Day 259 – Here there be bears….

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September 15, 2016 – I was slotted on the Upper Atnarko today; not many bears up that way, not many fish either. I’ve been up this way before, and it’s amazing. It just never gets old. The rocky scenery, the trees clinging to the edge of the scree, the river winding its way through it all….it’s just spectacular scenery.

Our crew was on the upper reach of the Upper Atnarko. I’ve not been up this far before, and it didn’t disappoint. Our entry point was below the old line cabin, a spot where the telephone linesmen would spend their nights when they were up this way dealing with lines downed by weather or trees. Since this area is so remote, the telephone lines were a vital communication link 50+ years ago. The current hatchery manager’s father used to work on these lines, disappearing into the wilderness for days and spending the odd night here.

We didn’t encounter any grizzlies, but that’s not really a bad thing. However, there were fresh signs that they were in the area….

I was at the hatchery by 7:30am…and returned to the hatchery after the day on the river at around 6:30pm. It makes for a long day…navigating the river, pulling in the net, fighting wth the fish that you want to keep, fighting with the fish you intend to release.

Tangle netting (gill netting) is nasty business – hard on you, but harder on the fish. The fish get so wrapped up in the netting that it can become a huge frustration trying to work them back out. They twist and roll and they get the net twisted and snagged on their fins, in their operculum, and particularly around their snaggle-toothed jaws.

It’s hard work, and the crew does it day in and day out for weeks on end. I love this crew, they teach me new things every time I come up, and they are welcoming, always.

They have my utmost respect and admiration. Particularly because they do it all because it needs to be done, and they do it without complaint. There is something about a small remote community that makes you look at larger centres as what they are….filled with too many self-important whining residents who have no concept of the outside world.

And up here, I could just sit and study the landscape. There are areas like this where the rocky bluffs above seem to loom over you in the most imposing manner.

And when we got back to the hatchery I saw the vehicle I usually borrow in the lot, so I went in to the key rack and found the keys there, with a note taped to them “Hey Paige, come over for dinner, give me a call….Ian.”

Wonderful! I don’t even have to figure out what to do for dinner after a long day on the river! I have a dinner date with the local Community Advisor! Brilliant!

I love here….except for the internet…that kinda sucks….but I still love here!