Ashes THE ROAD was hard and dangerous, the air so cold it creaked. Chunks of ice drifted downriver, a few grabbing hold and fastening themselves to the bank. The alder alongside the road were straight, their tops bent higher up. "Looks like the wind hasn't setiled down in the valley yel," he said, "We might be able to make a few casts." Except for the slippery ribbon of the road, the land at the canyon was straight up and straight down, He looked down to the place where the rock walls narrowed and the water gained strength. He lifted his foot a bit. "You can’t even Took at your brakes when it’s like this, John. Don’t worry, you’re in good hands." The truck picked up speed on the long descent from the top of the gorge. The river disappeared behind the trees for a few miles then re- emerged al the cable car crossing. "Thal never was much of a run,” he said as they passed the place where the river swirled against a rock out- “crop. "Remember that time when you waded across there in low water and hooked that huge buck. at the bead end? God, I thought that animal would never come in. What a brute!" . The fails were frozen, but not solid- ly. He let the truck idie for a while so they could waich the water run under the glassy sheath, then drove on into the upper part of the valley. _"T call that piece of river Little Griz- zly.. Did I ever tell you why?" He pointed across an alder flat lo the rock wall on the far side of the river, "I crossed the river upstream one September moming a lot of years ” apo," lie smiled at the Tecollection, "I walked the top of that bank, There was a clearly. marked trail and dead springs littered all along it. “T knew they hadn’ i gotten up there on their own, so T climbed down and fished looking over my shoulder all the time. Never did concentrate hard enough to catch a fish. “Later that afternoon I ran into Bill who told me they’d watched a brown bear fish the run the day before. I never went back." It was snowing uow. The sky was prey and close. They passed the Kelly Creek. "Remember the American, John? When was thal anyway?" He didn’t wait for the answer. "That was a good Fall. Seemed like there was fish everywhere we went, The Yank came up behind us just as you were bringing the third fish of the day to one of those deer hair monstrosilies of yours. “Remember how he asked you if it was always this good, and you did everything to convince him the fishing was usually lousy? I guess. you weren't very believable. He must have told his buddics ’cause the valley was full of campers until the river went out with the fall rains." He pulled over where the trapper’ s cabin had once stood and thought about how il used to be, many years ago, when thy had first fished the run called Trapper, bow the run had been much bigger then, how it was galden in late September. He could see the cabin, the light in its window, the smoke rising in the cold air, the swirls of steelhead under his flies: the details of all those fine days melted together, the edges be- came less distinct; they swept over ‘him like a warm wind. "Well, John, let’s get at her buddy," he said. He. reached around for the gear. "There should be a couple of cold fish waiting for us." The cold air was a shock. He put on an extra wool shirt before putting on the wading jacket. He pulled on the niitts, shouldered the bag, assembled the rod, then started up the road. By the time he reached the steepest _ part of the bank, it was snowing heavily now. He couldn't make out the far side of the river. He listened to the sounds of the water for while, then reached into his bag. - The ashes. floated down over the -embankment. Soon they were in- distinguishable from >the swirling _ snow. "You know. John, maybe it’s too cold to fish after all,".We said. He’ walked back to: he truck and . “drove home alone It may not have been the result they were hoping for, but the Kermodes senior boys volleyball team needn't fecl badly about their performance at the ‘AAA’ provincial championships. So says team manager Tom Hamakawa, adding the Kermode’s 14th place finish didn’t tel! the full story. Hamakawa said Caledonia opened the lournament against a strong Mount Douglas entry” and quickly. took com- mand, winning the first game. ‘However, the southerners were able to put it together from‘ there, coming back to take the match 2-1. | ; Undcrlining the calibre of that leam, he pointed out. Mount Douglas went on to battle for the bronze. The Kermodes road didn’t get any easicr with their next court appearance cithcr, bringing them face to face with number one ranked Queen Elizabeth. Although QE handled Cal convincing- ly in the first game, winning 15-7, the . Kermodes came aul roaring ‘in the sec- ond building a 14-5 lead. “We just mecded one more point,” Hamakawa recalled, However, it was not -lo be, “They didn’t give us a free ball, they played perfectly,’? be said of the long battle that followed, a battle QE won 16- 14. “It was the heartbreaker of the tournament,’’ he said. The next two games were all too - similar, the Kermades taking both Stan- ley Humphreys and KLO to three games but unable to squeeze out a victory. Hamakawa pointed out KLO went on to become provincial champs, The winless drought finally ended in game five wheri the Kermodes took out another northern squad, Fort St. John, two slraight, That was to be the only entry in the win column, however. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 9, 1992 - Page C1 Kermodes better than placing In both their final round robin match ups, against Delta and Windermere, Cal suffered the frustration of 16-14 first ganic losses on the way lo falling’ two ~ straight. The 1-6 record left the Kermodes seventh in their group and sect wp the playoff for 13th overall against Prince George. Based on their past meetings, a tight game was to be expected and that’s just what the teams delivered. In a repeat of their opening match, the ‘Kermodes took the first game only to have Prince George find the extra needed from ‘there to notch a 10-15, 15-12, .15- 13 win, ~~ While the 14th place fi finish left the Cal players feeling a bit down, Hamakawa said they had no reason to be. They played extremely well through- out,” he emphasized, and taking the eventual champions to three games was no mean feat, Maintaining the Kermodes had been compelitive throughout, he pointed to the number of times the team had only just lost games and how casily the match results could have been reversed had those games gone the other way. For that reason, the 14th place finish didn’t tell the full story, While not making excuses, he said Cal’s southern.opponents probably had an advantage because they were more used to playing strong opposition. “Regular, tough competition gives that little bit of a fine edge to your game,”? he explained, And that edge can be the difference be- tween winning and losing when teams find themselves in a fiercely competitive match, Locking ahead, Hamakawa painted out half this year’s team will bring provin- cials experience to the 93 Kermades. CHITO RYU karate enthusiasts from Terrace and beyond congragated at Clarence Michiel school over the weekend for a two-day clinic conducted by Sensei David Akutagawa, one of the most respected teachers of Chito MISSION POSSIBLE. Following Kitimat's decision to drop curling. from its Winter Games, Curl B.C. came to the rescue of juniors across the province by staging its own playdowns leading to a provincial final in Mission. Prince -- Rupert and Smitners boys and girls teams met aver the weekend to: i : the horthwestem representatives will be at that event. Results next week, RECREATION Ryu in Western Canada. Above, Akutagawa demonstrates some of the finer points of the discipline with the assistance of Cam John (left). What direction should we take? While cily council prepares to wresile with a land use plan for the community, members of its Parks and Reereation Ad- visory Commission are trying to put to- gether a similar Jong range plan [or recreation. A member of planning commitiec -- and also the newest member of the com- mission -- is Mitch Stolarchuk. — “We're just really getting into il,”’ he says, emphasizing the committee is giving every recreation category cqual weight, And there are a lot of categorics be- cause ‘recreation’ covers a lot of ground, Stolarchuk adds. The committee has to look at what the future necds.of the communily might be and where to pul new-facilities ta meet those needs. That also means trying to anticipate where the ‘population growth will be in ihe years to come and Stolarchuk says that area appears to be ibe Bench. . Committee members had also had a chance to look over responses to the sur- vey ‘recently carried out by the city which showed: a. number of complaints even now, he- added, ee While. he committee hes. sensed about the lack of facilities in that area’ predictable items such as a second sheet of ice and community centre, he said they were also looking at the idea of a ‘huge’? walking-biking pathway cir- cling the cily and including Terrace Mountain, Ferry. Island and the south side of the city. Although lhe committee -- and the commission ‘-- has noe -sct completion daic for. bringing forward - its recom- mendations, Stolarchuk said. the com- miltee was meeting every two weeks and “tas quick as possible’’ was ils target, But before that- happens, the public has to have ils say. Just what is the best way for that to happen is something the com- mittee is wrestling with right now, he points oul. “Part of our agenda is to develop a way to make contact,’’ he says, - ‘noting options Include a survey or public n micct- ings. Stolarchuk says he gat involved i in 1 the commission because he’s sport oriented, his childreni’s involvement in lacal sports had highlighted needs. within: the com- munity and he’d- read. the cortiitission needed volunteers. :> And. what's it like trying lo plan the fue ture recreational face of Terrace? “Very interesting.’ ” Stolarchuk adinits.