Returning to Alaska

Returning to Alaska.  In many ways it was bittersweet.  The first thing I noticed was the lack of snow on the mountains.  I saw it from the window of the airplane.  It had been a long time since I saw my home city of Anchorage.  It's been a long time since I was able to witness the snow capped mountains of the Chugach. 

My boss picked me up at the airport and drove me the hour long Seward Highway.  Although the snow levels were much depleted in this early May, there was still that amazing contrast of white against the greywacke rock of the Chugach mountains.  Familiar territory.  Winding roads.  Silt filled rivers.  I had come home again.

I was there to start a new adventure.  Forest Ranger.  Who'd have thought?  At the end of our drive, we ended up at Portage Glacier where I was dropped off at the Forest Service bunkhouse:  my home for the summer.  Out there, there are no convenient stores.  There are no shopping centers. There wasn't even cellular service.  My only communication was the lone bunkhouse phone and a slow wireless internet connection.  And in the early season, even the lodge was closed.  The bunkhouse was nice though, with 13 bedrooms, two living areas, a double kitchen and dining area. 

The remoteness of the area told me that I was given a glimpse of what life could be back there.  Before I lived in the city of Anchorage.  Now I was given the chance to witness Alaskan life alone, with only my fellow rangers for company.  The days were mostly raining, with an occasional wind that would tear through the soul.  But I went for a lot of walks, thought of bear and moose, and looked up at the glaciers and snow capped peaks in wonder.  I was back in Alaska, and my adventure was only beginning.