I believe that we have survived the record/near record cold temperatures of the season. I frequently speak to my brother-in-law, Lynn Johnson, who lives in Nome, Alaska. He usually knows what the weather is in our neck of the woods before we even talk, one of the benefits of modern technology. Whenever I mention the cold we are experiencing, I have the feeling that, remembering where he lives, my whining pretty much falls upon deaf ears.
As an avid outdoors person, Lynn has pretty much done it all while he has lived in Alaska. He is currently trapping and usually checks his traps daily unless there is bad weather. He said that the trapping has been tough this year compared to other years. He has caught a few fox and a mink so far. Some of the hides of the critters that he catches he sends out of state to get tanned and some he does himself. He uses much of the fur to make hats and his wife, Margaret, uses the fur when she makes parkas.
When Lynn first came to Alaska, he met a native Alaskan named Sam and they became friends. Sam was an icon of Nome and his picture was on the T-shirts and some of the clothes that are sold in gift shops throughout Alaska. I actually still have one of those T-shirts. (Never throw anything away.)
During the course of their friendship, Sam taught Lynn many things about the Alaskan outdoors which Lynn has utilized in his hunting and fishing endeavors. In talking with Lynn a few months ago, he said that he has pretty much fulfilled his dream of hunting, fishing and trapping in the Alaskan outdoors. Although he has trapped, hunted and fished for almost everything wild in Alaska, he still has that excitement in his voice whenever he catches a critter.
Lynn has, to my knowledge, trapped wolverine, wolf, fox, lynx, beaver and mink. He has put out crab pots to harvest Alaskan King crabs, which he said was down last year and to my knowledge he hasn’t put out any pots yet this year. Lynn has hunted and shot ptarmigan, caribou, moose, muskox, fox, wolf and grizzly bear. He has fished for and caught trout, grayling, pike, king salmon and silvers.
Before their cabin was destroyed in a devastating wind storm, they would go there to hunt caribou and fish for grayling. In the last couple of years, grizzly bears had ransacked their cabin and did some serious damage to it, inside and out.
Although Lynn has pretty much done it all as an outdoorsman/sportsman, he still loves to come back to Minnesota and spend time hunting and fishing in the Albert Lea area. He has a group of long-time friends who live here, and when he comes home to Twin Lakes in the fall, they do some serious bow hunting. I am pretty sure that Lynn’s wife’s favorite meat is whitetail deer.
One year when Lynn was back in Minnesota, he bought a fishing license and found a spot to catch walleyes off of shore. He told me as that trip was coming to an end that he couldn’t believe how much wildlife was around this area and how good the fishing was in so many of our lakes. I look forward to seeing Lynn and Margaret in the spring, but in the meantime, we will surely still be talking on a regular basis.
Until next time: Whether, sledding, skating, hiking or ice fishing, these are a few ways to get out of the house and enjoy a little wintery outdoors. Whenever I get in a funk, I take a long drive in the country where the beauty of the snowy countryside is not only beautiful but relaxing.
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