Thanks to one of his favorite writers, it’s not just a brown trout, it’s a Frying Pan River brown trout. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

Thanks to one of his favorite writers, it’s not just a brown trout, it’s a Frying Pan River brown trout. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

When a place isn’t just a place

I saw a dude reading Jack London at a coffee shop in Juneau.

I saw a dude reading Jack London at a coffee shop in Juneau. The words of London, Robert Service, etc. inspired by the Alaska/Klondike of the past, have endured for generations, so it makes sense that people would be motivated to read those words near their geographic origin.

However, I judged the guy. I thought it was cliché to think the practice of thinking a deeper appreciation for the words could be attained just by being near where someone wrote them.

I’ve grown up a lot since then and have myself become maybe a little romantic, nostalgic or susceptible to the gravity of a place. I’ve learned that though the original context has long since faded, geography alone can provide better understanding and appreciation.

I became that guy last week when I wanted nothing more than a John Gierach book while waiting for my burger, feet from Colorado’s Frying Pan River. He didn’t write how to fish it, he just wrote about fishing it and that was enough. Had he not mentioned it, I would not have cared. Since he did, it became more than just a river. It was the exact river one of my favorite writers fished. I was there. This was it.

I was so enamored by the situation I imagined cheesy things like if Gierach had fished the very same stretch I would the next morning, or what if by some cosmic brilliance, I hooked a fish he had released the previous year or year before.

It’s one of those things that can only culminate in a, “Woah, that would be crazy” because there is nothing really substantial that could come from knowing that fact. Nothing for the life resume. But it would be cool.

What I think connects readers to the authors is the sense of accomplishment. Someone feebly attempted to put words to the enormity of even a small part of life, and the process went well enough for it to be shared.

Places are made (and unmade) by people according to perceived value and it’s interesting to see what ends up being valued and why.

People want to go to the Chris McCandless bus to camp and read Into the Wild because maybe there’s a vibe there, something extra, something insightful, something to take home.

Others think there is nothing to find there but the remains of a bus where someone died. Nothing spiritual or insightful, just a tale of arrogance, mooching, unpreparedness and general stupidity.

At some level, I think we all are susceptible to being moved by a place once we have educated ourselves about the historical, cultural or even recreational value. We tread with more appreciation, reverence and respect. It’s more enjoyable. More interesting.

But I don’t think we get the meaning to life when we’re reading about what someone did in a certain spot. I think we get a reminder that someone who was there, did something that, years later, is worth reading about and maybe we should spend more time and energy living a story worth reading too.

There really is no better place to reflect and get a sense of place, than the place that inspired heavy words.


• Jeff Lund is a writer and teacher based in Ketchikan. “I Went To The Woods,” a reference to Henry David Thoreau, appears in Outdoors twice a month.


More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Dec. 22

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Denali as seen in a picture distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2015 when the nation’s tallest mountain was renamed from Mount McKinley. (National Park Service photo)
Trump vows name of highest mountain in U.S. will be changed from Denai back to Mt. McKinley

Similar declaration by Trump in 2016 abandoned after Alaska’s U.S. senators expressed opposition.

State Rep. Sara Hannan talks with visitors outside her office at the Alaska State Capitol during the annual holiday open house hosted by Juneau’s legislative delegation on Friday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A moving holiday season for Juneau’s legislators

Delegation hosts annual open house as at least two prepare to occupy better offices as majority members.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, Dec. 18, 2024. The Senate passed bipartisan legislation early Saturday that would give full Social Security benefits to a group of public sector retirees who currently receive them at a reduced level, sending the bill to President JOE Biden. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
Congress OKs full Social Security benefits for public sector retirees, including 15,000 in Alaska

Biden expected to sign bill that eliminates government pension offset from benefits.

Pauline Plumb and Penny Saddler carry vegetables grown by fellow gardeners during the 29th Annual Juneau Community Garden Harvest Fair on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Dunleavy says he plans to reestablish state Department of Agriculture via executive order

Demoted to division status after statehood, governor says revival will improve food production policies.

Alan Steffert, a project engineer for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains alternatives considered when assessing infrastructure improvements including utilities upgrades during a meeting to discuss a proposed fee increase Thursday night at Thunder Mountain Middle School. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Hike of more than 60% in water rates, 80% in sewer over next five years proposed by CBJ utilities

Increase needed due to rates not keeping up with inflation, officials say; Assembly will need to OK plan.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President-elect Donald Trump (left) will be working as chief executives at opposite ends of the U.S. next year, a face constructed of rocks on Sandy Beach is seen among snow in November (center), and KINY’s prize patrol van (right) flashes its colors outside the station this summer. (Photos, from left to right, from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office, Elliot Welch via Juneau Parks and Recreation, and Mark Sabbatini via the Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s 10 strangest news stories of 2024

Governor’s captivating journey to nowhere, woman who won’t leave the beach among those making waves.

Police calls for Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. Funding for the federal government will lapse at 8:01 p.m. Alaska time on Friday if no deal is reached. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)
A federal government shutdown may begin tonight. Here’s what may happen.

TSA will still screen holiday travelers, military will work without paychecks; food stamps may lapse.

Most Read