Rachel Imrie's Blog

Helicopter Ride and Fishing Trip, October 18th, 2009

2009-10-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Photos from fishing trip.

Helicopter Ride and Fishing Trip, October 18th, 2009

2009-10-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I woke up early. Since Josh wasn't going to work, I decided to go for a hike by myself, so I could carry my photo equipment.

I hiked uphill from the ranch, towards Okmok. I photographed the sunrise from on top of a Army dugout. I hiked about 3 miles looking for a waterfall I was told was around there, but I didn't find it. So I hiked back to the ranch.

It was already noon by the time I got back. It was a nice day, and everyone had decided to go on a fishing trip. We would fly the helicopters to a small river with good fishing holes, on another part of the island. A river where the salmon like to spawn.

The helicopter flight was amazing. We could see more of the aftermath of the volcano, it looks like the surface of the moon. Very black and full of crevices. The volcanic ash is not like ash from a fire. It's like a coarse, black, granular sand. It's all over the place, even at Ft. Glenn.

We flew between mountains, saw coves, inlets, and beaches from the air.

When we were at the place where we were to fish we could actually see the fish in the water as we flew over.

We saw a few small herds of reindeer, drinking and feeding near the river.

Then Lonnie took us sightseeing. The valley, and that part of the island are so very beautiful. My photos hardly do justice to the beauty of the place. Streams, waterfalls, mountains, and lots of hot springs. There were hot springs coming out of the ground all over the place. We could see some of them actually boiling out of the ground.

After looking around, Lonnie set us down on the nearby beach, so we could beach comb, while he went back to the ranch to pick up more people.

Josh, Art, Brodie, and myself, explored a nice little beach for an hour, until they came back. Brodie really wanted to play in the water, so I finally let him play in some small tide pools, and he ended up getting the bottom of his pants pretty wet. I wanted to take lots of pictures of the place, but I didn't manage to get too many, as I had to watch Brodie very closely.

The helicopter came and picked us up after awhile, and took us back to the fishing hole. They had already caught a few nice salmon. You could see the fish swimming in the clear water.

Josh fished for awhile and caught a trout. I struggled to keep Brodie out of the river. We found a shallow spot, and threw stones in, which he thought was fun.

After several hours we had a pretty good haul of fish. We loaded up, and flew back.

Brodie was quite cold by this point, so I had put my camera away to cuddle him, and help keep him warm on the flight back. And of course because my camera was put away, we saw more amazing things that I can only tell you about.

The sun came out as we were flying back, so the landscape was very pretty. I could see more of the ocean on this flight. And then Lonnie took us over to see Okmok.

What an amazing sight. It took my breath away. From the ranch we only see the rim of Okmok. The caldera is 6 miles wide, and inside the rim, it's a massive, deep crater. Inside the crater there are several volcanic cones, as well as lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. I don't know that it's right that something so destructive can be so breathtaking but it was. I do hope to see it one more time, before we leave here.

When we got back everyone cleaned, canned, and cooked fish until late into the night.

A Little Shook Up October 13th, 2009

2009-10-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Apparently, while we were driving back in the bus last night, there was an earthquake. We just didn't feel it because of the rattling old bus. Everyone said it shook the walls pretty hard.

I would imagine that earthquakes are somewhat commonplace out here on the Aleutians, but I still find it rather freaky. I just hope these volcanos and earthquakes aren't up to something big.

Evening Drive to the Beach, October 12th, 2009

2009-10-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Asey, one of the Ranch Hands here offered to drive us down to the beach on evening, for a little sight seeing tour. We rode in a big, old bus that smelled like fish. I'm not sure how that old bus ended up on Umnak, but it was kinda comical.

We drove on the old military road, down to the area that they now use for a dock. It's a few miles from the Ranch House.

The roads here, are all just old military roads, and there are not very many of them. Nor are they in good shape. They are more like well travelled paths, than roads (as we think of roads).

On the drive we could see more of the left overs from the War. There are small quonsets and dugouts everywhere. Places they could hide and shoot from during an attack. There are old power lines, or perhaps they were used for communication? They look like power lines to me. We saw a house on a hill, it was the General's house. There are some spruce trees planted here and there, the only trees on Umnak, planted by the army.

It is a mystery to Josh and I why there are not any natural trees here, or on Unalaska Island. It seems there should be good growing conditions for them. Usually trees thrive in this coastal environment, where there is little frost. Perhaps it's because of the volcano.

The beach and dock area were very junky. We had to watch Brodie carefully. There was an old barge thing that they were using for a dock, and it was in terrible shape. The wood was rotten on it, and if you fell through, you'd land in the ocean.

Views of Umnak

2009-10-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

The Scenery here on Umnak Island is pretty neat. It's not like any place I have ever seen. I have captured some of the same landmarks over and over already, but as the light changes, or the weather, the scene looks beautiful and different.

Mt. Tulik is the cone shaped volcano, and every morning it seems more majestic than the morning before. Often you cannot see the top of it, but when the clouds move away it is quite a sight.

Shiprock is out in the ocean, and is quite an impressive landmark. The big, hulking, unique V shaped rock is in many of my photos, and the sun rises there.

Okmok, is the Caldera, a large volcanic crater, with 6 volcanic cones inside. This is the one that erupted in 2008. What we see is the outside rim of the Caldera. It's right behind our cabin, approximately 6 miles away.

There is so much I would like to explore on this island, but I probably won't get to. When I go for a walk, I have to carry Brodie in a pack on my back. It's difficult to hike very far with a 30 lb pack on your back (when you're not used to that sort of thing)

We have went pretty far some days, a few miles, but everything to explore is at least 3 or more miles away, so I seldom reach any destination. It's still nice though.

Sunday October 11th, 2009

2009-10-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Everyone takes Sunday off here at Ft. Glenn, so we did too. We went for a walk to explore a bit.

We walked to a old broken down Hanger, that had been used during the War. It is completely in ruins. It make Josh contemplate on how there really is not anything that man builds that lasts. Some things last better than others of course, but ultimately things eventually fall dawn. It must have been an impressive structure once. It would have been very big, able to hold many planes.

We continued our walk. We could see the old landing strip. Lonnie has worked on it a bit, so a plane could potentially do an emergency landing on it.

We walked to the beach, then walked along the sand, looking for things to beach comb. There wasn't too much. The beach was washed bare from the waves.

On the way back, we looked in some old army quonsets. They were full of cow bones. The cows must go in them to die. Apparently when the volcano erupted in 2008, many of the cattle here perished in the aftermath, as the grass was all covered in volcanic ash, and the streams clogged with it.

We covered about 6 miles in total.

In the afternoon, after we got back, some of the guys were herding the wild horses. There was a colt with them. That was nice to see. They put them in a pen, and are trying to break the colt.

The Ranch House

2009-10-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Ranch House is the main building where everyone else is. The Kennedy Family lives in their own section of the Ranch House. There are 6 Ranch Hands who live in the back end of the house.

There is a main kitchen area where the cooking is done, and everyone gathers to eat, and visit. Off of the kitchen area there is a pantry, a small bathroom, and a porch/cold storage area for storing food.

Down the hall there is an office, a workshop area, and the entrance to the Kennedy's portion of the house.

There is a common area with couches, chairs, a TV, movies, video games, and a wood stove. Everyone hangs out here, or in the kitchen.

Everyone has a laptop here, so usually when people aren't working they are on their laptops.

In the Ranch House everything must be shared, and people need to get along, as the 15 of us are the only people out here at Ft. Glenn. Everyone does get along, and it makes me think how Reality TV shows are so dramatized and made up. I have lived in a "work camp" situation a few times in my life, and I have to say that everyone usually makes the effort to get along and keep the peace. If people don't quite see eye to eye, usually everyone keeps it to themselves, as best they can.

We have met some very good people out here. It is a very different way of life, to live in such seclusion.

The only other inhabitants of Umnak Island, are some of the natives, at a small village on the other side of the island, called Nikolski. The village of Nikolski is very old, and apparently is the oldest and longest continuously inhabited village in North America.

Our Cabin

2009-10-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

The cabin we are staying in is an old Army Barracks Cabin from WWII. It's one room, plus a bathroom. It's so nice that we have hot water now. It would not have been a very pleasant stay without it. We would have had to share the one shower with everyone else up at the Ranch House. And there are already quite a few people that have to share it.

I wonder how many soldiers had to share this cabin during the war? From what I read at the museum, the men were very cold during the winters. There are no natural trees on these islands, so no wood for fires, other than driftwood from the beach, or other heating fuel they may have brought here.

We have a propane heater, and one electric heater to warm our cabin. If the walls are insulated, it is not very thick. It gets pretty chilly in here at times, especially on windy days. I'm glad it is not winter yet.

We were nervous about the propane heater, for carbon monoxide poisoning. But we have felt no ill effects, and this cabin is plenty drafty, so lots of fresh air gets in. I'm not worried about CO1 anymore.

I spend my afternoons out here, and work on my laptop, while Brodie takes his nap. Except sometimes the internet doesn't work very well this far away from the main house, so that can be frustrating.

At night we all cuddle up on the bed together, and watch a DVD on the laptop screen. The three of us slept in one bed for a few nights, but Brodie wiggles too much. So now I sleep on a mattress on the floor. It's cold down there, but at least I have some room, and Brodie can have some room too. He kicks Josh in the night.

The power out here is supplied by a generator, which gets turned off at night. The sound of it starting up in the morning is our alarm clock.

The Project, Progress up to October 16th, 2009

2009-10-21T11:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the purpose of this trip is not a holiday, but for Josh to build a "cabin" for the Kennedy family who lives here. Except it's not so much a cabin, as it is a small house, which is being added on to an existing building.

Josh really has his work cut out for him. He's been working really hard. He has a lot to try and get done in a month. Thankfully the weather has been pretty good since we've arrived. Everyone says this is the longest stretch of nice weather that anyone can remember for around here.

There are a few shipping containers full of supplies and materials for the house. Typically some of the things one wants or needs aren't there and Josh has to improvise.

Some days some of the Ranch Hands help with the building. Art, who we are becoming friends with, has been helping Josh every day. He works hard, and the two of them get a lot accomplished.

Helicopter Flight to Umnak Island, October 9th, 2009

2009-10-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, the sky has cleared, the rain has stopped, and the wind calmed down. Today we will get our Helicopter ride to Umnak Island.

After breakfast we went to the Hanger and loaded up. Our suitcases went in pods on the side of the Helicopter. As we waited to depart, the US Coast Guard Helicopter took off. It was a pretty impressive Helicopter!

We were very excited to be getting a Helicopter ride.

On a quick side note, you can see the runway in one of my photos, and how the mountains, and water are right there.

We took off, and now that the sun was out, what a beautiful sight Dutch Harbor was. We got the ariel view of where we had drove the day before.

As we left the town behind, we were treated to views of some fantastic scenery. Mountains, with streams, rivers, and waterfalls coming out of every crevice it seemed. It was so neat flying between the mountains. I felt safe in the helicopter, now that the weather had improved.

We saw Mt. Mukushum, a volcano, and then we could see the Bering Sea.

We saw a few old shipwrecks, and we flew over a place where some planes had crashed in WWII.

Lonnie took us on a bit of a tour of Unalaska Island. From the air we saw the free range cattle, and some sheep, that belong to a guy named Art, (we meet him later).

We saw an old dock left over from the war.

The really spectacular sight, my favorite, was the wild horses. There were large herds of them running free. Lonnie chased them with the helicopter a bit so we could watch them run. What a sight!

Then we had to cross the pass, to get to Umnak Island, Fort Glenn, our final destination. As we flew toward Umnak we could see Mt. Tulik, a volcano, and a big slab of rock in the ocean they call Shiprock.

We had a little look at our island. There was lots of blackness, volcanic ash, and aftermath from the volcano which erupted in the summer of 2008. Lonnie and his family were on the island and had to evacuate when it happened. Their accounts are rather frightening. I sure hope it doesn't happen again.

The land is recovering nicely from the eruption, but Lonnie's wife says it's not as nice and lush as it was. Perhaps with more time it will be again.

We landed, in front of the cabin we'd be staying in. Then set to work. Josh had to install a hot water heater for us, so we'd have hot water. After considerable frustration, searching for parts, and tools, he had it working by nightfall. I was very happy for that.

Dutch Harbor, October 8th, 2009

2009-10-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

We awoke to a very rainy, windy, stormy day. Lonnie said he would not be taking us in the Helicopter today. It was miserable. 50 Kt winds, 6 Ft seas, fog, rain, and generally poor conditions.

We went for breakfast, and then wondered how to spend the day. There is not a whole lot to do in Dutch Harbor, except for hard work. Not too many forms of entertainment.

There are lots of fishermen of every sort. It seemed crab fishing season was just starting. The crab pots were stacked up high everywhere you looked. For those of you who watch The Discovery Channel, the program "The Deadliest Catch" originates here. We met camera men while we cruised around, and we saw the boat, the "Time Bandit", from the show.

Dutch Harbor has the regular community, store owners, businesses, etc. Then there are the fishermen, who live and work on their boats, and then the canneries. The canneries have their own housing for their workers, and there are lots of immigrant workers.

There were ships and boats everywhere to look at. Huge boats that catch, and process their catch on board.

The locals are allowed to sustenance fish, which I think is nice.

We went to the Hanger after breakfast, and Josh helped Lonnie put the Helicopter away properly. Then we went to the Ship Supply Store, to buy some proper rain gear, and rubber boots.

Afterwards we went cruising around, looking at the town, the docks, boats, and listening to Lonnie's tour guide of the area.

After we completed our driving tour we went to the Museum of the Aleutians. Took in some of the history of the area. A large Russian influence, of course, with them being so close. The Russians traded with the Aleuts, and to this day many of the natives have Russian names.

WWII was the other big historical thing out here, and there were many stories about that.

After we visited the Museum of the Aleutians, we visited the War Museum, and read many accounts of wartime on the Aleutian Islands, including the island we are bound for, Umnak Island, Fort Glenn.

Lots of interesting stories, I wished I could remember them all. I could only take about half of everything in, Brodie required supervision of course. Touching the artifacts, and all around causing me stress. He's been a very good boy, though.

We had run out of things to do in Dutch Harbor, but it was supper time, so we ate, and then went back to the Hotel. We shared some beers with Lonnie, and told stories.

Flying to Dutch Harbor, October 7th, 2009

2009-10-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Try again today to fly to Dutch Harbor.

We got up, and had a few hours to kill again. We went for breakfast, then sat around waiting. Then Tom took us to the airport, again, and we waited around some more.

Finally at 2:15 we were able to board our plane. It was a flight operated by PenAir. It was a smaller plane, it held around 50 people, I think. They were quite particular on the seating arrangements as to the weight distribution.

We took off, and flew to a place called King Salmon, where we landed to get more fuel. Then stopped again at Cold Bay. Apparently on these flights they stop to refuel often because there is the chance that upon arrival to Dutch Harbor, if the conditions happen to be bad, they turn around and fly back to Anchorage. Apparently this happens frequently. We hoped and hoped that this would not happen to us. The flight was supposed to be 3 1/2 hours long, so to turn around and have a 7 hour flight, and not even reach the destination did not sound like fun at all. Especially when traveling with a 19 month old who had already had enough of airplanes.

I was pretty nervous of this flight, as the runway in Dutch Harbor was described to me as a a very short runway, a spit jutting out into the sea, with mountains and ocean on both sides. Often foggy with bad weather as well.

We did our best to enjoy the sights on the flight. We could see volcanos and mountains reaching for the sky. Parts of the flight were clear and nice, until we reached Dutch Harbor.

It was foggy, and raining, and the waves on the ocean looked pretty big. The plane rocked, and bounced, and I was very scared. At times we couldn't see anything. Then suddenly the plane was descending, there were mountains on both sides, and the plane was bouncing hard. Brodie was laughing like it was a carnival ride. I was scared to death.

The plane hit the runway, and hit the brakes, HARD. Once our hearts settled down those of us who must have been praying said "Thank you".

The fisherman, and the Fishing Boat Captain said that was a typical landing. And they still don't care for it either, even though they have done it many times.

We collected our baggage, and wondered what to do next. The Fishing Boat Captain offered to help us, but we said we'd be fine.

The rain was coming down hard, the wind blowing, but we were just glad to be in one piece, and to have all our luggage show up at once. (There was the chance it wouldn't come until the next day)

As Josh went to find a pay phone, Brodie and I waited outside the airport. Then Lonnie, our Helicopter pilot, arrived.

There was no way we would go any further that night, so we found a hotel, then went for supper.

Then we went back to the Hotel with Lonnie, and got acquainted.

Anchorage, Alaska October 6th, 2009

2009-10-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

We awoke fairly early, so we got up and decided to look around. We were due to fly out to Dutch Harbor at 2:00, so we wanted to see a bit of Anchorage before we had to leave.

Our Hotel was right near Lake Hood, where the most Float Planes in the world are. So we went for a walk to the Lake. It was pretty neat. Josh really liked checking out all the planes. It was nice because you could walk along there and look around, it wasn't all fenced off like things usually are.

We went for coffee, then went for a long walk into the city, to kill time, and to purchase extra diapers. We must have walked 3 miles or more.

After finding the diapers we flagged down a cab to take us back to the hotel. We were tired.

We checked into the airport around noon. As it was a domestic flight there weren't the usual security checks to do. As we waited for our flight, we could hear the talk and chatter of the other passengers, who were mostly crab fisherman bound for Dutch Harbor. It sounded like our flight would not be going.

We waited and waited. 2:00 came and went. Finally at 3:00 they announced that our flight was cancelled due to weather. Apparently it was stormy, and foggy in Dutch. We were disappointed that they took so long to announce it. Especially when it seemed everyone knew we would not be flying out, but we had to sit there and wait anyway. Most of the day was gone, no time left to sightsee.

Tom, the Hotel Shuttle Driver came and picked us up again, and took us back to the Hotel.

After checking in again we went to see what we could do.

Deanne, at the Hotel Front Desk, gave us some ideas, and told us how to catch the bus.

As we waited for the bus, a lady named Leanne drove up, and asked us what we were doing, and if we'd like a ride downtown. We were shocked. No one is this nice, out of the blue to strangers! We gladly accepted and off we went.

I have to say that our whole experience in Anchorage was very surprising. The people there were VERY friendly. It is often said that Canadians are friendly, but these people are wonderful. It had been a long time since we experienced such kindness from strangers.

Leanne gave us a short tour of downtown Anchorage. She said she would have loved to be a tour guide if it paid better. It was too late to visit any tourist sites, so she drove us to a nice resturant for dinner. She said they had great food, and window tables with a great view. She was right. Thanks Leanne!

Leaving for Alaska October 5th, 2009

2009-10-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

We got up early to finish packing. I barely got everything together, and I was rushing at the last minute to gather all of my camera gear. This whole trip happened so suddenly, there was not much time to prepare.

The airport was the usual affair, with all the customs, security, and then the long wait for the flight to finally depart.

Our first flight was from Calgary to Seattle. It was really neat because we flew right over our house. Josh was by the window, so he got to see it. I didn't see our house, but I could see Charlie's place. We flew over the Rockies, and picked out what landmarks we knew.

The flight was quite short. About an hour and a half. We saw the Columbia River, and Mount Baker.

We landed in Seattle, and had to catch a connecting flight to Anchorage, AK

The flight to Anchorage was OK. Long and restless for Brodie. He did pretty good, considering how tired he was. It was a full flight, so there was not much room the stretch out. As we flew over Alaska, and the plane started descending, we could see lots of mountains and large glaciers. It was all pretty neat to see.

As we arrived in Anchorage, the sun was setting, and the full moon was coming up over the mountains. A guy named Joe came and picked us up in a Shuttle van, to take us to our Hotel. When we got checked in Josh had to go and purchase the tools and supplies he would need for when we got to the island.

We were hungry, so Brodie and I went for a walk and ordered a pizza. It had been a long day.

Josh came back later with his tools. He was very impressed at how helpful the people in Anchorage were.