My first night at camp, a mosquito happened to bite my left eye. When I woke up the following morning, it was swollen. There wasn't a mirror in my tent so I took a bunch of pictures of myself to see how bad it was. It was pretty bad! Later I found out from my crewmates, who were trying to be polite, that they thought I had a lazy left eye...Jeez people! A lazy eye? No way -- How embarrassing!
Well, it got better. My second or third day there, we started putting in the weir, which was a full day process that required a lot of muscle. The guys did most of the intense stuff in the water like laying down fencing and pounding in metal stakes -- I filled and delivered sandbags and floating panels to where they were needed. By the end of the day, I was covered in bug bites and my face was burning. I dunked my head in the river -- SO REFRESHING -- and then kept on working. I didn't want stupid bugs to get in my way. Apparently my face was swollen and red...god, that must have been attractive. Eventually, my boss had to order me to go up to camp to get out of the bugs. Needless to say, I was slightly frustrated and upset. I was trying to make a good impression and just wanted to work. Leaving the job was the last thing I wanted to hear...In the long run, it was good that I left because while I was changing in my tent I discovered hives down my torso and my arms felt like they were wearing tight leather pants from being swollen. Later Theresa had me call a doctor for a consultation, who said I needed to get to the village clinic as soon as possible for further examination. The next day Chris and I headed to town. The ladies at the clinic were so nice and helpful. The nurse I met with gave me antihistimine blockers, which I had to take twice a day for the rest of the summer. Whew -- a quick fix.
Jeremy's mullet
Not long after Laura and I arrived did Jeremy announce he wanted to grow a mullet while in Togiak, but he needed a haircut. Who was cut out to do the job? Well, someone likely more skilled than I, but I stepped up to the challenge and boy was it challenging. Dan brought out some haircutting shears and I used a comb Laura kept in her pocket. Snip here, snip there, take out a patch above Jeremy's right ear...No big deal, right? He wanted a mullet -- I'm just shaping the sides a bit. Well, with Greg hovering over my shoulder....Actually everyone was hovering over my shoulder. Comments were made and made loudly.
"Oh my god Syd! What did you do? I told you not to cut off that much?"
"Oh! It's just hair -- it will grow back and you wanted a mullet after all."
I felt bad and Jeremy decided to have Greg finish my mess. Greg is quite skilled as a barber actually. I was impressed. It turned out well and Jeremy had a good lead on his mullet look.
Bolts and washers -- learning how to cast/fish
I'm a fisheries major at the University of Washington, but I had no idea how to fish before coming to Alaska. When I arrived I asked if someone would teach me how to fish -- I brought a cheap pole I had picked up in Dillingham and just needed some guidance. Jeremy volunteered his services -- in his normal Wisconsin life he's a substitute teacher and enjoys teaching others, so I was grateful for his willingness to help. One day while we were the only two at camp. Everyone else was out fishing and tagging, I had the day off and Jeremy was on weir duty, so I asked....
"Hey Jeremy -- will you teach me how to fish today?"
"Sure, first you need to get the hang of casting."
I didn't have any lures ... silly me, I bought a pole, but no lures. The problem was I didn't know what to get...there are so many options.
Fishing in a dress
When you think of fishermen, you probably don't picture dresses and you definitely probably don't think of fishermen wearing dresses while they fish. Well, I brought a dress with me out to field camp primarily for a presentation I had to give in Anchorage, but then decided it would be great to wear while fishing weather and mosquitoes permitting. The day had to be perfect -- unfortunately, the perfect day for such an event happened to be the same day Dan and Steph left Togiak.
The sun was warm, the bugs were mild and I was determined. So, I put on my boots, grabbed my pole, shimmied into my dress and headed for my fishing hole. Now, I didn't catch anything that time, but I had a hell of a time doing it, which is all that really matters.
Packages from Vickie and tons of mail
Everyone always gave me a hard time because whenever anyone went to town they returned with mail for me. My Aunt Vickie sent me so much mail! It was wonderful -- she sent me some cool packages and great letters. I loved getting her mail and having a pen pal. One time she sent me all of the ingredients to make a casserole dish, which was delicious. Another time she sent me mandalas, which I colored and then hung in my tent. I made one for Dan too....well, actually he took one I was coloring for myself, but made up for it by coloring one for me.
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