Roksliders in Alaska!

[colonel00]

I leave Thursday for a week long trip to do some fishing and backpacking all around the road system. I know many of you will be out fishing and some hunting seasons are already kicking off but I figured I would throw this out there in case anyone is stuck at home and is looking for an excuse to get out of the house for a day or maybe just to grab a cold beer. Below is my general schedule of events and places we plan to be stopping.

I would love to hang out and shoot the breeze if it works out. One thing I am always looking to gain more insight into is what it is really like living up there as it has been a dream to make the move and we have a tentative goal of moving within the next few years. I figure there is no better way to hear about the highs and lows than straight from you all.

Anyway, here is our tentative schedule:

Friday and Saturday - up by Denali. Probably doing some fishing at Byer's creek and Troublesome creek on Saturday. May stay up there at Byer's Lake or make our way down to the valley Saturday night.

Sunday - Heading down to Seward. Will probably stop at the conservation center during the day. Then coming back up and camping at Kenai Lake.

Monday - Planning to do a hike down the Russian River Trail first thing then heading to Valdez. Will do some fishing and stay in Valdez Monday night.

Tuesday - Some more fishing in Valdez then heading up to the Gulkana. Will camp and fish on the Gulkana that night.

Wednesday - Fish the Gulkana then head back up to Fairbanks.

Thursday - Killing the day in the Fairbanks area before flying out that night.

 

[Yellowknife]

Sounds like you are set up to see the maximum amount of road system Alaska in the shortest period of time. Should be an adventure.

If you will allow me my 2 cents from having driven all those roads...

Your schedule is actually very driving intensive. Very little fishing or hiking or visiting will get done if you stick to it. For instance, driving from the Russian River to Valdez is a very very long day of travel, and there is no way to hike at the beginning and fish at the end. Same thing with Byers - Seward - Kenai. It's possible to drive that in a day, but you aren't going to be outside the car much. If you goal is to cover the state, you have that in spades. If you goal is to fish, you might reconsider a few stops.

The last few days are more reasonable, but still cover a fair amount of ground. Very little time to "grab a beer" or talk. Good luck and have fun.

Yk

 

[Daniel_M]

Thats a way busy schedule. I'd go cross-eyed. Factor in a hand full of unknown variables, road construction and all the other travelers.

Are you starting out in FBX? If it were me, I'd fly into Anchorage and run the road system north to FBX, either up the Parks or the Richardson and stick to what is on either road system. Plenty of opportunity to fish, sight-see and hike on both. 400~ Miles from A to B, less stress, less driving and more time doing something fun.

 

[Nick Muche]

I drive ALL over the place, usually on moments notice to either head south and fish or north to do whatever... that is a lot of driving

It took us nearly 5 hours to go only 267 miles last Friday after work due to construction on the Parks Hwy...

Either way, should be fun and I hope you guys have a good time! Fish are biting all over the place, we head out on Friday for another fly in Pike trip. Fished at Montana Creek last weekend and we slayed the salmon, few nice silvers too and some great eating Trout.

I'll be around next Wed and Thurs here in Fairbanks, mostly packing for Bou trip and shooting my bow but you are welcome to stop by the house, just message me. I think there is usually some cold beer in the fridge

 

[colonel00]

Thanks for the input fellas. First, yes we are flying through Fairbanks but that is because I got free flights on Frontier via airline miles. Can't beat free! Second, yeah, it is a lot of driving. I have been up there several times and usually we take our time a little more. However, this trip is with the girlfriend and I don't want to go too extreme. Hell, last year we flew into Anchorage, drove to Whittier, took the ferry to Valdez and stayed the night, hung out in Valdez, did the glacier thing, drove up to Fairbanks and stayed the night, then came down the parks, did some touristy crap, and made it back to Anchorage to send her off as all my buddies arrived. That whole loop was done in 3 days.

If this was a "guy's" trip then I would definitely spend more time fishing and camping. The main goal for this trip is to maybe, just maybe let her see a day when the sun is out (not holding my breath) and hopefully I can get her to catch a salmon. From there we are playing it by ear. Yeah, the schedule is hectic but hardly written in stone either.

 

[kodiakfly]

If your plane diverts to Kodiak for weather and you get stuck here, let me know and I'll come get you at the airport and show you around.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[colonel00]

Heh, landed just fine in Fairbanks a little while ago. Off we go...

 

[Nick Muche]

Have fun! If you go past Montana Creek south of Denali, I'd bet you could hammer the fish this weekend, right under the bridge. Have a great weekend!

Flying out shortly, can't wait!

 

[colonel00]

Thanks Nick. We stopped around Byers shortly but all the rain got old pretty quick for the girlfriend. I heard about Montana from a few different people but didn't get a chance at it. Swung down to Seward but the rain and crowd wasn't working for her either. This trip is more for her anyway as I get to come play up here just about every year without her. Now we are setup in Valdez with the skies clearing and a smile on her face. Man I love it up here, rain, bugs, whatever, it's an amazing place.

 

[Brent49]

I don't know how long you have in valdez but there are some good hikes. You can go to Alison point and see all the salmon coming in. There is lots of people fishing and there's usually is a grizzly or two. Behind Alison point is a water fall coming down from a reservoir, the trail to get up there isn't bad at all.

 

[colonel00]

We will probably go over and fish the point tomorrow to see if the silvers are in yet. Never seen any grizzly around here but I know they are here. Usually see plenty of black bears though.

 

[Stid2677]

I should be around Thursday in Fairbanks. Have fun and be safe.

 

[colonel00]

Man, sorry I missed you! We literally spent most of the day Thursday just killing time around town. I didn't see this post or I would have jumped at the opportunity to hang out for a bit. On the bright side, I'm back in three weeks...

Oh, and to those that said it was going to be a lot of driving, well it was indeed. Due to weather and several other variables we ended up calling a couple audibles on the trip. All said and done, 1900 miles in a week. However, seeing my girlfriend finally catch a glimpse of McKinley at 10 o'clock one night and then catch her first legit salmon the next day was priceless.





Oh, and here is my trophy from this trip.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

What is your trophy?

 

[pacific-23]

Looks like an implanted fish tag.

 

[colonel00]

Yep, it was a radio tag. I was just catching and releasing and the last fish had the antenna hanging out of her mouth. At some point during my efforts to become unstuck from the mud and removing the hook, the transmitter was regurgitated.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Did you keep it in your carry on so that fish and game will think that fish swam to Missouri?