Outdoors

Melting snow reveals different treasures for dog than it does man
FAIRBANKS — This is my dog Raymond’s favorite time of the year. That might sound a little strange, considering he’s a retriever. As a water dog — half chocolate Labrador and half Chesapeake Bay re...
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Bird’s death is cause for moment of melancholy reflection
FAIRBANKS — Hearing the “thump” on the window Sunday morning, I looked up just in time to see a flurry of loose feathers fluttering down through the air. It wasn’t a good sign. My son, Logan, was ...
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January cold snap was bad in Fairbanks, but it could have been worse
FAIRBANKS — Give yourself a pat on the back with that frostbitten hand of yours. We made it. After enduring a January that even the sourest of Fairbanks sourdoughs would have a hard time topping —...
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Meeting offers chance to speak for or against antlerless moose hunts
Correction: Meeting will be held at Pike's Waterfront Lodge. FAIRBANKS - First of all, let’s get the political formalities out of the way. When we talk about antlerless moose hunts, we’re rea...
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Skiing your age is enough to make a guy feel old
When Byron Broda passed me like I was standing still during the Fairbanks Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks’ annual Ski Your Age In Kilometers event, I knew it was going to be a long day. That’s no sli...
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According to the Audubon Society, the red-breasted nuthatch is becoming more common in Alaska. / Nancy DeWitt photo
Feeding birds keeps us, not them, alive during the winter
FAIRBANKS - Let’s face it, the birds don’t need us as much as we need them. The chickadees, redpolls, woodpeckers and pine grosbeaks would get along just fine without our assistance. They don’t n...
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Take it from me, it takes a few K to get your ski legs under you
FAIRBANKS - For someone like me, who is still trying to grasp the concepts of balance and coordination, the first ski of the season is always an adventure. It is not in any way like riding a bike....
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The Goodpaster Challenge: Fairbanks businessman offers $500 to anyone who reaches his sign
FAIRBANKS - There is a sign hanging between two trees high on the Goodpaster River, actually it’s probably Eisenmenger Creek, that reads, “If you can ready this, you must be driving an SJX jetboat...
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We got our moose, the freezer is full, life is good
FAIRBANKS - “Did you get a moose?” That’s the question everybody is asking these days, and I’m glad to report that, yes, we did get a moose. As is usually the case, the bull appeared out of nowhe...
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Lost spotting scope makes its way to rightful owner
FAIRBANKS — David Sowards was sighting his rifle in for an upcoming sheep hunt earlier this month when he accidentally walked off and left his spotting scope on a shooting bench under the pavilion ...
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Tim Mowry/News-Miner Every Chitina dip-netter’s goal — a tub full of Copper River salmon.
Dip netting in the Copper River is never easy and this year was no exception
FAIRBANKS — As rain and night began to fall, reality began to set in. Brian O’Donoghue and I had been dip netting in the Copper River for 15 hours and had 16 salmon between the two of us. While th...
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Fairbanks dip-netter has one whale (or seal) of a fish story
FAIRBANKS — At first, Ken Thompson thought he had caught a big, old, nasty king salmon in his dip net. Thompson, 53, was dip netting at Chitina with his two sons, Stefan and Michael, and a family ...
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News-Miner outdoors editor Tim Mowry shows off a small sampling of the bungee cords he has picked up along Alaska roadsides. Photo by Logan Mowry
Passion for road-killed bungee cords is normal, not neurotic
FAIRBANKS — Get a load of this: My wife, Kristan, thinks I’m crazy because I collect bungee cords that I find lying on the side — or in the middle — of the road. Can you believe that? Who in their...
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Volodia Petropavlovsky of France takes a break from loading his canoe Saturday to pose for a picture at Chena Pump Landing on the Tanana River. The 21-year-old Frenchman is paddling approximately 1,200 miles down the Tanana and Yukon rivers from Tok to the Bering Sea. He started his trip in Tok on July 14 and left Fairbanks on Saturday after a five-day break to resupply. Photo by Bob Sands
North Pole carpenter lends helping hand to young French canoeist with grand adventure plan
FAIRBANKS — Bob Sands and his girlfriend, Natalie Luther, were riding their horses behind the Flint Hills Refinery in North Pole on July 24 when they came upon 21-year-old Volodia Petropavlovsky si...
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Players participating in the Monday night doubles disc golf league flip their discs to determine which teams will be matched up on Monday evening at Birch Hill Recreation Area. John Wagner/News-Miner
Disc golf sees popularity rise in Fairbanks
FAIRBANKS — Jerry Evans never thought he would be one of those guys. You know the guys we’re talking about. The guys who carry their own disc golf bags filled with an assortment of every golf disc...
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The dangers of dip netting at Chitina shouldn’t be down played
FAIRBANKS — I’ve done it, and I’m sure a lot of you have, too. I’ve dip netted at Chitina without wearing a life jacket or being tied off to a rock or tree. I don’t do it anymore, but I’ve done it...
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Scott Jerome climbs up the Far Mountain Traverse Trail shortly after leaving Chena Hot Springs in the AlaskAcross, an approximately 70-mile wilderness race from Chena Hot Springs to Circle Hot Springs. Jerome and partner Joel Pierson finished the race in 32 hours, 18 minutes. Joel Pierson photo
Nobody told AlaskAcross racers it was going to be easy — and it wasn't
FAIRBANKS — Lying on the ground curled up in a ball, sick to his stomach, screaming and writhing in pain from cramping hamstrings, an uncomfortable thought crossed Scott Jerome’s mind. “I thought,...
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Bob Robins lands a sockeye salmon as he, Eric Engman, middle, and Jonah Wright, right, work an eddy on the Copper River on Thursday, July 29, 2010, outside of Chitina. Sam Harrel/News-Miner
It looks like a banner year for dip netting in the Copper River at Chitina
FAIRBANKS — It’s time to dig out your dip nets and make room in the freezer for some fresh salmon. The Copper River personal-use dip net fishery opens at 8 a.m. Saturday, and there are already mor...
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Dog days of summer
FAIRBANKS — It’s funny how little things can be a big part of your life. For me, one of those things is taking our two dogs, Hobbes and Ray, for their evening swim. Almost every night during the s...
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Tim Mowry examines his summer Alaska to-do list
FAIRBANKS — Even though summer isn’t quite here yet, I have decided to go ahead and release my 2011 summer list of things to do. I figure the sooner I get started, the better the chance that I migh...
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