Getting back to nature can be barely tolerable …

Out and About, by Howard Delo

Most everyone who calls the Valley home enjoys the outdoors in some manner. It's not too hard to count the numbers of anglers interested in catching the derby-winning king salmon or a limit of trout from a local lake. Just drive up to the mouth of Willow Creek or take a boat ride over to the Deshka River on a Saturday morning.

When the permit drawing results are published in July, take a minute and look at how many successful applicants list somewhere in the Valley as home. Now multiply that number by 10 to include the applicants who were not successful in the drawing and you can get a feel for the number of hunters living here.

Get a copy of the local phone book and count how many ATV and snowmachine dealers are in the Valley, or just down the road in Anchorage. Now look up boat and marine dealers. You will probably be surprised at the final counts.

Take a look at any of the local lakes where houses are situated and there's a good chance you will see a small floatplane tied up in front of one or more of the houses on the lake. There are several landing strips for wheel planes located around the Valley, with some even traversing folks' front yards.

Look at the number of State Parks sites in the Mat-Su. Don't forget the many public-use hiking trails, several of which become cross-country ski trails in the winter. The dog-mushers have miles of their own trails and share many more with other winter users. I wouldn't even want to guess the total miles of snowmachine trails that appear once the winter snows are deep enough. And we haven't even mentioned snowshoeing yet.

Folks in the Valley definitely enjoy the Alaskan outdoors, during all the seasons of the year. While there are spirited discussions about consumptive verses non-consumptive use of renewable resources and quiet verses motorized use of trails and waterways, the fact remains than most Valley residents get outdoors.

Some folks really take this "back to nature" approach seriously, though.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, some folks who are regulars at Susitna Landing had just come off the Kashwitna River after floating down from the highway crossing. They had rounded a bend in the river near a spot known as the "Honey Hole," when the sight of a couple "being amorous" on the riverbank complete in their naked splendor greeted the rafters. I'm not sure who was more embarrassed -- the floaters or the couple.

In early June, I was up in the Nancy Lakes area doing some canoeing and fishing for both northern pike and trout. I had the lake to myself for several hours until, during my lunch break, another canoeist arrived at the launch site. He was by himself and planned to "do a little canoeing" in a beautifully hand-made wooden canoe.

After launching the canoe, he paddled around my location and back into the bank a ways down the lake, obscured by the trees. I wasn't paying much attention, but thought it odd that he had gone the way he did. When he next appeared out on the lake, paddling for the opposite shore, he was obviously working on an "all-over" tan.

Now, don't get me wrong -- I admire the human form, especially the female type, but there is a time and place for everything. If you're out with your mate and the urge strikes, go back into the tent or the back seat of your vehicle or, better yet, rent a motel room. If you feel the need to "let it all hang out" while canoeing, at least make sure no one else is using the lake at the time. Use a little discretion.

Oh, and don't be surprised if you're seen anyway. Remember all those other folks who like to get outdoors, too?

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist living in Big Lake. Send your comments and ideas to editor@frontiersman.com, or call (907) 352-2268 and leave a message for Howard.