pat hoglund photo |
andrushko galyna photo |
|||||
|
today ’ s bush pilots have the luxury of Global Positioning System ( GPS ) technology , which has been a game-changer in the bush . These small screens coupled with superior weather forecasting has made bush flight considerably safer . But even with the upgrades in technology there ’ s something uniquely exhilarating about bush flight .
On a flight to and from Togiak I was aboard a deHavilland Beaver and the pilot was forced to take two routes . The more direct route from Dillingham had us on a fairly
pat hoglund photo
|
straight course to our destination . Normally , you fly in between small coastal mountains and across various river basins that empty into the sea . It ’ s a kind of “ lost world ” experience . Very surreal , enchanting and boundless as Alaska opens in all directions . The occasional shake here and bump there is a vivid reminder that you ’ re in a small plane just a few thousand feet above land . Our return trip took us a different route . A thick layer of fog and clouds enveloped the Togiak area making a flight along the coastline the only safe route back to Dillingham . With the Bering Sea on one side and a stark rocky shoreline on the other we powered our way back flying just under a heavy canopy of cloud cover . We saw brown bear and walrus on that trip back .
Another trip had me standing on the pontoon of the plane casting a topwater lure for northern pike . The pilot was on the opposite pontoon . He positioned the plane so I had a perfect shot to make a long cast down an open channel that was choked with weeds on either side . I made the cast and started the retrieve . Out of the dense weed growth a northern charged the 7-inch floating minnow and missed . The water was perfectly clear . I could see every detail in the husky northern as it hovered motionless under the lure in a suspended animation . It was evident the fish was agitated and one small twitch was all it took . The northern reacted instantly jumping the topwater in a hail of spray . It was one of the most memorable takes I ’ ve ever experienced
|
and it certainly qualifies as a unique float plane experience .
Just a few years ago I ’ d been extended a fly-in invitation into Wood-Tikchik State Park , America ’ s largest state park at 1.6 million acres . Remarkable doesn ’ t come close to defining the day . We landed on a turquoisecolored lake that meandered for miles into the distance and eventually out of sight . To
|
pat hoglund photo |