Guiding Alaska

Miles and miles from civilization and deep inside Alaska's pristine Tikchik State Park, we meet the rugged band of brothers behind Tikchik Narrows Lodge as they prepare for their first guests of the season.

Tikchik's latest round of adventurers hit the lodge ready to fish. One of the guests, Sue, has come to Tikchik in honor of her recently deceased husband and experiences a spiritual adventure.

A journalist writing a story about Tikchik expects the VIP treatment, but a limping generator and a bat infestation threatens to shut the whole thing down. Then, a firewood mission goes awry leaving people lost and wet.

Tikchik is reward with a once-in-lifetime rainbow after an unexpected gale. Also, an increased bear presence leaves the lodge on its toes, and a husband and wife team challenge each other to improve their angling skills.

A proposed open-pit mine threatens the very existence of the lodge, Bud lays down the law with his staff and the old generator may sputter its last breath. That's all set aside, though, when a wounded warrior arrives.

Vegas high rollers arrive at Tikchik Lodge and are ready to get down to the serious business of fun. All bets are off, though, when dinner is threatened by a very sharp knife.

With the last guest long gone, the Tikchik crew hustles to beat the long, harsh Alaskan winter and batten down the hatches for the caretaker before saying farewell until next year.