Alaskan Character

Here’s another Alaskan character. He was hitch hiking on the road to Tok. We stopped to chat and he asked us if we had an unopened bottle of water he could have. We did not, but told him we would get one from the trailer for him. Because he had a dog and cat with him I also grabbed a Ziploc bag of pet food for them. He was thrilled to get the pet food. Said he had been camped along Eagle Creek (illegally gold panning on someone else’s claim) when his dog ate all of the cat’s food and they had to come out. )

Several days later I ran into him in Tok. I talked to him at the Post Office (I was mailing Brother Bill’s Birthday present.) He said he got a ride with an EMT. Apparently the EMT had picked up a dead guy to deliver to the Anchorage Coroner.  When the hitchhiker put his stuff in the back he found out the guy had been in the water for three days and was REALLY smelly.  Said he still hasn’t got the smell out of his stuff! Of course, all I could think about were the poor dog and cat riding in the back!