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| Sitka from the harbor - Seafood Producers Cooperative is the nearest building on the left |
Well, with some help out here again I think that I can get myself back into this blog. I don't know why I like to write every day, as I don't always have a lot to say (sorry to the readers for this), and sadly it isn't always particularly interesting or exciting out here in the field. Iraq could be almost anywhere, except for the safe havens, walls, guards, and guns...oh and the packs of wild dogs. So, to fill you in...I haven't had a hot shower in 18 days, I haven't shaved in almost 30 days, and I haven't gotten more than five hours of sleep in a night in nearly 20 days. I am not bitching, just laying out the stats for everybody. Interestingly, I feel pretty good about all of it. I feel energetic and well-rested today, don't really miss the hot water at this point, and hell, I hate shaving...so life is perhaps great! In all seriousness though, I AM missing home a bit, friends and family, a bed that I can roll in, and a view of something other than refineries, and desert, and watch towers. I just miss the freedom of being able to do things, go other places, and change the scenery. No big deal though...Sunday is the halfway point, so everything turns downhill from there.
I have so many things outstanding on the old blog, that I don't know where to start...I am still working through my New Year's Resolutions, I am about halfway through the story of my first trip to Alaska, and I need to give another installment of useless Iraq facts. For today, I guess I will finish my Alaska story, as very few people (other than me) actually look at the blog on the weekends. Not that I believe anyone is holding their breath in suspense or anything. So let us jump on in:
So, there we are, near penniless, camping under a bridge outside of Sitka, Alaska in a rainforest...we were still new to the North, so I don't believe we really understood that we were going to be heading to a rainforest...I also don't believe that we took into consideration that we had chosen to camp along a salmon stream, which the great brown bears of Alaska frequent to gorge on the succulent fish as they head upstream to spawn in the lakes of their own birth. We didn't know these things, so we didn't worry about them, which is good because we lived under the bridge for a bit of time.
On our second day on the island we got on our bikes to ride into town looking for employment...we spent the morning applying for jobs on the wharves and harbors and at the two fish processing facilities on the water. Riding back from the town that afternoon we were passing a beach at low tide and noticed a woman walking with two little girls, and WHOA...it was our neighbor from New Orleans and her daughters! We had no idea that they were coming to Sitka for the summer and they had no idea we would be here...what an amazing coincidence! We ran out onto the beach and laughed and guffawed and stared at each other. That night we went to the house they were renting and ate clams in white wine that we had dug that afternoon from the mud flats. Simply exquisite! We came all the way to Alaska to meet back up with our friends that we didn't know we would ever see again...how's that for fate? At that moment in life, I particularly needed a woman to bounce things off of, particularly one as wise as Laura. She was an old soul, and I needed her calming (though she was anything but calm...she was an absolute firecracker!) influence...at a time when I was questioning everything in my life and dealing with a lot of loss and confusion, Laura was there to inspire, support, and encourage...I owe so much to her. She probably doesn't know how much she helped to shape the man that I am now.
With this fortuitous reunion, we had instant roots, immediate ties to the community (wherever Laura goes people take her in)...Laura was bartending at a high-end steakhouse, so her Tlinglit co-workers would bring us the mis-fires from the kitchen, so we were able to eat...these men were so gregarious and amazing to be around when they were happy and having fun...they were so kind to us. The first night they brought us dinner it was raining and very cold...we didn't have a fire, and they wanted to hang out with us under the bridge to drink beer that they brought with them. So, they gave us a machete and told us to go chop down some small trees for firewood...I remember saying to Jack (sadly the only one whose name I remember because in Tlinglit it was Kahook) that we would never be able to get the green, wet wood to burn. They looked at each other and pulled themselves up tall and said,"we are going to share with you the native way to make a fire." We were off to gather the wood in a flash...I mean, here we were a week into our Alaskan adventure hanging out with Tlinglits and learning their woodcraft...we couldn't believe our fine fortune! So we come back with our arms full of wet wood and vines and green branches, and they very meticulously created this really shoddy looking tepee of wood, but even though it looked as though these men had never started a fire before we were very excited to drink from the native font of wisdom. Well, they go out into the woods and up to the road where their truck was parked and come back with "special" fire sticks that looked a whole lot like common twigs to me...then they said with gravity that now they would show us how it is done...they bent down next to the woodpile...we leaned in close...and they proceeded to produce a can of motor oil each from inside of their jackets and began pouring it over the wood!! A road flare sprang to life and WHOOSH...fire...smoking, stinking fire. Well, we were more than a little disappointed and felt like gullible greenhorns, but they fed us and got us rip-roaring drunk, so we forgave them.
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| This is a picture of Cross Mountain which is just outside of Sitka |
Kahook (Jack) had scars...half his face was a scar, his chest was covered with scars...he drank too much and was a mean drunk - very quick to anger and then it didn't matter if you were friend or foe. He had gained his scars as a guide for hikers and hunters in the backcountry of Baranof Island. A few years before we met him he had been leading a hike with a small group of customer when they had encountered a brown bear of enormous size...his clients turned and ran against his warning and the bear charged. Jack held his ground and unloaded a .44 magnum into the bear..it ran right into him biting and scratching and shredding his face and chest before finally dying on top of him. He managed to drag himself out from under the 1200 pound monster and made his way back to town to get stitched up...he was haunted by the bear. This was a man that I knew up in Alaska. Later on in the summer, once we had an apartment, a friend who was staying with us, Clint, made the mistake of swinging the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun (we kept it to carry in hikes, for bears) past Jack...he very nearly threw Clint from our balcony before we could calm him...Jack didn't take an insult, real or perceived, very well, but he was the most loyal of friends, and for whatever reason, he really took a shine to our little group from down south.
In any case, within a week or so of our arrival John and I found work at the Seafood Producers Cooperative...I was on the so-called "slime-line" and John was working in the blast freezer. A week later the Coop started up their graveyard shift and John and I both were moved to the 6 pm to 6 am shift. It was nice working the nights because the facility would usually provide us with a shift meal - usually a fish that was unable to be sold for whatever blemish or imperfection, but still a prime Pacific salmon. Other nights we would have halibut cheeks stewed in miso in the microwave...simply some of the most delicious meals prepared ever, and also by microwave. Unreal. Another benefit of the night crew was that we got to do more varied tasks at night...we graded salmon, worked the fish winches, loaded tender boats with ice totes (very dangerous work), and made boxes and bongs in the "box loft" of the plant. We would also play baseball up there and take turns trying to smash each other's heads into the 30 foot high ceilings with the forklift. We had so many interesting characters on the night shift it is hard to believe they weren't characters from a John Steinbeck novel...Lisa, the crew leader, a lesbian who could roll a cigarette one handed in 30 knot winds and would then smoke it while chewing tobacco at the same time. Then there was Sarah, a school teacher, who moved to Alaska with her boyfriend, an ex-Army Ranger named Bear...she was a looker and all the men on crew loved her because she was so sweet. There was a large contingent of gutter punks from the Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula...they had traveled everywhere from Nepal to Bangkok to Europe and they were camping up near the summit of Ship's Mountain behind town...most mornings after work we would drive up to their camp (some of the crew had trucks) and drink whiskey and have fun. There was Clint, a stoner from southern California, and there was the local kid who liked to throw shotgun shells in the campfire. And then there was the shift head...he was just below Lisa, but I can't remember his name...the first time we went up the mountain after work he saw John taking a pull from the whiskey bottle and John's pinkie finger had lifted a bit...he yanked the bottle from John's hand and yelled in his face, "it's whiskey, not tea princess...don't SIP it!" He proceeded to chug the rest of the bottle and hurl it from the summit of the mountain...these are real people...and they were friends.
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| This is where I worked in Sitka - Seafood Producers Cooperative |
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| Here is the Coop from a different perspective while the work was often messy, and I smelled like fish for four months I loved working there |
When we could steal a day off work, John and I would head up into the mountains...we hiked a few of the classic hikes of Sitka, including the Harbor Mountain / Gavin Trail traverse, which is an overnight (with a great alpine hut to sleep in at the halfway point) traverse of the mountains behind town. We were going to walk the many miles to the trailhead, but in standard Alaskan fashion a local gave us a lift in his pickup even though it was completely out of his way. Up in Alaska hitchhiking is still relatively common and a bit safer than in the lower 48, I believe. This hike was amazing because of all of the stairs that we had to climb, plus it takes you through many muskegs, which are bogs, basically...these bogs are beautiful and a good chance to spot wildlife. We got to enjoy the huge celebration that Sitka makes of the Summer Solstice...as they have a very long day there...almost eighteen hours! We hung out with friend on a boat in the harbor, drag, grilled, and enjoyed the company.
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| This is Harbor Mountain from town |
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| Harbor Mountain Trail...one of the prettiest hikes I have ever taken |
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| Crossing a muskeg...this is not the trail that we hiked across which was only a single board wide... |
Ah, I should also say that after seeing Laura on the beach and sharing our amazing dinner, we ended up renting an apartment with her and her girls for the rest of the summer...it was great hanging out with her and the girls. Basically the apartment was like a flop house, as we had very minimal furniture and we took in strays from time to time...Clint from work came to live with us for a bit, we would have random people stay for a day or two, as Laura has friends from all over and they would come to visit. So, while there were certainly many more small adventures which occurred that summer, we basically headed back south following the end of the salmon season. John returned to school, Gordon went to work at a fine-dining restaurant in New Orleans, and I went back to New Orleans to try and figure out what was next for me...
So, that was it, my first summer in Alaska...one of the happiest times of my life. I guess the reason I wanted to tell the story is because being in Iraq has some similar elements (interesting people, a hint of danger, etc), but also I have lately been missing the guy that I was when I was younger. I was so excited about the possibilities of life, about learning new things, and about living on the raw edge of experience...I was reckless and irresponsible, but I understood truly back then how short life was and I was squeezing every drop of joy and experience from it that I could.
Well, last night was a beautiful night here in Iraq and the moon had this amazing halo around it...being full and all. I actually was able to take a few photos that actually do justice to what I was seeing, so I wanted to share them with you. If you like them I have put more of them up on Facebook.
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| While you can't see the halo as well this was shot sans flash, I think the safe haven walls look pretty in the moonlight |
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| Pretty neat halo around the moon, right?! |
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| One more with a little less halo and a little more wall... |
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| Beard check...BURLY! |
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