Jennifer Wise's Diary

Sept. 25; 88 days to go

Today was only our fourth day at our site and I wish things were going stellar, but we're a bit behind where we'd like to be by now, though early on. The wood up here is quite soft and burns much faster than the logs we normally burn in Arkansas and at home so we'll need to stockpile. But we've already determined priorities and begun figuring a system of measures by which to check our progress.

The view from our cabin is fantastic! It's about 100 yards from front door to the beach, where the world opens up. On two sides it's all mountains and on a clear day, you get a view of both Mt. St. Elias and the ice field. The other side is the last leg of Icy Bay, across which you can often see (and hear) the waves on the ocean shore. About a mile that way is our main fishing spot, where the salmon are always out to play. We've been, and continue to be, extremely cautious with salmon – a lot of consideration and preparation goes into minimizing the bear threat, which is very real. There is a bear trail between our cabin and the beach. We make sure to clean and fillet our fish on the beach, to leave no scraps behind too close to the path, and to wash every last salmon bit off before coming home.

So, yeah, with no electricity, no chance of cell phone signal, limited human contact and the only way to get in or out by a LOOOONG plane ride, suffice to say, it's all a learning process!

Sept. 28

Yesterday was full of ups and downs. We awoke to see a gorgeous view of the full moon low in the sky, while the first fingers of dawn added a touch of rose to the mountains ahead of us. What a beautiful day it turned out to be! We had a nearly cloudless sky, strong sun and slight breeze. It was just like springtime back home.

We tried our luck at fishing a good deal of the day, but so far we haven't quite bounced back from our slump. We wrangled two salmon and Dad even hooked a cutthroat trout. That moment of excitement could've easily ended horribly, though – Dad fell off his log perch into hip-deep water, about an 8-foot fall. Carolyn and I both rushed over to see that he was OK. Lucky the weather was so sunny and the temp around 60 degrees – otherwise wet clothes become a serious hazard, and fast.

In the later afternoon hours we headed to the beach. Dad chopped wood while Carolyn and I attempted clam digging. At first we went about it all wrong, digging on the hole instead of beside. But we gradually improved and even if we don’t get another chance at it, at least we can say we had some marginal success.

Sept. 29; Moose Jive!

That's right … today is the THIRD day we've seen fresh moose tracks around our camp. No visual since Day 1 though.

Sept. 30

Today, after an early start and a late breakfast, Dad and I headed down to the fishing hole while Carolyn finished pressure-cooking the salmon. On the bear trail we noticed some of the berries we'd collected a few times so we stopped for a bit of a snack. Only once we were on the ground did we realize how many there were. It was such a stroke of luck – two frosts since we’ve been here AND right on the bear trail, yet there were just so many, perfectly plump. Dad and I picked about 2 quarts worth in all.

I also noticed something quite worth mentioning, by my estimation. Dad and I took a few moments to sit and watch the surf for a bit on the ocean and it struck me as amazing that the water seems to always match the sky. Being from Kansas City I obviously get little exposure to the ocean – only twice before in my life. But the difference between the deep aqua on a sunny day and the dismal gray on a rainy day (like today) always astonishes me. Though, I'll watch the waves for hours either way.

Oct. 4

The salmon run is coming to an end, if our catch the past few days is any indication. We had a good few days of getting eight or nine salmon a day – now we could fish for hours and still only hope to catch one, if any at all. But the single fish we've caught thus far have all been lucky catches – all around 20 pounds and trophy size, in my uneducated salmony opinion. My catch was about 32" (we measured posthumously).

We've had two consecutive nights of hard frost and as such the berry picking seems to also have reached an end. However, through our course of several fortunate gatherings, we have over 2 pints of syrup and over 5 pints of jam. Or, at least, would-be jam … it never set quite right and is therefore runny.

Such is the manner of our experimentation out in the wild.

Oct. 8

Yesterday was an incredibly clear day with strong sun and low wind. What a perfect day to exhaust myself with wood – as pretty as the rests were, you couldn't be upset. We pulled in another four sleds full of wood, which makes seven in the past few days. We also constructed a sort of crib for our wood in the main room of the cabin, so we don't risk the woodpile pulling down our insulation.

The future projects include a drying rack above the stove for either wood or meat but right now the primary concern is just gathering the wood itself.