Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends
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Foreword
By Chris Batin (original reprinted here in full)
Alaska offers the greatest outdoor adventures in the world. Expect a land where salmon still darken rivers by the thousands, and 50-char-a-day catches are common on many streams. It’s a land where glacier crevasses form an icy moat around mountain precipices, where hunters sweat, swear and struggle in a climb for trophy mountain goat. In Alaska, you can search for a 70-inch rutting bull moose in alder jungles so dense they block out the sun. Alaska is survival of the toughest kind, where hunters scurry to dig trenches in which to pitch their tents for protection from gale-force winds so they can later pursue 10-foot brown bears roaming wilderness coastlines.
Equally grand are Alaska residents. Many of these hardy individuals survive Bush plane crashes, bear maulings, or run wilderness traplines in 50-below temperatures. They can fall through the ice, roll in the snow, build a fire and dry out before continuing on their way. They pack out 150-pound moose hindquarters three miles and raft wilderness rivers as one would walk a street. A few build a tiny log cabin from scratch and survive for years with no running water, no electricity, and are perfectly content.
As admirable as these people and places are, single incidents or stories don’t make an Alaska fishing or hunting legend. It’s a lifetime of experiences in Alaska that count, or running the race in its entirely, rather than a segment, that makes the record books.
The men and women of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends fit in a category by themselves; a group so small as to be almost unnoticeable. It’s the way most, if not all of them, would want it.
The reason is obvious.
In a state that allows people the opportunity to be the best they can be, Alaska greatest outdoor legends go beyond what is customary and traditional in either their dedication to the sport, their pioneering efforts or substantial contributions to fishing, hunting and the outdoors that directly or indirectly influence our lives.
But describing an Alaska legend in this manner is like describing a birch tree only by its soft, gossamer bark, with no mention of the hard, beautiful wood on the inside.
I know from first-hand experience the influence Alaska’s greatest outdoor legends have had on me.
While attending high school in the Midwest, I’d spend my study halls in the school library, reading about the daring exploits of men and women who fished, hunted and explored Alaska. These accounts— published in books and popular literature of the day—fueled a resolution to live in Alaska. My dream was to catch huge salmon, explore wilderness, run rapids, and climb huge mountains and chase bear, mountain goat and moose. Alaska legends like Jack London, Chuck Keim, Russell Annabel and Bud Helmericks were influential Alaska outdoor archetypes who lived how I wanted to live, and responded to wilderness challenges in the way I, too, wanted to respond; with experience, confidence, and toughness.
I shouldn’t have been concerned about my right of passage. Professor Judith Kleinfeld easily explained my fascination with Alaska in her book, “The Alaska Romance.” Alaska became an integral part of what she describes as my “life way;” the catalyst that helped actualize my dreams and enjoy countless adventures. Like many of the legends I admired, I too, became a writer. The only difference is I am now the one writing for the next generation of Alaska dreamers and have been doing so for over 40 years. It is an honor that still has me humbly shaking my head as someone worthy enough to be considered a part of this legacy.
Yet Alaska greatest outdoor legends consist of more than just writers. Allow me to describe this amazing group of men and women who help define Alaska’s outdoor legacy.
The general definition of legend is not appropriate for describing the individuals in this book. It references historical or cultural legend that usually embraces elements of folktale or mythology. The facts are uncertain in these undocumented stories because they often become popular long after the character witnesses have died off, making verification impossible.
I prefer the secondary definition that describes a legend as a narrative based on popular stories about people who exhibit or possess qualities beyond the norm. A legend can also be a popular history or story about a person, a people, a place that inspires, or a story that educates about spirit, culture, morals or history. These defining criteria qualify the men and women in Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends.
This book is as much historical narrative as it is riveting entertainment. Author Doug Kelly draws from his personal experiences, authentic anecdotes and generations of photos that breathe life and credibility into these stories. He’s collected supporting documentation and anecdotal references from individuals who personally know these legends. These sources provide credible insight and detail far removed from today’s armchair writers, Internet trolls and paid shills and their dubious online commentaries.
I would like to think that Henry David Thoreau, if living today, would have had Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends in mind as the exception when he wrote, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
The exception is Alaska legends don’t have the word “desperation” in their vocabulary. They abhor the term. For them, the Alaska outdoors is not only a cherished paradise, but also a graveyard filled with bones of desperate men who lost hope and direction, either in life or in the wilderness. This is anathema to all they believe.
This doesn’t mean Alaska legends are perfect. They oftentimes fail more than others do, because they invariably live more dangerously, take more risks, push the envelope harder than most, or quietly plug away behind the scenes, bit by bit, for decades.
The secret to legends, however, is they get up each time they fall and push on; stronger, wiser, better. They and their quests ennoble us to become better by showing us how to embrace universal truths. Through their years of experience, they help us escape the ignorance and darkness of social suffering, and teach us to find answers and inspiration in the simple beauty of Alaska mountains, lakes and streams.
Like the hero archetypes in cinema and literature, Alaska legends also embody the fundamental characteristics of the quest, perseverance and transcendence of the best of our generation, and our commitment to the future and well-being of Alaska’s resources, so that others now and in the future may also understand and appreciate the outdoor legacies and the traditions we cherish.
Alaska legends endure. They adapt. They overcome and persevere because they are Alaskans, who, like high-octane gasoline, have a bit of a kick to them. They easily ignite on the adventure, and don’t ping out when the going gets rough. They embrace the challenges of not only existing, but also living the life they choose to live in the 49th state, whether on a remote mountaintop, as a guide or a representative of the people on the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
In this book, no two legends are the same, just as no two Alaska streams are the same.
It’s easy to understand why.
Legends course their own way through the bedrock of Alaska culture. They wind through impenetrable mountains of politics or social opinion, stir up the sandy beaches of influence before finally coming to rest in the oceans of history. From the headwaters of their birth, these legends nourish the state and its people, carrying their nutrients of Alaska experience and wisdom along the way. Some succeed in undercutting the snaggy obstructions of bias and create new tributaries of change, or scour deep into the gravel of our collective traditions and widen the contemplative pools of understanding that help define who we are and what we do as Alaska sportsmen.
Let us be careful not to glorify legends in a superhuman way. They merely coach us with their deeds and examples in the marathon of life. Legends provide examples of what we can do or become, oftentimes in ways religion cannot. We look to them for inspiration, and embrace the struggle and perseverance of legendary heroes such as King Arthur, Paul Bunyan or William Tell. We emulate legends so that we, too, can better understand the quest within and outside ourselves.
Legends are not obvious in society. They can be as quiet as falling snow or command a presence that would make a grizzly back off.
I am fortunate to know many of the legends in this book and have had the honor of interviewing them over the years. They’ve appeared in features and columns in publications such as The Alaska Angler and The Alaska Hunter, TravelAge West, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield and Western Outdoors magazines. I’ve shared wilderness camps with them, flown with them, hunted big game with them and caught fish with them.
All have a common foundation: They did not start out as legends. Many began as I did, starting out with only a dream. They gravitated toward some aspect of Alaska’s outdoors and excelled in a variety of social and professional skillsets. In the final analysis, these Alaskans tapped into a supreme passion for fishing and hunting, challenging the toughest the outdoors could dish out, and loving it enough to return, day after day, year after year, giving it all they had and then some. These people became Alaska fishing and hunting legends.
Much to my regret, many people who achieved or were destined for legendary status have died in accidents, plane crashes or from disease before society could benefit from their full influence. You’ll read about several of these individuals in this book. Their passing is a reminder that each generation of Alaska legends has its moment in the sun. They grow and thrive before time, like the cold of winter snow, diminishes the vibrancy of their colorful personalities. But their deeds and accomplishments live on in this book and chronicle not only what they achieved, but also provide a testimonial to how they lived.
I’m betting that 100 years from now, those with the curiosity and desire for Alaska wildness will search out this book and marvel at the lifestyles and adventures of these legends, much like many of us today still marvel at the lifestyle and freedom of the pioneers and mountain men who lived in the mid to late 1800s.
Doug Kelly brings to this book the skill of the veteran editor and journalist with the insight of an investigative outdoor reporter in researching the people, facts and places of Alaska’s historical and living legends. He is highly respected in the outdoor writing profession. For over 27 years, Kelly has visited and reported on Alaska, the 49th state and its people. I consider him an honorary Alaskan, separated from the state only by distance, because his heart lives and breathes Alaska. I’ve eaten moose and salmon with him. We’ve walked Alaska forests, crossed remote streams, and fished together. He is the professional scribe we need to tell the story of this generation of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends. He doesn’t disappoint, and neither do the stories in this book.
These legends may not rank as high in popularity with the public when compared to sports celebrities or entertainment greats. This matters not because Alaska legends are celebrated as much, if not more so, by sportsmen in the know who celebrate the Alaska outdoors.
The explanation is simple and all around us.
Fishing and hunting is a key reason why many people live in Alaska. It is not only our recreation, but also our tradition, our culture, and how we subsist and commune with the land. We have moose-cutting parties. Salmon canning weekends and caribou hunting camps. Holidays are often celebrated with sheep roast or king salmon steaks rather than turkey or ham. Hunting and fishing bring this bounty to our tables and serves to bond a people with a common goal to an uncommon land.
Legends also educate. They teach us how to become better at catching a fish, calling in a moose, or viewing the hardship of being shipwrecked as nothing more than an irritating mosquito bite.
I encourage you to kick back, relax, and enjoy the stories in this book. You may cry, shake your head, laugh, swear or marvel at these stories. A few of you may become inspired to plan your own interaction with Alaska’s outdoors. Here’s a tip: Use the legends in this book as role models to inspire you to find your own “life way.” If you do and follow your heart, it’s possible that you just might not only enjoy the best fishing and hunting of your lifetime, but also become part of the next generation of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends.
And if you ever do reach that point in your life, you’ll know that you’ve gone the distance when someone asks, “Was it worth the trouble?”
Your answer will be heartfelt and without thought. An Alaska outdoor legend always replies, “What trouble?”’
Christopher M. Batin
Talkeetna, Alaska
Foreword author Chris Batin is also featured prominently in Chapter 25, Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends. Read the details of his life, adventures, experiences, and contributions to the Alaska outdoors that earned the honor of being included in this scholarly work published by the University of Alaska Press. Chris Batin can autograph and personalize copies of this book for friends and family, or as a collector’s item for your personal Alaska library. Order through Alaska Angler Publications, www.AlaskaAngler.com or by leaving a voicemail and your request with Chris Batin at 907-455-8000. He’ll return your call for the details to ship your order, postpaid.
By Chris Batin (original reprinted here in full)
Alaska offers the greatest outdoor adventures in the world. Expect a land where salmon still darken rivers by the thousands, and 50-char-a-day catches are common on many streams. It’s a land where glacier crevasses form an icy moat around mountain precipices, where hunters sweat, swear and struggle in a climb for trophy mountain goat. In Alaska, you can search for a 70-inch rutting bull moose in alder jungles so dense they block out the sun. Alaska is survival of the toughest kind, where hunters scurry to dig trenches in which to pitch their tents for protection from gale-force winds so they can later pursue 10-foot brown bears roaming wilderness coastlines.
Equally grand are Alaska residents. Many of these hardy individuals survive Bush plane crashes, bear maulings, or run wilderness traplines in 50-below temperatures. They can fall through the ice, roll in the snow, build a fire and dry out before continuing on their way. They pack out 150-pound moose hindquarters three miles and raft wilderness rivers as one would walk a street. A few build a tiny log cabin from scratch and survive for years with no running water, no electricity, and are perfectly content.
As admirable as these people and places are, single incidents or stories don’t make an Alaska fishing or hunting legend. It’s a lifetime of experiences in Alaska that count, or running the race in its entirely, rather than a segment, that makes the record books.
The men and women of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends fit in a category by themselves; a group so small as to be almost unnoticeable. It’s the way most, if not all of them, would want it.
The reason is obvious.
In a state that allows people the opportunity to be the best they can be, Alaska greatest outdoor legends go beyond what is customary and traditional in either their dedication to the sport, their pioneering efforts or substantial contributions to fishing, hunting and the outdoors that directly or indirectly influence our lives.
But describing an Alaska legend in this manner is like describing a birch tree only by its soft, gossamer bark, with no mention of the hard, beautiful wood on the inside.
I know from first-hand experience the influence Alaska’s greatest outdoor legends have had on me.
While attending high school in the Midwest, I’d spend my study halls in the school library, reading about the daring exploits of men and women who fished, hunted and explored Alaska. These accounts— published in books and popular literature of the day—fueled a resolution to live in Alaska. My dream was to catch huge salmon, explore wilderness, run rapids, and climb huge mountains and chase bear, mountain goat and moose. Alaska legends like Jack London, Chuck Keim, Russell Annabel and Bud Helmericks were influential Alaska outdoor archetypes who lived how I wanted to live, and responded to wilderness challenges in the way I, too, wanted to respond; with experience, confidence, and toughness.
I shouldn’t have been concerned about my right of passage. Professor Judith Kleinfeld easily explained my fascination with Alaska in her book, “The Alaska Romance.” Alaska became an integral part of what she describes as my “life way;” the catalyst that helped actualize my dreams and enjoy countless adventures. Like many of the legends I admired, I too, became a writer. The only difference is I am now the one writing for the next generation of Alaska dreamers and have been doing so for over 40 years. It is an honor that still has me humbly shaking my head as someone worthy enough to be considered a part of this legacy.
Yet Alaska greatest outdoor legends consist of more than just writers. Allow me to describe this amazing group of men and women who help define Alaska’s outdoor legacy.
The general definition of legend is not appropriate for describing the individuals in this book. It references historical or cultural legend that usually embraces elements of folktale or mythology. The facts are uncertain in these undocumented stories because they often become popular long after the character witnesses have died off, making verification impossible.
I prefer the secondary definition that describes a legend as a narrative based on popular stories about people who exhibit or possess qualities beyond the norm. A legend can also be a popular history or story about a person, a people, a place that inspires, or a story that educates about spirit, culture, morals or history. These defining criteria qualify the men and women in Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends.
This book is as much historical narrative as it is riveting entertainment. Author Doug Kelly draws from his personal experiences, authentic anecdotes and generations of photos that breathe life and credibility into these stories. He’s collected supporting documentation and anecdotal references from individuals who personally know these legends. These sources provide credible insight and detail far removed from today’s armchair writers, Internet trolls and paid shills and their dubious online commentaries.
I would like to think that Henry David Thoreau, if living today, would have had Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends in mind as the exception when he wrote, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
The exception is Alaska legends don’t have the word “desperation” in their vocabulary. They abhor the term. For them, the Alaska outdoors is not only a cherished paradise, but also a graveyard filled with bones of desperate men who lost hope and direction, either in life or in the wilderness. This is anathema to all they believe.
This doesn’t mean Alaska legends are perfect. They oftentimes fail more than others do, because they invariably live more dangerously, take more risks, push the envelope harder than most, or quietly plug away behind the scenes, bit by bit, for decades.
The secret to legends, however, is they get up each time they fall and push on; stronger, wiser, better. They and their quests ennoble us to become better by showing us how to embrace universal truths. Through their years of experience, they help us escape the ignorance and darkness of social suffering, and teach us to find answers and inspiration in the simple beauty of Alaska mountains, lakes and streams.
Like the hero archetypes in cinema and literature, Alaska legends also embody the fundamental characteristics of the quest, perseverance and transcendence of the best of our generation, and our commitment to the future and well-being of Alaska’s resources, so that others now and in the future may also understand and appreciate the outdoor legacies and the traditions we cherish.
Alaska legends endure. They adapt. They overcome and persevere because they are Alaskans, who, like high-octane gasoline, have a bit of a kick to them. They easily ignite on the adventure, and don’t ping out when the going gets rough. They embrace the challenges of not only existing, but also living the life they choose to live in the 49th state, whether on a remote mountaintop, as a guide or a representative of the people on the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
In this book, no two legends are the same, just as no two Alaska streams are the same.
It’s easy to understand why.
Legends course their own way through the bedrock of Alaska culture. They wind through impenetrable mountains of politics or social opinion, stir up the sandy beaches of influence before finally coming to rest in the oceans of history. From the headwaters of their birth, these legends nourish the state and its people, carrying their nutrients of Alaska experience and wisdom along the way. Some succeed in undercutting the snaggy obstructions of bias and create new tributaries of change, or scour deep into the gravel of our collective traditions and widen the contemplative pools of understanding that help define who we are and what we do as Alaska sportsmen.
Let us be careful not to glorify legends in a superhuman way. They merely coach us with their deeds and examples in the marathon of life. Legends provide examples of what we can do or become, oftentimes in ways religion cannot. We look to them for inspiration, and embrace the struggle and perseverance of legendary heroes such as King Arthur, Paul Bunyan or William Tell. We emulate legends so that we, too, can better understand the quest within and outside ourselves.
Legends are not obvious in society. They can be as quiet as falling snow or command a presence that would make a grizzly back off.
I am fortunate to know many of the legends in this book and have had the honor of interviewing them over the years. They’ve appeared in features and columns in publications such as The Alaska Angler and The Alaska Hunter, TravelAge West, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield and Western Outdoors magazines. I’ve shared wilderness camps with them, flown with them, hunted big game with them and caught fish with them.
All have a common foundation: They did not start out as legends. Many began as I did, starting out with only a dream. They gravitated toward some aspect of Alaska’s outdoors and excelled in a variety of social and professional skillsets. In the final analysis, these Alaskans tapped into a supreme passion for fishing and hunting, challenging the toughest the outdoors could dish out, and loving it enough to return, day after day, year after year, giving it all they had and then some. These people became Alaska fishing and hunting legends.
Much to my regret, many people who achieved or were destined for legendary status have died in accidents, plane crashes or from disease before society could benefit from their full influence. You’ll read about several of these individuals in this book. Their passing is a reminder that each generation of Alaska legends has its moment in the sun. They grow and thrive before time, like the cold of winter snow, diminishes the vibrancy of their colorful personalities. But their deeds and accomplishments live on in this book and chronicle not only what they achieved, but also provide a testimonial to how they lived.
I’m betting that 100 years from now, those with the curiosity and desire for Alaska wildness will search out this book and marvel at the lifestyles and adventures of these legends, much like many of us today still marvel at the lifestyle and freedom of the pioneers and mountain men who lived in the mid to late 1800s.
Doug Kelly brings to this book the skill of the veteran editor and journalist with the insight of an investigative outdoor reporter in researching the people, facts and places of Alaska’s historical and living legends. He is highly respected in the outdoor writing profession. For over 27 years, Kelly has visited and reported on Alaska, the 49th state and its people. I consider him an honorary Alaskan, separated from the state only by distance, because his heart lives and breathes Alaska. I’ve eaten moose and salmon with him. We’ve walked Alaska forests, crossed remote streams, and fished together. He is the professional scribe we need to tell the story of this generation of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends. He doesn’t disappoint, and neither do the stories in this book.
These legends may not rank as high in popularity with the public when compared to sports celebrities or entertainment greats. This matters not because Alaska legends are celebrated as much, if not more so, by sportsmen in the know who celebrate the Alaska outdoors.
The explanation is simple and all around us.
Fishing and hunting is a key reason why many people live in Alaska. It is not only our recreation, but also our tradition, our culture, and how we subsist and commune with the land. We have moose-cutting parties. Salmon canning weekends and caribou hunting camps. Holidays are often celebrated with sheep roast or king salmon steaks rather than turkey or ham. Hunting and fishing bring this bounty to our tables and serves to bond a people with a common goal to an uncommon land.
Legends also educate. They teach us how to become better at catching a fish, calling in a moose, or viewing the hardship of being shipwrecked as nothing more than an irritating mosquito bite.
I encourage you to kick back, relax, and enjoy the stories in this book. You may cry, shake your head, laugh, swear or marvel at these stories. A few of you may become inspired to plan your own interaction with Alaska’s outdoors. Here’s a tip: Use the legends in this book as role models to inspire you to find your own “life way.” If you do and follow your heart, it’s possible that you just might not only enjoy the best fishing and hunting of your lifetime, but also become part of the next generation of Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends.
And if you ever do reach that point in your life, you’ll know that you’ve gone the distance when someone asks, “Was it worth the trouble?”
Your answer will be heartfelt and without thought. An Alaska outdoor legend always replies, “What trouble?”’
Christopher M. Batin
Talkeetna, Alaska
Foreword author Chris Batin is also featured prominently in Chapter 25, Alaska’s Greatest Outdoor Legends. Read the details of his life, adventures, experiences, and contributions to the Alaska outdoors that earned the honor of being included in this scholarly work published by the University of Alaska Press. Chris Batin can autograph and personalize copies of this book for friends and family, or as a collector’s item for your personal Alaska library. Order through Alaska Angler Publications, www.AlaskaAngler.com or by leaving a voicemail and your request with Chris Batin at 907-455-8000. He’ll return your call for the details to ship your order, postpaid.
