Jake Jacobson - Alaska Tales: Laughs and Surprises

ALASKA

TALES

Laughs and Surprises

JAKE JACOBSON

PO Box 221974 Anchorage, Alaska 99522-1974

ISBN 978-1-59433-497-9

eBook ISBN Number: 978-1-59433-498-6

Copyright 2014 Jake Jacobson

First Edition

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in any form, or by any mechanical or electronic means including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, in whole or in part in any form, and in any case not without the written permission of the author.

J.P. Jake Jacobson

Alaska Master Guide #54

PO Box 1313

Kodiak, Alaska 99615

website: www.huntfish.us/

email:

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Bob Penfold with a Pacific Cod on the LADY SASQUATCH.

Forward by Bob Penfold

Comments from a long time friend from down unda

I first met Jake at a hunters convention in Vienna many years ago. We found that we shared similar interests and lifestyles in hunting, fishing, travel, politics, and family. We shared many great adventures in Alaska, in areas of the lower 48 and in the South Pacific.

We hunted and fished together a lot over the past thirty-some years. While I had great hunts and fishing with Jake in the lower 48 and in Alaska, Jake had some wonderful times with me in Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia where he made promotional videos for my hunting company.

Once while on a booking tour in the U.S. I mailed Jake some video clips to put together for a short promotional film on culling feral donkeys for me. In less than a week, I had the edited and narrated tape with sound effects in my hand to use at the next show. Our timing meshed perfectly.

Jake is a true conservationist taking care of the wildlife and the environment, as well as being a Life Member of the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, The North American Hunting Club, the Alaska Outdoor Council and several other organizations.

Whether we like it or not, we hunting guides and outfitters are in the entertainment business.

Sometimes we entertain the clients and sometimes it is the clients who entertain us. Jakes case is similar to other guides in this regard, and Jake has a somewhat unique sense of what the readers might see as humorous.

In the field, interpretations might be different than if the same events occurred in a domestic or urban setting. On a hunt we tend to look for the funniest interpretation of any scenario. We use a light hearted approach to soften what is, all too often, a tough or disappointing incident. A little levity can serve to lift the mood.

No worries, mate!

Alaskans are similar to Australians in many ways. Members of both cultures have a sense of fun that extends to a wide variety of situations. Royalty, the clergy, public officials, and especially, overly self-important people are considered fair game. None are insulated from our sense of fun and jokes. None are spared. Jake clearly shows this in the accounts that are included in these book chapters.

While I have been the subject of Jakes wit on numerous occasions. He always intends the joke in friendship and in good humor. When you experience his belly-rolling laugh up close, even when you are the butt of the joke, you cannot help but share in the fun and join in laughing up the moment with him.

The chapters in this, Jakes second book on Alaska happenings, seem funnier than most because they are true accounts of situations that occurred during his time in both the small towns and wilderness areas of Alaska that he enjoys so much. While he sometimes protects his villains by changing the names, we can imagine the hilarity that accompanied living each chapter.

He couldnt just think this stuff up

While I have been enjoying my retirement from the industry for 10 years Jake remains engaged in taking guests on Alaska wilderness pursuits. He still likes to fun up these adventures with his clients to give them special moments that they will remember forever. These amusing stories are now passed on to the readers of this book so that those who do not have the opportunity to venture into Jakes wilderness can share many of those special moments that make up much of a professional big game hunting guides life.

Bob Penfold

Fletcher, New South Wales, Australia

July, 2014

Forward by Larry Gates

You should buy this book. It will make you laugh. It is full of stories youll want to read again, and again. Youll tell your friends about it. Thinking about it will make you smile during boring meetings. People will wonder what you are up to. On a bad day, when youve screwed up at work, your wife is mad at you, and the kids are sick, this book will give you half an hours respite. It will take you to a place of adventure, danger, and humor, all woven together by one larger than life character. I had to get all that down fast, because its important. Im not a writer, and I dont know how long I can hold your attention.

Jake Jacobson is my hero. Book forward hyperbole, right? Wrong. I promise; give me two pages, three minutes reading time, and Ill make my case.

I found Jake because I was looking for adventure. I was fifty years old, and my life was as predictable as the daily commute. I had spent all that time doing exactly what everyone expected: college, professional school, wonderful wife, great kids, mortgage, an embarrassingly small and fluffy dog, and a respectable career. Then I started seeing the grey hair falling into my lap at the barber shop. Some of my friends died. Suddenly, I wanted to do something unexpected, something to make me feel alive. I felt like time was short. I didnt have the years to build an interesting life from scratch. I wanted to cheat. I wanted to buy two weeks of instant adventure. I bought a 300 WinMag, a membership at a range, and a subscription to a hunting newsletter with a searchable online database. I combed the database for caribou hunts in Alaska. That sounded adventurous. I started seeing a name pop up with some regularity, James P. Jake Jacobson, Arctic Rivers Guide Service. I made the call. My life changed.

Ron Phillips and Larry Gates with Larrys Grizzly, 2010.

I met Jake face to face in Kotzebue, the last spot accessible by commercial flight on the way to his hunting lodge. We shook hands, loaded my gear into a Piper Super Cub that looked just slightly older than I was, and headed for the Brooks Range.

The hunt was just about everything I had hoped for. It was an adventure, but a very comfortable adventure. The hunting was fun. While I missed out on a caribou, I took a nice grizzly. The bunk was comfortable. The sauna every three days kept me respectably clean. The food was great. (I have to be clear here. Jake has many admirable qualities, but he is only a tolerable cook. The real cooking was done by the assistant guide, Ron. In camp, Ron is the indispensable man.) The whole trip was absolutely transformative. I tried to buy two weeks of adventure, and it changed my life. But the best thing may have been the stories.

Being at Jakes lodge is like being in a book. If the living room at Trail Creek didnt exist in physical reality, someone would have to create it in a novel. It reminds me of Holms and Watsons drawing room at 221B Baker Street, or Jack Aubreys cabin aboard the Surprise. The big window looks out over the mouth of a broad glacial valley filled with scrub willows and lichen. Piles of books and magazines cover the shelves, end tables, and floor. The walls are covered with newspaper clippings about bear attacks, hunting accidents, and the less savory aspects of life in Kotzebue, Alaska. Above the clippings rise caribou antlers, various skulls, and pelts of unknown provenance. The home made furniture is sturdy, but comfortable and well broken-in. Wonderful smells of rabbit stew and Trail Creek berry bread waft in from the adjoining kitchen. It is a space created for telling stories.