I got to talk to David on the phone today! He has very little access and time online so I am updating everyone. After arriving at the lodge on June 5th, David spent a lot of time helping get the lodge ready for the fishing season. The winter was tough on the buildings, plumbing, etc and a lot of work was needed to prepare for clients. He spent his days fixing roofs, flying to Dillingham for supplies, fuel, running boats, etc. He has had a difficult time adjusting to sleeping while it is light out all night. He said it is like dusk all night long. He spent the last week in the backcountry working from an "outcamp" at the confluence of the King Salmon & the Nushagak River north of the lodge. He stays in a outfitters tent (see pic) with another guide and his only means of communication is a satellite phone for emergencies. Clients are flown into the camp in the morning then David takes them via jetboat to fish. The clients fly back to the lodge in the evening. David really likes working in the outcamp more than guiding from the lodge. They are basically fishing for rainbows right now and his first few clients have not been very good fisherman. It has also been pretty cold there, with temps in 30's-40's and a lot of rain & wind. Doesn't make for very happy clients. He hasn't seen bigfoot or any bears yet, only some very large tracks. He says the landscape is rugged and jagged (this is his description while flying). Since the lodge can only be accessed by plane, he flies a lot and the lodge owns several planes. He was actually texting me today while flying from Anchorage and they were going 133 mph at 785 ft. Very cool! It takes 2.5 hours to get from lodge to Anchorage but Dillingham is closer and they usually go there for supplies. He leaves again on Friday (tomorrow) for the outcamp and I won't hear from him until he gets back sometime next week. He promises to have more pictures to post and I will keep everyone updated if he is not able to. Stayed tuned!
