Cuttin' Down the Christmas Tree

Continuing the annual tradition - Amy and I headed for Lowman Pass to cut down a tree. We are gathering quite a following of people who are joining us in the hills. This year Dan, Donielle, Sawyer (his first trip), Jeremy and Jen all made the trip. Oddly enough, this year there was no snow. A little easier to move around in the woods, but sort of strange to hunt for a tree in the mud.

Notice the ax in Amy's hand - that is why I look a little nervous.

New mom and pregnant mom hauling the christmas tree. Apparently Dan and I could not handle the load.

Sawyer on his first tree cutting excursion. Don't get between Amy and her ax.

Like good hunting dogs, Cayenne and Goose found a posse of grouse.

Finding Chukar on the South Fork

I went to the hills to yet again search for some chukar and managed to find someone to drag with me. So Ted, Cayenne and Ella all headed to the rimrock of the South Fork of the Boise to try and find a few of those hard to find chukar. Oddly enough we stumbled into a covey that obliged us and I came home with three. On top of that, it was a strikingly beautiful day. Hard to believe it is actually December. A bike ride in my shorts on Saturday and a chukar hunt in my t-shirt on Sunday, all in December. Hard to believe.
Shooting clay pigeons on the rimrock of the canyon. The South Fork is a gem of river, not even an hour from the front door of the house. Awesome.
Post-hunt beverage in a great location. If there was more sunlight, those trout at the bottom of the canyon would have been visited as well.
Although Ella is not the greatest hunting dog on the planet, she gives it a good effort.
Great sun-set out the backdoor of the house. I was grillin' the chukar and noticed the great light - had to snap a picture.

Chukar Hunting (or hiking with a gun...)

We've tried very, very hard to find chukar this fall. But much like last year, if we were hunter - gatherers we would be doing a lot of gathering. We've had some beautiful days and a handful of chukar, but nothing like the days where we would come back with 6, 8 or 10 after a short walk.

Goose doing his usual thing - cooling off in any body of water he can find


Amy, Goose and Cayenne (yep, that is pregnant Amy still going hunting). Cheetos mom kicks ass.

Late Fall on the Big and Little Wood

Amy had a conference in Sun Valley last weekend so we went up to visit Britt, and of course, made a couple ventures out to try and find some fish. Although the fishing was tough, it beats a poke in the eye. We tried to find the Big Browns on the Little Wood, but as beautiful as the river is, no fish to be found. I will have to go back and see if there are more fish come summer. Incredible terrain, and lots of holding water. If I was a fish in Silver Creek, I would move down river and make the Little Wood my home.

Lulu keeping an eye on the fishin' holes

Aspens along the river

The Posse -

Grande Ronde River Steelheading

Decided to meet a portion of the JRC posse over in Northeast Oregon to give another attempt at the Grande Ronde steelhead. It is always tough to go to a new river and expect to catch fish, so it was not a great surprise to work very hard for the 3 - 4 fish landed. Regardless of the outcome, fishing for steelhead is always a good time and worth the trouble.

Goose checking out the scenery

A nice GR steelie

Not a huge fish, but a good fish

Goose keeping an eye on things

It was definitely not a dry weekend on the GR.

If you want to be consumed with a task - just plan a remodel!

We embarked on a remodel with a time and monetary budget in mind. We actually might of come in under budget and only slightly longer than we planned on taking, but both were crazy to maintain. It was fun in a self deprecating and masochistic way. There is a real sense of accomplishment and we certainly love the end product, but in the 16th hour on a Saturday night, in 93 degree heat - peeling asbestos laden linoleum is not exactly a fun way to lose 10 pounds. All said and done, it was worth it, but there were moments I was not so sure.

The final product (or nearly final) - This should be at the end, just so you can see what we started with.





The first hole punched into the wall - totally committed now.
Lots of dust and debris

Oh Boy! (Or... Oh Girl) - The real adventure has begun....

Yep, it is true, a little Udesen / Ambrosier is on the way. Right now its name is Cheeto - When we first saw it (about 2 months ago) it sort of looked squiggly and was shaped a bit like a cheeto - It has since morphed into an actual little being - 10 fingers, 10 toes and it is shaping up to look less alien and more person-like. We are very excited and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Deschutes Steelhead Fest

Lucky enough to make a quick trip to the Deschutes on short notice. Hastily took a Friday off and headed out of town on Thursday. We hit the river early Friday and fished until Sunday. I think the river was slow for most on the river, but we managed to land 12 ( I think). Fred was especially hot with a grand total of 7 landed fish. Pretty stinking awesome.

First week of school (classroom in the mountains)

I occasionally have to remind myself (especially when I am overloaded) what a cool school I work at. For the first week of school I lead a group of ten very interesting and talented students into the Sawtooth wilderness. It is a great way to get to know students, start the year off and get students involved in challenging environments.




Here are most of the kids from the trip - 7th through 12th grade. A wonderful bunch of students who worked very hard and had great attitudes.

Halfway to Alice lake in the Sawtooths. They were in warp speed mode. With my 70 pound pack, I was trying to keep up.

Alice lake from above

Like any good 8th grade boy, Stearn decided he needed to make a raft to explore Alice Lake. Nevermind the ice cold water.

Upper Nushagak - Crazy Fishing Continues

Amy was somehow the master of big fat silvers. She probably caught three of the five biggest silvers we boated.

The guy who saved the day. We got the Ekwok and they were not selling gas. We were hosed, but he came through and gave (yes gave) us 15 gallons of fuel to use to get to Koligenek. All we had to do was return with a full 15 gallons and his tank. What a great guy.
Great camps were the norm.
Enjoying our nightly, post-fishing cocktail in the sun. Not a bad way to end the day.
Doubles were certainly very common. Tag team smack-down.
















Indeed, that is a moo-moo. A long story.... The toughest guy in Alaska did not bring a pair of shorts up river (as it never gets hot in Alaska) so after spending a night in the teacher housing in the little village of Koliganek he located an "large" woman's skirt in the apartment and decided it would work. Apparently Jeff is comfortable with his feminine side.















I like to refer to this as the "greasy mitts" photo pose. I am guessing this is the proper way to hold a fish just prior to release.
















Yet another Nush Rainbow.














Don't mess with the master of the silvers.


The mayham continued:

Scouting the Kulutuspak River. After 15 years I managed to locate the microscopic river off one of the Nush braids. Hard to believe I was still possessed the "force" of the Nush.

Clearly it has been at least 3 - 4 minutes since the last fish was landed.

The unbelievable sight of crossing the bay with nary a wave. Typically a risky run across tide flats and shifting sands, it was easy with the glassy surface.

Should have brought the waterskis.

Last day from atop the mountain behind Jeff's house with Tikchik State Park behind us.