Hunting 2017 – PHOTO journal

During our September trip to Grayling, not only were we able to see the church building repaired to the point of being able to meet in it (another post!), but God provided the opportunity to hunt. Our friend Marvin volunteered to be our captain and guide, taking us up the Yukon River, across the Yukon slough, and into the Innoko River. We crisscrossed amazing wild country for 400+ river miles of hunting, spanning 4 days and 3 nights. We are thankful for a great family adventure!

DAY 1

Jared bagged three grouse on a morning’s walk, before we loaded the boat later in the day.

Patiently waiting for the boat to be loaded up

Ready to put out from Grayling, Sept 4

Setting up camp, first night

DAY 2

Our gracious host

Loading up after a cozy first night at Marvin’s cabin

Hunting can be rough on a little kid

During the mooses’ afternoon siesta, we took a break as well

“Shannon’s Lake”: thousands of waterfowl are swirling through this widened end of the slough

Second night’s cabin

It was a pretty rough walk to get to the outhouse

Sunset over the Innoko River, Sept. 5

The heavens declare the glory of God

The end of a spectacular day

DAY 3

The first picture belies an easy day. There are no pictures before this one at about 6:00pm because nothing was worth taking. 🙂 It rained most of the day, and we saw nothing. It was getting fairly discouraging. As on the previous days, Marvin kept stopping the boat for us to pray. And then, around a curve in the slough, there he was! We weren’t sure at first whether or not it was a cow, but then we caught sight of the forks, and James put him down with one clean shot. We praised the LORD for seeing fit to provide for us this way. During the 2 1/2 hours that it took to clean, skin, and bag, it never rained beyond a few stray sprinkles, and there were no bugs as had plagued us on all the stops on the days before. Thank you, Lord!

God’s provision for the winter

DAY 4

We spent in the night in another cabin, quite cozy from the continuing rain. The next morning, we headed down the Innoko toward its confluence with the Yukon. About 30 miles downriver, we stopped in Shageluk to pick up some fuel, then made a side detour into a lake Marvin had in mind to give Christa opportunity to catch her first fish. It did not disappoint: pike struck, and soon Christa had reeled in a couple. Made for tasty eating that night once we got back to Grayling!

Christa’s first fish: northern pike

We still had 65 miles from Shageluk to the Yukon, and another 65 from there to Grayling. Marvin was concerned that the Yukon might be too rough for us to make it up, but after only about 20 minutes of rough water, it smoothed out for a pleasant ride home. More incredibly beautiful country to soak in…