If you are fortunate to visit an Alaska native village during the 'run' you will see fish racks drying salmon. In the interior you may also see a cache. This looks like a tiny log cabin on stilts- usually 15 ft or more up off the ground. This is where hunters would store their meat to keep it from predators. The meat freezes in cold weather and is good all winter and spring. When it comes to food,...  Read More

For many years this was the time of year when I harvested our spring and summer meat - black bear. I'd still be doing it if I had a place to hunt... but not because it's fun. For me sitting in a tree until midnight, covered with mosquitoes, is not fun. Skinning and cutting up a bear well after midnight by myself is not fun. Getting a bear roast out of the freezer is fun. Men are wired differently,...  Read More

My wife, Laura, grew up in Alaska but not in a hunting family. As the oldest child she did much of the cooking for the family when she grew up, but she said that she was too squeamish to even cut up a chicken. As a young married couple in Copper River we were allowed one subsistence caribou each. She wasn't happy about it, but I insisted that she shoot one because we needed the meat. She, however,...  Read More

I'm not as strong as I used to be. People who hunt Dall Sheep understand that an 'empty' pack when you leave camp is actually very heavy. You need binoculars, rangefinder, spotting scope and tripod. You need a scoped rifle and extra ammo. You need rain gear and warm gear and an emergency phone. You need food, water, knives and game bags. On top of that, for many years I brought a whole Dall Sheep ...  Read More

While I have crossed many glaciers in my life, there is only one time that I was actually inside of one. Friends and I were out on snowmachines and noticed and opening in a glacier. I walked up to the opening and to my surprise was looking into a beautiful, large ice cavern. I actually drove my snowmachine inside. A year later the opening was gone. You see, to all appearances glaciers are rock sol...  Read More

Though nearly the middle of May, I found myself climbing in fresh snow yesterday. Alaska is indeed a land of extremes. A number of times in my life I've heard people from Southern California complain about the monotony of continuous sunshine. That's never been my experience. Don't get me wrong, I love snow and the crisp, cold air... in winter. But this time of year I find myself anxious for the sn...  Read More

It's May 11th and I have a fresh blanket of snow the ground. About a month ago I got serious about climbing again. It's unpleasant. In fact, I'm always a little bit nauseous until my body adjusts to the exertion. Many of the things that are good for us in the long haul are difficult in the moment. Maintaining sexual purity until marriage, sticking with your marriage even when things get tough, lab...  Read More

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. I'm one of those who is blessed with a great mother, as was she. My wife and my daughters are great mothers. Being an excellent mother doesn't require perfection, it simply requires that you give yourself fully in each of your life's roles. For example, you can give 100% to being a mother, 100% to being a wife, 100% to being an employee, 100% to being ...  Read More

Satan continues to wage his war on what it is to be masculine and feminine. Sadly, many young Christians are unknowingly leading their sons and daughters into this confusion. Raise your boys to be strong- guardians, protectors, providers. No, they shouldn't be playing with dolls. Give them a hammer and some nails and a pile of scrap wood. Give them bows and slingshots and knives. Let them cook, su...  Read More

We all came from somewhere. I'm not talking about YOU, specifically, I'm talking about your 'people'- your ancestors. Every person on earth shares a common Grandfather- Noah. We all shared one and the same language, and I'm quite positive it wasn't English! Mankind was settled on an enormous plain in the Middle East, and was building a tower that reached to the heavens- without God- in spite of Go...  Read More

Some people grow up expecting others to do everything for them- to solve all of their problems- to meet all of their needs. Sadly, these wrong expectations are often learned in childhood. It's actually GOOD for people to be a part of the solutions that they need. Years ago my young granddaughter Harper wanted me to fill a small swimming pool with water so the kids could 'swim.' I told her that if ...  Read More

One of the reasons young children learn and grow so fast is that they 'believe' that they can do almost anything. Ask a kindergartner- "Can you run fast? Can you jump high? Can you draw a beautiful picture?" "Yes!  Yes! Yes!"A number of years ago as my 3 year old granddaughter Piper climbed the tiniest little 'rock wall' you've ever seen to go down a slide, I heard her say to herself, "I'm SO stro...  Read More