Alaska-bound
March 9th, 2010My apology for my deliquency in attending to this blog. I used to be so faithful to a weekly post. My absence is, however, explainable. The thing I most wanted to write about was undecided until only a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to spill the news before I knew exactly how things were going to play out.
Drumroll please…
I’ve accepted a position as a Nature Guide for Gastineau Guiding in Juneau, AK for the season. Their website is http://www.stepintoalaska.com/ if you want to look ‘em up.
I’m really excited about this opportunity. The amazing thing is that I turned down 3 other jobs in Alaska (2 in Ketchikan and 1 in Denali) for this one. It was definitely a stand-out. There’s a good bit of variety in the job itself - I have to earn my Coast Guard crew certification, my CIG (Certificate of Interpretive Guiding) and my CDL - commercial driver’s license.
The expeditions I’ll be involved with carry exciting names like “Whales and Trails,” “Town Tram and Trek,” and “Guide’s Choice” which will have us hiking one of two trails at the Mendenhall glacier. So the job is going to include - land, sea, wildlife, town, tram, and glacier. Pretty totally cool.
It’s no small feat to get there. If you don’t know about Juneau - it’s accessible by air or sea but not by land. It’s not an island, but it almost is if you count the mountains and glaciers that isolate it. To have a car for my nearly half-year there first requires a 3-day drive to Seattle. Matt will drive with me and after a few days of visiting our son Samuel Matt will fly home and I’ll head to Bellingham. One a Friday afternoon the car and I will board a ferry in the Marine Hwy. to arrive in Juneau in the early morning of the following Monday.
Much time lately has been spent training - mostly on the treadmill and the elliptical because of weather. Weather. I shouldn’t even mention it. I’m going prepared for rain, rain and more rain. After all the “liquid sunshine” is necessary for the rain forest that does exist even at that northern spot. It just isn’t a tropical rain forest. No monkeys hanging about but I do expect to see plenty of bears, porcupines, eagles, sea lions and humpback whales.
I’ve done some shopping toward my wet-weather wardrobe, but will wait for most gear until I’m up there as I figure the locals will know what’s really needed. I have the basics which is good. After all, I start work 3 days after my arrival.
So I have printed the AK driver’s license manual and the CDL manual sections I’ll need to get my permit. My training on the co. vehicle will begin once I’m there. I’ve found accommodations which is something of a small miracle. 3,000 seasonal workers descend on the city of around 30,000. Limited land almost always means limited bldgs. I spent several days searching the internet for leads to apartments that were within my budget. Somehow I found one that wasn’t even advertised yet as it’s only becoming available at the end of this month. I’m really happy to share that I’ll be in the bottom half of a duplex. It’s close to downtown and opposite a harbor. There may be days I even feel like walking to work.
So in addition to my training and all the normal every day things I seem to have going on, I am beginning to figure out just what can join the ever-growing pile of furnishings, supplies, clothing, and necessities to make the great trip north. I’d rather take it with me than have to buy it there, but at the same time there’s only so much room in a little sedan. A queen-sized air mattress recently joined the pile, as did an alarm clock, a small crock pot and a painting I painted in AK 20 yrs. ago. Matt found it in the back storage bldg. and pulled it out. It’s nice to know my place will not suffer a summer of bare walls.
To that end I even spent the morning printing family photos for some inexpensive picture frames we had lying around. The toughest part of this whole adventure will be time away from Matt. The good news is that he plans on joining me a couple of times during the summer - in June and in August.
In the meantime, we’re all waiting for baby Tori to make her arrival into this world. Matt and I are on stand-by for the week hoping that she arrives sooner rather than later so that we can get to Denver before his work restricts our travel and before the road to Seattle beckons.
I’ll soon be a 56 yr. old grandmother who is a full-time hiking guide in Alaska. What a life!
Never stop dreaming. Never stop reaching for your dreams. Never stop doing.
Laugh freely, walk far,
susan
www.gilahikingcenter.com www.walkerfriendly.com www.journeyheretothere.com
