Dennis Wise's Diary

Sept. 25

Today was the finish of our fourth day. We have had fairly good weather. Our hike in on our first day was warm, with sunshine. What a fantastic view from where we are! We have a two-minute walk to the beach at the bay from our front door. The view includes many snowcapped peaks and glaciers.

So far we have seen many seals in the water who like to watch us as we walk along the beach. We saw a large moose on our hike in on the first day. We haven’t seen any bears or wolves yet, but we see fresh tracks on the beach each day. It is only a matter of time before we see any face to face. I only hope it will be at a long distance.

So far the fishing has been fantastic. In the first three days of fishing, I personally caught nine salmon. There was at least one I wish I could have had mounted.

Tonight is a full moon. The light is so bright we can easily see the snowcapped mountains many miles away.

Sept. 30

We’ve accomplished much in the past few days. Today and the last two days have netted us 46 pints of canned salmon. We have also salvaged enough wood from the beach to build a shelf to hold the cans with storage space underneath. Today started out cool, gray and drizzly. It has progressed to a steady rain. But that provides us with a good supply of freshwater using the water catchment system I built.

Today was a strange day. Jennifer and I headed down to what we call "the bear path," which is a straight hike with a 50-yard barrier between trees. It is of high grasses and other plants. We discovered some raspberries there and marked the spot. We were heading to our fishing hole on the creek near the ocean. We found a giant lake that had been formed when high surf had pushed sand and debris over the beach to block the creek. We used some large sticks to open and channel in the sand. What started as a trickle turned into a raging river within half an hour. We headed back and gathered many berries.

Oct. 6

Two weeks finished now. The views are just fantastic. Just the other day we had been experiencing gale-force winds and rain all day. Right before sunset the rain quit. The sky opened a bit to give us a show of colors on the distant mountains on the far side of the bay. The mountains looked purple with clouds around the top. The fading sunset painted the clouds and the snow in a range of color from orange to red. There was even a patch of blue sky to add to the palette of colors.

The weather ranges from frosty, clear, warm days to cold, windy, rainy days. Another aspect of the power of nature here is the surf. Some days the sound of the surf, which is more than half a mile away, is a constant roar. We can walk down the path to our protected bay and see the waves crashing with mighty fury quite often. We even get chances to watch huge waves crash across the small strip of land that forms and protects our bay. I am always in awe of the forces of nature at work here.

Oct. 11

We finished yesterday as our fourth sunny day in a row. We took advantage of those days and cut large amounts of wood. Last evening it clouded over and rained with a little bit of snow mixed in.

This morning we could see heavy accumulations of snow on the mountains on the far side of the bay. The snow line is very low as well. Twice today we heard long, deep rumblings. We didn’t feel the ground shake, so we believe we heard avalanches from the mountains. That is just another aspect of the extreme power of nature at play in this great Alaskan expanse.

We have begun eating our home-canned salmon. I am impressed with how good it tastes. I am thankful that our salmon season was so successful. I am also thankful for the rain, which keeps us in good supply of freshwater using my rain catch system.

So far I am in awe of all the wonder and power that Alaska has shown me.

Oct. 16

We had a couple of salmon surprises recently. Yesterday I decided to try fishing again and caught a 30 inch male Coho and a female almost as long. We fried fresh salmon for supper and canned six more pints of salmon. The other salmon surprise was a dinner dish I whipped up the other night. You have to remember we have limited variety of food products, little in the way of seasoning and lots of canned salmon. That means finding new and interesting ways to prepare our salmon at the risk of getting bored of the same things over and over. I made these salmon patties and fried them on the wood burning heat stove that were out of this world.

1 can (pint) salmon
½ large onion diced
1 cup dried chopped onion
2 cups corn flour
2 oz. water
1 tsp. salt
Mix together in a bowl, form into patties. Roll in corn flour. Fry until done.

Oct. 21

We have been here more than four weeks. That means we are over a third through this experience. One of the most interesting things I have discovered is the lack of a need for keeping time. There are no time clocks, no rush hour, no TV programs which need to be watched. Everything seems to be governed by cycles in nature. The cycle of daylight dictates what activities we have light for. The weather cycle also dictates what we do. The bright days with sunshine allow us to do simple tasks outdoors such as heating water on an open fire for laundry or bathing.

Nice days also allow for gathering wood easier and much drier. However the rain cycles provide us with fresh water so we don’t have to go out and have to carry water back to the cabin great distances. After this time I think I like using these cycles, each of which has its own advantages. So I guess I will wake up tomorrow morning and see which cycle we are in and determine my daily chores by what it brings.

Oct. 30

A lot of changes have occurred recently due to high tides and heavy surf. A few days ago we were heading down the bear trail toward the ocean and beach only to find the stream had once again been dammed up by sand deposit from wash over from the beach. I worked one day trying to once again open the stream up but this time I had to dig a lot more sand. We had to leave to get back before high tide cut off our path to the cabin. High water had cut off the use of the bear trail. The high tide and surf once again blocked the stream. This was not a good thing because we had left a large cache of logs along the bear trail which was now in the water. Fortunately nature took its own hand and the high tide and surf cut out a new channel for the stream directly into the ocean instead of the bay. I was amazed to see how powerful nature can be and in such a short time. The lake has mostly drained and our cache of wood is now once again available.