Yesterday was a very typical from the standpoint of provision. I had salmon for lunch, moose for dinner and wild blueberries for dessert. Salmon and wild game has been my diet for decades. In fact, Laura and I never bought any kind of meat our first 11 years of marriage. We've been blessed to live on dall sheep, black bear, caribou, moose and salmon. For me, there is something intensely gratifying...  Read More

Rain turned me back again. Unless other people are counting on me, I seldom head out into the mountains when it's raining anymore. Don't misunderstond me- if I had a cabin or was coming back to my house, I would hunt all day in the rain. That doesn't bother me a bit. But to get drenching wet 'on my way' to hunt and then crawl into a tiny tent dripping wet (a small tent that got soaking wet when I ...  Read More

40° and rain- snow in the high mountains- welcome to August in Alaska. But when the sun comes out... oh, man... there is no more glorious place on Earth. Though God placed the life here, the battery- the engine that powers it all- is the sun. Yet even the sun has a power behind it. God created it. He spoke and the sun gave us light, He spoke and the sun was darkened, and He spoke and the sun stood...  Read More

Last time I forgot my rope and my saw and my shovel. Heading into Alaska's wilderness is not like hunting in any other place. Though it's August, you must be prepared for snow. You must be prepared for 40° and rain. You must be prepared to survive on your own in the wilderness, because you never know what you might encounter. Now- try to fit everything you'll need in a backpack, PUT ON the pack, a...  Read More

I am thankful for the opportunities God gives me to preach. But if my ONLY witness for him is preaching, I am missing out on what it means to truly be a follower of Christ. My goal is to be a witness EVERYWHERE to EVERYONE I encounter.'Religion' only meets on Sunday (and weddings and funerals). Relationships are the most vital part of daily life. In God we have a Father, Lord, Savior, Counselor, F...  Read More

Every muscle was taut- arms, shoulders, legs- as I continued to hold the machine 'almost' upright- 'almost' to the tipping point where it would land upright on its wheels. I was talking to God out loud the whole time. The machine was still idling, and I only had two options: 1) give up and let the machine settle back on its side under the mucky water; or, 2) gently feather the throttle in the hope...  Read More

If I relaxed for even a moment, the machine would be back on its side, half underwater, in a deep, ugly muckhole. My arms were stretched as high as I could reach and yet under the pressure of a significant amount of weight, but because I was standing nearly to my waist underwater in a deep rut, I wasn't quite tall enough to push it upright onto its wheels. What I needed was power outside of myself...  Read More

This was not life-or-death, but it was most definitely an emergency situation. My gun boot was under the sludgy water, my gas can was bobbing up-and-down in the water behind me,  and the only solution was for me to stand up a machine and gear that weighs well over 1,200 pounds. On my first attempt at lifting, the machine didn't even budge. I was asking, "Lord, help me. Help me. Help me, Jesus. Hel...  Read More

I was standing almost hip deep in the grey, muddy water- in the deepest part of the bog. My 1,200 pound ATV was laying on its side, half under water with the handlebars submerged somewhere around my knee level. My body was the only thing keeping it from rolling completely upside down. With 2 or 3 other guys to help, it would simply have been an ugly moment to laugh about, but by myself, it was a s...  Read More

I forgot rope and a tow strap. Hunting solo with an ATV requires thoughtful preparation. It is very common, especially when going through mucky terrain, to need far more than 50 feet of winch cable. Trees don't grow in the muckholes, and without another machine, trees are all you have for an 'anchor' to winch out. I usually have a tow strap and 100 feet of heavy rope. Because I didn't have those t...  Read More

The mountains are calling. Something about the wilderness stirs my soul. We were created to live in perfect harmony with the natural world. I'm already anticipating the mixture of scent coming from the. fireweed, spruce, and lush green. The stillness is only broken by songbirds, flowing water and the wind. Fall colors are full on at higher elevations- yellow, orange and red, with a massive carpet ...  Read More

During the summer a truck could drive on this trail, so I was leading the  heavy equipment in. We had to 'walk it in' (drive it) about 6 miles. Our piece of equipment was half off the trail with the right two wheels in a muckhole and perhaps 4 feet lower than the left two wheels (which were still on the trail). We brought along two heavy chains, but I did not believe that my truck could pull it ou...  Read More