A slow boat to Glacier Bay

Supporters of HUMAN EVEN Young America's Foundation and F,

It was 20 miles south of Ketchikan; a few hundred yards off Indian Point, in a small boat on the Behm Canal, that Ollie North revealed his Top Secret recipe for barbecued salmon.

To get it, you had to be there.

But some HuMAN EvErs subscribers were there-along with supporters of the National Rifle Association, Young America's Foundation and the Freedom Alliance,-The afternoon fishing trip down the Behm Canal was just one of the dozens of day-trips and adventures offered to participants on the voyage dubbed, "Conservatives at Sea."

The week-long cruise up the fabled Inland Passage made the roundtrip from Vancouver, British.Columbia, to Glacier Bay and back, with ports stops in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. About 120 conservatives were aboard for the duration.

That day out of Ketchikan, some cruisers took float planes out to explore Misty Fjords National Monument. Others went fly fishing for trout in the mountains beyond town. Still others strolled the dockside streets, exploring the little shops of the village. And some simply lounged on deck-exploiting the snappy staff and gourmet menu of the MS Volendamto eat their lunches in perfect 75-degree weather as bald eagles entertained them with regular dive-bombing runs on the salmon swarming upstream past the canneries of the waterfront. Eah of these idyllic options was a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

On the run out to Indian Point, our fishing guide, Charlie Bentley, told us why he intended to stay put in Alaska.

"The kids up here?" he said. "`They don't know anything about the Crips and the Bloods. But they do know a lot about guns. Earlier this year, one 14-year-old boy took his boat out to one of these islands and shot a wolf as it was killing a deer. He brought the wolf back into town, and he was a hero."

(Now, wait. .If you're a liberal who somehow happens to be reading this, put down the phone. Don't call PETA or the Fish and Wildlife Department. It is legal-in Alaska-to shoot wolves. Sometimes, it is even necessary. Ten thousand still prowl the woods of this state, and a few months ago one mauled a boy within yards of his home.)

Yet, we learned in Alaska that the wolf is not the freest of creatures still roaming America's last frontier. That title belongs to the people of Alaska.

Once a year, Charlie told us, he goes "south," to Seattle, just to remind himself why he loves Alaska so much. Too crowded down there, he said.

But.Charlie has no aversion to crowds of fish. Within minutes of baiting up at Indian Point, there were strikes on every line in the water. Every ten minutes or so, someone pulled another 10-20 pound salmon into the boat. The freshest went into an ice chest (and back at the dock were filleted, vacuum-packed, quick-frozen and FedExed home). Those closest to spawning were released.

Back aboard the Volendam, cruise members gathered for a few hours each day to hear talks and exchange ideas with the leading conservatives who had joined us for the trip. Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, president of the Polling Co., dismantled the myth of the gender gap. Author Dinesh D'Souza and Michelle Easton, president of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, discussed their visions for conservatism in the 21 st Century. University of California Regent Ward Connerly told of the life experiences that drove him to become a civil rights activist. Young America's Foundation President Ron Robinson explained why he is certain the next generation of conservative leaders will surprise the nation. American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene discussed the lively relationship between the conservative movement and the GOP And National Rifle Association Executive Director Wayne LaPierre unveiled his in-your-face-strategy for battling the gun-control zealots. One morning, HUMAN EVENS Chairman Tom Phillips moderated a panel on "Media Spin." It featured MSNBC's Ollie North, nationally syndicated columnist Suzanne Fields, Washington Mmes chief political correspondent Ralph Hallow, and yours truly.

When the Volendam pulled into Skagway, many of those on the cruise took a short walk down the gangway and onto the vintage cars of the White Pass Railway. Finished in 1900 to carry prospectors into the Yukon, this line runs from sea level, at dockside, to a barren 2,865foot mountain pass, straddling the Alaska-Canada border, 20 miles away. Many of those 20 miles come in two long switchbacks.

As twin diesels pulled the train across wooden trestles and through caves carved from mountain stone, the surrounding scenery transformed from sublime to spectacular. A thick forest of spruce and hemlock gave way to sheer cliffs, where, here and there, a few tough trees clung to cracks in the granite wall. Down below-way down below--the Skagway River churned over massive boulders and, far above, a dark line of peaks faded in and out of a seemingly ever-present mist.

A century ago, Klondike prospectors were stopped at this pass. by Canadian Mounties and not allowed to cross the border, unless they carried at least 1,000 pounds of supplies-nough, it was believed, to last a year in the frozen Yukon. Before the railroad was completed, miners climbed up and down the mountain as many as 20 times on foot, carrying 50 pounds each circuit, to qualify for entry into EI Dorado.