Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Nikiski/Kenai Area

Originally Posted by las

2 and a half days?

What's your point?

Plan for it. Done it several times. You've got about 4 days before the meat spoils, proper field dressing required...and prompt processing thereafter.

You people who seem to think that teachers (at least good teachers) "have the summer off" have no grasp of reality.

Hell, it takes two months just to get sane again. Not to mention the requirement for additional credits to get re-certified, etc. One reason I only spent 6 years at it... and if you endeavorer higher than "teacher" - or even "self improvement on skills" - well- my wife's Master's cost us $30,000. She got a $1,000 per year raise for it....

Teachers are nuts - and heroes, in my book...

Wife's a teacher (a "good one") - the effort and cost she's put in to getting her master's and maintaining her certifications is, well, substantially less than what you spent. And, she sure as heck had her summers off (prior to arrival of child).

I'll be sure to ramp up my meat packing qualifications prior to posting again...got a good story to tell from this last fall if you like.

I'll stand happily by my assertion that teachers have the summers off. That's what a couple months of not working is; it's time off. Seen it with my own eyes.

Well as long as you have THC in your system and a criminal record you should be fine.

I am a displaced North Roader myself. I moved to get the kids closer to there activities. 30 to 40 minute drives into Kenai/Soldatna 4 times a day starts to get old. Try to remember that when your looking for a place to live. Nikiski is at the end of the Spur highway.

Nikiski got a bad rep from the "good ol days" of the oil field start up. Lots of guys trampin around, drinkin, druggin, fighting, and killing(or disappearing). Now Days, its pretty quiet. Their are still some bad ones but that goes with anywhere else in this area (Sterling, Kasilof,Kenai,and Yes.... Soldatna)

If you don't have much stuff, Drive up the Alcan. You'll love it. Plus, while your on your way looking at the scenery you get to imagine the new adventure your about to embark on.

Las,
It sounds like you and I hunt in the same fashion. The only problem I have with it is that last year I almost stepped on a brownie behind a bush. It wasn't pretty. I think that I my change my ways a bit this year. Mostly trying to stay away from the really thick stuff. Its funny because so far this year every time I have gone into the woods I start to break out in a sweat and it isn't from exhaustion.

There is nothing more frustrating than to have a nice bull snorting at you from 20 yards While you try and count brow tines and measure 50 inches. I don't think that rule is well applied when you a hunting in the thick brush. If you have a spotting scope high on a hill and just scrub trees around it makes more sense.

For one person to come up on a scouting trip, you'll likely find it's cheaper to fly than the drive.

As far as moving, we bought a 14' wells cargo trailer, packed all our possessions, and pulled it all the way up behind our toy truck. Paid $3k for the trailer, and sold it for $2k. U-haul wanted $2k to rent a trailer.

Moving yourself is much cheaper than paying a professional mover. Just try and get rid of any big stuff, furniture et al.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, you'll need a passport to go through Canada.

IMO, driving is the only way to move, especially if you have more than what fits in a suitcase. Having made a similar drive in 4 days (E. Kansas to Fbks) I don't recommend it. 2 weeks would be pleasant. I really like the drive, the Cassiar in particular. Canadians that I've met have been to a person, friendly and helpful.

The guns-through-Canada is another deal.

Kid - I'm not selling!

Bender,
I just did 4 guns through canada. It was actually not a big deal. 25 bucks fill out a form with serial numbers and have them in lockable cases and off you go. The deal breakers are any pistols, certain semi-autos and short barrels on rifles.

Good info! I have no plans to do so, but there seemed to be conflicting info, likely from people that had not actually taken guns through Canada. The last time I drove guns through Canada, I only had to declare them.

Was it $25 per or all 4 guns?

One question for the ALASKA guys and this is IN FUN and from another MICHIGANDER...

If SG has to ask a question like this, do you really want him teaching your kids?

Only one payment for all the guns. I think is $35 CA now.

I took 59 through customs two years ago and 19 through last year. No issues and no problems. Have the paperwork filled out in triplicate, but not signed, when you roll up and it will be easy-peasy lemon-squeesy.

Do not try to bring the handguns or any assault rifles. Ship them to an FFL here in AK and have the shipping paperwork with you to prove you shipped them. They tend to not believe that someone with long guns doesn't have any handguns.

My son just moved from Ketchikan to WA last weekend. He packed his handguns on the barge shipment and showed up at the crossing in Prince Rupert with long guns. The agents did not believe he had shipped his handguns on the barge and searched his truck and trailer (they unloaded everything, son had to repack it). He said they were courteous about it and, of course did not find any handguns.

You can go to the Canadian Customs web-site and download the forms. The site will also list the amounts of ammo (200 rounds, IRR) and powder (20 kgs) and primers (2000 IIR) you can bring. Stay within those limits and you'll be OK.

If you are a tobacco user, make sure you buy a week's supply before you enter Canada. Their prices are 2x US prices.

Jim

I drove through out of AK on one trip and had NO guns at all. The border guard was incredulous. It went like this:


BG: Any alcohol, tobacco, or firearms?

Me: I have a 12-pack in the truck bed, don't smoke and left the guns at home.

BG: No guns at all?

Me: None

BG: No rifles?

Me: No

BG: No shotguns?

Me: No

BG: No handguns?

Me: No...aren't they illegal in Canada?

BG: They are, but some folks try to smuggle them.

Me: I'm not one of them.

BG: So no guns of any kind?

Me: No.

BG: Drive safely.

Did they call the US Customs office to write you a ticket for driving around AK without a rifle?

Naw, I went directly to the border.

Well, your wife probably wasn't flying from Alaska to Utah 3 summers in a row with two pre-Kinder kids, paying non-resident tuition, renting a car, renting an apartment, hiring a full-time baby-sitter, etc., while I worked out in the Bush.

You pays your money for what you wants, according to your circumstances.....

Everything is a situation.

Iron Bender pointed me this way as he knows I'm a former North Roader. So, I should probably post my pedigree. I feel it might give more of a first-hand biography of what kind of people you'll find there.

My dad moved to Alaska in the 70s to work on the Pipeline with an old boss he was good friends with, eventually ended up on the platforms of the Cook Inlet which brought him to Nikiski. He pheasant hunted in the Homedale, Idaho with my grandfather and uncle (his father and brother-in-law) and friends he'd had since high school in Southern California. He got to know a pretty waitress in the town and invited her to come to Alaska. Shortly after, they were married and a few years after that, I came along. Born in Kenai Peninsula General Hospital (which apparently goes by some other name now), I spent my first two years in a trailer home on Daniels Lake (which confirms Iron Bender's redneck claim, trailer homes on lakefront property). We moved from there to the Forest Glen subdivision, which is about a quarter mile from Nikiski Elementary (which closed a few years ago) which I attended for all of my elementary school years. I was in Niksiki Junior/Senior High School for 7th and part of 8th grade. I got moved to Chewelah, Washington in November of 1997 just two weeks after my 14th birthday, which ticked me off because I was looking forward to getting my learners permit for driving when I turned 14. I ended up having to wait a year and a half longer in Washington.

But in those years, I grew up roaming around the forest from about the time I hit 8, and was given free reign to ride our four-wheelers just about anywhere when I hit 10. Nikiski is more a region than a town, that spans a good 20 miles or more. So a four-wheeler was a little more practical than a bike to meet with friends who might be miles away when you couldn't legally drive a car. You'll soon notice well established trails on either side of most major roads, including the highway. With moose, and bears (both grizzly and black), I think most of the parents � including mine � felt it safer than riding bicycles everywhere. It's also much harder for any possible pedophiles to snag a kid whose doing 50 on a four-wheeler. It's been about 12 years now since I lived there, but I can still draw road and trail maps from memory.

The actual town (which I believe is still unincorporated) consists of a large trailer park, the high school, a strip mall, and a few restaurants (some of which are in the strip mall) A few years ago, I know the movie store left the strip mall and went to a new building across the Spurr.

I grew up in a lot of the bars around there, since minors are allowed in them until 6pm. Though there never were many other children of my age there from all the years I'd been there. I don't know how many of the regulars still go in either of them, but they were all good people. I don't even know how many of the bars are still open. I know The Place is, but I don't know about Beaver Creek or The Hunger Hut. I still remember quite a few community functions at the bars though, helping raise money for medical bills, or what have you, for various people. Generally spaghetti feeds and Chinese auctions.

It used to be a bit more frontier than it is now, and has quieted a lot. There are still the occasional moments of madness. There was one kid decapitated by very thin cable while riding his dirt bike down a road. Someone had put it at neck level for four-wheeler and dirt-bike riders. I can't even remember the exact reason they gave the police for having the wire there, but they tried to claim it was for benign purposes. That was about 15 or so years ago. And a few years ago, a couple guys robbed and killed an A&P, named Sib, in his hangar. I never did hear if they caught the guys, but they believe they stole his specialized aviation tools to sell for drug money. Sib was a regular at The Place Bar and Grill, and one of the only A&Ps not chained to a specific air company if I recall correctly.

If it's still like it was 12 years ago, the drug dealers are all on the beach near the high school and the cops are too lazy to deal with it. However, I've noticed a heavy (by Kenai Peninsula standards) police presence up there in recent years of visiting, so the drugs may finally be harder for children to get their hands on.

If you like rural communities, Nikiski is great. If you're more of a town or city dweller, Kenai would likely be a better shot. The town of Nikiski is about 12 miles from Kenai I believe. It's a good 28 miles from Soldotna (I lived on mile 26 and Niksiki was about two miles further north).

The geology of the area is a hilly glacial moraine covered by a mix of birch, Kenai spruce (a cross breed of yellow and black spruce), cottonwood, alder, and a few other trees that are escaping my mind. It's also mottled with a lot of swampland including the infamous muskeg. It's considered a coastal rain forest with a taiga climate.

Due to all that moisture, you'll find that it's heavy with your wonderful friends, the mosquitoes. As for size, well, a chichaco ramper filled one up with 5 gallons of jet fuel at Kenai Municipal before he was informed it was just a mosquito. Forget DEET, forget permethrin, buy dove shot.

There are a lot of fishing and hunting opportunities in the area as there are moose, bear and caribou. For deer though, I believe Kodiak Island and the southeast towards the panhandle is the only place they range. Others here will have more knowledge as I never got to hunt up there. For fishing, there are a lot of rivers and streams as well as hundreds of lakes. There's salmon, steelhead, dolly varden, and rainbow. At least that's all I've caught up there. If you enjoy fishing, I'd say skip the Kenai during tourist season. Fish the Kenai a couple of times just to say you have, but you'll soon learn that you're more apt to hit more than fish upside the head with your club. It's become known as "combat fishing" for a reason. I've always enjoyed fishing the Swanson River out at the end of the North Road as it's a lot less crowded and the silvers and reds still run it. It's all of about 10 feet wide, but deep in a lot of places. If you check it out in Google Earth, the Panoramio photos are actually ones I've taken. Out in the Cook Inlet you have ling cod, halibut, and a few other fish. The last time I went out a few years ago, we seemed to be having trouble with dogfish though. They're little sharks about 4 feet long with spines on their fins much like a catch fish. I don't know if they're even edible. We'd caught one several times, and we'd keep releasing him. Eventually we figured out he was circling our boat just waiting for the next cast and wouldn't get away from us, so we unfortunately had to end him or he'd have followed us clear into harbor.

This has been a long-winded post, and I'm sure I've neglected things, but hopefully that gives you some idea. If you want to know more on the school system, I can tell you what it was like in the 90's, but I don't know if any of that has changed since.

Wow, thanks! That is great info. I am feeling even more excited about this move

How are the winters in the Kenai? Do folks ice fish there?

I hope I can help add to what has been provided here. I had lived in Nikiski for about 15 years at the end of a gravel road behind the Lamplight (locala will know this place). I agree with the "North Roaders" being a different breed and I would not even call them red-necks in the true sense as they are just different! I will also add as nothed that they are pretty much dying off and all but gone. It is still a different place from anything you could imagine good or bad but just plain different due to its location and remoteness although still on the road system. My next door neighbor who was murdered in prison a few years ago was more than flakey and weird but gave me no problems as I always held my ground and was always dilligent in maintaining my "Don't tred on me" personna. I know many very good people in Nikiski who will always be my friends. Many of them were there for me as were many of the fine members of this forum when my daughter died a few years ago. The worst part about living in Nikiski is the 20 minues plus drive to kenai and 30 minutes to Soldotna. There is not much to do socially or as far as organized social recreation. But if you are a real outdoors nut like most of us here then you will have found a near heaven p[lace to live. I lived on about 8 acres at the end of a dead end road about 3 miles long and loved it there. I had a nice 200 yard range in my back yard and grew broccoli about 50 yards out along it. That little garden produced a fine young bull Moose every single year that I planted it. I went dip netting for Salmon and filled my freezer. I was in easy reach of Halibut to add to the freezer every summer and have lots of fond memories to boot. With the Moose, Salmon and halibut stores taken care of I was free to persue Dall Sheep, Caribou and bears to my delight for recreational hunting. If this sounds good to you then move. If you are more acustom to having stores and big selections of everything at your ready then forget it! It sounds like you are in an excellent position to live in a good place that most would dream of. I am now living in Anchorage but it is due to work or I would be back on the peninsula.

BTW
I am happy to see the familiar names that are still here

Flyboy
If you are anywhere near 20 YO you would have known my daughter, Heather.

How old is your daughter, Mtgoat? I seem to remember a few Heathers. The only one coming immediately to mind is Heather Penhale. Is the pool/rec still operational? They used to run a few softball leagues and such out there on the fields. And I forgot about the Lamplight. I'd been in there a few times, but it wasn't one of the places my parents frequented. Was (is?) owned by the Mikas if I remember correctly.

And yes, SpartanGunner, there is ice fishing. When I was up there you could almost bet the snow starting on October 10th and the last of the ice thawing out off the lakes around May 25th. Though the winter the year I left was rather snowless until late in the season and I've heard they've had several other ones like that. If you live in Nikiski, or really Kenai for that matter, a snowmachine is almost a requirement. The lower 48 calls them snowmobiles or sleds, but on the North Road, a snowmobile usually refers to a large tracked surplussed army vehicle, and a sled is what you drag behind the snowmachine. There have been times it's dumped several feet and you were hard pressed to get your car out for a bit, but people would end up getting to work or the grocery stores by snowmachine. Even in Kenai, with being a large town/small city of around 5,000 (I imagine it's shrunk in population by now), the snowmachines would come out when the cars and trucks couldn't.

As Mtgoat mentioned, there's subsistance fishing once you can claim residency. I think, but I'm not positive, that it was 20 salmon for head of household and 10 for each member of the household. You can dipnet them out of the mouth of the Kenai by boat, or there's a stretch of beach you can throw a net out. I remember when I was younger that the beach restriction wasn't in existence and you'd see hundreds of families lined along Nikishka Bay with nets out. It was a weekend event with families just having a day at the beach. There'd be bonfires, picnics, barbecues, and the like. They put the kibosh on that several years before I moved though. With the subsistence fishing, though, you'll end up with more salmon than you'd probably ever dreamed. Canning equipment and at least one large deep freeze will be necessary. A smoker is even better. If you've got a family with you, just with all the cleaning, filleting, canning, smoking, and such, it can turn into a family event. Though it's harder to keep children interested after 5 fish these days.

The Lamplight as well as the hardware store are owned by the Mikas. Curt Morris who owned M&M Market passed away a few years ago and the store is owned by his wife now. Neros Pizza is still there and the pool was still open the last I knew.

Heather Penhale was a friend of my daughter and I beleive they were the same age. My daughter, Heather Faeo was hit by a car in Kenai in fromt of Carrs and passed away 2 months later in July 2003.