Alaska Dynasty

When Ella Eklund promised Lucas for “better or worse”, she had no idea what the shape of worse might be. She had grown up in middle class suburbia with electricity and running water. She had never considered that worse might include a destination that was a sixteen hour trip, by plane and could be colder in winter than the freezer she kept meat in for long term storage. At the time they made their vows, Lucas hadn’t considered that destination either.

If someone had told Lucas, in a short while he would be standing on deck of a ferry boat watching it smash through chunks of floating ice he would have thought them crazy. Yet, that is exactly what happened. It made him nervous listening to the boat hull being bombarded by icy torpedoes. He had seen the movies and he wasn’t quite ready for an icy grave at the bottom of the ocean. Lucas had never considered himself an adventure seeker, it wasn’t his nature.

Lucas Eklund had spent his thirty-eight years always doing the right thing. He played it safe, finished school and married his high school sweetheart. Lucas and his wife, Ella, were average middle class citizens in Tucson, but Lucas felt the calling for something more. Lucas had two high school friends, Tom and Evan, who went into the army after school while he went on to college. After college Lucas went to work as a manager at a local hardware store. After the army Tom and Evan wound up on homestead land in Alaska.

Tom and Evan painted a picture of beautiful land, flowing with milk and honey. Lucas didn’t completely buy the story but he was interested enough to do some research on his own. It was fascinating and increased his interest enough that he began talking about making a move with his thirty-four year old wife, Ella. Lucas ran the numbers to see what they could get if they sold everything they had, including their house and then tried to figure out what they needed for supplies in Alaska, including warm clothes and snowmobiles.

Lucas made his description of Alaska sound like an island resort and Ella loved him enough that she would go with him no matter where they wound up. After a lot of long discussions, Lucas and Ella decided it was what they wanted. Both of them were in their element outdoors and had gone on fishing and camping trips many times in their twelve year marriage. They had gone hunting in Montana in the winter and thought they were prepared.

They began making plans and wanted to leave when ferry service started at the end of March, so they could begin building their cabin in hopes of finishing by the next winter. Lucas’s friends, Tom and Evan, were going to help with the cabin and they had enlisted a few other friends as well. They found a one hundred fifty acre plot of land for sale just north of Anchorage close to the Susitna River. They were going to sell both of their cars but rent a small truck to haul their supplies to the ferry port in Bellingham, Washington. They would load all their supplies on the ferry and then turn their truck into the rental place. The rest of their journey to the homestead would be by snowmobile that they would use to pull sleds to carry all of their supplies from the port in Valdez, Alaska to their final land.

When their ferry arrived in the cold waters at the port in Valdez, Alaska, they would pull the two sleds they had loaded with food and supplies with the two snowmobiles they unloaded from the ferry. Tom and Evan had journeyed to Valdez to meet them and lead them back to the land they had marked for Lucas. They weren’t too far away from the port in Valdez, but by snowmobile they would have to stop and make camp one night before they made it to their final destination. Tom and Evan had downplayed the distance and failed to mention their trip may require camping out more than the one night.

They made their way following Tom and Evan, as civilization faded in the distance behind them. Tom and Evan found a clearing protected by some trees and suggested it would be a good place to camp for the night. Lucas and Ella would not unpack the big tent they brought to live in while cabin building, but would use a smaller hunting tent they had brought for hunting trips later. Tom and Evan had a tent they had already used for the trip up to meet them. The tents were set up close together and a fire was built in the center in front of both tents. The fire not only helped to provide warmth but the smell would warn animals in the area to stay away. Tom and Evan had brought salmon with them for the evening meal and Tom told Lucas to save their food staples for their own use later. He and Evan had brought plenty with them to make the journey. The salmon had been smoked but Tom decided to warm it up from the pack that had become frozen while on the journey. They also sat the water storage they brought with them close to the fire to prevent it from freezing.

Lucas had been told how to dress for the climate and to be prepared for the still cold nights in March. He and Ella had been outfitted with long underwear under ski pants, warm wool socks, heavy sweaters under jackets and a parka over all. Waterproof hiking boots and gaiters fastened over the boots to keep snow from getting inside. Mittens to go over heavy gloves; a sleeping pad to use under the sleeping bags and they had acquired everything they were advised would be needed.

They ate the salmon that was warmed and drank some water that could be described as lukewarm, but with the falling temperatures it was about right. It had been a hard journey and all were tired and sleepy. There wasn’t much visiting before they all turned in to rest before the long journey began in the morning. There would only be barely over five hours of daylight this time of the year and they would need every bit of it. The inside of the tent had a small wood stove for heat and Lucas had fed it some twigs and finally a large log to burn all night. It had a flexible pipe to carry the smoke out and went through an exhaust port in the tent meant for such smoke escape.

The next morning Lucas woke to a smoky bacon smell. He went out to investigate and watched Tom moving strips of bacon, which was draped on a small branch over the fire. It was a sight not witnessed by Lucas before and he was intrigued by it. Tom had a cast iron skillet resting on some coals and he was making some pancakes. Lucas was impressed by the sight and would have complimented the effort but Tom handed him a cup of coffee, probably to keep his mouth shut. Lucas was pretty good at figuring things out; he read the desire for quiet in Tom’s eyes.

Tom handed Ella a plate, with bacon and pancakes, as soon as he saw her stick her head through the tent opening. They didn’t have syrup but they did have honey. Tom explained that he had a neighbor that raised bees and they put up honey every year. They just had an area that was somewhat sheltered from the elements and they used the honey for all of their sweetening needs, since they didn’t exactly have sugar plantations up here.

The breakfast wasn’t too different from home, except the bacon had a curve in it due to being draped over the small branch. The honey worked fine as a replacement for syrup, but the biggest hit was the coffee that warmed everyone from the inside out this morning, where the darkness was still lingering and the temperature was hovering at single digits. Since breakfast was completed, there was no time wasted before the task of breaking camp was started. Everyone packed away the camp items and hooked back up to the sleds carrying all of the supplies that would sustain them for a while, until they could get the cabin finished and make a more permanent home.

Tom and Evan broke a nice trail on the way down that they were then using to pass over going back. The land that was staked out was just a few hours away but they should be able to make it before the darkness fell that afternoon. Tom had shown Lucas on a map where the land was and Tom’s land was just the next plot over to the west and Evan’s was just across the river on the east side. They were all as close to being neighbors as you could get in Alaska.

Tom insisted that everyone carry a rifle and have it out and loaded. The bears would be waking soon from their winter nap and would be extremely hungry and ready for some treats. Lucas said, “That is why I am moving up to this country, I want my future kids to grow up around bears.” Tom replied, “That’s good, bears love children…especially the white meat.” Lucas replied, “Be serious, it is good to mingle with nature.” Tom replied, “I am serious, mingling with nature could leave teeth marks.”

The rest of the trip was quiet, except for the roar of the snowmobiles and you couldn’t hear over that anyway. The trail being broken by Tom and Evan made travel fairly easy, but still a bit rough for newcomers to the lifestyle. It would be a challenge and a change of life that forced many couples apart but it made some that much stronger. Tom knew that Lucas and Ella had a strong relationship that would be tested in the coming months. If they could survive that, they could survive any obstacle thrown at them.

As they followed Tom up the hill, they stopped at the top and he pointed his gloved hand to the area down at the bottom of the hill. He pointed at the markings on poles sticking out of the ground and said, “That’s it! That is all yours all the way to the river. Lucas could see the magnificent view and even the river from their elevated viewpoint. He doubted he would be able to see them when they got back to ground level, but at least they were home.

Unpacking and setting up the big homestead tent was the next order of business. Lucas wanted the opening to face the river where the views were better. Tom just warned to face any openings away from the north and the cabin should be designed that way as well. The tent was a very large tent that had multiple rooms, there was a sleep area and a front living and cooking area. They worked hard to secure it and seal it from winter drafts, even though the weather was expected to improve every day. A very large wood stove with a cooktop was brought in for the cook area and their water containers were placed beside the stove to protect from freezing even though the containers were insulated.