dandelion seeds: Alaska Adventuring, Part 2: Kodiak Island

After our adventures in Anchorage, Daniel and I extended our trip to include a visit to his aunt and uncle, who have lived on Kodiak Island for nearly 20 years. We flew to Kodiak (southwest of Anchorage) on a Sunday afternoon, which took just under an hour, and landed in mountain paradise. This is the view from the plane right after we landed.

Daniel's Uncle Ted and Aunt Kathy picked us up at the airport and took us to their house to drop off our stuff. Less than two hours later, we were bundled in water gear and tucked in their little motor boat, circumnavigating Woody Island in search of whales.

This is the dock where we unloaded the boat.

Us in our super stylish borrowed boating outfits.

And soon we were off, delirious with adrenaline and delight. "Cheaper than Disneyland!" hollered Ted as our little boat careened across the Pacific Ocean, swooping and bumping over the waves. "And better!" we yelled back.

Sea otters floated along in rafts, tucking little paws under their chins and shyly ducking underwater before our boat got too close. Little black puffins splashed into the water and back up again, often taking a few seconds to gain enough momentum to launch off the water into the sky. Endless mountains rose up all around us, boats of all sizes docked in the harbors, the wind buffeting our faces and spray from the ocean water splashing up. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life.

Sea lions lounged on the dock.

But the real stars of this show were the humpback whales breaching over and over. This is how close we were.

On Day 2, we woke up to a dreary rainy day. This seemed like a good time to drive across the island on The Road, stopping at several different places along the way.

Kodiak Island's land is 80 percent reserve, 15 percent native land, and 5 percent available for people to live on. As with all of Alaska, the majority of the island isn't accessible by road. Hence the name "The Road": one main paved road that crosses the island from north to south.

One of our stops was Fossil Beach.

It was raining and cold, but still worth it to look around.

During the drive, Daniel's Uncle Ted told us all about Kodiak. The population of the island is around 14,000, of which 5,000 is the Coast guard.

Other than Malealea Village, Lesotho, it's the most remote place I've ever been.

Sometime in the afternoon, the rain let up a little. We climbed this grassy hilltop in Chiniak.

On Kodiak, it's impossible to be far from the ocean.

It's also nearly impossible to be in a crowd. Solitude was as abundant as the pines.

It turns out that lots of World War II soldiers were stationed on Kodiak, where they built bunkers to camp out and watch for Japanese planes.

The bunkers are still there, of course. But now they're completely overgrown with wildflowers.

It was the most beautiful, profound thing. Instruments of war, reclaimed by the earth.

In the evenings, we ate fresh-caught fish for dinner before heading out again to hike. With sunlight until eleven o'clock at night, nearly all our waking hours were spent outdoors.

Moss trail, aptly named.

On Day 3, we went fishing in Ted's friend's boat.

I didn't take any other pictures, but I do have a video to help me remember the feeling of speeding backward across the ocean in a little boat. Equal parts wonder, exhilaration, and peace.

And, of course, more hiking that evening.

Kodiak, Alaska is an untamed, rugged, adventurous place. Those who choose to live there long-term have wholly embraced wildness in life. They know better than anyone how little we really control. "It's all about the story," Kathy would frequently declare, usually after recounting some harrowing moment like being chased by a grizzly or their son getting stuck halfway down a cliff face.

Kodiak's tallest mountain is Koniag, standing at 4470 feet, which doesn't sound that impressive until you consider that no mountain is further than thirty miles from the ocean.