Making plans before summer is gone

Summer is half gone and I need to make a better effort to do a few trips my wife and I have planned. A combination of weather, doctor appointments, stuff that needs to be done around the house, and just everyday living always seems to get in the way. I’m planning to finally make things happen over the next two weeks. Stuff around the house can just wait!

We’re going to make a day trip with the motorhome up and over Hatcher Pass. By the time this sees print, that trip may already be made. We made the trip last fall but couldn’t make the entire circle because snow had closed the road near the top. We ended up going up on the Willow side and coming back the same way. My wife greatly enjoyed seeing the mountains up close and commented more than once about how beautiful the scenery was. That’s why we are going again.

An overnight trip we hope to make involves taking the motorhome to see the town of Hope. Neither one of us has been there, even though we have driven by the turnoff numerous times over the years. I was planning to go earlier this year to avoid the crowds which often develop once the pink salmon runs start up Six Mile Creek. Even if we end up finding time after the salmon runs start, we’ll probably still go and take the fishing gear along too. Might as well try for a fresh salmon or two if opportunity presents.

I finally dug out my inflatable raft the other day and pumped it up to see if it still held air. After a couple of days, it seems to be doing fine. I finished fully assembling it today by installing the floor, adding the oars, and finding a small anchor. I’m planning to use this to fish a local stocked lake near home, but I need to figure out an easy way to haul it to the lake. I’m finding I don’t have the endurance to assemble and disassemble the raft every time I want to use it. Leaving it rigged and ready to go would make life easier if I can haul it easily.

I have ways to do that, but the trailers are all much larger than necessary. A small, flatbed trailer – something maybe 5 by 8-foot would be perfect, but I don’t have the money to buy anything right now. Besides, I don’t want to invest money until I find if I will be able to use the raft enough to make a small trailer investment to haul it worthwhile.

In addition, silver season is fast approaching and several day trips, if the fishing warrants the effort, need to happen. And I still need to get out and find some places where I can try some surf fishing. My wife is expressing more interest in trying that, so we need to get some experience with the new rods and reels I mentioned getting a while back.

Let’s not forget shooting. I’m still fine tuning the blackpowder cartridge loads I’ve been shooting in my 38-55 Winchester High Wall rifle. I’m also waiting to hear if my one target from the recently completed Alaska Territorial shoot is a new state record, but even if it isn’t, it is still one of the best targets I ever fired in that competition.

I have been interested in the British single-shot Martini action rifle for some time. This firearm was the main British military rifle from the late 1800’s into the early 1900’s. I had the opportunity to talk with one of the competitors at the Territorials about that style gun. He has three of them he uses in various matches. While not legal to use in the blackpowder competition at the Territorials, there are other shoots locally where the gun would work fine.

Mike offered suggestions on pricing and work that would need to be done to make the gun competitive, including a possible rechambering. He also said my best chance of finding a “decent” condition firearm would probably involve an Australian cadet model. This version was used by Australian military cadets in the early 1900’s.

I was looking online at various guns and prices when I stumbled on a model 4 cadet rifle for sale in Indiana. This rifle had already been extensively reworked and rechambered into a usable caliber. I made the owner an offer, he accepted, and the rifle is on its way north.