ocean, a favorite spot of the guides for catching coho "silver" salmon.
We had at it with fly and spinning rods. Everyone in the group caught at least one, Brian caught 3!
The salmon would suddenly appear, dorsal fina often sticking out of the water, some leaping, others swirling. Then, just as suddenly, they would disappear.
After a full day of fishing, the pilots took as in an unannounced tour of most of the KFNP. We flew over at least a dozen glaciers, one low pass over a lagoon studded with icebergs from a massive glacier. We flew through canyons and around jagged mountains which were bare at the top but lush with conifers further down. An enthralling spectacle of natural beauty in a vast and gigantic scale. I've never experienced anything close to it.
Tomorrow, we will head out for a day of hopscotching to different sites via float plane to try for dolly varden, rainbow trout, and arctic char. Life is good!
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