Alaska’s winters are notable for their length, lack of sunlight, and frigid temperatures. In contrast, summers are short, filled with light, and boasting temperatures well above freezing.
When making summer plans, we hope, and typically assume, that the days will be filled with glorious sunshine. Unfortunately, as Alaskans know all too well, the weather we envision when making our plans often does not match what actually occurs. After forty-plus years in this great state, three examples of this reality readily come to mind. Sometimes these experiences are just minor inconveniences; other times, they have more significant consequences.
My first memory of such a time occurred during a sea kayaking trip in Prince William Sound, which straddled the Memorial Day holiday in the mid-1980s. Typically, you could count on this time of the year to be relatively warm and dry. However, that was not the case when a late winter storm blew in from the Gulf of Alaska.
Departing Whittier via water taxi on a rainy day, my partner and I headed to Esther Island, where we were to be dropped off for what would be that year’s long-anticipated summer vacation. With the water taxi stopping close to, but still a few feet from shore inside our chosen bay, I ended up with sea water over-topping both my break-up boots as our kayaks and gear were unloaded. Drying out the boots even during a sunny stretch of weather would have been a challenge. It was impossible in the rain.
We then found a nearby spot to set up our small, two-person tent. Situated on a narrow stretch of beach, at high tide the tent was alarmingly close to the water. For more days than I want to remember, we were stranded in the tent, which was barely tall enough for one person at a time to sit up. Necessary forays out of the tent resulted in even more rain-soaked clothes.
With wind, incessant rain, and temperatures in the high thirties to low forties, we passed the time sleeping, trying to stay warm, reading, and thinking about the killer whale that spent two days swimming around and around in the bay. We were thankful that the whale, which did seem to take an unusual interest in us, did not fling itself onshore to grab our tent.
Another vivid memory of rain creating challenges includes building in 1996, the first two floors of what was initially a cabin near the Talkeetna Mountains in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Due to events outside of our control, rather than beginning our project in late May, during the typically drier part of the summer, construction didn’t commence until late July, when a contractor installed the cabin’s concrete block foundation. By the time our building materials were delivered in early August, we were now into the rainy part of the summer.
Placing tarps over the lumber pile, my partner and I did our best to keep the wood dry. Nonetheless, the ground around the foundation became a mucky, muddy mess. I recall thinking it reminded me of a cattle feedlot. At least it lacked the distinctive aroma of cow manure. As we began building, it was impossible to keep mud off the sheets of wood comprising the floor of the first level.
Once we completed and then erected each wall, followed by the loft floor, we moved our tent inside. We also began attaching large sheets of visqueen to the walls to keep the structure as dry as possible. However, there were many a rainy night when we were awakened to the dreaded sound of the visqueen giving way, after too much rain pooled on top and the weight of the water ripped the fasteners from the walls. This was followed by the subsequent crashing of multiple gallons of water into the structure. No matter what the hour, we scrambled to mop up the water and resecure the visqueen before heading back into the tent. The sound of water spilling down onto the floor, and the dread it created in the pit of my stomach, is a something I will always remember.
More recently, in 2021, rain got the best of a long-planned trip to paddle eighty miles down the Noatak River in Gates of the Arctic National Park. Having anticipated this trip for several years, no one in our group imaged, as we flew to Bettles from Fairbanks on a rainy morning in early August, what the weather had in store.
After gathering in Bettles, our group along with our two guides, awaited our float plane flight over the Brooks Range to Pingo Lake, where our real adventure was scheduled to begin. Much to our dismay, rain and low clouds prevented our air taxi from flying us farther north. Instead of spending the night on the tundra next to the Noatak River, we erected our tents on the concrete floor of the Brooks Range Aviation hangar, being careful to avoid the overhead, and active, swallow nests.
The next day our plan to fly from Bettles to Pingo Lake was waylaid once again by low clouds. The sound of rain throughout our second night in the hangar left us anxious for what was to come. Given the weather forecast, we were already resigned to the fact that we would be paddling and camping in the rain once we could finally fly to our put-in location.
The following morning brought more precipitation along with a National Weather Service forecast of an additional two to six inches of rain, predicted flooding of the Noatak, and a warning that “outdoor recreationists should use extreme caution.” Paddling in flood waters in addition to camping in the rain, was not what we had in mind when we envisioned this trip. Everyone agreed that paddling the Noatak, at least in 2021, was not an option.
Still sea kayaking after all these years, our trips are now based out of Alaska State Park or U.S. Forest Service cabins. That way, inclement weather is not a concern. We always have a warm and dry place to return to after a paddle in the rain or if the seas are rough. Now when we spend time in the cabin we built, the sound of the rain provides comfort rather than anxiety. In fact, the cabin, which over time became a second home, has become our place of peace and serenity. With respect to our quest to paddle the Noatak River, we finally accomplished that goal two years later…this time scheduling the trip in June.