Sweet smell of summer

Resslin' Around by Casey Ressler

Sniff, sniff, sniff. What's that smell? It's the smell of summer - or at least the first camping trip of the season, which has a way of aromatically waking you up from winter.

On my first camping trip of the year, which took place last weekend, I got to where I was fishing (you didn't think I'd name the stream, did you?), and it was time to revive the senses.

I busted out that classy-smelling cologne Alaskans have come to enjoy - deet. One squirt from the aerosol can instantly takes you back to every summer you have ever experienced in Alaska. It's at once both obnoxious and comforting, in a weird way - for me, at least, the smell of bug dope means I'm doing something I love, probably either fly-fishing or playing softball. I don't associate that pungent aroma with bad things.

I chuckled to myself as I sprayed my neck and arms. For years, I've been telling one of my best friends, who is single, that he needs to start wearing real cologne and not this "Alaska cologne" all summer, because he'd probably find a girlfriend. I told him his chances with the ladies certainly didn't improve by spending every weekend fishing with me, but it didn't matter. I could count on him pulling up to my house every Friday night, ready to fish the weekend away with no worries.

Alone, I sprayed down my head with the bug dope, swearing about how nasty it smelled. Unfortunately, he took my advice - with his girlfriend, he was playing Scrabble or Yahtzee (or whatever single people do with their girlfriends before they finally become wives, and the guy can go fishing again) instead of chasing rainbow trout and grayling. I can't say I approve of these new developments.

After I was done fishing, I pitched my tent and made my campfire, which aroused the nasal senses again. There is no other smell in the world quite like that of a campfire, and the scent always reminds me of important life moments that were shared around the flicker of a flame. Sitting around a campfire, with the unmistakable smell of smoke lingering in the air, there have been plenty of laughs shared with close friends, as well as some tears shared with best friends. It's where I've learned some of the best news in friends' lives, and some of the worst news that could be shared. That musky scent of campfire smoke has been a part of both extremes.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor.