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It had been too long since I caught a rainbow, so I made a quick stop at a creek on the south side of the Alaska Range. Alaska's new no-felt-soles regulation made this alder-choked boulder garden one of the most treacherous places I've ever waded, and I emerged from it soaked and bruised, but I did get a couple pretty little rainbow trout for my effort.

The creek is between salmon runs right now, so the fishing was slower than it's usually supposed to be, but that also kept me from any bear encounters. During salmon runs, everyone says this creek is an extremely bear-infested, alder-choked boulder garden. I think I might pass on that experience, since I navigate the slimy boulders in my rubber wader boots at about the average walking speed of an Ephemerella nymph, and the bear encounter guidelines say to walk away slowly, not to slowly splash around and stumble all over yourself. However, I have not yet heard a bear laugh, so it might be worth trying...