Tim's Tours

Tim Redington was born in the Territory of Alaska in 1949. His childhood was spent on several family homesteads and mining claims staked by them after WWII ended. All the Redington children lived extraordinary lives, even for those times. For many residents of Alaska, the 1950s were a time of hustling toward modernity (although Anchorage was still a tent city then); for the Redingtons it was a dogsled journey, going backward in time.

By the time Tim was nine years old he was staying alone in the Alaska wilderness and feeding and caring for 250 dogs. He learned to trap and shoot and skin and prepare his own meat to supplement his diet. Tim and his brothers pretty much hunted and trapped all winter and fished, gardened and preserved food all summer. He describes his early life as "living more like Indians than the Indians."

Tim's father, Joe Sr. was often employed by the U.S. Army to recover crashed airplanes and other assorted mishaps. The Redingtons went everywhere via dogsled or boat, and Tim and his brothers helped their dad with everything. It was nothing to these guys to move large metal objects down steep mountain dog trails. They put houses on little barges and brought them across the Knik Arm. They spent their lives "figgurin' stuff out."

Uneducated in city ways (or even village ways), Tim grew up making his own keen observations about life and people. His personality is just what you'd expect from someone who grew up and lived in the wilds of Alaska for almost sixty years: unpredictable, sometimes downright hysterically funny, often politically incorrect. We do not recommend his tours to anyone unable to see the value in unpolished gems. He is, as he puts it, someone who's lived in the wild, unlike the famous guy who starved and the other famous guy who got ate by the bears. To Tim, those unfortunate souls did not Live in the Wild, they died in the Wild. And to Sourdough Alaskans, it's the survivin' that matters.

Sittin' with the Sourdoughs

Racing to the fishwheels

Tim has been a commercial fisherman all his life. He is authorized on two fishwheel permits on the Copper River bringing him 100s of Copper River Reds and other varieties each season. His tours to the fishwheels only happen when the wheels are turned on and the fish are expected to be running. Opening fishing dates vary from year to year.

These tours, if you're here at the right time, include driving down to the wheels, watching Tim crawl out on the wheel to extract the fish, watching him bonking the fish, watching him carry the buckets of fish and dump them in the tote, driving back to Camp Redington with him and watching Tim clean the fish. At this point, he may be inclined to teach guests how to fillet the fish. Fish is then either frozen, smoked, canned or cooked on the grill and eaten on the spot, and these activities can also be part of the tour, depending on time and interest.

Bear Searches

Tim has been hunting and trapping in Alaska all his life. He knows where the bears live, and has been known to take guests out to spots where he thinks there might be a live one or two. He's going to have to find a way to keep his older guests in his vehicle though, since many visitors don't understand the necessary precautions (like staying close to the car door) or how lightening fast a griz can move. Other guests we've ran into bears with have tried to chase the bears. Based on some guests' suicidal impulses, bear watching will be limited to accidental encounters, and then it's every man for himself.

Hikes to the Bluff

Tim traps on the trails behind his campground all winter. He knows every trail out here, which lands are off limits, and he knows exactly how long it takes to walk out to the bluff, in the snow. It's about a mile one way to the view of the river and the Wrangell Mtns; four of the highest mountains in North America are visable from Kenny Lake. Hikers can also be led to places where they can choose a diamond willow to cut and carve later, and can also pick herbs and flowers along the way on Tim's private property.

Winter tours of Tim's trap lines and overnight excursions into Wrangell St. Elias are planned to begin in fall 2009. Tim is also available for close up wildlife photography expeditions year round.