Posted on 12/30/2013 7:41:29 PM PST by smokingfrog
Ron Smith never could sleep on an airplane. So he used that travel time to write a book instead.
It only took seven round trips between Texas and Alaska to write 15 chapters. The result: "How Not To Die Hunting In Alaska."
While that may elicit a chuckle or two, Smith has written true stories from personal experience, and there is something to be learned from experiences he shares.
"Anybody who has hunted in Alaska has stories to tell," said the longtime Alaskan, who now divides his time between Alaska and Texas. He is an professor emeritus of biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
"I hate just sitting there like a lump," he said. "So I wrote these chapters on the plane. It's a repertoire of all the hunting trips I've been on. I organized it into chapters."
Each chapter focuses on a different lesson.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsminer.com ...
*** If its below 70F Im finding something with sleeves and drinking hot coffee.***
Onesie flannel pajamas and hot coco.
Seriously?
I remember going on a hike outside of town from Valdez back in 89. I was a Coastie and my ship was in Valdez. I checked out my personal .357 to carry of my hike. I had a nice walk and saw some great bits of Alaska. In hindsight I think I might have carried more gun than that.
And you can talk about ZeroCare with the relatives.
=running away=
Me too!
Used to snag em when legal.... More of a San Juan quality waters sort below the Navajo Lake Dam these days. Trout there are easy and fun. Have fun up in Alaska Bert !!
Remember the bears have no limits....:o)
Stay safe and Merry New Year !
After living in Alaska now for nearly 22 years I believe the biggest number of injuries is from being accidentally shot at by other hunters at long range, falling off or being pinned under an ATV, your air transportation has a mishap, and then an occasional lost hunter.
Carry a sat phone, carry a laser pointer that is a survival beacon, not a regular laser mind you, a good one can be seen over 5 miles away,a top quality Leatherman tool, layers and layers or waterproof gear, really good boots, I prefer the Muck brand boots.
I feel like a whimp here in Ontario—I move to sleeves and coffee at -25F, layers at -35F, and don’t go out unless you have to at -40.
On second thought, I have spent so long in Canada, that I have gone native—I read you wrong, taking 70F to mean -70F. While I am fluently bilingual in C/F I have adopted the local mentality of not bothering with the - for certain portions of the year. (It has been above 0C here for about five hours in the past month, and God only knows when it will be above freezing next—between December and March here one only needs the - when one is in single digits). By March, the girls are breaking out the short skirts if it gets anywhere near freezing. On the positive side, the days in April (and sometimes March) where one can go hiking through the snow in weather that is 60F or above are glorious.
***More of a San Juan quality waters sort below the Navajo Lake Dam these days.***
OH, my favorite swimming hole! Next was Cutter Dam till the Navajos ran us out, then Jackson Lake, before they changed the road and made it harder to get to.
Now I have to swim in slimy Oklahoma and Arkansas lakes.
1. Don’t go hunting alone.
Oooops...okie and R-Kansas mud ponds .... Dang !
Merry New Year !!!
Stay safe !!!
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