Alaska Sporting Journal

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8 ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL MAY 2014

PUBLISHER

James R.Baker

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Dick Openshaw

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

AndyWalgamott

EDITOR

Chris Cocoles

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

TomReale

WRITERSPaul D.Atkins,Kristyn Bablinskas,ChristineCunningham,Scott Haugen,Tiffany Haugen,SteveHerschbach, Jeff Lund,Bixler McClure,SteveMeyer,DennisMusgraves,TomReale

SALES MANAGER

Brian Lull

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Lee Balliet,MamieGriffin,Karl Kukor,Mike Nelson,Mike Smith,PaulYarnold

DESIGNERS

Dawn Carlson,Beth Harrison,Christina Poisal

PRODUCTION MANAGER

John Rusnak

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Heidi Belew

DISTRIBUTION

Tony Sorrentino,Gary Bickford

OFFICE MANAGER / ACCOUNTS

Audra Higgins

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Katie Sauro

INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER

Lois Sanborn

ADVERTISING [email protected]

ON THE COVERLarry Csonka and his partner,Audrey Bradshaw,spend about sevenmonths out of the year in Alaskadoingwhat they love best: fishing and hunting.Csonka,a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back,hosted the outdoors show,North to Alaska, for 16seasons. (LARRY CSONKA)

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AALLAASSKKAASSPPORORTTIINNGG JJOOUURRNNAALLALASKASPORTING JOURNALAVOLUME 4 ISSUE 12www.aksportingjournal.com

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MAY 2014 ALASKA SPORTING JOURNAL 9

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 12CONTENTS

19 The Fugitive: Alaska styleCorrespondent Steve Meyerdoes a lot of hunting and fish-ing in retirement. His profes-sional career was as a SpecialEmergency Response Teamleader. Meyer shared a mem-orable crisis he and his groupwere called to, when two dan-gerous inmates escaped fromthe Spring Creek CorrectionCenter in Seward.

FEATURES46 Life IsAHighway

The Alaska Highway meanders itsway from British Columbia throughthe Yukon Territory and eventuallyto its final destination in Delta Junc-tion, Alaska, roughly 1,400 milesfrom its starting point in DawsonCreek, B.C. We start our three-partseries with a leisurely drive throughgiant golf balls, an iconic Canadiandonut empire and pristine mountainlakes in Canada.

70 ZonkPowerJust the name, Larry Csonka,spelled F-O-O-T-B-A-L-L. And oneof the most productive runningbacks of the 1970s proved that in aPro Football Hall of Fame career.As he was winning Super Bowls forthe Miami Dolphins, Csonkadreamed of fishing and hunting inAlaska. He made that a second ca-reer, and now has a new home inThe Last Frontier.

92 Valdezs Plentiful SalmonBountyOur fish-a-holic, Dennis Mus-graves, took on the waters offValdez with his crew from AlaskanSalmon Slayers. As Musgraves re-ports, the silvers were on a majorbite an easy boat ride out of theValdez harbor.

121 TheBearHunt SailKrystin Bablinskas and Bixler Mc-Clure were enjoying a leisurely tripon their sailboat, the Carpe Ventos,with friends off the Seward coast.But it was also the spring bear hunt-ing season. When something furrywas spotted on the shoreline,Krystin and Bixler excused them-selves, got into their dinghy, andheaded ashore to chase a blackbear.

ALSO INTHIS ISSUE13 The Editors Note17 The Dishonor Roll: Drone hunting

banned29 Cabelas comes to Anchorage35 The beginner's guide to

gold panning82 Dry fly trout tales103 From Field to Fire: King salmon

tactics113 Changes in halibut regulations137 Remembering a youngsters first

moose hunt147 Hunting out of a backpack156 Loose ends: Bathroom humor at

sea

YUKONSWILD ANIMAL VETA reality show about a veterinarian? Not exactly Jersey Shore-style drama in mostplaces. But in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory and neighboring Alaska? Now,were talking. Meet Dr. Michelle Oakley, whose patients are far more than dogsand cats. A new National Geographic Channel show, Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet, ex-plores her stories of doing treatment on bald eagles, bears and an unruly muskox,among plenty of other species. And as our profile shows, Oakleys patients includeelephants, wolves and bison. (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)

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EDITORS NOTE

I knew I was in for a treat when Pro Football Hall of Famer andAlaska outdoors guru Larry Csonka called about 40 minutesafter he was scheduled to and apologized for his tardiness,though he certainly didnt have to.Coach (Don) Shula would chew out my ass for being so late,

Csonkasaidof his fellowHall of Famerandbossduringa stellar procareer,most of it with theNFLs Shula-coachedMiamiDolphins.But thats LarryCsonka inonesentence; hes always seemed like

a no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-gettype, a perfect allegoryfor the Alaska way:tough, resilient, no ex-cuses. Itwas thatwayonthe football field,whereahard-nosed kid fromsmall-townOhiowithastop inupstateNewYorkas part of the 1960s as-sembly line of elite col-lege running backsproduced at SyracuseUniversity became abeloved blue-collar starand two-time SuperBowl-champion in tonysouth Florida.He splits his time

among a Lisbon, Ohio,farm, an Oak Hill, Fla., property (near Daytona Beach), and thehome he and partner Audrey Bradshaw recently moved intoaroundWasilla, north of Anchorage.Guess where Larry Csonka seemsmost at home?We spend seven months-plus in Alaska, so that tells you

something, he said in late March just before he and Audreyplanned to head north. We wont be coming back (down to theLower 48) until about middle or late October.If you like fun stories, youll enjoy our profile of Csonka in this

issue. He relayed plenty of anecdotes in the timewe chatted, andby the end I wishwe had extra time to talk Alaska, filming 16 sea-sons of his outdoors TVshow,North toAlaska (hewrapped a finalseason last year), more on the NFL days. We didnt discuss hisworkwith charities suchas theOutdoorDreamFoundation,whichprovides children with life-threatening illnesses a chance to fulfilfishingor hunting adventures. I didnt evenget to askhimabout hiscameo role as aU.S.Navy commander in oneofmy favoriteWorldWar II movies,Midway, plus that stint as an analyst on the 1990scult show,American Gladiators.ButCsonka providedplenty of greatmaterial. Andwepromise

not to tell Don Shula about his delay in calling.Chris Cocoles

Larry Csonka spent the bulk of hisPro Football Hall of Fame careerwith theMiami Dolphins.(LARRYCSONKA/NFL)

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ALASKA DREAM PROPERTIES FOR SALE



ALASKA FISHING AND HUNTING INFORMATIONMay 1-31: Big game draw permits available

ALASKA FISHING DERBIESMay15-Sept. 15:HomerHalibutDerby,Homer, homerhalibut-derby.comMay17-Aug.31:HalibutDerby,Valdez, valdezfishderbies.comMay24-26: Sitka Salmon Derby, Sitka, (970) 747-6790June 13-June 22: Slamn Salmn Derby, Ship Creek, Anchor-age, downtownsoupkitchen.orgJune 13-June 22: Halibut Hullaballoo, Valdez, valdezfishder-bies.comJuly 19-Aug. 31: Silver Salmon Derby, Valdez, valdezfishder-bies.comAug.8-10:GoldenNorth SalmonDerby, Juneau, goldennorth-salmonderby.orgAug. 9:Womens Silver Salmon Fish Derby, Valdez, valdez-fishderbies.comAug. 10-18:Silver SalmonDerby, Seward, sewardchamber.org

If you have an upcoming event youd like added to the calen-dar, contact editorChrisCocoles at [email protected].

ADFG WISELY BANSHUNTING WITH DRONESBYCHRIS COCOLES

The rise of the machines will no longer be in vogue forAlaskan hunters. The sevenmembers of Alaska Board ofGame met in Anchorage in mid-March and approved ameasure that will ban the use of remote-controlled contraptions the cool kids call these devices drones for the use of huntingbig game.

What took them so long? Isnt the whole point of the idea ofhunting: to find a moose, a Sitka blacktail or an upland bird likethe ptarmigan, the old-fashioned way? Do you really want thethrill of a hunt with your son or dad or buddy enhanced by somesci-fi piece of technology?

Call it a return to the old school of huntingwith just your ownsense of vision to find game.

Under hunting regulations, unless it specifically says thatits illegal, youre allowed to do it, Alaska Wildlife Trooperscaptain Bernard Chastain told theAnchorage Daily News. Whathappens a lot of times is technology gets way ahead of regula-tions, and the hunting regulations dont get a chance to catch upfor quite a while.

Maybe its just me, but theres something remotely unfairabout not hunting au natural and relying on gimmicks to helpmake it easier to gun down whatever species youre in searchof. By July 1, such a new lawprohibiting such tacticswill becomeofficial in Alaska.

Other people dont have a fair opportunity to take game ifsomebody else is able to do that, Chastain told the newspaper.On the biology side, if youmake it too easy to take animals, thentheres not an opportunity for everybody else out there, becausethey can only allow somany animals to be taken.

Wehaveawinner.Hunting iscalledsport fora reason.Theressupposedtobeahumanelement tothewhole ideaofhunting.Mostmajor sports, with or without the instant replay and coach/manager/playerchallengesthathavebecomeapartofhockey,base-ball,basketballandtennis, still haveactual flesh-and-bloodmenandwomen paid to call penalties, determinewhether balls are deemedfair or foul, or if forehands land inside the service line.

A tip of the camouflage cap to the Board ofGame; youhad thecommon sense to leave theAlaska hunting to theman orwomanwith theweapon, not some distant cousin to Hal 9000.ASJ

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Bear hunting season in the spring isdone in style for hunters BixlerMcClure and Krystin Bablinskas,whose sailboat, the Carpe Ventos,in many instances will spot bears onthe shoreline around Seward duringhunting season. (BIXLERMCCLURE)

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BYSTEVEMEYER

The 10 p.m. beep of my Special Emergency Re-sponseTeampager brought a smile tomy faceand an immediate increase in heart rate. Thatlittle sound meant employment! Rural SERTteams, SWAT teams, or whatever else you

want to call them, dont receive as many callouts astheir urban counterparts. So any noise from the pageris welcomed.

This particular call was for the specific reason ourteamwasoriginally formed: becauseof escapedpris-oners from the Spring Creek Correctional Center inSeward, Alaska. Spring Creek was built in the late1980s specifically to house themanymaximumse-curity prisoners the statehadbeenhousing in federalpenitentiaries for many years.

SpringCreek is surroundedbywilderness,with theonly access to civilization a two-lane winding road thatleads to the community of Seward some 5 miles away. Ourteam was originally named the Tracking Team, and formed to re-spond to an escape in whatever manner the situation required.

Thesurrounding terrain at SpringCreek is composedof steepmoun-tain slopes, perhaps theonlyprison in thecountrywhere inmatescanob-serve mountain goats and black bears from the prison yard. In fact, acorrectional officerwhowason the firing rangeat SpringCreekhadshotablackbear crossing the rangeanumberof years earlier.Our teamwasprepared to climb mountains, spend nights in severe weather and dowhatever else it took to stay on the track of an escaped prisoner.

WE HEADED OUT the 90 miles from Soldotna to Seward some 20minutes after the call, and thewindshieldwaspelted by snowflakes thesize of half dollars. TheMarch squallmade theusual 100mph responsespeeds ill-advised. The police radio announced roadblocks had beenset on the Seward and Sterling Highways, as well as immediately out-side of Seward.

The fugitives:Loose in alaskaTHE HUNT FOR TWOESCAPED PRISONERS

Derek DeGraff of the Alaska Bureau ofInvestigation, Anchorage District, leads a stack into

the Fort Richardson shoothouse complex. AlthoughSpecial Emergency Response Team members

urban response tactics are similar to their militarycounterparts, SERT tactics are adapted for civil

police operations. (ARCTIC WARRIOR TROOPERS)

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Whenwe arrived at the prison around11:30 p.m., a briefing informed us that thetwoprisoners had little to lose. Theywereboth doing life for murder, one a ratherheinous stabbingof a familymember, and,the other, a killing, dismembering, burningand stuffing in an ice hole in the ChenaRiver in Fairbanksof an individualwhowasbelieved responsible for the rapeof the es-capees girlfriend. It left little doubt as to

themindset of the pair.Thetrailwascoldby then.Therewas lit-

tle in thewayof information that led in anyspecific direction, so we were essentiallyand literally shooting in the dark. Goinghouse-to-house, structure-to-structure,from the prison to the town of Seward, weweregreetedprimarilybysleepy-eyed folkswho had no idea anything significant hadhappened in the community.

But one trailer home we came upon,with a front door ajar at 2:30 a.m. withfresh tracks in the snow on the porch,showed promise. There was no responsefrom the trailer after a knock and an-nounce, which, given the circumstances,demanded an entry bemade.

In the world of special operation-typelaw enforcement teams, the entry is at thetopof the listof reasonsoperatorsarewill-ingtomakethesacrificesteammembershiprequires. Entering an area where there is arealpossibility thatanotherhumanbeing(orseveral)maybe lying inwait todoyouharmisrightuptherewithgreatsex,huntingdan-gerous game and awesome wingshootingfor thosewho choose this vocation.

Speaking solely formyself, I haveoftenthought it comicalwhenspecial team folksare referred to as heroes.Whenone is de-lighted at the prospect of going intoharms way, its hard to think that personis being heroic. Addicted to adrenalin forsure; but not a hero by any stretch.

Press checking my Colt GovernmentModel .45 and my select-fire Colt

SERT responders in Alaska need to be prepared for allpossible weather conditions. (ARCTICWARRIOR TROOPERS)

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XM177E2, an 11.5-inch barreled ver-sion of the M16, we stacked on thedoor. The squeeze on the back ofmyleft leg told me everyone was readyand we burst into the trailer. But wefound nothing.

We cleared the living room,kitchen, bathroomandonebedroomin seconds, and then we blew intothe last room in the trailer and terri-fied the owner of the trailer,whohadbeen blissfully sleeping through allthe preceding events. The reason forour impromptu entry into his homewas explained and apologies for hisinconvenienceweremade. (But evi-dently the terror invoked was noteasily forgotten as the individuallater sued the State of Alaska De-partment of Public Safety for the suf-fering our invasion into his homehadsupposedly produced.)

The only information and leadthat had circulated was a residentialburglary inSeward,where theamongthe few items taken were an orange

tent and some .22 rimfire cartridges.AsecondSERT teamfromPalmerar-rived to allow our team to get somesleepbeforepressingon intoanothernight of searching for the two fugi-tives. It hadbeendetermined the twomen had escaped the prison by cut-ting through the fence in apreviouslyundetected blind spot that allowedthem the time to do so.

The discovery of their absenceand the subsequent roadblocks wasbelieved to have eliminated their de-parture from Seward via the roadsystem, likely leaving themstill in thearea.Wehadmadearrangements tosleep at an empty apartment gener-ously providedby a local citizen, andwewere just getting ready for a napwhen the call came in that anorangetent had been spotted on the slopesof MountMarathon. Having ran theMountMarathon race several timesby then, I was very familiar with theterrain and remembered thinking,What in thehellwould twoescaped

Mike Henry is amember of theAlaskaWildlifeTroopers SpecialEmergencyResponse Team,which like theauthor did beforeretiring, is calledinto emergencysituations whennecessary.(ARCTICWARRIORTROOPERS)



prisoners be doing on Marathon?Months later I got the answer.

By the time we had mobilized andreached the base some 1,800vertical feetbelow the tent site, the helicopter pilot an-nounced on the radio that two men hadleft the tent andwere coming downhill di-rectly towards our location. From there itwas rather anticlimactic. The two es-capees simplywalkeddown themountainand surrendered themselves. A trooperteammate and I took the two back toSpring Creek, and I was able to have asomewhat interesting conversation withthe two very drunken convicts.

I asked: So letmeget this straight, youguys broke out of a maximum securityprison togetdrunkandgocamping?Theirresponse was their getaway ride out oftown didnt show up, so they just wan-deredaroundanddecided theywoulddis-appear on the mountain. They said whenthe helicopter spotted them they knewtheywere caught and figured theymay aswell drink thewhiskey theyhadstolen fromthe residencewhere they got the tent.

The author says SERTteammembersmost lookforward to the adrenalinerush of entering an emer-gency situation. (ARCTIC

WARRIORS TROOPERS)



It was rather comical when I said, Being you guyswere doinglife it seems like you would have at least tried for some femalecompanionship during your brief stint of freedom. One replied,We dont know anyone here, so that would have meant a rapeand I am not a rapist!

SERTMISSIONSARE considered successful when there are nocasualties beyond what the original event that precludes a call-out,were incurred.Noonewashurt and the twoescapedmurder-ers were back in custody less than 24 hours after their escape.

Several months after the escape, I had the opportunity to talkwith one of the escapees while he was in Kenai standing trial. Ihad wondered about the .22 rimfire ammunition after it was notfound on them, and there were no firearms found, so I asked ifthey had taken the .22 shells and if they had a gun theywere plan-ning to use. He told me they had taken the shells because theyknew theywere not going to get out of Seward undiscovered andthought they would build a fire at their camp. When the SERTteamcame toget them theywould throw the shells in the fire and,of course, there would be return fire and they would go out in ablaze of glory like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Murdererornot, hegot apoint fromme for that sentiment.ASJ

Editors note: Theauthor is now retiredand is a regular contributor toAlaska Sporting Journal. Look for another story on his SERT experi-ences in a future issue.



STORYANDPHOTOSBYTOMREALE

ANCHORAGEThe first casino I ever en-tered was the Circus Circus in Las Vegas,and it was an overwhelming sensory ex-perience lights flashing, bells ringing, tra-peze artists overhead swinging; in otherwords: the full catastrophe of chaos.Going into the new Anchorage Cabelasstore wasnt quite as stunning, but, in itsown way, its just as impressive.

The stores opening date was set atApril 10, but a lucky few media types gota sneak preview a couple of weeks ahead

of time. Except for a very few spots, theplace looked ready for primetime, withstaff training and final prep taking placeuntil the doors opened to the public.

For most sporting folks in the Lower 48,chancesaretheresalreadyaCabelaswithindrivingdistance.ForAlaskans,however, thisis something completely new and unique.While we have a couple of big box sportinggoods stores up here already, theres noth-ing to compare to seeing the full-onpresen-tation that theNebraska retailer presents.

For those few of you who havent ven-tured into a Cabelas store, suffice it to

say that its an experience. The outsidefaade is dark wood with some exposedbeams, natural-looking rock walls at thebase, lots of glass and a dark green metalroof, the total effect resembling a high-end hunting lodge.

Once inside the main entrance, youllencounter apair of taxidermiedbullmooselocked in eternal battle, and if you look up,youll see a pair of beluga whales. Theseanimals set the taxidermy tone for the firstAlaska store in the chain while there area few Outside animals on display, theoverall theme of the place is Alaska,

AN ALASKAN TOUCH,

WALRUS, SALMON, FLOATPLANE DECOR HIGHLIGHTS NEW STORECabelas-styleCabelas-styleCabelas-style

Its not Alaskawithout one of theubiquitous float-planes needed fortransportation in astate wheremanylocals are as familiarwith flying as theyare driving to getaround.

cabelas:Layout 1 4/16/14 11:13 AM Page 29


Alaska, andmore Alaska.As you proceed down the main aisle

towards the back of the store and themountain replica on thebackwall, up nearthe ceiling are dioramas of walrus, polarbears, Dall sheep,musk ox, and black andgrizzly bears. On the back wall flankingthe suspended 1946 J3CubaremoreDallsheep, alongwithmountain goats,wolvesand caribou. The aquarium underneaththe mountain has local freshwater fish aswell, although the northern pike were no-ticeably absent.Wonder why.

Elsewhere around the store, there arelarge exhibits on thewalls showingunder-water dioramas of the denizens of PrinceWilliam Sound, the Kenai and KobukRivers, and Lake Iliamna. Above the shoe

A pair of beluga whales holding court over shoppers browsingthrough the stores variety of apparel, gear and gadgets.

Above: Prince William Sounds various fishand bird species are represented withsalmon, halibut, rockfish and even asalmon shark to give the store part of itsuniquely Alaskan identity. Below: Lake Il-iamna, near Bristol Bay, is one of many geo-graphic locations featured in the new store.

A majestic brown bear linkedwith a salmon thats such a stapleof the formers diet out in the wild.

You get the feeling Cabelas Sidney, Neb., headquartershadnt previously considered much of a need to have awalrus display in its other 51 stores across North Amer-ica. But the walrus twins are a perfect fit in Anchorage.

The stores Gun Gallerycollection is impressive.



department is a clever display of brownbears, with one of them reaching down tograb a bright red sockeye salmon.

Other aerial displays show flights ofducks and geese setting their wings toland, and there are maps and photos ofsome of the crown jewels of the AlaskaState Park systemon thewalls. The over-all effect of the use of available wall anddisplay space is very nicely done. Nomatterwhere you are in the store, theres

something visually interesting to look atas you stand and ponder whether or notyou should drop your entire PFD check ona boatload of shiny new gear.

The merchandise on the shelves andracks is pretty standard recreational gear loads of fishing tackle, hunting andcamping gear, clothing for all outdoor oc-casions, etc. However, the developershave made a real effort to Alaskanize theinventory as much as possible. Theyveused a variety of local vendors to supplyas much Alaska essentials as possible,ranging from bear bait to moose calls tohalibut gear obtained locally. In additiontheyre serving up delicacies from IndianValleyMeats in the Flattop Caf on site.

Their hiring practices are decidedlylocal aswell. Thestorewill employapprox-imately 275 people, and of that number,only two will have been brought up fromthe Lower 48. Thats an impressive localhire percentage for amajor national chain.

Onesectionofthestorethatssuretoap-peal to theAlaska hunting and fishing ethicis the area with food preparation gear. Up

heretheprimaryreasonmostofusgoafieldis toputmeatand fishon the table, and thisstore has enough on hand to supply what-ever foodprepandpreservationtechniquesyoucanimagine.Therearesmokersandde-hydratorsandvacuumpackers,meatslicersand canning supplies, and flavored woodchipsandsauces.All told, itsa truly impres-sivearrayofwhatever it takestoconvert fishandgame into table fare.

If youve visited a Cabelas store Out-side, the Anchorage store will be at oncefamiliar andunique. ForAlaskans, theplacewill be a 100,000-square-foot playgroundto be visited time and again. Whether ornot their success spells doomfor theotherbig boxes or for the small specialty out-doors stores will be interesting to watch.Eitherway, itwill be a force tobe reckonedwith in the 49th state.ASJ

Editors note: The newAnchorageCabelasstore is located at the intersection of Min-nesota Drive and C Street on the south sideof town. For more information, call (800)237-4444 or go to cabelas.com.

Alaskas first Cabelas store opened inApril in Anchorage, and it has a distinct,only-in-Alaska spin to it.


gold panning:Layout 1 4/16/14 7:43 PM Page 34


Strike it rich! Many people wouldlike to find a little gold. To find gold,a beginner needs nothing morethan a gold pan and some basic tools.

The best way to learn how to pan forgold is to first get the right kind of goldpan. The steel gold pans of old are stillmade, but most actual miners andprospectors these days use plastic goldpans. The colored plastic pans show thegold better than the shiny surface of a

STRIKEGOLD

A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO GOLD PANNINGBY STEVEHERSCHBACH

A gold panner gets up close and personalin a stream hoping to strike it rich. Very fewtools are needed to look for gold, but searchingfor the prized substance takes some patienceand tedious steps. (STEVE HERSCHBACH)



steel pan, and plastic pans can bemoldedwith cheater riffles that make it easierto pan and still not lose the gold.

In general green is considered one ofthe best colors for a gold pan, as it con-trasts well both with the gold and thesand from which the gold is being liber-ated. A 14-inch gold pan is about the rightsize for most adults, while most childrenwould probably be better served with a10-inch pan.

In good hands, the pan is one of themost efficientdevicesavailable for gold re-covery. There is someskill involved in goldpanning, however, and the big mistakemost people make is in not learning howto pan before going out for the first time.

Find a tub large enough to move thepan around inside the tub. Obtain a fewflakes of gold, or lacking gold, and use asmall flattened lead shot. The gold or leadflakes should be about 116 inch in diameteror smaller. Fill the tub with water, and fillthe pan level to about 1 inch short of thetop with sand, gravel, and small rocks.Some actual stream gravels are best.

Carefully count out a number of lead orgold pieces and push them into themate-rial in the pan. This is the key thing aboutthis process. It is necessary to start witha known number of pieces in order togauge how well the panning process isgoing. Ten flakes is a good number to use.

THEREARELOTS of ways to pan, but allthat is important is getting rid of that sandand gravel while keeping those samplepieces. Submerge the pan just below thesurface of the water, and allow the waterto soak into thematerial. Itmay be neces-sary to stir the material up somewhat towet all thematerial in to pan. Pick out anylarger rocks at this time. Then shake thepan vigorously side to side and front torear, all thewhile keeping it just under thewater and basically level.

The goal is to get all thematerial in thepan moving vigorously and very soupy.The gold or lead is much heavier than anequal sizepieceof sand, and sowith all thematerial moving around the test sampleswill quickly sink to the bottom of the pan.

The next step involves taking the panofmaterial and tilting it forward, away fromthe panner, and scooping some water upout of the tub. The goal is to try and makea wave similar to that seen on a beach.Scoop the pan into the water and then liftthe panwhile tossing thewater away. Thewater should ride up the tilted pan, andthenas thewater flowsbackoutof thepanit will carry some material out with it.

The secret is in keeping the materialin the bottom of the pan stationary andletting the water wash off the top layerin the pan. Do not dump the material outof the pan; wash it out of the pan. Threeor four of these scoop and toss wash-ing actions take place. Then the pangoes back to the level/submerged posi-tion for another round of vigorous shak-ing. Then back up, tilt forward, andscoop/wash the material. Repeat thisaction until only a few spoonfuls of ma-terial remain in the pan. You can be vig-orous at first, but get more careful theless material remaining in the pan.Watch the material carefully while wash-


GOLD PROSPECTING



ing for a glint of gold or lead. If a piece isseen, stop and shake it back down intothe bottom of the pan. If the pieces areseen often, it means the shaking actionhas not been vigorous enough to sink thesamples to the bottom of the pan.

More care must be used when wash-ing as the last bit of material remains inthe pan. One wrong move and everythingin the pan will go in the tub! When only aspoonful of material remains, swirling thematerial around in the bottom of the panwith a small amount of water will revealthe pieces of gold (or lead).

A very handy tool at this point is thesnuffer bottle, which is a plastic squeezecontainer with a tube inserted into in sucha fashion that small items can be suckedinto the bottle but cant escape. Thismakes it easy to spot the flakes, and thensuck them up while getting as little sandas possible. When all the pieces havebeen captured, dump material still in thepan into the tub. Then take the cap off thesnuffer bottle and dump out the capturedpieces back into the pan. It should now be

A green-colored pan makesfor a good choice since thegold contrasts well on thegreen, both with the sandand gold that is beingpanned from the ground.(STEVE HERSCHBACH)


GOLD PROSPECTING



have confidence so that when a particu-lar spot is sampledwith a pan a few timesand nothing is found, the decision can bemade to try panning somewhere else.

Other items handy for gold panningare rubber gloves for protection fromcoldwater, rubber boots, a small shovel orlarge scoop, a small pry bar and, ofcourse, a snuffer bottle. Be sure to have abottle to put the gold in. Do not use glass,as it can be too easily dropped and bro-ken. An optional item that can be a realaid is a 12-inch screen. Screen the mate-rial into the pan while underwater, care-fully washing, and then discarding thelarger rocks. This speeds things consid-erably and makes panning easier. Dumpthe rocks next to you where you canspread them and look for a large nuggetthat did not go through the screen. Largenuggets are rare, but it could happen!

NEXT IS THE question of where to gogold panning. Always attempt to gowhere gold has already been found, asstumbling on an unknown gold deposit is

easy to separate the test samples.Now count them! All the original test

pieces should be captured. If not, rinseeverything out of the tub back into thepan and start all over. The first goal is toget to where all the test pieces are reli-ably recovered every time. When thatpoint is reached, the next goal is to try andpan faster, to speed up the process. Be-ginning panners take incredible amountsof time on a single pan when they arelearning, sometimes 15 to 20 minutes ormore. But with practice it should take nomore than a few minutes to work a panofmaterial. Gold-panning championshipsare measured in seconds, not minutes.

If this kind of practice does not takeplace before going out to do some actualgold panning, the chances for any kind ofsuccess are very minimal. The newprospector will have no idea if there wasgold in the material they have chosen topan. When nothing is found, they will beunsure if it is because of poor panningtechnique or just because there was nogold to start with. It is very important to

not likely to happen. Be sure that the areais open to the public, or that permission isobtained from whoever has jurisdictionover the property. For most visitors withlimited time, it will be best to stick withpublic sites. These are found on online.

When panning, it usually will makemore sense to spend extra time and ef-fort filling the pan with quality material.For example, splitting bedrock crevicesand cleaning them thoroughly can takesome time, but thematerial producedwillusually have a better chance of produc-ing a good showing of gold than simplyfilling the panwith a couple shovels full ofbankmaterial. Panning can produce sub-stantial amounts of gold, but thematerialmust be chosen carefully for good results.

Good luck, and good panning! ASJ

Editors note: Steve Herschbach is a nativeAlaskan with a lifetime of experience as anexpert in prospecting and metal detecting.Check him out at detectorprospector.com.Email: [email protected].


GOLD PROSPECTING



But what about the Alaska-CanadianHighway? The Alaska isnt known for theaforementioned sites along the way: theiconic diners, the breathtaking scenery,the ability to fool drivers into thinkingtheyre speeding though Egypt, Camelot,New York City, the Roman Empire, Parisand that world superpower SteveWynn-istan.

But were curious about the 1,390miles covering a sometimesquirky, some-times lonely, always paved stretch fromDawsonCreek, British Columbia, Canadato Milepost 1,390 in Delta Junction,Alaska.

BYCHRIS COCOLES

he numbers say Americans drive a lot of cars a lot ofmiles. The Department of Transportation reports 74.4million registered highway vehicles in 1960, with thatnumber up to 153 million and change by 2011.Andwhile getting behind thewheel is usually a neces-

sary evil driving to work, to school, to the grocery store its also away to see the country for those who have the time and patience todrive long stretches of American roads.And there are patches of pavement that are sacred in these parts:

Route 66; Montereys 17-mile drive; the Las Vegas Strip.

DRIVING THE ALCAN HIGHWAY: FROM DAWSONCREEK, B.C. TO DELTA JUNCTION, ALASKA

TDawson Creek, British Columbia

is your starting point to theAlaska Highway.

(YUFEI YUAN/WIKIPEDIA.ORG)

THE ROADTO ALASKA

alaska highway pt1:Layout 1 4/16/14 7:08 PM Page 46


On this trip, youll be driving through some rugged yet spec-tacular scenery as you head for the Yukon Territory borderwith British Columbia. (ALBERTNORMANDIN/DESTINATION BC)



It really is a remarkable stretch ofpavement with a lot of history that wasreally born with the outbreak of WorldWar II. As early as 1930, a joint Ameri-can-Canadian contingent began to studythe feasibility and logistics of erecting adrivable road from British Columbia allthe way to Alaska, but the Wall Streetcrash and ensuing Depression was themain reason why those plans seemed tofall through over the next very tryingdecade throughout North America.

But along came the Japanese attackon Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when itbecame a priority to create a safe landroute from the Lower 48 north toAlaska.

An agreement was made: the U.S.would pay for the construction, with thesectionsonCanadiansoil tobe turnedoverto Canada six months after the end of thewar, wrote the fantastic Alaska Highwaywebsite, ouralaskahighway.com. Canada,in turn, would provide the right-of-way,waive import duties and other taxes, offer

special arrangements for incomingAmer-ican workers and permit the free use oftimber and gravel where required.

Construction began in March 1942,the highway opened that November, andthe U.S. Army completed work on theroad by November of 1943. The AlaskaHighway now connects Alaska from itsLower 48 brothers, with two Canadianprovinces (British Columbia and theYukon Territory) as the links.

This is not an I did this series, becauseIve never done it either. Its a this is whata trip like this broken up into three partsthat will cover three issues of AlaskaSporting Journal could be like if youchoose to take on the Alaska , and weremaking suggestionswemight attempt ona journey like this one.Maybe Ill do it too.

Part I: Dawson Creek to theB.C./Yukon Territory border.Now, for Lower 48ers who enteredCanada through the Washington border,

remember its anywhere from 721 from939miles to Dawson from Blaine,Wash.,right before entering the border. So makesure youget plentyof rest thenight beforeyouget startedon the first legof your jour-ney.

Mile Zero: The Sign in DawsonCreek, B.C.The Dawson Creek Tourism Office(tourismdawsoncreek.com) touts itselfas Start Your Alaska Highway JourneyHere. So you have to start out your trip atDawson Creeks famous sign.

Everyone loves to find agoodphotoop,and there figures to beplenty on a trip likethis. So youmay aswell get one out of theway right away. The Mile O Cairn fea-tures flags of British Columbia, the Cana-dianMaple Leaf and the Stars andStripes.

Becomepart of the highways history,where over one million people havestarted their journey with a photographat this iconic location, theDawsonCreek

The Peace River Bridge (2,130 feet)represents the longest span of road onthe Alaska Highway. (OURBC.COM)


major bridges spanning the Alaska.However, nature, in the form of a land-

slide, proved to be an unbeatable force,said a story on the website. In 1957, 14yearsafter itopened, thismagnificentstruc-ture collapsed its north abutment fallingover in the landslide, snapping its steel ca-bling, smashing the roadbed into pieces.


2013 Visitor Guide says. This is yourFacebook moment.

Since were already snapping selfies,lets head across town and check out theSurveyor Statue, a tribute to the tens ofthousands ofmenwho built the highway,the IronHighway Surveyor Statue standsas a ghostly reminder of the building ofthe Alaska Highway.

Mile 34: Peace River Bridge andWorlds Largest Golf BallIf youre a road tripper, you enjoy the nov-elties of where youre traveling, whetherits the biggest this or tallest that; theressomething about knowing youre in thepresence of greatness. OK, that may be abit extreme. But shortly into your trip onthe Alaska, youll cross the Peace River,which cuts across Northern British Co-lumbia and into neighboring province Al-berta before emptying into theSlaveRiver,a tributary of themightyMacKenzie.

According to the ouralaskahigh-way.com, the bridgewas built in 1943 andspanned 2,130 feet, the longest of six

The bridge was rebuilt in 1960, and iscertainly worth a stop this time.

Just up the road in Taylor (Mile 35),dont leave townwithoutmakingapilgrim-age to another site Clark Griswold and TyWebb (ChevyChase characters in theVa-cation movies and Caddyshack, respec-tively) would surely flock to. Taylor (Mile

The town of Taylor has a championship golf course(LoneWolf Club) and also what is touted as theWorlds Largest Golf Ball. (OURBC.COM)


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Wildlife is abundant throughout the remote stretches of the Alaska Highway. Youmay haveto slow down and let some Stones sheep jaywalk across the road. But youre not in a hurry oryou probably wouldnt bemaking a trip like this. (DESTINATION BC/ALBERTNORMANDIN)

36) ishometotheworlds largestgolfball.Youmay not have time to play 18 holes

atTaylorsLoneWolfGolfClub(1-250-789-3711; lonewolfgolf.ca), but check out thecourses former fuel tank shaped like a ball(this is screaming for part-nershipbetweenthecityofTaylor and golfing equip-mentmaker TaylorMade).Accordingtobritishcolum-bia.com, the ball is 12.89meters in diameter andweighs 37 tons.

Mile 47: Fort St. JohnWhen in Canada, right?Now would be as a goodtime as any to do whatany true Canadian doesjust about every day:make an appearance at a

Tim Hortons (two locations in town;timhortons.ca), eh. The best donut northof Krispy Kreme, Tim Hortons locationsare ubiquitous once you cross the 49thParallel. Named for late hockey star Tim


Horton (hey, this is Canada, where puck-heads even rule the donut world), assomeone whos gotten his pastry on atTimHortons locations in Vancouver, Ed-monton andToronto, get yourself aCana-

dian Maple donut and acup of coffee to get ener-gized for a lot of driving.

Miles 51 to 283Frankly, there isnt a lothappening for this longstretch of pavement.There are a few blink-or-youll-miss-it stops forgas, foodor lodging. StopslikeWonowon (Mile 101)and Pink Mountain (140)have basic services avail-able to get some gas or aquick bite to eat.

Amoose cools off in the areaaround Summit Lake thehighest point on the highwayaround 4,200 feet. (DESTINA-TION BC/ALBERTNORMANDIN)

Amoose cools off in the areaaround Summit Lake thehighest point on the highway,around 4,200 feet. (DESTINA-TION BC/ALBERTNORMANDIN)



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One of the most convenient ways to travelsuch an isolated stretch of road like theAlaska Highways 1,400 or so miles is via amotorhome. Yes, these vehicles will need alot of gas stops, but theyll provide you witha comfortable homeaway fromhomeand ahotel onwheels that saves passengers fromcounting mileposts in search of a place toturn in for the night.

Throughout your voyage on the Alcanor any other road throughBritishColumbia,the Yukon Territory or Alaska, this isnt abad option.

While traveling by RV in other statesmay be a bit of a hassle, (driving) by RV inAlaska is surprisingly pleasant, says thetravel website alaskarvtrips.com. Most ofAlaska's roads are in top-notch shape,witha few of the highways in particular gettingthe best possible rating from government,as All-American Roads. In other words, it

isn't your typical driving experience.As for choosing an RV rental for your

trip, the same website says to find some-thing the driver can handle, but withoutsacrificing comfort.

If you're ordering over the phone, askthe company if they have floor plans andpictures posted online, thewebsitewrites.That way, you can get a sense as to howbig the RVwill be.

There are Lower 48 spots throughoutthe Pacific Northwest, in Northern Califor-nia and the Rocky Mountains, with plentyof gorgeous places to see. But asalaskarvtrips.com writes, Alaska has itsown mythical quality that makes it a per-fect destination for RV travel.

By far, Alaskas major draw is the fan-tastic scenery. Traveling by plane, by boat,bus or train, you do get to seeAlaskas nat-ural environment, but it is nothing com-

pared to being able to stop, get out of theRVand come face-to-facewith nature, thewebsite proclaims.

Here are someRVdealersworth lookinginto if you plan a trip North:

ABCMotorhome (800-421-7456; abc-motorhome.com)

Alaskan Campers (360-748-6494;alaskancamper.com)

Clippership (907-562-7051; clipper-shiprv.com)

FuntimeRV (503-925-9620; fun-timerv.com)

Gibs RV Superstore (541-888-3424;gibsrvsuperstore.com)

Lance Campers (661-949-3322; lance-camper.com)

RV Marine and Supply by Cascade(360-659-7833; rvmarinesupply.com)

U-Neek RV (360-748-6494; un-eekrv.com)ASJ

HAVE MOTORHOME WILL TRAVEL


Campgrounds and RV parks also dotthe highway heading up to the nextmajorcommunity, Fort Nelson.

Mile 283: Fort NelsonAbout 320 miles from the Yukon Terri-

tory border, now might be a good placeto pull over, find a hotel, then get yourselfa nice dinner and a glass of wine (orstronger if your kids have gotten on yournerves). Fort Nelson (fortnelsonbc.com)has a population of about 6,100.

Themost northern stoplight in BritishColumbia is said to pass through thehighway as you enter the city.

Mile 373: Summit LakeYou drive through far higher mountain

Theres a long stretch of road betweenmiles 47 and283with very few services. So assuming you stock up onsnacks and drinks, your best betmight just be to pull offthe side of the highway far enough away from passing

traffic and enjoy the wilderness of British Columbia withsome refreshments. (ALBERTNOMANDIN/DESTINATION BC)



passes in the Rockies of Colorado or hit-ting the California Sierra Nevada peaks,but at no point on your Alaska Highwayjourney will you be at a higher elevationthan the 4,250 feet of the Summit Pass.

Mile 436:Muncho LakeYoure almost through British Columbia.But, like a lot of other places in this beau-tiful province, you cant simply do a drive-by shooting (with a camera) withoutgetting out of the car and taking in thescene at this pristine mountain setting.Camping around Muncho Lake(env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/muncho_lk) is available at nearbyStrawberry Flats or MacDonald camp-grounds. If you feel the need to wet yourline, the lake is full of lake trout, Arcticgrayling, bull trout and whitefish.

Mile 603: The British Columbia/Yukon Territory borderSo, youve surely broken up the trip thusfar into two days, seeing historic bridges,giant Titleists, donuts to die for, and, ifyoure lucky, some roadside wildlife. Joinus nextmonth aswe continue ourAlaskaHigh trip planner. ASJ

Muncho Lake is one of themorebeautiful sights youll encounteron the Alaska Highway.(DESTINATION BC/ALBERTNORMANDIN)



BYCHRIS COCOLES

You chat up a veterinarian at a dinner party, sitting next to youat a baseball game or the dog park, and its only natural to askthe doctor about the animal patients she or he hasworked on:maybe a sick golden retriever or Weimaraner that was bitten by anotherdog. If youre lucky, the vet may have a great but rare story about savingthe life of an exotic pet like a pot-bellied pig.

Then theres Dr. Michelle Oakley,whoseexperiencesover roughly the last20years in the business of mending sick ani-mals would not be your everyday cocktailparty conversation about her practice,which covers wilderness areas full of crit-ters, both domestic and wild, in CanadasYukonTerritory and neighboringAlaska.

Ive done projects here on wolves,bears, muskox, moose, caribou, martens,marmots, frogs, lynx; kind of all theNorth-ern species you can list; snowy owls, ea-gles, great gray owls, says Oakley.

Its nowonder theNationalGeographicChannel and the doctor have teamed upfor a new reality show: Dr. Oakley, YukonVet, which premiered on April 12. Oakleytouts her clinic as helping pretty mucheverything thatmoves,which, as she ex-plained, prepares this wife and mother ofthree well in unpredictable territory.

Shegrewup inMunster, Ind., across theIllinoisborder fromChicago,anddidherun-dergrad studies at Michigan. So naturally,she ended up settling down in the hinter-landsof theYukonaftermeetingher futurehusband,Shane,whiledoing researchwork

NEW NAT GEO SHOW CHRONICLES YUKON VET

ALASKANANIMALDOCTORISIN

Dr. Michelle Oakley examines a husky sled dog, one of manyworking dogs and animals she treats in isolated areas of

the Yukon Territory and Alaska. Oakleys practice ischronicled on a new National Geographic Channel reality

series,Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet. (NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)

alaska vet reality show:Layout 1 4/16/14 2:05 PM Page 59


on ground squirrel ecology in the area.That country is full of sleddogs,wildlife

preserve species and even the usual fam-ily pets.Apreviewepisode reflected this isno ordinary practice. Among Oakleyscases: a husky that got into a scufflewith aporcupine and was in a dangerous condi-tion of being stabbed with hundreds ofquills; a pair of injured bald eagles in needof care with hopes of flying free again; agreat gray owl named Aspen with an am-putated wing. In another early episode inthe series; an unruly muskox chases andrams a car Oakley is in hoping to sedatetheanimal andexam it. Shes beendoing itfor years, but, thanks toNatGeo, shell getto let viewers in on her experiences.

So many times Id share pictures withfriendsovertheyearswhowouldsay, Gosh,you should do a TV show. You kind oflaughed about it, but to be asked to do that,youlovetoshareit,shesays.Peopleshouldsee this, and Im honored to. There are somanytoughpeopleandtoughanimals,withsomegreat conservationismgoingon.

Soneedless to say,Oakleys life isneverdull, as her conversationwith us reflected:

Chris Cocoles I know you met Shane inthe Yukon and decided to settle downthere, but growing up in theChicago sub-urbs of Indiana and going to a large col-lege like Michigan at Ann Arbor is alifetime away from where you are now.

Do you sometimes ask how in the worldyou ended up there?Dr.MichelleOakley I thinkaboutthatall thetime, actually. When I first went up to theYukon (in 1989), not being that goodat ge-ography, I honestly barely knew where itwas. I wasnt entirely sure it was part ofAlaska, which is embarrassing to say. I hadno ideawhat Iwas getting into.Now I thinkif ithadnthappened, itsaterrifyingthought.

CC Youve also lived in Alaska over theyears, right?

MOWe lived in Juneau for a while, and inNorthPole; IveworkedtheNorthSlope,andI spend a lot of time now inHaines, Alaska,where I run a big part ofmymobile clinics.

CC Was there an instant attraction, notjust to your eventual husband, but thearea itself?MO The Southwest corner of the Yukonand Southeast Alaska, its just so gor-geous, with so many wide open spacesand so much freedom. I think it was acasewhere I definitely fell in lovewith theplace, and my husband.

CC When you were young, did you al-ways have a love and passion for want-ing to help animals?MOMy parents and grandma were hugeanimal lovers.Wealwayshadpetsaround,and we lived in kind of a wooded area, sowewere always rescuing baby rabbits andducklings. We always kept them in ourhouse, and always tried to help. My unclehad a dairy farm and I spent a lot of timethere. I think itwasdevelopinga love foran-imals.When Iwas reallyyoung,aboutsixthgrade, I started going to a vet clinic, wherethey letme come in for years. That shapedwhat I reallywanted todo.Andahugepartof itwaswatchingNationalGeographic, ascorny as that sounds. I was alwayswatch-ingpeople like JaneGoodall, strongwomenwhoworkedwithwildlife, even back then.

Reindeer are among the patients this veterinariantreats on a regular basis. Dr. Oakley has alsoworkedwith zoo animals like giraffes and big cats,and now travels to Sri Lanka twice a year to helpexamine elephants. (NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)

Michelle Oakley grew up inMunster, Ind., just outside Chicago,and did her undergrad work at the University ofMichigan. But she

met a firefighter named Shane during a research project in theYukon, gotmarried, and has been treating both domestic pets andmore wild animals like bears, wolves andmoose at her practice for

more than 20 years now. (NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)

Michelle Oakley grew up inMunster, Ind., just outside Chicago,and did her undergrad work at the University ofMichigan. But she

met a firefighter named Shane during a research project in theYukon, gotmarried, and has been treating both domestic pets andmore wild animals like bears, wolves andmoose at her practice for

more than 20 years now. (NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)


Yukon Department of Wildlife, so thathelped tooworkingasa technician. Itwasalittle bit of trial by fire, with a ton of helpfromexperiencedwildlife vets. Therewereso many people whowere so helpful. Its avery small community of wildlife and zoovets. And its amazing how they bend overbackwards tohelp.Wecantknowitall, andif we can help each otherwe do.

CCSowhats it liketocareforabearorwolf?MOUhhh (laughs), its hard to put wordson it. You have to focus on what youredoing, but, every nowand then, you take astep back for a fraction of a second andthink: This is a grizzly bear Im workingon. You get that shiver and excitement.And thenyou focusonyour joband task athand, especially if its an emergency.There is no time to for gawking and beingexcited. But going out on someof the con-versation projects andworking onwolvesand bears, it was intense. That type ofwork you really dont enjoy until after-wards.When theyre stable its like phew.I can enjoy that in retrospect.


CC I cringedwhen I saw the scenewith thehusky and the porcupine quills. That wasbrutal.Butthosearethekindsofcrazythingsthathappen inAlaskaandtheYukon, right?MO Its incredibly big country. There arestill wolves that come into town and takedogs every year, and eagles that takecats. When youre up here youre part ofthe ecosystem, and you have to take careof your pets. Ive seen a lot of porcupinequills and lots of bear attacks on dogs. Sothere are a lot of those intense situations.

CCHowdo you learn in school about car-ing for a bear? Thats not exactly com-monplace in most areas.MOAtmostvetschoolsyoudont.Wehada smallwildlife program, but itwas in east-ern Canada (Atlantic Veterinary College)and itwasntworkingonbears andmoose.But I did an internship at the Calgary Zoo(shes a dual American and Canadian citi-zen)and through theUniversityofCalgary,so I was working with different kinds ofspecies and experts. When I was in vetschool, during thesummer Iworked for the

CCAnd some of this care can be danger-ous, right?MO I hada lynx tooth through the tipofmyindex finger and a few close calls like that,where afterwards you think, wow, thatwas close. But for the amount of wildlifework I do, its always thinking about whatcan go wrong? Whats your backup plan?Because the first one rarely works. Andthen youre thinking, How do I get out ofhere?Whatsmyescapeplan? Evenwhenyoure trying tohelp them, theydont knowthat, and theyre justgoing todefend them-selves; they think youre attacking them.

CCHowhard has it been to travel on callsand to your remote clinics in the winter?MOThats just thewayof lifehere; nomat-ter what youre doing youre traveling.Towns in the Yukon Territory and Alaskaare sospreadout.When I go to theclinic inHaines its a 2-hour drive, and theresnothing in between. Its through a moun-tain pass, and sometimes Ill pass just onecar and no cars. In that pass, snow can betaller thanmycarwith8or 10 feetof snow.



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Getting to animals that are in need can bevery difficult. But its part of living up hereand being a real Alaskan or real Yukoner.Its not complaining about the elements,butembracing them.Youprepare for themand take them on. Its a great way of life.

CC As much as someone like me wholoves my dog, where you live, some peo-ple have relied on their animals to getaround like sled dogs. Theyre a big part oftheir lives. Do you take lots of pride in car-ing for those animals?MO A lot of the dogs are working dogs.They are part of the family and super im-portant to thepeople likeapet.Butpeopleslives depend on them. This hunter or trap-perout in thebush, theycouldnt surviveoritwouldbea lotmoredifficultwithout theirdog there. The dogs seem to let you knowway far ahead that you can avoid a verydangerous encounter. I see that over andover. We dont want to bump into a bearand surprise anybody that doesnt want tobesurprised.Wetakeourdog(apug,DaisyMay Lover Pants) everywhere. So there is

Michelle Oakley gets up close and per-sonal with a young black bear. One of

hermost dangerous encounters inAlaska and the Yukon, however, was

being stuck in deep snow trying to climba slippery tree with a charging bison

heading her way. (NATIONALGEOGRAPHICCHANNEL)

Michelle Oakley gets up close and per-sonal with a young black bear. One of

hermost dangerous encounters inAlaska and the Yukon, however, was

being stuck in deep snow trying to climba slippery tree with a charging bison

heading her way. (NATIONALGEOGRAPHICCHANNEL)



an extra layer of attention.

CCBeing anAmerican-born citizen, it hadto be special to care for bald eagles at theAmerican Bald Eagle Foundation (907-766-3094; baldeagles.org) in Haines.MO Theres nothing more of conserva-tionism and patriotismwrapped into onethan theAmerican Bald Eagle Foundation.Its such a cool organization. To have abald eagle that I got to do surgery on and

help to get it to the point where a coupleof months later it could be released. Tobe a part of that release was absolutelyone of the highlights of my career. Therewas nothing made up about that. It wasone of the best moments of my life.

CCYou take the family fishing, and one ofyour daughters said she hated fishing!Hunting and fishing are such a big part ofthe way of life where you are, and yourjob is to save animals.Whats the fine linebetween those two worlds like?MO Thats hard for people to understand.But when you live in Alaska, its a differentwayof life.Thatshow it is. Its a reallyprac-ticalwayof life. Thats our culture andhowwe liveour life. If Imgoing to takecareofananimal, I want the best for it. Ifmy family isgoing to hunt animals for food, its going tobe as humane and quick as possible. I re-

spect my daughters choice to not like (tohunt or fish). She can speak her mind andbe like, Im not doing it.

CC Do you want your daughters (Sierra,Maya andWillow) to follow in your foot-steps of being a vet?MODeepdown Ihope theydo.Thatwouldbeawesome tohavemykidsbeveterinar-ians, andmaybewe canwork together fora time. And I think its such a cool career. I

feel so lucky about the profession. Thereare so many people out there who thinktheywant to do it. If this is the time, do it!

CC Ive always admired veterinarians, forme as a very attached dog owner, itseems like its so hard when there arentsuccessful recoveries. How hard has itbeen at times froman emotional level, es-pecially early on in your career?MO There arent always happy storiesor a perfect outcome. I think its beingthere for the family and for the animal, ifit is an end of life situation or trauma.Youre doing everything you can, sup-porting the family but keeping the ani-mals as comfortable as possible. Its thebittersweet part of my job that I can helpand do the best I can. Sometimes its re-ally emotional. Its why Im here; Imhere to help.

CCWhat else are you working on?MO I have a newone nowwhere Im goingto Sri Lanka twice a year. I was just thereworkingwithelephantsand leopards.And Igot to work with penguins. Penguins! Theywere just crazy, and Iwas so excited just tosee one. At one zoo I was able to work ongorillas. You cant possibly know it all withall thosespecies,butasaveterinarianyouretrained in a lot of different animal systems.And youre also trained in how to keep up,becausethingsareconstantlychangingandimproving. And how to learn things quicklyandadvanceyour tools todifferent species;so Im really thankful for that part of mytraining, because I use that every day.

CC You must have 18,000 of them, butcan you share a wild story of an animalyou worked on?MO I do have amillion of them. (Pauses).We were capturing bison not too longago from a helicopter. You always givethem the reversal drug afterwards andthey get up and run away. This last timewewere there, the helicopter dropped usoff. We worked on the animals and thehelicopter needed to refuel and he said ifit wasOK to comeback.We thoughtwellmove hundreds of yards away from theanimals. We told him they never comeback after us because thats not their be-havior at all. We moved a long distanceaway, and, sure enough, the female stoodup, looked around, sniffed the air andcame toward us.

Wewere inwaist-deep snow, so therewas no getting away. So it was reallyscary. We were trying to swim throughthe snow to the trees, but shewas alreadyright on us. These were birch trees thatwere really slippery. One guy got partlyup the tree, but I kept slipping on thebranches. He tried to pullme up and Iwasliterally breaking nails clawing my wayand not having any luck. And all of a sud-den, the bison was right there like a rag-ing bull thatwas snorting. Theres nowayI could get away from her. She took an-other step toward me and I just did thisscreaming andwavingmy hands, which Iwould never advise anyone to do. Andshe didnt flinch, just turned and slowlywalked away. I thought, Whatwas that?Ive had a few close calls like that. ASJ

Dr.Michelle Oakley hopes her new show on the National Geographic Channel will inspireothers who have always talked about becoming a veterinarian to pursue those dreams.There are somany people out there who think they want to do it, she says. If this is thetime, do it! (NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL)


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Larry Csonka has won Super Bowls and beeninducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But hes happiest these days hunting moosein the Alaskan Interior. (LARRY CSONKA)

larry csonka.e$S:Layout 1 4/16/14 7:24 PM Page 70


Larry Csonkas love affairwith Alaska was squiredthanks in part to a flightdelay, a jalopy, outhouseand a prophetic sign.Csonka, still going strongat 67, is part retired football star and out-doors television show host, part entrepre-neur, part patron and part benefactor.

Hes also a full-time Alaska fishing andhunting fanatic, a passion he dreamed ofas an Ohio farm kid. It became even morean obsession when the then young Na-tional Football League player visited thereonly due to a travel snafu. But it was obvi-ous Csonka was an Alaskan at heart be-fore he ever stepped foot there.

The more I saw of Alaska, the more Iwas in Alaska, the more I fell in love with it,he says. It wasnt a thing where because Iliked donuts I ate four-dozen of them andnever wanted to eat another donut. Themore I drank in Alaska, the thirstier I got.

Csonkas first time in his favorite placewas eventful, if by accident. After hisrookie season as a Miami Dolphins run-

ning back in 1968, Csonka was offered aninvitation from the United Service Organ-ization to visit the troops, smack dab onthe lines in Vietnam with other NFL play-ers. Of course I will, was Csonkas patri-otic response to the request.

The commercial flight made its firststop in Anchorage to change planes andcontinue onto Southeast Asia. The planehad mechanical problems, and Csonkawas told hed have a minimum six- oreight-hour layover. He walked outside An-chorage International Airport with everyintention of killing time in a state hednever visited but was fascinated with.

Just outside the terminal, a man in agravel parking lot was renting somethingresembling cars; and dont think Hertz orAvis-style luxury here. The vehicles re-minded him of the rusty Farmall tractorshe grew up riding in the Midwest.

The sign said Rent-A-Wreck, and Irented one of his wrecks, and drove downtowards the Kenai Peninsula, south of An-chorage, he recalled.

Csonkawashungryandstumbledontoa

CSONKASSPIRIT OFALASKA

RUNSWILDFOOTBALL STAR FOUND OUTDOOR PASSION IN THE NORTH

BYCHRIS COCOLES

Csonka ran for over 8,000 yards in his NFLcareer as a running back, with his bestyears coming in the early 1970s when theMiami Dolphins won two Super Bowls. Hewas the Most Valuable Player of SuperBowl VIIII, a 24-7 Miami victory over theMinnesota Vikings. (LARRY CSONKA/NFL)


jointontheoutskirtsofAnchorageItsstillthereandateasandwichandbeer.Whenthe soon-to-be pro football superstar askedthe establishments patron to point him tothe restroom,hewas told itwas outback.

Itwas anouthouse, and I grewupwithouthouses inOhio,hesays. When Icameto theouthouse I lookedoff into thewoods,and someone had hung a sign: Now Leav-ingAnchorageCityLimits.Andrightbelowthat, someonehadadded inmagicmarker:You Are Now Part of the Food Chain!!!with big exclamation points. Right then Isaid, I need to seemore of this place.

CSONKA WAS A Christmas Day (bornDec. 25, 1946) son of Ohio in Stow, anAkron suburb and small farming commu-nity, with plenty of room to roam around.Young Larrywould grabhis dogs anda sin-gle-shot, 16-gauge shotgun to hunt thecountryside far from glitzy south Florida,wherehed eventually be a sports celebrity.

In sometimes pouring Midwest rain,hedwalk 3 to 4miles in search of uplandbirds like pheasants or rabbits, which

were about all we had, Csonka says. Agood daywas flushing a rabbit or two. Anoccasional deer in thewoodswas consid-ered big game in those parts at thattime in the 1950s. But the outdoors-lovingboy heard about places with wide-openspaces and massive animals for hunters.

When I was 10, my mother knew this,and one time she saw in the store a majoroutdoormagazineandbought it,whichwasa treat forme, he says. Iwent out to carryin the groceries out of the car and saw themagazineontopof thegrocerybag. I took itout, and it hadapictureof aKodiakbear onthe front. And Iwas justmesmerizedby it.

He forgot about the melting ice creamin the sack as he thumbed through thepages, reading every word of the storyabout thebear, andarticles about thedeerand theother fauna thatmadeAlaska, justaround the time it became our 49th state,so famous and reveredbyhunters andan-glers. It was, for even 10-year-old LarryCsonka on the dairy farms of Stow, thesportsmans dream.

Playing football, and doing it quite well,


APICTUREOFPERFECTIONDuringhiseight-yearNFLcareer(healsospent a season in the World FootballLeague) Larry Csonka was part of a dy-nasty Miami Dolphins organization thatput together a dominating stretch from1970-74, when they won two SuperBowls (Csonka was the Most ValuablePlayer of a Super Bowl VIII victory overthe Minnesota Vikings), lost in anotherandwon57games in theregularseason.

It was capped, of course, byMiamis perfect 17-0, 1972 run that in-cluded 14 wins without a loss duringthe regular season, two playoff victo-ries and a 14-7 triumph over the Wash-ington Redskins in Super Bowl VII atthe Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.No other NFL team has made itthrough the year unbeaten and untiedthe leagues history.

Each year, whenever the last un-beaten team goes down, including the2007 New England team that won itsfirst 18 times before losing the SuperBowl, the media loves to report mem-bers of the 72 Dolphins popping cham-pagne corks to celebrate that perfectseason being unmatched.

Im not much of a champagne guy.Immoreapt toraiseabeer.But thatgetsa little overdone, says Csonka, who ranfor 8,081 yards and 64 touchdowns dur-ing his NFL career, culminating with a1987 induction into the Pro Football Hallof Fame. Now, anytime you achievesomething that nobody else has done,that makes it a little more special. Do Iwanttosharethatwithanyone?Notpar-ticularly. But if someone does that, Ill bethe first to recognize it. We dont cele-brate someoneelses defeat. Its just thefact that were still the only one.

Just know this: When then 18-0 NewEngland, Miamis longtime AFC EasternDivision rival, was playing the New YorkGiants in Super Bowl XLII, it was self-ex-planatory who Csonka rooted for(spoiler alert: he also played three sea-sons with the Giants, whose head coach,Tom Coughlin, was his college halfbackat Syracuse). New York won the game17-14, and Csonka was happy, but did-nt break out the bubbly.

If it happens, it happens, Csonkasays. Every year when I go back south,I know Ill probably get to a Dolphinsgame and see some of my old cronies.I enjoy that, and its fun getting to-gether. CC

Csonka has caught plenty ofbeautiful Togiak River kingsalmon. (LARRY CSONKA)



got in thewayof packing upand flocking toThe Last Frontier. It was a gooddecision forCsonka, who went onto follow in the foot-steps of 1950s and 60s standout runningbacks at SyracuseUniversity. He outgainedthe likes of Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, JimNanceandFloydLittle, rushingforwhatwasaschool-record2,934yardsfrom1965-1967and getting drafted in the first round by thethen American Football Leagues (shortly

before theNFLmerger)Dolphins.Csonkawenton towin twoSuperBowls

in Miami, starring on what remains theNFLsonlyunbeatenanduntied team(17-0in 1972).He ran formore than8,000yardsand scored 68 total touchdowns spanninga Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

He teamed with fellow running backJim Kiick to be footballs version of ButchCassidy and the Sundance Kid, their gun-

slinging, blue-collar, tough-guy personaearning them such a colorful mantra offthe Paul Newman and Robert Redford hitmovie.

Through all the world championships,the glory and the excitement, Csonkanever punted away the memories of thatoutdoor sporting magazine featuringAlaska outdoor adventures.

Football got in the way, he says.When the big hunting season and mostof the fishing seasonwas at peak times inAlaskawas also during the time that foot-ball was going on in college and the NFL.And I couldnt get there because of that.

He hung up his helmet and shoulderpads for good in 1980. That, he thought,was finally an opportunity to spend thosepeak fishing and hunting days in Alaska.But he had to pleadwith the producers ofan outdoors show he was co-hosting atthe time to start filming fishing and hunt-ing adventures inAlaska, an irony consid-ering he had to convince the network todo any episodes there given how realityshows are being produced at staggering

Csonkas outdoor television showwenton for 16 seasons, allowing the retired profootball player to live out his dreams ofhunting and fishing in his beloved Alaska.

Csonkas outdoor television showwenton for 16 seasons, allowing the retired profootball player to live out his dreams ofhunting and fishing in his beloved Alaska.



rates in the state currently. Even then, hewas only promised three shows initially.

They were reluctant to go to Alaskabecause of the cost of taking camera guysand producers. Youre travelingwith a fullproduction crew, and the kind of moneyyoud spend on the budget would doubleor triple if you had to go to Alaska,Csonka says. So we did a three-showspread up in Kodiak. And we had a greattime. I think those three shows had someof the highest ratings of that series.

Still, thecost tomaintaina fulltimecrewpromotedCsonka to go solo on theAlaskashowheenvisioned forhimself.Hepitchedhis idea toESPNanddeliveredonpromisesto get some sponsors on board. He ulti-mately spawned North to Alaska, whichwouldblossomintoahiton theNBCSports

Network.Thecrewwrappedon its 16thandfinal season last year.

That enabled me to live a dream, hesays. Iwont insultyour intelligenceandtellyou the show did really well and had greatratings because people wanted to watchme. People were tuning in to see Alaska.Wewere very true to life on our show.

He was no stranger to appearing oncamera as a football player, a part-timeactorwho appeared in variousmovies andtelevision shows, and as an analyst on thecompetition showAmericanGladiators.

Csonka cherishes the thought of tra-versingAlaskaground fewothersprobablyhave. Granted, he says, someone probablyhad hunted moose in the same spots ashim.But its reasonableenoughtoconcludeyou could count on one hand the number

HAIL TOCOASTGUARDTEAMMATESLarry Csonkas fantastic NFL career in-cluded a 145-yard, two-touchdownMVP performance in the Miami Dol-phins 24-7 Super Bowl VIII win overthe Minnesota Vikings. He had plentyof help from his offensive guards, ProFootball Hall of Famer Larry Little, for-mer All-Pro selection and six-time ProBowl participant Bob Kuechenberg,plus a Hall of Fame center, Jim Langer.

But another set of guards from theUnited States Coast Guard also oncehad a big assist to Csonka that saved hislife. In September 2005, Csonka, hispartner, Audrey Bradshaw, two mem-bers of his television crew on their show,North To Alaska, a hunting guide and aboat captain, were on the Bering Sea re-turning from a filmed hunt in the Aleu-tians. But the 28-foot vessel ran intosevere weather, and the high seas andheavy winds made it difficult to navigatethe boat, which drifted off course.

For about 17 hours, the crew was in adire and potentially fatal situation, butthe Coast Guard was able to rescuethose aboard via helicopters that air-lifted them one-by-one via a basket.Later that fall, he told a Sports Illustratedreporter he had signed a football to oneof his Coast Guard rescuers: THANKSFOR PULLING MY ASS OUT OF THEBERING SEA.LARRY CSONKA#39.

When youre in Alaska, particu-larly in the Aleutians, if you get outthere, theres no such thing as a cur-rent weather report; you have to playit by ear, Csonka says. Sometimes aslight error in calculation can cost youdearly. And we got into a life or deathsituation. And the Coast Guard pulledus out.

Csonka, 58 at the time, remainsgrateful for the help.

Right after that, I thought to myselfIm never going to bitch about payingmy taxes again. Because they pulledmy butt out of the drink, he says witha laugh. CC

The best part about a moose hunt, LarryCsonka says, is the idea of calling in theanimals and taking in the splendor ofbackcountry Alaska. (LARRY CSONKA)

The best part about a moose hunt, LarryCsonka says, is the idea of calling in theanimals and taking in the splendor ofbackcountry Alaska. (LARRY CSONKA)



of previous visitors to some remotestretches of the Alaskan Interior. Its theWildAlaska feeling that canengulf thosewho live or simply spend a vacation therethatmakes themobsessed formore.

Howmany places in the Lower 48, orfor that matter, North or South America,can you go and say there have beendamnfew people there before you? he asks.

Andwhat is the perfect experience for arugged Alaskan outdoorsman like LarryCsonka?Amoosehunt. Itscomingfullcirclefor the football icon in Miami. Csonka en-deared himself to Dolphins fans for his re-lentlessmotoron the field.

Moose hunting is a 360-degree turn.The moose come to you, so youve

got a chance to go out and bugle and callthem, and sit on the river.Maybe you callevery 20 minutes or so, and you knowwhen they hear you, theyre eventuallygoing to come to you.When you sit there,you see the leftover salmon, see the trouteating the salmon eggs. You see beaversand bears; you see everything and yourea part of the middle of nowhere.

Csonka then becamea little sentimen-tal about his Ohio days, where his tro-phies were hares or other small critters,but no less memorable. He still spendspart of his year at a farm in Lisbon, Ohiowith his partner, Audrey Bradshaw.

Whenits reallycold inAlaskaandOhio,he flees to his old stomping grounds inFlorida.Butsevenmonthsoutof theyearheandAudrey liveontheirproperty inWasilla.

Whenyoure in theNFLand theyhandyou that football, youre the show; every-bodys watching, he says. When you goAlaskaandyouresittingonariverbank, theshow is in front of you. Youre just a spec-tator, and I found a sport that I really likebeing a spectator in. And thats Alaska.

LARRY CSONKAS 1968 flight-delayedstop in Anchorage wasnt quite over yetwhenhevisited theouthouseandsignpro-claiming those who ventured away fromthe beer joint as newmembers of the foodchain.His lemonof acar rental It ran ter-rible; I didhave toworkon it acouple times,but I rentedthatcar for like$12,andsput-

tered away from the big city, traveling abumpyroaddowntoward theKenaiPenin-sula. He was just another 20-somethingwith time to kill in searchof entertainment.Itwasgorgeous country, someof themostmajestic scenery Csonka had ever seenconsideringhespentmuchofhis life todatein ruralOhio,upstateNewYorkandMiami,all places about as far away from Alaskaone could get.

And I didnt even make it to theKenai. I got about two-thirds of the waydown but had to go back. I was afraid ofmissing the plane and letting down theUSO, he says. So I turned around andwent back up. But Ill never forget how im-pressed I was with the things that I sawon that drive. At that point, I promisedmyself I was going to make Alaska, if nota yearly thing, at least every other year. Istarted going back and I likedwhat I saw.

Csonka is a motivational speakerthroughout the year, so he encountersLower 48ers all over the map. Many ofthose he interacts with have talked oftheir trip to Alaska, in many instances



during cruises that usually dock for a fewhours at a time in quaint Southeast portslike Ketchikan, Juneau or Sitka. However,he likes to explain his spirit of Alaska.This is when Larry Csonka morphs intotour guide mode, selling the side of the

state he relishes annually.Its back in the rivers and the moun-

tains of the Interior; not the edge (of thestate). Those all have their draw andtheyre unique places with the fish, gameand culture there. But when you go to the

Interior, particularly if youre looking tofind fur-bearing animals in the really wildpart of Alaska, consider the Anvik RiverLodge, Aleutian Adventures, Alaska Gol-drush Adventures in Interior and NorthSlope areas. These are some of the mostremote places Ive ever been to in Alaska.If youre looking for the spirit of Alaska andextreme remoteness, visit these places.

Hes as much Alaska strong as he isOhio tough, Syracuse Orange (his almamaters nickname) and Miami suntanned.He once ran for the Dolphins in southFlorida; now he waits for the salmon to runin Alaska.

Its in that remote backcountry like hisbeloved Wood-Tikchik State Park, northof Dillingham, where Csonka is at peace.Hell travel by boat on one of the parkslarge lakes and then hit the shoreline.

You just sit there and listen for an hour.There is so much to see there: caribou,moose, and wolverines; theyll walk pastyou, stop and look at you. Things that youjust dont normally see, Csonka says. I seethat as the heart and soul of Alaska.ASJ

Larry and his partner, AudreyBradshaw, spend about seven

months of the year on their propertyin Wasilla. (LARRY CSONKA)

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