Alaska Dream

Joel had been dreaming about this trip since he was a little boy. He could remember sleeping out on the trampoline with his best friend, Kyle, gazing into the sky planning the adventures they would have here. He couldn’t remember what prompted the desire to come see Alaska, but it grew as they did. In high school they read “Into the Wild,” which pretty much sealed the deal that one day they would come, visit Bus 142, see amazing wildlife, hear glacier ice crack and moan beneath them, summit Denali, and have the greatest adventure of their lives.

As often happens with dreams, life and money got in the way.

Kyle joined the military right out of high school and Joel was off to college on a full ride scholarship. Two years after graduating and finding the perfect job, Kyle called nearly breaking Joel’s ear drums telling him he had just been given orders to Fort Wainwright. Joel was confused why Kyle was so excited to share this news until he screamed even louder, “It’s in Alaska! I’m going to Alaska! You have to come visit me there!”

Joel got every detail worked out, it was going to be everything they had ever dreamed. Well, except for actually going to the top of Denali, that dream would take a whole lot more preparation and cash to accomplish.

He flew into Fairbanks, which had to be the smallest international airport ever. When Joel stepped outside, he was amazed to see that the leaves had changed color. There was a chill in the air as he smiled and breathed deeply, a childhood dream had finally been fulfilled. He heard shouts, there was Kyle, a couple cars away, looking sharp in his uniform, a huge grin on his face as his arm waved wildly. They hugged and though it had been years since seeing each other they picked up as if it was just yesterday. Joel looked around as they drove, “Where are all the amazing mountains,” he questioned.

Kyle laughed, “Yeah, I wondered the same thing when I came. Would you believe we are only about 450 feet above sea level here! On a nice clear day you can see Denali, but it doesn’t look like much.”

“Wow that stinks, here I’ve been picturing you surrounded by the most amazing mountain views.”

“I still have amazing views, but if I want the mountains I have to hope they send me to JBER in Anchorage next. Now,” he said, pulling into a small parking lot in front of a building with the name Spice It Up, “let me introduce you to the best mediterranean food ever.”

Stuffed, they piled back into the car and drove a short distance to the front gate of Fort Wainwright. Kyle asked for Joel’s drivers licence and Kyle handed it and his military ID to a young soldier; who scanned it and handed it back motioning for them to drive on.

Kyle started driving and handed back Joel’s ID, saying, “It’s a pretty tiny post, you’ll pretty much see all of it on the way to the barracks.”

It didn’t take long to reach the barracks, the most exciting part of the drive was seeing the Apache and Chinook helicopters.

They spent the evening chatting away and getting everything ready to go. They packed Kyle’s car so they could set out the next day for glorious adventures then they fell asleep watching old favorite shows.

The next morning began the start of Joel’s unfortunate adventures.

He woke to Kyle pushing him and saying. “Joel, wake up man.”

“What’s going on,” Joel mumbled.

“Our field training dates got changed again! My leave has been revoked, which means I won’t be able to go with you.”

Joel sat straight up, “WHAT! Why can’t you come anymore? You said you got the time off.”

Kyle grumbled, “Yeah, I know, but this is the army Joel, you do what they say and when they say. There is no guarantee with the military except for the guarantee that plans will change.”

Joel complained, “Well, that sucks!”

‘I know! I want you to have a great time though. Here are my keys, go and tell me all about the adventure.”

Joel sat and ate by himself frustration growing. Finally, he decided he needed to just get over it and go have fun like Kyle said. He gathered his items and headed for the car, thankful Kyle was going to let him use it.

Joel figured he would stick with the original plan they had worked up, so he headed for Healy and the start of his first adventure, a hike to the Magic Bus. Miles and miles of forest could be seen and he could see how someone could get lost here, mentally and physically. He was constantly seeing what he thought was a moose or a bear on the side of the road and he would get so excited pulling out his camera and looking for a place to pull over for a good shot, then he would get closer and realize it was just a fallen down tree or a big rock. Everytime he would say “hey, it’s a….not a bear,” he would grumble then laugh to himself wishing Kyle was there to laugh with him. The drive took about two hours, he truly enjoyed it other than not seeing a single animal. “What the heck,” he thought, “Alaska is supposed to be filled with animals.”

He parked the car at Eightmile Lake and got his gear together, feeling the sweet anticipation of being just miles from a place he had dreamed about since high school. The hike would be a little over 18 miles and September was supposedly one of the best times to go. He had done a lot of hiking and was in good shape so he didn’t expect to have any problems. He would hike as far as he could and set up camp then go the rest of the way to the bus.

The trail was not too bad the first few miles, but then he started into muck that just got worse and worse. Mud had made it up to his knees and he thought a few times he would have to go digging for his shoes when it felt like they were getting pulled off.

His “this is fantastic, what a gorgeous place, I could live here forever” attitude quickly turned to moans, groans, and cursings about “what a wretched place and why would anyone ever come here.”

He trudged on determined to make it to the, “stupid bus, no wonder Alex or Chris or whatever he wanted to be called had died there, no one would want to cross this again!”

Finally, he made it to the first river crossing and called it quits for the day, it had taken far longer than he planned and he was tired, cold, and hungry. He ate, cleaned himself and clothes in the river, set up camp, and fell asleep quickly.

In his dreams he was getting swept down a river, the water washing over his face again and again. He woke with a start and discovered he was soaked, a stream was flowing through the tent and rain was pounding down on it. “You have got to be kidding!” He screamed into the cloudy heavens. Angrily, he gathered all his wet gear, at least the movement and frustration kept him somewhat warm, but it wasn’t going to last long especially with no dry clothes to change into. “So much for seeing the bus,” he muttered to himself as he wrapped an emergency blanket around him and started the awful trek back to the car.

Clean dry clothes and a hot meal later he was feeling a little better. “The next experience will be great,” he told himself. A short drive later he paid his fee to enter Denali National Park and was still frustrated that the mountain remained hidden under cloud cover. “You better show yourself,” he threatened the majestic peak as he drove to Riley Creek Campground.

After setting his campsite up, he got on one of the park buses to go see the phenomenal sights.

“Finally,“ he said in awe, staring out the window at a herd of caribou. The bus pulled to the side and let everyone out to get pictures and enjoy watching the herd graze. Then they moved on and had not gone far when shouts and exclamations rippled through the bus again, “a grizzly!” Joel looked around and finally spotted him off on a distant hill, “Darn, I left the binoculars,” he complained to himself. Using his camera he zoomed in as far as he could to watch the giant lumber along.

Feeling lifted and renewed after the bus ride he returned to camp only to be greeted by a ransacked site. “Oh for the love, you idiot, you left the food in your tent,” he moaned, “can this trip get any worse!”

Throwing everything into the car he debated just going back to Fairbanks, but decided on finding a hotel and nice dinner first then he’d leave in the morning. A comfortable and warm night's sleep helped him to stick to his plans instead of giving up and leaving days early. He drove to the trailhead for the Savage River Alpine Trail, the one he had read about and wanted to hit for sure.

When he got there a big sign was posted saying there was an aggressive moose and to stay off. “No,” he glared at the sign, “I am not going to miss this experience too, a stupid moose is not stopping me!” Off he stormed in a sour mood, this amazing trip had been cursed from the start.

An hour or so later he had marched off his anger and was beginning to enjoy the beauty around him when he rounded a corner and came face to face with a bull moose. Joel was ecstatic at first and reached for his camera when the huge animal grunted, pulled his ears back, his hair was standing up, and he began stomping his foot. “Oh crap he is going to charge,” Joel fretted. This beautiful beast was going to kill him. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears when another sound drifted in, “Run behind the rock!” Joel felt stuck to the spot and couldn’t move, couldn’t even look to see who was yelling. Then as the bull started to charge something grabbed him and pulled. Shocked, his mind and body finally started working and he moved in the direction he was being pulled. A blur of green and brown met his eyes, then he focused on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She dragged him next to a large rock and proceeded to chastise him, “You imbecile! Why would you ignore the warning, we put those up for a reason to keep you and us safe! If the bull comes around be ready to move to the other side of the rock. They can’t turn very fast.”

Stumbling over his words Joel replied, “uh, ok, uh I’m sorry.”

“Apologize after we get out of here unharmed!” She blurted.

A frightening fifteen minutes later the bull finally took off. Heart still pounding, Joel tried to thank his rescuer again. “Let's just get back to the trailhead and get you out of here ok,” she said.

“Can I at least know your name?”

“Ranger Liz,” she snapped walking off.

Joel caught up and started explaining all the crazy events that led to his irresponsible choice. By the time they reached his car Liz had softened and was laughing along with Joel as he shared his unbelievable luck. He was starting to grow on her, and when he asked about taking her to dinner as a thank you, she surprised herself when her mouth opened and said “Sure.”

A smile split across Joel’s face as he got her number and made arrangements for that evening. “Maybe this trip is not a total disaster after all,” he thought.

If you enjoyed this budding romance check out this story about another one.

Or if you love Alaska check out this short tribute I wrote about the beautiful land.