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Winter Cruising "Alaska Style"Story and Photos by Ted Mattson |
A Special Day
Out nearly a month now. A wide variety of anchorages lay behind us. Change of scenery for the most part but once to avoid becoming frozen in. The others were usually oriented towards weather. Winter storms were pounding the outside waters almost daily the roar of which, if we listened closely, could be heard in the distance especially if we were sitting in glassy calm water. We always tried to be prudent enough to not put ourselves between a broad stretch of open water and from where the wind was expected to be coming. This latest move took us into a little cove that had northwest protection, a great view and the added bonus that it was the first time there.
As evening fell, a few big snow flakes settled out of the darkening sky. Barely a ripple on the water by the time we turned in. The smell of heavy snow was in the air. By morning, a winter wonderland greeted us on all sides. Maybe I would get my Christmas card photo of the boat yet. Wet thick snow clung to every surface no matter how tiny. Even the clothes line we’d put up was piled high. Carefully, two cameras in hand, I eased over the side and into the snow laden skiff not even bothering to brush off anything except the outboard. My butt settled into about ten inches of cold as I drove away from the boat and I regretted not grabbing one of the cushions in my haste. Circling close around and around the boat, I got shots from all angles. When I moved farther out, I could see several deer on a distant beach and immediately regretted not grabbing my binoculars. One was a buck for sure! The photo session was over.
Cindy was always anxious to go for a skiff ride and especially so to see deer. To give ourselves the impression that this was an important mission, we took the burnable trash along and some extra gas. The sun hadn’t yet cleared the mountains when we started out but it promised an incredible morning when it did. For us it was already an incredible day! We counted deer on nearly every patch of snow covered grass beach we passed with five, maybe six bucks among them. Two had exceptional racks. It wouldn’t take too much prodding to go back and get my bow and arrow but this day was already planned. It was Thanksgiving. Pies had been baked the day before, dinner was planned, and there were phone calls to make. Family and friends were going to be part of our celebration via our new Iridium satellite telephone we splurged on before the trip began. No, the hunting could wait. We had plenty to be thankful for without adding the hunting possibility. And thankful we were! We had our health, we had the wilderness and we had taken the time to enjoy it all. As the first speck of the sun cleared the mountains, we were holding our cold hands by the fire that burned our trash and were marveling how incredible it all was. However, we would soon learn that we were not the only creatures here who knew how to enjoy a sun filled snowy day. Back at the boat, we could see a deer standing on a distant beach. With the binoculars focused, his antlers came into view. Was it one of the bucks we’d seen earlier or had another come down from the hills to fill his belly as we’d seen the others doing earlier? As we watched, this one simply lay down in the snow and faced the sun. I’d never seen a deer lie down in my life. Always, they were getting up and running when I bumbled on to them. But here was one who was taking time out to enjoy the day just as we were. It’s a Thanksgiving memory I’ll treasure always.
Winter Cruising l
Starting Out l
We Get Visitors l
Winter Comes l
A Windy Night l
A Special Day Skipper Ted Mattson is an Alaska sailor with broad experience in Bristol Bay and especially his home, the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska's panhandle. Ted operates popular adventure sailing cruises with guests in the summer months aboard the Skookumchuck.
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