Cabin in the Woods

I must admit to feeling weary of late. We work four 8-hr. days plus additional time for program development in the evenings since planning time is difficult to come by at the Visitors’ Center. (Program presentation is both fun and a personal commitment for Erv and I; our current efforts focus on eagles and sea otters.) Then, on our 3 days off we feel compelled to take full advantage of being in Alaska by exploring as much of this unique and beautiful state as we can. And, like everyone else, we must fit in laundry, shopping, cleaning, business, etc. So, we’ve just returned to work after 3 days hiking/camping in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, about 11/2 hrs north of our home base in Homer, and we’re ready for some down time which isn’t an option.

The trip to Kenai and Engineer Lake was a joy although it made us feel our age. We back-packed everything in to our remote site on a boggy, root-encumbered one mile trail around part of the lake’s shoreline then (rowboat came with the primitive cabin) rowed back to the parking area for the rest of our gear - another 1 mile round trip. We set up camp in the relatively new cabin (fine outhouse way back in the woods with a Dutch door to facilitate contemplation of the beautiful surroundings) and sat back on the porch to relax. The quiet evening was interrupted only by the lovely calls of red necked grebes and loons nesting around the lake. Entertainment was provided by a group of snowshoe hares nibbling grasses and chasing one another around the small clearing between cabin and lake. The quiet was deafening!

Alaska’s “summer” sunlight lasts 19+ hours and one becomes confused about time’s passage and the normal cues for waking and sleeping (dawn is around 4AM and dark- a relative term- about 11:30PM) - another cause of our weariness I think. And, although it is now considered summer, we sun-worshiping New Mexicans sorely miss intense sunshine and bone-permeating warmth - our longest stretch without a gray and overcast sky for at least half the day, has been 3 days. Nights continue in the 30's (days now reach the low 50's). At the cabin we enjoyed being able to make a fire in the wood burning stove to ease the chill before turning in.

Next day was cloudy and blustery along the lake but good for a 4-hr hike further inland to an even more remote lake. We saw lots of bear and moose scat but only birds and small critters. Returning, we found the boat swamped from large waves and had to bail and drag it to higher ground. Still plenty of time for rest and reading. The final morning dawned clear and calm and, after breakfast, we loaded everything into the rowboat and headed for the far shore. About half way there a stiff wind came up, as we had been warned it could, and we added a lot of stationary and “blown off course” rowing to the round trip. At one point we rowed in place for so long that we had a lengthy conversation with the Youth Conservation Corps trail crew! Still it was better than packing everything out on our backs. All in all - great outing and one in which we developed an even greater admiration for Alaska homesteaders!