Fire On The Mountain & Our Trip to Atigun Pass
// July 11th, 2009 // 2009: Adventuring, 2009: The Workplace
Our 3 day break started off slowly. A forest fire a little less than 100 miles south of us spread smoke throughout the mountains. The mountains were hardly visible and we woke to the smell of smoke. In these parts, the state does not bother regulating such fires unless they become harmful to the pipeline. Even then, the pipeline has proven in the past to be fireproof. While it may be fireproof, I learned yesterday that a few years back, an individual in a small village grew angry and decided to prove that the pipeline was not actually bulletproof. He successfully punctured the pipeline and is incarcerated to this day.
We had originally planned to go for a fishing trip down at the Yukon River Camp but it would have been too much of a hassle to get down there especially since we weren’t positive we would find a boat. We then opted to attempt hitching to Dead Horse Camp in Prudhoe Bay. Prudhoe Bay is on the North Slope just a matter of miles from the Arctic Ocean. The trucker traffic appeared bleak Wednesday night quite possibly due to the overwhelming amounts of smoke permeating the highway. That plan also fell through. We spent Wednesday and Thursday playing ping pong, reading and relaxing. I would have liked to have done something more exciting and productive during those days but things don’t always work out.
Yesterday, we started out at 6AM to Atigun Pass, the only tour that I had not yet been on. It’s a about a 70 mile drive up the Dalton in a tour van. Cory, Kevin, Jen, and I joined two older ladies in the tour. The view up until the pass was typical and nothing out of the ordinary. However, we did catch a glimpse of Sukakpak Mountain, one of the larger peaks in the Brooks Range. We ascended the Pass and the view was incredible. We passed waterfalls and valleys and when we reached the top, we all got out of the car to get a better view of our surroundings. The temperature was around 40 degrees, about 20 degrees lower than back at Coldfoot. On the way back, we stopped at Sukakpak Mountain again. The kitchen packed us sacked lunches which we had ordered the night prior. I had requested a hardboiled egg along with my tuna sandwich. Jason, one of the cooks, thought it would be funny not to boil the egg at all. Well everyone else though it was funny but me! I got yoke all over myself! In the parking area of Sukakpak, a couple were breaking down their tent and preparing to get back on the road. They had cycled all the way from Anchorage, averaging 50-60 miles a day. Yesterday was their 16th day on the road. I would love to do something like that someday. I can see myself coming back to northern Alaska someday to ride the Dalton. While tour cycling is not always fun and games, it’s satisfying enough to meet daily mileage goals and most of all, to see and hear nature up close and personal without the noise restrictions of a vehicle. We concluded our three day break last night by organizing a whiffle ball game. A fair amount of coworkers turned out and it was a great time like always.
We returned to work today. It was a really slow day. Our fellow coworkers usually get a large amount of visitors on our days off much to our delight. In fact, they had to deal with a rather messy situation the other day. A middle aged woman had a bit too much to drink in the bar and fell on the towel rack. The morning after, they found her all bloody laying on the floor of her room. Holland America wouldn’t allow her to reboard the bus so our camp manager took her all the way down to Fairbanks to get her to a hospital. Talk about a trip gone bad! Our fellow lodge cleaners decked themselves out in protective suits and cleaned up the bloody mess.
Like always, I’m in awe as to how quickly time is flying by. As they say, time flies by when you’re having fun. It’s July 11th, less than a month and a half away from our return back to the East coast. A week after I return, classes begin. It shall be interesting to return to a land of lesser mosquitoes, actual night time, and heaps of schoolwork. Unfortunately, I’m still working out the whole camera cord situation. Until I find one I can borrow, the pictures will be on hold.
