Pelicans in the Mist...a sunrise paddle on the Fish River

With a day off on Monday, I set the alarm for 5pm and fortunately woke up at 5:15am to do a sunrise paddle on the Fish River. I loaded up the car with kayak and warm clothes (it was about 32F when I set off) and drove up Hwy 98 to the boat ramp on the Fish River. The stars were clear and bright, and a little dark blue was showing on the Eastern horizon. I got to the boat ramp and assembled the boat in the freezing cold before setting off in a nice mist with cold hands and a brightening sky. At that point, I was bundled up in windbloc fleece, spray jacket, hat, and neoprene paddling gloves. There is a vast amount of wildlife at that time in the morning, and you can see a changing of the guard between nighttime predators and their daytime counterparts. I caught a racoon ambling away from the shoreline, leaving behind a nice pile of clamshells. Occasionally, herons and pelicans would appear out of the mist, flying low over the water. I also had a couple loons (?) surface next to the boat, scaring both of us as they suddenly saw me when the surfaced and took off screeching right next to my ear. Near the end of the paddle, as the mist started to clear, I saw a falcon or hawk...looked like a Peregrine Falcon, which stands out in my mind from an old Hardy Boy's book. Anyway, it was a great paddle, started out bundled up in the cold and dark and finished in the sunshine with all the warm gear stuffed into the cockpit.

Fish River Pictures

Alaska

Some good pics from Alaska...great trip, highly recommend the forest service cabins in the woods to anyone visiting. Apparently, you can charter a float plane to take you to just about any of them. $70, you can't get anywhere from Mobile for that little :)

Anyway, it was a great trip with lots of hiking in the snow and some good Alaskan coffe from Ravens Brew.