THE ATLANTIC SALMON RESERVE
The Atlantic Salmon Reserve was founded in the year 2003 by Peter C. Power who was appointed “Adviser (Sovetnik) to the Governor for International Tourism” in June, 2007. The ASR is the world's first conservation area for Atlantic Salmon, Sea Trout & Wild Brown Trout and Arctic Char. Fly fishing is available on the Kharlovka, Eastern Litza, Rynda and Zolotaya rivers through the Northern Rivers Company in Russia where the territory is known as: Дом для лосося
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"Admittedly, 'catching fish', as has often been pointed out, is by no means the be-all and end-all of angling. Is it not rather the surmounting of difficult problem coupled with delightful surroundings and pleasant company which is the over-riding attraction? Does not the appreciation of and the attempt to understand all that lives in or around the river also count for a great deal? Likewise the self-control which is necessary if the fisherman is to arrive at even a moderate level of skill, and the ability to submerge individual aspirations, intense though they may be, in the camaraderie of angling friends and companions". John Ashley-Cooper Latest Newsor telephone: +44 (0)1865 883063 The Kharlovka Report: Week 26 Ending Friday, 27-Jun-08. You could feel the excitement and anticipation brewing early on as we led our latest clan of fishing addicts across the sunny Murmansk tarmac and up to the improved VIP lounge. With just enough time to wet their whistles, check the passports for the third time and then swing by the free Lu, we were transferring through in no time. From the moment the massive blades on the Russian MI-8 helicopter began to turn, you could see a them all take a deep sigh, each wondering what this long awaited adventure back into big salmon paradise would bring to them. No turning back now, we all slid our red ear protectors' snuggly into place and sat glued to the windows fantasizing about our silver chances that surely lie ahead.  Our magical life here above the Arctic Circle often involves going from one extreme to another. After being held back for so long by our late season conditions, last week we enjoyed a variety of summer weather that was at times, almost too pleasant to be true. In fact, we might have been better off on several mornings tanning ourselves along the riverbanks as the baking sun and high temperatures in the upper 20's - made the fishing somewhat trickier. In between all the sunscreen, there was also plenty of unpredictable wind along with the odd afternoon thundershower upstream. Finally towards the end of the week, Mother Nature decided that the Russians were now burnt enough, covering us all back up once again with those low fishy clouds.  While all the nice weather did make for some very enjoyable days along the rivers, we continue to be challenged around here by our high water situation. Starting out at a mighty 70cm on the Kharlovka home pool scale, we slowly dropped an average of 3cm a day during the week, down to a current reading of 48cm. Although we must be catching up, we are still a good 20cm higher than we should normally be for this time of year. Only the bravest dared to battle the heavy flows on our upper rivers last week and were confined to their bank, as the sweeping currents made any thought of crossing the upper rivers next to impossible. Nevertheless, our salmon are arriving in great numbers, currently leaping their way straight through the lower beats to find plenty hiding places in the heavy waters further upstream. There are worse things in life than being surrounded by lots of promising water, beautiful weather, ridiculous Arctic comfort, and of course - massive multi sea winter salmon. Just ask our ol' friend Ian who has been fishing the Kola since it all began in 89. Although he has already had his 40+er here with us, along with many others in the 30's - Ian has obviously learned to never stop believing pulling in another dozen memories for his fishing log, including a stunningly fresh 24.5 pounder out of the Snowbank pool on a very first cast. Or how about Gordon who picked out a quick 10 salmon in two days before being swept away for another go over on the Rynda. And let's not forget about Neil, who fished up to the buzzer each session landing another 23 of our Northern Rivers salmon - including a trio of proper fish in their 20's to add to his running total of over 5000 salmon.
However the most obvious case of fishing addiction has to go out to our crazy Icelandic friend - Hilly. We may just have to add on another building to the Kharlovka village for this madman, as he will be fishing here with us again next week on his third visit already this season! We are starting to get concerned if he is going to have enough Sneldas to get him through after showing off his skills at both of our Waterfalls landing over a dozen salmon including a fine triplet of fresh 18 pounders. How many salmon does it take to have the time of your life? Considering that the next cast could bring the fish you have always dreamed of, it makes things all that more interesting around here! Although it took a bit of creativity to tempt the first 70 salmon out during the bright start, things got a lot more exciting for us once the clouds and mist came back around. On our final two days, all tuned up and casting like champions, the team made up for lost time by landing another 58 salmon, putting a nice silvery exclamation point on our week.  All the joys of summertime now seem to finally be arriving to our forgotten far northern coast. Passing over the longest days of the year, with the Arctic's 'white nights' currently at their brightest, we all watched on as the tundra suddenly burst into gear. Proud patches birch now wave green on the afternoon breeze. Bright yellow buttercups are popping up to greet us by the thousands. Ptarmigan are finally able to hide their chicks amongst the lush ferns and bush. A small brown bear has been protecting our interests along the high cliffs of the lower Litza. A giant white hare was spotted bouncing between the disappearing snow banks. Reindeer are now seen on almost every Litza flight, surely with the odd mozy not far behind.  Salmon are beginning to stuff their way into the large water pools below the falls, showing on the surface continuously throughout the day. With the odd small pocket of ice still dotting a few lochs upstream, along with all those snowdrifts that remain hidden among the northern faces, river temperatures continue to flow nicely around 13 degrees C. As soon as the water level drops another 20cm and we get a few more of those fishy clouds back, we are going to have a big silver Bonanza around here. So stand by our late season friends - Your time will soon be here! Justin.
The Kharlovka Report: Week 25 Ending Friday, 20-Jun-08. With the exception of a little late week fog that seemed to linger along the coast, reminding us where we were all at, there was actually no way that we could complain about the weather around here last week! At last, Mother Nature had decided that enough was enough, as the bright red - white wind socks finally swung around to the south, escorting our latest group of good friends back into big salmon paradise. From the moment they all sprung out of the helicopter to hug their guides, to the last raise of our shot glasses on the Friday evening, conditions remained very fishy throughout. In addition to all the bright blue, there were also plenty of soft high clouds, along with those encouraging warm breezes from the south which no doubt - helped us all to cast like champions. To top things off, there was even a bit of late night drizzle on our roofs, which surely made the team sleep sounder with their dark silver thoughts.
Literally overnight, we were stashing the balaclavas, gloves, and those extra layers, scrambling for someone who had remembered to bring the sunscreen! Air temperatures held on nicely straight through the week - ranging between 10 to 25 degrees. Although our pleasant warm days were long over due and most certainly welcomed, they triggered yet another spike in the spring runoff as once again, our mighty rivers began to swell - rising up 15cm on the first weekend, and then another 15 by midweek, before finally peaking at a massive 90cm on the home pool scale. Fortunately, while our precious few soft water pools were disappearing again before our eyes, at least the temperatures of our big spring rivers were now moving in the right direction. By the Wednesday, we were all laughing once more as the thermometers topped out in the home pool at 7+ degrees C and the water levels finally began to recede. At last! We were officially off to the Kharlovka races! While the team had accounted for a leisurely 40 fish by midweek, with nine of the boys already earning a good salmon over 20 pounds, it was Big Wednesday that really got things rolling for us. In spite of a long afternoon of shockingly bright sun and balmy temperatures in the mid 20's, the team returned that evening with plenty of rosy cheeks, all talking at once about the 25 salmon they had taken that lovely day along the lower beats. Three of these silver beauties were greater than 27 pounds. Wild Bill certainly knew better, and had to apologize to us all, for letting his 30+er slip out the back of the Military pool - never to be seen again.  However, the big story around here last week had to be the return of our glorious leader. He must be one of the luckiest men alive! Just to set the record straight, as you have probably all heard by now, Peter had a heart attack on the 5th of May. While his pulse had dropped to a mere 20 beats a minute, his loyal maid Norma was quick to notice the signs. An ambulance was there in no time. Thankfully, Peter was in and out of the Oxford emergency room in 1:45 minutes - sustaining absolutely no damage to his heart. With the valves completely overhauled, running like new again, in addition to some 45 and a half days now without a cigarette, Peter charged into camp last week noticeably fitter, stronger and for that matter - tanner, than we had seen him in a long time. He started out the week shocking us all again by waving off the helicopter, opting to hike down to the lower Kharlovka Sea pools for some fishing with his son.
Come Wednesday morning, after a brief meeting with his top brass, Peter looked down upon the inviting waters of the Kharlovka home pool and started to believe. Marching down the steps from his house on the hill, it was obviously time to take his deadly Temple dog for a stroll. Five casts later, he was looking back over his shoulder, "I told you there would be one right here!" as Peter's Bogdan began to scream with joy. Never one to mess about, the cameras were flashing less than five minutes later as he hoisted up his gleaming 21-pounder up for the gathered paparazzi. Before we could reload our batteries, he had tempted another one to the bank that was measuring off in the mid teens. Absolutely full of confidence, Peter waded straight back in pointing and mumbling about some boulders further down the stream. Knowing very well that when the boss is happy, we are all happy, several of us looked on and began to pray. To the surprise of everyone, except Peter that is, his line went stiff exactly on cue. His great fish wasted no time in blasting straight out into the strong current leaving Peter standing speechless. It was 250m away, at the tail of the home pool, before he was even out of the water. With few other options remaining, he applied a bit more pressure, eventually stopping the fish at the tail of the pool. For a good five minutes he cranked away on the reel, bringing his big bar of silver all the way back to within meters. Just when we thought that everything was going to be o.k. - Peter's reel began to sing once again. Ripping all the line back off - to the tail of the pool, Peter must have briefly considered handing the rod over to one of his staff to battle on. Five more minutes of hard cranking went by before the guide was finally able to chase the beast down with his net. Never quite sure who was more exhausted from all this, (61 pounds of salmon out of the home pool in an hour) Peter triumphantly grinned for the cameras, as he respectfully released his 104cm - 28 pound salmon back into the rivers - that he adores so much.
Peter certainly wasn't the only one celebrating along the river banks last week. A big Bonsai goes out to our good ol' friend Sugia, for his impressive silver brace of 23 and 27 pounds. Then on Thursday, it appeared to be an advantage to speak Russian on the lower Kharlovka as Victor and Ilya showed us all how it was done landing seven up to 20 pounds. And let's not forget about our new friend for life, Canadian Ron, who must have been doing everything right to find his 6 salmon averaging 22 pounds! With all those sneaky fly patterns, like the Eternal Optimist - black Dazzlers, Sun Rays and these deadly Temple Dogs, it is not surprising that the team was able to pull together to find a even 100 salmon on the week. It takes a lot of melt to feed the mighty Kharlovka drainage. Thankfully, last week's warm temperatures put a big dent into the ice which is just remaining on the lakes upstream. While we are still a few degrees cool and some 40cm high for this time of year - our late season situation is quickly catching up. First add plenty of water, then turn on the long arctic sun all day and most of the night and presto - Everything comes alive! Birch buds suddenly appeared overnight. Some of the sheltered willows already have their leaves. Fresh green grass was popping up across the tundra literally before our eyes. The little brown birds are once again all chirping for joy. Salmon are now up to the falls in both of our rivers. As you can probably see, spring has sprung here on the Kharlovka - let the big silver roll! Justin.
The Kharlovka Report: Week 24 Ending Friday, 13-Jun-08. Attempting to foretell the weather here along the arctic coast can be like guessing who will win the Grand National next year. Forecasts are often not worth the paper they get printed off on. Our skilled Russian pilots glance at those seven-day outlooks and simply chuckle knowing that most of the time it is impossible to predict anything up here beyond about 6 hours. Nevertheless, we keep up with these predictions religiously, as they give us all hope of the perfect day still yet to come. Flying out of Stockholm, with clear blue skies and warm summer temperatures of 29 degrees C, our latest group must have been somewhat shocked when they looked down out the small oval windows, only two hours and fifteen minutes later, to see ice still coving many of the lakes near Murmansk. Before everyone could charm their way past the customs lady, there was news of yet another snowstorm that was creeping down to greet us from the north. Weather radars, along with the current conditions, were carefully studied while we swiftly packed up the helicopter. Fortunate to have one of the best three man crews on the Kola, each of them having more than 23 years experience, along with the all important O.K. from the flight control, we wasted no time getting everyone safely back into camp. With high levels of anticipation and only two new faces on the team, everyone quickly scurried down the slippery duckboards to reclaim their long awaited rooms.  All knowing that the blizzard was surely not far behind us, we gathered the troops once again to make a game plan over a bowl of hot fish soup. Without time to spare, we deployed the boys to their beats just as the weather started to close in. Large snowflakes, along with the mercury on our thermometers, continued to fall through the night. Come Sunday morning, we awoke to a kind of winter's silence as several centimetres of fresh white snow blanketed the tundra. While we did see the only promising spot of sun, later that same afternoon, the flurries along with the low single digit temperatures would unfortunately remain with us straight through the week. Water levels dropped an average of 6cm a day, down nearly 40cm in total, to a current reading of 69cm on the home pool scale. Morning water temps started off over the weekend at a very chilly 0.9 degrees C, finally rising up by the Friday to just 2.4 C. While salmon are being taken along the lower beats on every incoming tide, our unseasonably cold rivers continue to be the barrier that holds the majority of the spring run back in the still warmer waters, down near the sea.
Early in the week, a few of us were walking up the right bank of the lower Kharlovka when suddenly - we heard 'Bolshoy Reeba' (Big Fish) come across the radios. With our cameras in hand, we all skipped our way across the boulders up to the Rock pool. We arrived to find our good Czech friend Vladimir, with his feet firmly planted, battling what would turn out to be the Kharlovka salmon of his life. Tense moments went by as his big ball of silver rolled around through the depths. Nobody dared to say a word. For ten long minutes the air seemed warmer, as he held on tight, not to let this precious moment slip away. Eventually, with a little help from the cold river, Vladimir's giant smile lit up, raising his hands high into the air, he slid his 110cm - 32-pound sea liced beauty into Vasiliy's large net. Not that we were ever worried that much about Vladimir, for as usual, he will be returning again for another go around later in the season. Although the going was challenging from start to finish, the cool conditions did not seem to slow our friend David down either. With several years of valuable Kharlovka experience already under his wading belt, David has obviously learned to keep his Willy Gunn in the water and never stop believing! Starting things off right, just after the snow flurries had pasted last Sunday, he landed a wonderful 23-pounder from Julian's pool. Two days later, David was at it again, tempting a couple more up to 22 pounds from the Kharlovka sea pools with his deadly Sun Ray Shadow. Then for his last trick of the week, we moved David over to the Litza where he worked his magic on the Snowbank pool, pulling out a couple more great salmon of 26 and 33 pounds that will surely never be forgotten. A last honourable mention must also go out a couple of real characters who kept us all entertained up to the last cast. Although Mark did well to find four nice spring salmon over 20 pounds, it was Rae, who not that surprisingly, had the last word with his three averaging 25 including the fat silver 31-pounder on the last afternoon, just to put the icing on his cake.
As you can see, it certainly wasn't all upstream winds and frozen fingers around here last week as thankfully, the big silver was spread quite nicely amongst our friends. In fact, nine of the boys here last week will be going home with memories of their 20+ pound victories. Including a couple more Kharlovka P.B.'s and a 'first-salmon-ever' for one of our Irish mates, this team came together making the best of our cool situation, going onto land a total of 42 salmon on the week.  Without much to chirp about around here yet, only the hardiest of the little brown birds remain hidden amongst the bare birch. As there are more lemmings this season than any of us can remember before, they continue to be an easy target for our camp huskies, along with the various birds of prey. And while the migratory geese continue to arrive, they must be finding it ever more difficult to claim an ice-free loch as their own. However, probably the most amazing observation around here last week was, despite our 24 hour days, there has been almost no new growth across the tundra. While winter sure doesn't seem to be giving up easy, after holding us back for a couple of extra weeks, one can now sense that the season must be on the verge of exploding - anything could happen next! Justin.
The Kharlovka Report: Week 23 Ending Friday, 6-Jun-08.  It all began last Saturday back in Murmansk, as good friends were reunited on the tarmac under promising clear blue skies and warm temperatures of 18C. Although the pleasant conditions did manage to follow us back across the frozen tundra and safely into camp, unfortunately we would be going on to face a much colder scenario for the remainder of the week. By Monday, the air temperatures had dropped back down into the single digits with a stiff arctic head wind coming straight upriver at us off the sea. In addition, to another 15cm of icy cold water that suddenly appeared over the warm weekend, river levels would continue to steadily rise throughout the week, finally peaking on the Friday with a current reading of 118cm on the scale. To put that into perspective, the river is now flowing over the large rock at the head of the home pool, where we now have to wader up just to see the gauge. Going down with several different thermometers, just to make sure, Kharlovka river temperatures started out for the first several mornings reading 0.1C - eventually rising up to mere 0.9 degree C by our final day. Hard to believe, but earlier in the week we even recorded a few negative readings over on the Litza. Thankfully however, this was another one of those veteran's weeks up here on the Kharlovka and it was going to take more than the massive cold rivers, a few floating icebergs or a bit a of late spring weather to beat this lot. Recognizing all the familiar faces around the dinning room table, we were pleased to see that we had nearly 70 seasons of Kharlovka experience here with us. In fact, this was the sixteenth adventure for one gentleman, who had first come to visit us back in 92. Sitting close to him was another couple good mates, each of them with nine more years of memories. Almost like a second home for the majority of them, silvery tales along with plenty of exaggerations from the good ol' days, circled the dinning room late into the night. Fortunately, they all knew what they were coming for - and how sweet it tasted. And without question, they had seen it all before. It appeared from the looks of this lot, that once you have tried the spring silver on the Kharlovka; you could very well become hopelessly addicted to it for life. With that kind of attitude, the boys spread out on the lower rivers and began their long awaited search. Each knowing that there would be new hope coming in on every tide and that each precious degree could make all the difference - gradually their persistence would begin to pay off. Let's make no bones about it, while we certainly had a great team here last week, each and every salmon was hard earned. Not surprisingly, it was Mikael that thankfully got things started early, with his fresh story of a bright 20-pounder caught slow and deep on his black-green helmet from Julian's pool. Norway was quick to answer back with a 16 and another 20-pounder for Stein and Anders off the chilly waters of the lower Litza. Next it was Scotland's turn as Allan and Jamie were ever so proud to report their silver braces, including a couple of beauties that weighed in at 18 and 20 pounds. Meanwhile, Big Julian wasn't just standing around twiddling his thumbs along the frozen riverbanks, coming up with yet another 20-pounder from his new favourite spot which happens to bare his name. Then, on a cold rainy Wednesday morning, with nobody saying much of anything at the breakfast table, one of the more experienced fisherman boldly predicted that the big silver run would actually begin today. Heads turned in hope, thinking maybe this crazy Swede could be right. Later that afternoon, the radios suddenly began to crackle as the Norwegians had found a hot spot along the lower Kharlovka - 26-pounder measuring 96 X 58 with sea lice! Next cast and Stein was into another 18-pounder that was fresh out of the sea. On a roll, pumped with adrenalin and of course right back into the same place again, Stein hooked into his third deep silver fish that somehow managed to buck her way back to freedom. The Norwegian then decided to step back and reload onto something even heavier, changing over to his 5/6. After breaking off two of his patented Green Parrot tubes on the rocky bottom, he was starting to consider switching back when on a last attempt, the bottom began to move slowly away with his line. Handing the rod to his guide Dima, for a quick heave himself, they both agreed that this was a seriously heavy fish. 50 meters then ripped of his reel and Stein was suddenly left standing off guard. While he might have only had a couple of seconds to react, his great salmon was at the head of the island in no time. With a last desperate pull on the rod, the nylon snapped as his fish shot down the rapids, surely on its way back to sea. Fortunately, results continued to improve into Thursday with the team pulling in another eight hard earned salmon. Without question, the highlight of the day had to be Arne's 24-pound sea liced fish, which was found fishing downstream on the late evening tide. We finished things off on the Friday with some of the worst weather any of us could remember. Thankfully, not all the salmon seemed to mind as Jamie was rewarded with a last 26-pound sea liced fish off the island. Big Dave also managed to score high on that last windy session down on the lower Litza, hauling in seven with an average weight of 17.5 pounds. All in all, we had a tremendous amount of fun here last week, tallying up a respectable 40 salmon along the way. Although it is probably fair to assume that our friends had hopes of equalling last season's catch 52 salmon - along with the five that were taken greater than 30 pounds, they all from knew from experience, that spring can go either way and that next season is just as likely to be early for them once again. While the coastal snow pack actually seems to be disappearing quite rapidly, it is a different story when you lift off in the helicopter and fly inland. With all the thick frozen ice still left covering the lake systems upstream, our rivers will likely remain unseasonably cold for many more days still yet to come. Keeping in mind, that the Barents Sea remains ice free year round with temps of three to four degrees C, it is not surprising that the main run is still just beginning to arrive.  On the nature front - The guide house was given an early wake up call one morning as an uninvited ptarmigan somehow found its way in. Birch buds are only just daring to appear. Little brown birds of all sorts scratch their way along the saturated tundra looking for seeds and the first signs of life. High upon the cliffs, above Julian's pool, an impressive sea eagle has taken up residence. All of a sudden there were fingers pointing down out the helicopter windows as a whale was recently spotted flying back low under the fog along the coast. With the signs of spring now starting to appear everywhere, and warmer temperatures forecasted for next week - we remain optimistic that the big silver numbers are just beginning to roll their way in. Justin.
The Kharlovka Web Report: Opening Week 22 ending Friday, 31-May-08  A long winter’s silence was broken this season as the telephones started ringing back in middle May with an early report of icy spring conditions that were still looming across the northern Kola Peninsula. Forecasts were carefully examined and then predictions had to be made. We felt obliged to call up our first hardy group leaders of the season to inform them that if the current cold snowy weather were to hold on - that we would most likely not have fishable rivers until the last half of their opening week. Sleeping on it for the night, the temptation of possibly finding that first silver Kharlovka giant of the season, even if they might only have a half week to do it in - was obviously to great to pass up. With one of those short ice fishing rods as a backup plan for everyone, plenty of extra clothing, and of course - all our big silver hopes still very much alive, we packed in the helicopter and started off across the frozen tundra. For the next hour, we all sat glancing down out the windows at the advancing snow swept tundra, each wondering - what this long awaited, first week of the season would bring to them. As we made our final approach up the still frozen valley of the lower Kharlovka, the reality of our icy situation began to quickly settle in. With only the Kharlovka Home pool, the Litza Tent area and a couple hundred meters of the estuary free of ice and safe enough to fish, our brave friends from Scotland and Iceland set out to make the best of what they had. Thankfully the weather forecasts were off the mark this time. Before the weekend was over, daytime temperatures were hovering in the low teens with partly sunny skies and only the occasional moment of rain-sleet or snow. Overnight the rivers quickly began to rise. By Monday morning, some of the team’s prayers had been answered, as 75% of the ice had broken free on both of the lower rivers. It was now time to spread out and start dogging icebergs. During the course of our first week, water levels were rising up to 15cms a day. By the time it was all said and done the mighty Kharlovka was up a total of 62cms on the week to a present reading of 76cm on the home pool scale. River temperatures have remained frosty since our first casts ranging from 1.3 to a mere 0.1 degrees C. We have always said that springtime up here on the far north coast was for believers only! If you like to gamble on the largest silver salmon, you have to be here early. That normally means cold hard conditions and a never give up attitude. Thankfully, although we basically had an arctic flood on our hands here last week, we also had our bright moments that made it all worthwhile. Apart from the roasting hot saunas that were prepared every night and the extra bottle or two of vodka that got drunk and those riverside fire breaks that came with a hot bowl of Russian soup to warm the fisherman’s spirits – There were also many meters of kelts, a few respectable brownies and a bright sea char - before it finally happened.
We could tell by Gudjon’s large silver Icelandic smile as he exited the helicopter Wednesday afternoon, that he had certainly tasted glory returning with bragging rights of his silver fresh 22 pounder from the Kharlovka falls. Equally pleased with his efforts, Gudjon’s friend Hilmar returned the same day with encouraging news of his 16-pounder off the lower river. While Thursday did produce a nice silver 15-pounder out of the home pool for Jamie and team Scotland, the big news was the three large salmon that got away. Young Elvar inspired us all that night with his story of how he danced about for an unforgettable five minutes with his giant silver fish in the Military pool before tragically loosing the beast to the passing icebergs. We finished things off on the Friday afternoon under cooling temperatures with another four hard earned fish for the book. While this team battled the raging rivers up to the very last call, working hard for the first 8 salmon of the season, our late spring conditions never really gave them much of a fighting chance. Last winter, the Kola Peninsula received limited snow pack before the Christmas holidays. While the New Year saw above average amounts of snowfall, overall the temperatures remained on the mild side. Come late April and early May, good amounts of snow continued to fall, as did the late season mercury on the thermometer. The result was more than normal levels of soft new snow with a small amount of ice left in the pack. Cold early spring temperatures along with a fresh blanket of clean reflecting snow led to a later than normal runoff. While we still have plenty of stubborn thin ice left lining the banks of the rivers, the snow pack is quickly disappearing before our eyes. We are predicting that the spring runoff will peak by early next week and then with any luck, the rivers should begin to take shape and warm up quite rapidly. After a week walking the tundra it is almost impossible not to go home without an adjusted perspective on life and its priorities. Without question, there is an unexplainable peace here in the arctic. It goes far beyond simply being out in the country away from the mainstream for a couple days. This is back to nature at its purest form. As the tundra awakes from another long winters sleep, spring has already begun to accelerate at an astonishing rate. Lemmings scurry quickly between the dwindling snow banks. Ptarmigan lie exposed, calling for their mates amongst the naked birch forests. Bean geese are arriving from far to the south. Songbirds can be heard chirping straight through the long white nights. But mostly it is the roar of the water as it pours down from all directions into the valleys that lets us know – spring has arrived. Justin.
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