“Radios Off” (We’re Home)

10.15.21

Fresh dusting of snow on the sawtooth ridge across from SAFARI camp.

“Radios off” is declared over our handheld 2-way radios when the last guide is back at SAFARI camp at the end of each day. It’s symbolizes that everyone is safe and the guided fishing day is complete. So yes, we are all home safe and sound, decompressing and readjusting back to city life.

The single, most obvious highlight of this season: how incredibly nice and refreshing and energizing it was to act like normal human beings again. I don’t think we – staff and guests – realized how much we all needed to escape the suffocation of the pandemic and the pandemic/political news cycle.

(On a side note, we were very, very lucky to avoid an operational shutdown from a Covid case. THANK YOU to all guests for showing up to our camps healthy and for getting your PCR test.)

Pete, Don, Rus, Davis, Phil, Chris (AKA, Junebug, Big Worm, Obi-Don, Cookie, Savage, Snake)

Other 2021 season highlights… June and early July were cold and windy at the OUTPOST camp. The chum and king salmon runs were late. Rainbow trout numbers were a bit off, but average size up. The grayling were also larger than typical. At SAFARI camp, September was the coldest I can remember in 20 years. Fishing was exceptional overall, including a stellar silver salmon run and big dollies. The pink run was strong, the chum run light. Bear activity and sightings were unusually light (I won’t complain about one bit). Moose sightings were higher than typical.

As usual, keep an eye out for detailed fishing reports from each camp over the next couple of weeks. The OUTPOST photo gallery is already mostly ready. The SAFARI photo gallery should be up in a week or two. (Please send us your good and interesting photos.)

Andrew (far right), AKA “Sparkles,” helped out in August to early September.

Thanks again to all our guests for spending the week with us. We are honored to share our two slices of remote Alaska heaven with you.

And to an exceptional 2021 staff, Phil, Don, Davis, Chris, Andrew, Pete, THANK YOU. And thanks for keeping your glasses half full, instead of half empty. Blake, thanks for helping us get SAFARI camp up and running in the right direction.

“Radios off.”

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