My personal highlight of the whole trip was that ride. Funny to think that the angler would go to Alaska and have the riding be a highlight. I'd venture to guess the riders probably were keen on the fishing. They let me drive the Rhino with Glenn. The Rhino looks like a golf cart on steroids, but it was all business on this ride. I had a blast.

We pulled off the trail at dark, and as we loaded the quads for the last time on Tim's trailer, I saw the Northern Lights for the first time in my life. It was my 40th birthday. Pretty cool.

In all, this was one of the best adventures I have ever been a part of. Maybe because it exceeded expectations, maybe because we pulled off the fishing in tough conditions … probably because I did it all and lived to write the story.

To be honest, I wasn't exactly a quad loving guy before, and the thought of being in the "promised land" with a bunch of newbie flyfishers didn't exactly have me enthralled. I thought it would be a long trip for an "almost" type of fishing adventure. I was wrong.

It reinforced in my mind that the true essence of fishing is becoming less about the fish, and more about the journey – in this case, literally, the ride. We saw loons, eagles, sheep, caribou, moose, hawks, silver salmon, rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, pink salmon, grayling, sea lions, whales, and more. I learned some tricks on the fishing side, and learned a ton about riding quads. And I made a handful of good friends. When all is said and done, that's what a perfect Alaska adventure is all about, isn't it?