Adventure - Fishing with Dan Donich Charter – Full-Day Halibut Trip

Chris' 35 lb halibut ready to break the surface.

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                                                                      Time:  Full-Day

Summary

I love halibut, but we don’t own a boat.   We decided to go on a fishing charter on 11 Sep on the hope of filling the freezer.  This time we chose Dan Donich (Daniel's Personalized Guide Service).  He was recommended by an acquaintance.  This was our second charter in 2013.  We went out on the Irish in late Aug (see Halibut Fishing with North Country Charters) and came home with 15.8 lbs of halibut filets, but we wanted more.

Opinion

Great trip!  My husband and I caught our limit (so did everyone else on the boat) and came home with 54.1 lbs of halibut filets

Adventure - Halibut Fishing with North Country Charters

The Take

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                                                                      Time:  Half-Day

Summary

I love halibut, but we don’t own a boat.   So we decided to try halibut fishing.  For our first trip, we decided to try North Country Charters.  They were offering a ½ day halibut-fishing trip on 20 Aug that suited our needs.

Opinion

Good trip!  WIth day old or worst halibut running $21 to $25 per pound we decided to fill

Story - Novices Go Fishing for Reds (Salmon)

Summary

This is the story of my husband’s and my experience when our neighbor took us fishing for Reds for the first time.  We thought the story was funny enough that true fishermen would find it funny and others would find it interesting.

The Story

Adventure - 4-Wheeling with Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours in the Kenai Backcountry

Kachemak Bay Glaciers Seen from Kenai Backcountry

Stats

Difficulty: Easy - Moderate                          Distance: 15 mi                                 Time:  6 hrs+

Summary

Dan Eidem runs Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours, a tour on ATVs, for small to medium groups.  An earlier post described our trip with him in May down the beach from Bishop’s Beach in Homer (AW4WT - On the Beach).  This time we took his more usual route, into the Kenai Peninsula backcountry.  This area includes meadows filled with Fireweed, spruce forests, sweeping vistas and views of glaciers and volcanoes.

Opinion

This trip was a blast!  We went several miles

Adventure - Blueberry Picking at the Peterson Research Station

Sunset at Peterson Research Station

Stats

When: Early – Mid August                         Where: Peterson Research Station

Summary

Alaska seems to be the US capitol for berries.  More berries grow in this state than I’ve ever heard of anywhere else.  We’ve got blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, salmon berries, watermelon berries, elderberries, currant, marionberries, cranberries, lingonberries (low bush cranberry), nagoonberries, crow berries, serviceberries, and strawberries.  Most of these grow wild, but several cultivars are grown in home yards and farms as well.  Truly, I didn’t know half these berries existed until I moved here.

On 11 Aug 2013 our neighbors asked if we wanted to take a boat ride across Kachemak Bay to go blueberry picking at the Peterson Research Station.  The Peterson Research Station belongs to the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies based out of Homer.  The station is situated on 5 acres of wild land and coastline and their lower trails go through extensive blueberry fields, with a mix of currant and salmonberry randomly distributed throughout.  The berries are fair game to visitors, although they ask that you leave a few for the bears.

Opinion

This was a blast.  We picked berries for about 2 hours and came home with 7.5 lbs (22.5 cups)

Hiking - Eveline State Recreation Site outside Homer

Portlock and Dixon Glaciers from the Bottom of Alpine Meadows Loop

Stats 

Distance:  1.4 miles                   Difficulty: Easy                                 Time:  50 min

Summary

On 15 Aug 2013 we got a break in the much overdue rain and headed to the Eveline State Recreation Site.  Eveline has trails that are used in both summer and winter.  The summer trails are two loops: Glacier View Loop and Alpine Meadows Loop.  Both trails are inland meadows with excellent views of the Portlock and Dixon Glaciers.  In the winter the trails are tagged for cross-country skiing and snow shoeing; the views might be even better then as the air tends to be more clear in the winter.  The Alaska Department of Resources web site for the recreation area is Eveline State Recreation Site.  Other blogs have trip reports on this site that can be found with an internet search on Eveline State Recreation Site.

Opinion

This is a very nice hike.  We like it a bit better than the lower Homestead Trail; it’s better maintained (less boggy) and has slightly better views although both trails have masses of wonderful wildflower

Experience - Walking Among Lupines

Lupine on Kachemak Bay

Stats

When: June - July                                                                                            Where: All over Alaska

Summary

The Lupine bloom is the first of the big flower blooms in Alaska; although there are other wildflower that bloom before they don't grow in such huge clusters.  Like most flora displays the timing and quality vary from year to year. 

Opinion

While not a spectacular as the Fireweed bloom the Lupine season is quite dramatic and well worth seeing.