The rumors have been flying around that salmon had been spotted in the Naknek Lake which is where the salmon would first arrive. Though the rumors were going around none of the staff had acxtually seen a salmon. They are not hard to define, they have a red body and a green head. They jump out of the water but then so do the rainbow trout that we have in both the river and the lake.
In the morning one of the interpreters called the Alaska Game and Fish Department to see what the latest report on the salmon. He was told that the salmon had been spotted in the Naknek Drainage. So it was possible that they could be here.
As the day went on calls came in the ranger station that salmon were being spotted. Then I actually saw one jump just near the floating bridge. It was brief but identafiable. This changed the attitude of the camp. The reason being that now that the salmon are here things will get hectic. During the next month 72 different bears will arrive to begin to feed on all the fish that will try to swim upstream to spawn. Bears will be trying to cut through camp to get to their favorite spot on the river. And while the bear numbers are increasing so will the number of visitors to see the increasing number of bears. It will make everyones job more intense and stressful. Talking to a long time lodge employee, he said that now after spending a month of training people we get to see who freaks and quits and who can handle the job. I hope I am one of the second people.
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