A CHANGING OF THE SEASONS

By: Nathan Woleslagle

Alaskan winters are notorious for being long and harsh. This year, although the state of Alaska had a mild winter, Spring has now just emerged during the second week of May. While flying into Anchorage to begin our journey to the lodge for the season, I could see the snow still deeply packed in the mountains outside of the city. While gathering supplies and running errands in preparation for the season, it still felt as though Winter had not left Anchorage. Locals murmured to Dan Paull and me about Spring being late as we ate and drank downtown.

We started the first leg of our journey to the lodge by flying into the small village of Sleetmute along the Kuskokwim River. It was evident that Winter had indeed not yet let go of its cold grip in Alaska. The Kuskokwim River flowing along the edge of Sleetmute was frozen solid from bank to bank. Deep snow lined the edges of the streets of town. Jimmy Nagel, a staple member of the lodge, messaged us from our airstrip as he had made it to the lodge a week before Dan and I began our journey to meet him there. “The snow on the airstrip here is mashed potatoes!”, he exclaimed, “There is too much snow, and it is not in good shape to be landing a plane.” Dan and I figured as much, so we arranged for a helicopter landing.

The air blew cold as we waited for a helicopter to pick us up from town to complete the final leg of our journey to the lodge. As the helicopter buzzed down and landed in Sleetmute, the pilot filled us in on conditions. “It is a late Spring, two to three weeks late versus last year”, he said, “We hunted grizzlies a few days ago and hardly any bears are out of their dens”. I accompanied the pilot during the first helicopter flight to the lodge.

The helicopter was packed with our gear, and I felt crammed in the passenger seat. The helicopter approached the lodge, and the snow was much deeper than anticipated. “I can’t land on that airstrip,” the pilot calmly said, “I’ll have to land here in the harder packed snow.” As the helicopter touched down beside the lodge, the snow came up nearly to the door of the helicopter. I climbed out in my cowboy boots and jeans, as I had just arrived in Alaska from Montana, and sunk into the three feet of snow on the ground. My jeans were soaked, and it was difficult wading through the snow to the lodge. “What have I got myself into,” I thought to myself, “I left a near snow free Montana and riding horses high in the mountains for a still frozen Alaska!”. I lugged the gear towards the lodge as Jimmy met me with the Argo. “Late Spring!” he hollered over the engine noise as he helped toss luggage into the bed of the Argo. Dan met up with us on the next helicopter flight in. We immediately began to work hard at digging out the lodge and cabins from the deep snow. The next week went by slowly as we all struggled to work in the cold and harsh conditions.

As the weather warmed and the snow finally began to thaw during the second week of May, the conditions proved to be just as challenging as during the cold weather. The surface of the ground turned to mud as it thawed. Our feet would punch through the mud and find a firm surface on frozen ground underneath it as we walked. Each of us found ourselves calf deep in mud before our feet found solid footing. We all stumbled and fell in the mud. If you are going to spend early Spring in remote Alaska, you must be tough, and each one of us proved to be just that. High wind, snow squalls, and cold nights refroze the ground and challenged us each day. However, we preserved. From renovating cabin interiors, to replacing the stairs inside the lodge, and even milling fresh logs, we were a productive crew. Regardless of the bad conditions and late Spring, Dan led us ahead to prepare for the season and the clients that were soon to arrive.

It is an understatement to say that preparing the lodge for the Summer and Fall seasons is hard work. A late Spring can make it even more challenging. In the end, it is all worth it though. The thoughts of salmon running upriver in June and July, Sheefish busting along the water’s surface, as well as flocks of hundreds of migrating ducks dancing across the sky kept us motivated to work on. Each day we get closer to Summer and away from the late spring of 2023. That excites us. The harshest and worst working conditions are now behind us, and all of us are eagerly awaiting your arrival to the lodge. A great adventure awaits each one of you, and the lodge is now ready. I sure hope that 2024 is kind to us however, and that the late Spring of 2023 does not repeat itself.