ALASKA, I LOVE THEE.
Mt. Billy Mitchell says “Relax!”
“To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.”-John Muir Expansive Wilderness, raging rivers, gigantic mountains, glaciers galore and wildlife to boot! This place as it all. Alaska, the last frontier and new obsession of Andy McMurray. Arrived to the 48th state on May 27th, after a few red eye flights and the airport floor for a bed, I took the most scenic plane ride of my life flying ERA aviation from Anchorage to Valdez. Ice fields, Prince William Sound, and the Chugach mountain range gave this Alaskan virgin his first taste of the adventure that lay ahead. My initial impressions where simply that of the size. Having been to numerous mountain ranges in North and South America, nothing even holds a candle to that of the Alaskan landscape.As far as the eye can see, it’s enormous. Through kayaking and knowing both owners, I’ve landed a job managing the Tiekel River Lodge for the summer. Situated a mile marker 56 outside of Valdez on the Richardson Highway, isolated is a fantastic word in beginning to describe the place. Erected in the 1950’s, the lodge serves as a pull off for tourist and local traffic alike, serving up mean cuisines of a full scale restaurant, a gas pump, numerous cabins, and a campground. The job is wonderful, the scenery doesn’t suck, and I’m getting paid live in a GIANT playground. Needless to say, I’m pretty damn happy. I’m currently managing three other employees who deserve entire postings in their own right. Interesting with stories aplenty, Trixie, Paul, and Dan are all uniquely different in their own intricit ways. Trixie, hails from Anchorage, had a baby girl named Emily at sixteen, has worked odd jobs here and here mostly in the service industry. She found the application on craigslist and within a day of applying was picked up in Anchorage by Paul the cook and myself. She literally left most behind her and just needed to “get away for the summer.” From what I’ve gathered she was tired of her old life, needed to get away for awhile, and sought somewhere isloated to perhaps find herself. I wouldn’t have given her five minutes of lasting on my initial introduction with her, but in the past few weeks she’s proved to be one hell of a worker, quick to learn the kitchen, till, and has even came into the shop to help me organize a few things. After a DWI, her child is in the custody of her child’s father. Once engaged, boy crazy to all hell, and a pleasant person in general, she’s a peach to have around. Grey beared, Penslyvanian native, Paul is bull-headed, a master in all things consumed, can’t hear worth a damn, questions everything, but is deep down a kind soul. Paul has 10 kids, was married when he was 47, fought, was wounded numerous times in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne, and has resided in Alaska for the past twenty years. He’s especially proud of his time spent on Kodiak island, which he nevers shuts up about and where his time spent ranged from owning numerous restaurants that flew in strippers for the Coast Guard to teaching Russian Orthodox history at the respective seminary. His views on life are as interesting as his tidbits of Alaskan history and I doubt I will witness Paul shy away from chatting up someone in the kitchen. Aiming to fatten me up forty plus pounds in the next three months, Paul’s cuisine constints of three crucial ingredients: salt, meat, and cholesterol. However, I was shocked tonight at dinner when I saw a side salad included with the gravy soaked Salsbury steak and potato the size of a football. Later I learned that Trixie had prepared the salad. Paul’s sent three letters in his life. The first was when he left his wife at the alter, it included why he left and where he was at. He said he was scared of commitment. In the second letter, he won her heart back and asked her to marry him again. The third, was on June 4th, 2008, he told her he loved her, missed her, and that he probably doesn’t say that enough.Dan is the new guy. He’s, quiet, keeps to himself, and hails from Rochester, New York. Dan’s been quick to learn the kitchen and other areas, but feel as he’ll be the one that I’ll have to closely watch. We’ll see how Dan ends up. He’s 26, recently graduated from Ithaca University with a degree in film studies and wanted to work in Alaska before joining the “real world.” A wonderful guitarist, praticing magician, and avid Sudoku enthusiast, Dan brings a culturally diverse flavor to the Tiekel River Lodge.Back to Alaska and whole adventure thing: Thus far, I’ve kayaked on three rivers in which trip reports will added soon to my kayaking blog. Yesterday, I was on the Tiekel, which is literally in our backyard. Armed with a bear spray canister and running the river solo due to lack of partners, I came around a corner scaring up two calf moose, only then to reap the wrath of a very pissed off Momma moose who actually charged into the middle of the river at me. With her on one side of the bank and me on the other, the waiting began. After thirty mintues and her still just watching me mid-river, I was forced to hike out. She won.Adventure after adventure, I’m planning to pack it all in till October. Today I ran the Tonsina, a 26 mile (yes, that says 26) lower section of river near Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. On Saturday, I’m going sea-kayaking to the Columbia glacier in Prince William Sound. You get the picture.
