Argentina 2010

I have returned to Argentina. When I visited three years ago, I flew to Santiago and then to the south. This time I am in Buenos Aires. Last time I committed to a brief one-week overview of Spanish, but this time I have committed to four weeks. After studying, I will rent a car and drive south to Junin de los Andes. I plan to stay in the same apartment I found last time and fish the same rivers. Maybe I can found the same trout and they will be even larger. I will be gone a total of two months. The last two weeks are open, meaning I have no specific plans. The return flight leaves from Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires is about 20 hours of travel time from home; I flew from Oregon to San Francisco to D.C. to BsAs. I left at 10:30 a.m. and arrived about 10:30 a.m. the following morning. There are other South American countries I would like to visit, but for this time of year Argentina is among the best; many of them have rainy season this time of year.

I had tofu last night

I had tofu and vegetables for dinner last night, but followed the example of Fred Flintstone for today's lunch. That's Argentine beef, " Tira de Asado. " My friend is a classmate from Germany named Thilo. We ate at an outdoor café beside the river in Puerto Madero.

getting started

It is warm here and the city is vibrant, but I have had some problems getting started. Jet lag is at the top of the list. Yesterday, I broke a tooth while eating some soft bread (?!?). I didn't like my classes and changed them. Then, I got a cold.

Tomorrow will be the end of the first week here and things seem to be settling down. We bought some fresh pasta in a local neighborhood store to cook in our kitchen. I found a bakery with medialunas (type of croissant) and bought some peach marmalade. The apartment is a clean, new and comfortable. While it doesn't have a view, it is somewhat tucked away from the noise and pollution.

Each day, we take the subway to school. It is located on a pedestrian street (Florida) and thousands of people rushing to work each morning. There are a lot of Brazilian students and they learn Spanish very quickly because Portuguese is similar to Spanish. I liked the two teachers I had today. I say, "Mi nombre es Patricio." It has been two years since I stayed in a Spanish-speaking country and the language wheels are turning slowly.

Un hombre y un mujer

Un hombre tiene un mujer.
Ella fue su querida y su esposa.

Ellos viven en su departimento y disfrutan sus vidas.
El trabaja a una liberia, comprando y venden libros.
Y ella ensenar los escolares chicos.

Un dia,

remember

I remember Argentina, now. Some things I observed last time I was here. Familiar enough to be comfortable, but different enough to be exciting--full of Italian, Spanish and European flair.
The smoke of bife de lomo, grilled steak from the parrillada or bar-b-que, wafts into the streets. The ice cream is rich gellato in chocolate and fruit flavors with dulche de leche at the top of the list. Couples embrace with deep kisses at the bus stop beside the lamppost, and there in the plaza. Don't be hungry at dinnertime; restaurants don't even open until eight or nine. Cafes with strong espresso and medialunas (like croissants) are seemingly on every corner and bookstores are almost as common. Plaques and statues abound not only for revolutionaries but for Borges, Cortazar and Saint-Exupery.The aisles in the grocery stores have four times as much yerba mate as coffee, and ground coffee comes with sugar added. Be careful with the bidet or you will get a shower instead of a rinse.

Arrived, Buenos Aires

Arrived this afternoon. Everything went according to plan. We are jet lagged after 24 hours of travel. The flight was bumpy after takeoff from D.C. The apartment doesn't have a view, but is new, clean, comfortable and secure; the staff is friendly and helpful. Walked around our neighborhood for awhile. Had lunch at a café and dinner at an Italian restaurant.

next stop, Buenos Aires

I am starting a new trip to Argentina. Tomorrow will be a long day. I leave here about 10:30 a.m. and get there about 10:30 a.m., but on the following day. Twenty hours in transit.

The temperature here is 19 degrees and it is also 19 degrees in Buenos Aires. But Oregon is Fahrenheit and BA is Celsius. Cold versus comfortable.

I am looking forward to living in the center of the city and going to Spanish school. After that, it will be time to relax in Patagonia--and catch some trout.

trip summary for Argentina10

In December to January 2009/2010, we visited Argentina for the second time. Three years earlier we visited southern Argentina, from Bariloche to Ushuaia. This time, we flew to Buenos Aires, the capital. We enrolled in IBL, a Spanish language school located on Florida Street in the heart of downtown. We rented an apartment and developed a daily routine. We awoke, had breakfast, rode the subway a few stops, walked to school and attended class for four or five hours. Afterwards, we had lunch, visited a tourist site and went home to rest and study some more.

After a month in the city, I was definitely ready for the mountains of Patagonia. We took an overnight bus to Neuquen where we rented a car and drove to Junin de los Andes. We stayed in the same apartment we rented three years earlier. The sleepy little town had grown up. We visited San Martin (to the south) and were amazed how much development had taken place. We went to Lago Huechulafquen, stayed in Aluminé and visited a Maupuche village high in the Andes.

See photo collections: Patagonia, school, and Buenos Aires.

Oregon coast, photos

Driftwood, a seagull, forgotten marine machinery.

Skagit River 2009

Went fishing with Bawn and John on the Skagit River. Spent the week camping, first at the river campground and then at the lake. The stars were the highlight. With a new moon and a clear high-pressure weather system, the heavens were alight against a deep, dark field. I have few words to describe what I was seeing, but the milky way went on forever. Shooting stars and satellites whizzed in the foreground. A planet (Jupiter) hung in the south like a giant, glowing marble. It was hard to find the Little Dipper because there were so many stars. Eventually, I found the Big Dipper and from that identified the bright star, Vega.

Fishing was fun, but slow in numbers of fish. Hiked up the canyon to the upper Skagit. The water was very low. Caught one fish in each of several pools. Nice rainbows. Saw some bugs, a small green stone fly, a tan mayfly and some baetis, but nothing was persistent or regular. Very few rises. Nymphs worked okay, hare's ear, green nymphs, bead heads. I used a Type I sinking line with a sinking leader on a 5 weight rod.

There were more fish in the lake; fishermen trolling in boats did well.  From a belly boat,  I hooked a large fish on a damselfly nymph, only to lose it. Landed a 16-inch fish on a 16 bead head pheasant tail with a flashabou back. At dusk, there were steady rises in the pool where the river becomes the lake. Above the lake at The Bend, things were slow again. No mid-day hatch. Caught a chunky 15-inch rainbow with a parachute BWO.

Also, see last year's post for location, etc.

Code is Poetry?

The tag line for Word Press is "Code is Poetry." If, at its heart, poetry consists of words that affect people's thinking and feelings, then code could be poetry. But code is a strict disciplinarian compared to poetry, certainly contemporary poetry. A single quotation mark out of place or an extra comma will break everything creating a "Page Not Found, Error 404." Even English teachers grading on a curve don't do that.

Not being content using the available Word Press themes, I decided to create my own header, color scheme and custom pages. I dove into the languages to create my own hacks. Some improvements for my latest website upgrade include:

• New look including a header photo I took of the Emperor's globe in the Forbidden City, Beijing with complementary colors.


• Created destinations template page which use the page name (destination) as a category definition and lists posts chronologically. Sidebar shows

upNorth Trip Summary

I had been to Alaska and southern British Columbia on several different trips and wanted to see northern B.C. and the Yukon Territory. I traveled during July and August, drove my 4Runner and covered 6,500 miles over eight weeks.

I saw lots of lakes, rivers, valleys, mountains, glaciers and wildlife. I spotted the following wildlife: grizzly and black bear, moose, deer, lynx, red fox, arctic fox, bison, Stone sheep, mountain goat, bald eagle, golden eagle, least squirrel, arctic chipmunk, American beaver, mountain beaver, coyote, least weasel and Arctic hare.

I went fishing and caught Arctic grayling, lake trout, rainbow, bull trout, pink salmon and sockeye salmon. Some of the best places were: Nechako River, Frances Lake, Faro area, Dease River, Kispiox River and the Babine River.

For sheer beauty and diversity of outdoor experience, the Atlin area was the best.

• Although I drove 1,000 miles on the Alaska Highway, it was all in Canada. I spent only three hours in Alaska.


• With the northern summer sun, it really is light all the time. It doesn't get dark at night and there are rarely stars.


• Mosquitoes are horrendous, large and numerous


• B.C. and Yukon were on fire. Forests were burning everywhere. I moved several times to escape the smoke.


• The Yukon is remote; there are few services. You need to plan carefully in advance.


• Canadians generally are very friendly, hospitable and helpful.

Route--I drove to Prince George (about the geographic center of B.C.) and made a wide loop, going up the east side, picking up the Alaska Highway, crossing the Rockies, then into the Yukon, went north on the Campbell Highway, returned south to Whitehorse, crossed back into B.C., visited Atlin, picked up the Cassiar Highway going south through Dease Lake, went west into the Nass Valley, picked up the Yellowhead Highway in Terrace, visited Babine Lake, returned to Prince George and returned the remaining 1,000 miles home.

Debrief--This trip covered a lot of miles, maybe too many. It's three days solid driving just to get to the beginning of the tourist route. Although I am glad to experience the Alaska Highway, I would not seek it again. I really like the North where the sun shines all day, bit it is a long way and probably is better accessed with a truck, trailer and boat rather than a SUV. Next time, I would pick a more focused (smaller) area such as the Lake District, Tumbler Falls, Atlin or the Campbell Highway and stay put for longer.

For camping, there are limited opportunities up North for car camping off the highway. More often than not, I found my tent nestled among R.V.s, coaches and campers rather than trees. Backpacking is an option, but consider the bears.

map, final route upNorth

This is a big image so you should be able to zoom in and see the locations of my various posts.

Bear Footprint, video

[flickr video=3868405364]

Monarch Mountain, video

[flickr video=3866403662]Climbed the trail up Monarch Mountain. It starts near the Atlin Art Center where we stayed. Gorgeous panoramic view of the lake.

Ruby Mountain, video

[flickr video=3866327262]This video shows Ruby Mountain, near Atlin, B.C.

Pink Salmon, video

[flickr video=3865446133]This video shows pink salmon fishing on a tributary of the Nash River in British Columbia.

Bull Trout, video

[flickr video=3864226290]The video shows a bull trout, commonly known as a Dolly Varden. I caught it at the confluence of French Creek and Deese River. The tourist guides and locals all call the fish, Dolly Varden. The regulations make a point of clarifying there are two distinct species, Dolly Varden and bull trout. There isn't much obvious difference between the two. The bull trout has a flatter, more triangular head (like a bull?) and a downturned mouth. The head is more dominant relative to the body. Typically only one species exists in a drainage. The Liard River/Peace River/MacKenzie Rivers ultimately flows into the Arctic Ocean and only contains bull trout, not Dolly Varden.

Arctic Grayling, video

[flickr video=3864165418]Caught my first Artic Grayling. They generally live above 60 degrees latitude. They occupy roughly the same biological niche as trout, but in a colder, more northern environment. Like trout, they hold in the river and primarily eat insects. They seem to like the slower water and their bite isn't as fast or definitive as a trout. This video shows a grayling I caught in Blind Creek.

Trip Home

After one more try for sockeye, we drove to Gandisle and Topley and took the Yellowhead Highway east to Prince George and then south on 97, eventually crossing the border and taking I-5 back home.

Babine River

On the advice of a friend, I wanted to fish "Rainbow Alley." As we checked into a cabin at Ft. Babine Lodge, the manager asked if we were here for the sockeye. She directed me to the "fence," an area downstream (north) of Babine Lake where the Nilkitkwa Lake empties into the River. Sure enough, cars filled a parking lot and a line of fisherman were throwing flies at sockeye salmon. From the bridge, you can see the salmon moving around. The "fence" is  a fish counting station.

After watching awhile and talking with the locals, I grabbed my rod and hurried down to the river. Lots of peple were catching salmon. The best beats were all taken. I found myself casting in swift current, trying to get my unweighted fly to the bottom. Nonetheless, I soon hooked one and broke my leader as the fish jumped in the air. I got several more strikes, but no fish to the net. I decided to move to another spot and tripped while straddling a tree that had fallen into the water. I was now wet with several liters of water in each wader foot. I went back to the car, took everything off and wrung it out. I found some heavier tippet and returned to the river. I fished another hour with many strikes and views of salmon leaping in the air in front of me, some with my fly in their mouth. Just before I left, I had one on and played it enough to get it into the shallows. But it too made a great final leap and broke my line. I thought about the advice I received on the Skeena: if you have the right equipment and you know what you are doing….

The following morning,

Smithers

Drove to Smithers and stayed the night. Got provisions an washed the car. Cute town. Good place to start a vacation.

Kispiox River

Drove from Terrace to New Hazelton and stayed the night. In the morning, the woman at the visitor center directed us  to the Kispiox River near the village of Kispiox. I fished the stream downstream of the rodeo grounds. The river was thick with pink salmon and I caught quite a few.

Skeena River

From Nass Camp, drove to Terrace on the Skeena River. Terrace is a (relatively) large town with auto dealerships, Canadian Tire and grocery stores. I visited the local fly shop and was directed to the Island Campground. On the northeast end of the Island, the fishermen were stacked up. I met a fisherman who talked with me while he put his (5-meter, 16-foot?) spey rod and related tackle together. He said the Island was as good as anywhere else on the Skeena and the top of the riffle was the best. The pinks were running; there were some sockeye; and the springers were mostly gone. "If you have the right equipment and the right technique, you catch them. If you don't, you don't. There are lots of fish." He was a tall man and took off with long strides with me struggling to keep up with him. Over his shoulder, he said, "The China man is the best. He is the real expert." Once we arrived to the sand bar and he saw the top of the riffle above the China man was open there was no keeping up with him. Like a lynx after a hare, he bounded forward.

I watched for an hour as the spey rods rhythmically beat the water. My tall buddy caught a fish within ten minutes.

New Aiyansh

Traveled south to Cranberry Junction and followed the Nass Forest Road to New Aiyansh. This is the Nass River Watershed, noted for its First Nation population and wilderness. A new road, the Nisgaa Highway was constructed during the past few years, creating bridges and opening up the area. We stayed at Nass Camp, an old logging camp from the 50s. It has the infrastructure to serve hundreds, but we were the only guests.

The river contained fish, pink salmon. Locals were fishing at the boat launch and at the confluence of the Ksi Sii Aks River (aka Tseax) and the Nass. We took a ride, stopping at the villages to look at totem poles. We drove to the end of the road to Gingoix at the estuary where the Nass runs into salt water, the Portland Canal. After watching the villagers and eagles, we headed back. On the way, we noticed lots of seals and eagles at a particular spot. We crossed a bridge over the Iknoule River aka Xnutsk River, stopped and looked down to see hundreds of pink salmon. After double-checking the (complicated) fishing regulations, we scrambled down through the dense undergrowth and were soon into them. Colored maribou streamers stripped slowly in the seam between fast and slow water did the trick. The following day, we timed our visit to low tide and fished the incoming tide. Around the bend below the bridge are a couple of pools at a bend. Dozens of fish would swim upstream in a pod, working their way to the spawning grounds. They were active and aggressive, visibly chasing down my fly. They were far easier to hook and fight than to land. My 7-weight bent double and the fish just pulled line out the drag. A couple of times bigger fish (or maybe a steelehead) took the fly way downstream. Many fish wouldn't fit into my net.

In the area, we saw lots of wildlife. Lots of eagles, maybe hundreds. I took a short walk after dinner and startled a large, black bear. One morning, we saw a bear cub with its mom. Mom marked its territory on a tree and the cub did the same. Also saw coyotes and red fox.

Stewart

Drove south on the Cassiar from Eddontenejon Lake near Iskut stopping at Kinaskan Provincial Park. Continued west to see Stewart and Hyder, AK. On the way to Stewart, stopped to see Bear Glacier. The Stewart Bear Festival was in progress, but was not particularly interesting. It was raining. The boardwalk on the estuary was enjoyable. Staying at the Prince Edward hotel was comfortable. Sockeye dinner at the Bitter Creek Cafe was wonderful. In the morning, drove 2 km. to Hyder, Alaska. Saw a bear (but not in the fee area for seeing bears). The bear ran, swam and chased some eagles away from a fish. Saw pink salmon spawning in the river. Unfortunately, the road to Salmon Glacier washed out several weeks ago and was closed.

Eddontenajon Lake

Drove south from Dease Lake on the Cassiar Highway to Iskut. Stayed at the Red Goat Lodge in a cabin for a few nights. No goats, only llamas. Canoed around the lake catching average-size rainbows--lots of them, as of 30 or 40 in a day. See www.redgoatlodge.com .

Telegraph Creek

Drove to Watson Lake and stayed in a motel. Took a day trip to Telegraph Creek. The Stikine River carved a narrow canyon that is worth seeing. At the confluence of the Stikine and Tanzilla Rivers is a natural basalt image of a bird with outstretched wings, an eagle. At that place, I watched as two eagles flew along the cliffs, caught a warm updraft, and circled higher and higher until they were almost out of sight.

The land belongs to the First Nation people, the Tahltan. They catch salmon with gill nets for a commercial fishery and have special rules for sports fishermen.

wildflower, photo

Photo taken on Ruby Mountain, near Atlin, B.C.

Fishing Equipment

I didn't know what fishing equipment I would need, but wanted to catch rainbows, grayling, Dolly Varden, pike and salmon. For the two of us, I took six fly rods (1-3 wt., 1-4 wt., 2-5 wt., 2-7 wt.) plus 2 salmon rods, 2 steelhead/pike rods, 2 lake rods and several spinning rods.

To carry all these rods, I built a special rack for the floor of the 4Runner. Made from plywood and 2x4s, it allows several 3" plastic sleeves (irrigation pipes) to hold all these rods. It keeps them available, prevents breakage and hides them from theft.

Dease River and French Creek

Camped several nights at French Creek Recreation Site, about Milepost 415. This small campsite is designed for canoers paddling the Dease River. It's a primitive site. We really like it. One night no one else was there. The other two nights, only one other party was there. Beware, there are lots of mosquitoes in a land where lots of mosquitoes are commonplace.

Caught large grayling, to 16" at the campground. Hiked down to the confluence with French Creek and caught bull trout.

Darkness. Dark, at last. Around 10 p.m. in my tent, in the trees, in the rain and clouds, it was so dark, I used my flashlight to read.

bison, photo

Little Rancheria River

From Atlin, drove back to Alaska Highway. I stopped to check out the Tagish River where it comes out of Tagish Lake near Highway 8 near Jake's Corner. The Marina was flooded out and is now being rebuilt. It was very hot (over 30 degrees) and the fish were reportedly 30 meters down. Under the right conditions, this would be a good fishery. Little Atlin Lake looks like it will be good after road construction stops.

Continued south on AK Hwy through Teslin, stayed at a noisy campground, near the Rancheria River. Fished the Little Rancheria near the bridge and caught grayling. Tried to find main stem by following logging roads to the north, but never did.

The two of us had burgers for lunch with water for $50 at Junction 37 and headed south on the Cassiar Highway. The weather was hot and dry. One local said, "All of the south Yukon is burning."

Atlin

From Whitehorse, drove to Atlin, the "Little Switzerland" of World Was II fame. Stayed at the Art Center with Gernot. Gernot apparently has some international fame as an artist, photographer and teacher. He is an outdoor enthusiast and at 74 is in better shape than most people (me). His school was based upon "living on the edge" whereby students had alpine experiences that influenced the way they see and create art. He personally built all the lodging including a guest house with two one-bedroom apartments. The view is stunning and panoramic. He has a large jet boat for excursions and a wealth of knowledge about the area; he provides charters.

I fished the stream between MacDonald Lake and Little MacDonald Lake and caught lots of small grayling. Also fished Surprise Lake where it drains into the creek and caught larger grayling. Reportedly Palmer Lake holds pike

Whitehorse

Went to Whitehorse to get provisions. Lots of people are in Whitehorse getting provisions, starting a trip, ending a trip and getting outfitted. The airport and visitor center are busy. Many tourists are from Germany and other European countries. Whitehorse is on the Yukon River with mountains all around it. I watched a parade on Main Street as I sat in the barber chair getting a haircut.

Faro, forward

Left Faro, following Campbell Highway. The forest fire was still burning. Checked out several places. Drury Creek Campground (site #10) looks good. Frenchman Road with Frenchman Lake looks good. Tatchun Creek Campground is too close to the Klondike Highway to be appealing (although an outfitter was setting up tents for some German tourists). Across from Tatum Creek is a rough road that leads to a First Nation Fish Camp and the confluence of the creek with the Klondike River. South of there is Five Finger Rapids which is worth stopping for and taking the hike down to riverside.

stone sheep, photo

our route, so far

Our completed route, as of August 7.

Europe When I'm Old

I met an inspiring couple at Whirlpool Rapids on the Liard River. They were gathering firewood to put in their aged camper. He was 78; she was 76. They were from Juneau, AK and were traveling on a road trip. As we talked, we found they were international travelers. In the past few years, they had gone up the Amazon, visited Antarctica, traveled to China, Tibet and Nepal (same trip I took), hiked the Annapurna Trail and spent six months throughout Peru.

When asked about Europe, he replied, "I'll go to Europe when I get old." After reflecting a few moments, he grinned and said, "Maybe, I better go soon."

Yukon Facts

Average Daily Hours of Daylight in July: 20 hours

Motorist Requirement: Drive with headlights on at all times

Population: 33,000

Number Moose: 50,000

Number Caribou: 160,000

Longest River: The Yukon River

Capital: Whitehorse

Blind Creek and Rose Creek

After getting the tire fixed, I fished Blind Creek and caught lots of grayling, mostly on caddis fly imitations. Decided to stay in the town campground. Ironically, the campground was quieter and felt more like the wilderness than the wilderness with the RVs.

In the morning, took an interpretive walk to the waterfalls. Faro was once a larger town of 1,500 people, but is now only 300. A large open pit mind for lead and zinc operated from 1968 to 1998. The town bills itself as Yukon's best kept secret. Aside from the vacant apartment buildings and mine site up the road, it is really nice with good views of the Pelly River Valley and the surrounding mountains.

Fished Rose Creek outside of Faro, above the mine site . Excellent grayling stream. Once you get past (and get over) the mine works, you are in a wonderful wilderness in the Tintina Trench. The Trench today is a migratory route for birds and other wildlife. Supposedly during the Ice Age, it remained ice-free and was the highway to Asia via the Beringia land mass (now the Bering Sea). Anyway, there was a baetis mayfly hatch and

Flat Tire and Faro

About 40 miles north of Frances Lake, we got a flat tire. I fixed it quickly enough and was happy I had checked that I had proper tools before I left home, but then I no longer had a spare. Watson Lake was over 100 miles behind us and Ross River was over 100 miles ahead. I flagged down a passing car and was assured someone in Ross River could fix my flat.

The confluence of the Pelly and Hoole Rivers looked very fishy, but I continued to Ross River. The service station said the tire fixer was gone for five days, working at the mine, and I needed to continue to Carmacks, another 104 miles. I stopped to look at the view in Lapie Canyon and then continued another 32 miles to Faro, where a highway worker stopped us and said there  was a forest fire ahead.

After spending the night in Faro, I visited the interpretive center and was pleasantly surprised the town maintenance crew could fix my flat for a fee. They did. Problem solved, kind of. The gravel is sometimes sharp gravel. When it is crushed, little arrowheads are formed that randomly insert themselves into tires and cause a flat. Nothing to do about it except carry spares. I met someone who had two flats at once and heard a story about someone with three flats.

Money Creek

Stopped on the Campbell Highway to look at Simpson Lake and Frances River, but continued to Frances Lake Campground. The campground at Simpson Lake was empty, so I was surprised to see so many people at Frances. Turns out Frances is a popular destination and several large RVs park there each season.

Fished Money Creek which runs into the lake just north of the campground. Nice, clear grayling water. Caught lots of fish, largest at 17 inces (42 cm). Around 3 p.m. each day, there was a baetis mayfly hatch. Above the bridge, the beavers are at work and they are fun to watch, even if they do put the fish down.

Most people have boats and troll the lake for lake trout. The lake is somewhat unusual in that it forms a "U." It is typically long and thin, a result of glacial scraping.

Watson Lake

A good place to get provisions, Watson Lake has two small lakes in the center of town and Watson Lake itself north of town by the airport. After driving 613 miles of the Alaska Highway, it was time to do something different; try the Campbell Highway. The Campbell has a reputation as unsuitable for RVs. Certainly the highway consturction north of town made it so. The uncompacted dirt was difficult to navigate.

Driving the Alaska Highway

I probably missed an issue of National Geographic, but most of the people driving the Alaska Highway are driving the Alaska Highway. They are not going to Fairbanks to visit relatives or to Anchorage to start school. They are not wanting to fish or hunt or even go to a specific landmark, lake or glacier. They are not backpackers, kayakers, climbers or cyclists. They are driving.

All the talk is about 16 hours of straight driving, 500 klicks (kilometers) per day and "I drove straight through from Ft. Nelson." "Do they have diesel or only gas?" There are vans, campers, occasional tent campers and cyclists. But mostly, it's big rigs: coaches, trailers, 5th wheels, and RVs. Many pull cars, enclosed trailers or boats. Many are larger and longer than Greyhound buses and semi-rigs. They can't be easily backed-up so they drive the main roads and "pull-throughs." At an information office, one tourist interested in finding a restaurant asked for one with RV parking rather than Canadian, Western, or Chinese fare.

In the morning, the generators are going at 6 a.m. and the diesel engines are warming up by 7 a.m. By 8 am. the parade of vehicles has departed and the campground is empty. Around 5 p.m. they start pulling in and keep arriving until about 10 p.m.

It's a stereotypical joke, but many of the coaches ARE driven by 80-year-old men. Maybe it's a Great Generation thing conceived during World War II consturction times. Whatever, maybe if I make it to 80, I will be happy to drive a bus the thousands of miles.

Black bear in clover

This black bear stopped eating clover long enough to take a look at me. Note the swarm of mosquitoes flying around it. I took this photo along the Alaska Highway in the Yukon.

Liard Hot Springs

The hot springs are justifiably popular. The campgrounds are roomy and comfortable. I tried to fish Smith River Falls, but a forest fire recently destroyed the access and made the area dangerous from falling timber. I fished the Huele Creek near the Liard Bridge and caught my first grayling. The creek runs clear and the fish were stacked up in a hole where the clear water ran into the muddy Liard. They took Elk Hair Caddis and Prince Nymphs about size 16 (just like normal). I also fished the falls at Teeter Creek, about a 2 km hike through a mosquito-infested area. The grayling were in a pool below the falls and eagerly took dry fly caddis imitations. Whenever my fly didn't get stuck on branches, I got a take.

I also drove about 10 miles on a rough 4WD trail along the Liard, but aside from negotiating the creeks, hills and wash-outs, the tour wasn't exciting.

end of the Rockies

Muncho Lake is in the Terminal Range, the end of the Rocky Mountains. The Rockies don't extend into Alaska; they stop in northern B.C. The alluvial fans, vast flows of rock and gravel disappeared as I drove north and were replaced with conifer forest, lower elevations and relatively flat land.

I crossed the Liard River and arrived in the Provincial Park and campground complete with natural hot springs. The weather at the lower elevation was warmer and after one last rain, the sun came out.

Muncho Lake

In the morning, I pulled up stakes and continued north, stopping at Summit Lake, a picturesque if barren spot exposed to the wind. Arrived at Munchon lake for a beautiful sunny afternoon. In the morning, I searched for access to either the inlet or outlet of the 7 km lake. On the southern end, past the airstrip, I followed a stream flowing through a culvert under the highway to a creek that flowed into the river that flowed into the lake. I could not find any fish in the creeks, but was rewarded with a good-sized lake trout where the river merged into the lake. But, again, the rain blew in with large gusts of wind. I got chilled at the high elevation and followed  moose tracks through the bog back to the highway.

It rained all night and in the morning it was cold and wet. I broke camp and continued north, passing bear and bison.

farNorth, 62 degrees

On July 24, after 3,200 miles of travel, turned the 4Runner to the south. Coordinates N 62 degrees 16'22" W 136degrees 20' 33"

Tetsa River

Beyond Ft. Nelson, the highway ascends into the Rocky Mountains. I stopped at a Provincial Park on the Tetsa River. It was relatively dry for the afternoon, but started raining again the next morning.

I tried fishing and hooked a few small fish, but a rainstorm moved in and made conditions above and below water imposible. The mosquitoes at the campground made things worse.

Alaska Highway

From Chetwynd, I drove east to Dawson Creek, milepost zero of the Alaska Highway and then drove to Fort St. John. I crossed several muddy rivers that normally would hold some interest: Halfway, Buckinghorse, Beatton, Sikanni Chief, and Prophet.

Continued driving to Fort Nelson. This section of the highway is long, flat and not particularly interesting. It was 45 degrees F  and raining. When asked when it would stop raining, the hotel manager replied, "never." When I told that to the waitress, she said, "You are lucky it isn't snowing."

Stellako River

When it started raining on the Nechako River, I drove to take a look at the Stellako, one of the renowned B.C. trout fly-fishing streams. According to a local, the bite was off because of the rain. The stoneflys had been hatching, but no longer. According to B.C. fishing regs, non-resident aliens must purchase a $20 per day license in addition to a regular license.

I also learned that the salmon runs are better in August than July--and therefore decided to return east to Prince George and start the "loop" on the east side. Drove to Chetwynd. Spent a day looking at rivers: the Moberly, Peace, Pine, Murray and Sukunka. Unfortunately, the rain came down even harder. The rivers were high and muddy with entire trees floating down in the main current. The Tumbling Falls are looked like a good base for fishing the area. Local info suggests the Burnt River, a tributary of the Sukunka is especially good for fly-fishing.

Nechako River

Along the Kenney Dam Rd. from Vanderhoof to the dam is an interpretive kiosk. Near there is a trail to the West. After hiking about an hour, you arrive to a junction. Take the trail down to the right to the Nechako River. The beginning of the trail is well marked, but has many places with fallen trees. The lower trail is very difficult and has not been maintained for at least five years. The markers are far apart and some are on fallen trees.

Once I arrived in the canyon, I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, the great North of B.C. I was concerned about finding the markers for my way home. But, the water looked inviting and I soon caught five rainbows on an elk Hair Caddis. I explored a long, curving riffle, but that wasn't as productive as the pools between carved rock walls. The day had been cloudy and turned bright in the late afternoon. The bite was off except whitefish.

If you take the hike, I recommend taking a compass or GPS, going with another person, and taking insect replellent (better a potective shirt). There were many signs of bear, so make noise or wear bear bells.

The river is flood-controlled and large amounts of water are let out to keep the Fraser River cold enough for salmon, so check locally (usually water release occurs middle of July to middle of August).

Nechako, again

Fished north side of Nechako River, below the falls. Walked down steep terrain to get below Falls. Caught dozens of rainbows 12" to 16". Spent more time fighting and releasing than casting and hooking. Used #5 floating/sinking tip line and a muddler minnow pattern. Maybe bait fish were stunned by the Falls and the big fish were used to feeding on the smaller fish. Probably other patterns would have worked.

Beautiful spot. The mist from the Falls kept me cool. The canyon stretched to the south and the main river wound to the north. Kingfishers twittered about while an eagle hovered overhead, looking for food.