Flying, Hiking & Cooking delicious Steak.

6/26/16 marked my first solo day hiking trip with guests at the lodge. A family from Germany; the mom, daughter & two sons. Joe was going on a heli-drop camping trip with a group of 5 people and another booking came through for the same dates months ago so that meant Bonnie was going to need help.



Talkeetna Air Taxi coming in to pick up Joe

I flew in a day ahead of the 2 bookings so I could get the rundown from Joe on everything from the initial walk through with new guests, down to how to use the old barbeque to cook a perfect steak. I've done most of this before many years ago when Mike and Pam would fly me in to help, but shoot, that’s going on 10 years ago since I did any real "hosting".  On the morning of the 25th the Talkeetna Air helicopter came and picked up Joe along with just under 200 lbs. of camping gear and headed deep into the mountains so he could set up a base camp for the next 3 days. About an hour after Bonnie and I waved goodbye to Joe we headed down to the dock to tie up the floatplane that brought in our guests that were actually staying at the lodge. I showed them around, got them all settled in and a few hours later I put on my sous-chef hat to help Bonnie cook dinner. I took Joe's roll and cooked some "delicious" steaks. (That's what the guests said anyhow.) After dinner the guests retreated to their cabins and as Bonnie and I did the dishes we looked east toward the mountains and hoped all was well with Joe and his group. The clouds were starting to settle in the upper hills and we just knew they were going to get soaked. Or just stay under the tarp and in their tents...The SPOT GPS message he sent us everyday let us know things were going good. That’s a nice tool for us to have.


Panoramic photo of the lake taken from Blueberry Hill

 

After breakfast the next day I asked our guests how long of a hike they were up for and the oldest son said "um, at least like 10 kilometers or so" and with that we packed a hearty lunch and headed across the lake. I knew I would have to improvise a bit because Joe told me that the GPS clocked the usual hike around the lake at 3 miles (about 4.8 km) so I pretty much made up the first part as I went. It had down poured rain the night before and into that morning so the bushes were soaked. All 5 of us had water proof boots but that does no good when the water from the alder bushes hits your thighs and it just drains down through the pants onto the socks and INTO the boots... I had rain pants but I gave them to the youngest son because he was getting cold. The weather just kept getting better and better as we went but the bushes were still soaked. After a big detour to go see the middle fork of Montana creek and put on a few extra kilometers we headed north and had lunch on a little Ridgeline about 2 miles east of the lodge. We then rounded the lake and made it back to the lodge in about 3.5 hours. Overall putting on about 7.5 kilometers. The guests were wet, tired and happy….perfectly happy to settle for less than 10 kms. And me...well like I said, this was my first solo day hike so as we crested the front side of blueberry hill and the lodge came into view I just smiled to myself proudly and thought "I left with 4 people and I made it back with 4 people. Success."

 

Back when I was 15 and Mike and Pam started using me for my sweet wilderness skills.....and lawn mowing skills…and dish washing skills at the lodge I went on many hikes with guests, but I was always with Mike. Now that we own the lodge (and I think Mike would finally say I am more than just an “assistant guide”) it's a neat experience to have guests here and be the one showing them all of this great country knowing it's my back yard.

Trail Ridge Air coming in to pick up the guests in the De Havilland Beaver float plane

On the 27th after we said goodbye to our guests and they flew back to Anchorage, Alaska Bush came and picked me up to fly back to Talkeetna.  But first I was fortunate enough to get a scenic flight. 2 folks from Israel were on the plane when I hopped on so I was just along for the ride...  A pretty cool way to spend a Monday Morning.

 

The Talkeetna River 6/27/16

 

So then back to reality. I was so excited to see my wife and daughters, but I had to get ready for work the next day. Pack lunch, make coffee and commute to Anchorage…for my real job...sitting at my desk. Hey, someone's gotta pay the bills.

Denali as seen from Earthquake Park

I was digging through some old photos and found these.
Last May I called Joe from Earthquake Park in Anchorage. He was sitting at the lodge and I wanted him to snap a photo of Denali and text it to me so I could see the difference between my view and his view at the same time.
These 2 photos were taken within a minute of each other on a brisk summer morning and you can tell that in my photo there is some smoke in the air from the forest fires. Whereas with Joe's photo the air was a lot more clear because the lodge is not in the valley.
Both photos were taken with smart phones.
I zoomed in just a little bit before it got grainy.
---------------------------------------------------
Earthquake Park is 133 miles south of Denali.
The lodge is 70 miles southeast of Denali.

Mt Foraker, Mt Hunter & Denali view from Anchorage.

Mt Foraker, Mt Hunter & Denali view from Caribou Lodge Alaska.

Work Smarter, Not Harder.

Last summer during one of our supply runs to Talkeetna I was helping Elbert load a 160 lb propane cylinder into his Cessna 206, and I thought to myself, this sure is stupid!  Two grown men trying to balance on the float of a small plane while trying not to drop the cylinder in the lake…it’s just not a great idea.  Now I’m not opposed to hard work, but this is nuts!

Two thirds of the summer was over and my dad, brothers and I had talked about it quite a bit. Bouncing ideas around, and thought there had to be a safer way to do this so we don’t hurt our backs or end up swimming.

Later that day I called Joe at the lodge to see how everything went and if he and Elbert had trouble unloading the propane.  Joe then begins to tell me that in the nicest way possible Elbert said “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be haulin’ propane like this”.  But Joe, being smart like he is, and reading between the lines, could tell that what Elbert really wanted to say was more along the lines of…This is the dumbest thing ever and you all need to figure something out because I’m done with this garbage!

We totally agree Elbert! 

 

It reminds me of my favorite line from the movie Swiss Family Robinson:
“It’s better to use your head than break your back, I always say”

The problem didn’t end at the floatplane dock though.  After a pilot leaves we are on our own hauling the tanks up the hill from the lake and to the shed about 100 yards away. So Joe told him about our plan to transfer all propane bottles to and from the lodge during the winter so we can use the snowmobiles and pull the sled right up to the shed, or lodge, or cabin…wherever we need a propane tank at the time.

We love the idea, but I think the pilots love it even more.  Flying with propane is kind of scary and something we didn’t want to make them do.

So we bought a few more cylinders and have spent the last few months gathering all the empty cylinders from Joe and Bonnie. Filling a few of them every time we make a supply run from Palmer to Talkeetna.  Those large cargo sleds pulled behind our machines have been an awesome investment.

We have hauled in approximately 350 gallons of propane that will run the refrigerator, a chest freezer, a barbeque, water heaters and heat for every guest cabin.  That should last us all year…I hope!  Then we will do the same thing next winter I suppose. 

Now I know some will say that we are dumb for using so much propane and we should be using solar or hydro-power for everything. We would agree that solar is probably the best option for many things, and we already use solar here at the lodge for some applications. I think we will continue to expand our use of solar each year, but just like everything else at the lodge; we are experimenting and learning as we go.

 

 

 

A Different "American Dream"

Some people might say I’m crazy.  And a whole lot more people will at least think it.

I can only imagine the thoughts going through my mother-in-law’s mind when I told her that we were interested in buying a lodge. I wanted to quit my job in Anchorage, move to the bush of Alaska and run a wilderness lodge…with her daughter and 2 grand babies. Well, I never actually had THAT conversation with her, but man she must think I’m nuts.

Leaving the security of a good 8 to 5 job after seven years is definitely not on a lot of people’s to-do list, but I just always felt like I was meant to do something different.

Not something to make me feel superior to others, or to say HA, I’m more adventurous than these people in cubicles. I just always feel more alive in the mountains, surrounded by wildlife and nature. Not to mention being with my wife and daughters more, and running my own business. 

I think millions of people feel the same way, like if given the chance to be your own boss and be outdoors more, would you take it? Well I was given that chance and I chose to say yes!  So someday in the next couple years we will leave the city life and start to transfer our lives to the lodge full time.

In the meantime Joe & Bonnie are holding down the fort. (Which is code for hosting all the guests, and doing all the work out there 365 days a year.)

Giving up some absolutes to venture into the unknown is deep in my DNA. Alyssa and I had many talks about the next stage in life.  For most young married couples the next thing on the check list would be a nice house.

Something close to town, but maybe in a quiet neighborhood with a quick route home from the commute.

Close to playgrounds, and church.

The dog, and the white picket fence. 

And we talked about all of these things, but the only thing missing for us in all of this was

–where is the adventure?-

Now, granted, I didn’t just jump at the first opportunity to ditch a great job and try some random self-employed venture.  This was a calculated risk after many prayers and discussions with my wife. And the fact that this lodge was already being operated by great friends helped.  We didn’t have to start from square one. The lodge has been hosting folks from all over the world since about 1994.

We just bought the lodge and took over operation right where Mike and Pam left off. Like literally immediately took over operation. The day after Mike and Pam moved from the lodge with their last load of personal items loaded in their float plane we had guests from France fly in.

Taking my girls away from grandparents, cousins, and friends was part of the “risk” in our minds. That is something that hurts a bit to think about.  You have to fly to get to the lodge so it’s kind of like moving to another state. My wife and I do think raising our kids at the lodge will make for a great childhood. We will homeschool them through great programs that the state of Alaska offers.  They will have each other, have two dogs to play with, Uncle Joe and Aunt Bonnie close by, lakefront property, and lots of time with mom and dad.

So as we become self-employed I will hold on to what retirement I have banked up, but for now I will trade my 401k for 365 days a year with my family.

This is my “American dream”. 

More time with my wife/best friend, and with my daughters while they are still young. To actually be with them and teach them as they grow and not just see them for about 2 hours a night after my commute is over. That is something which I will never get another chance.

First Post Ever.

Alright!!!  A new blog for the lodge. ...Like that’s exactly what the internet needed was another blog…

Ok, I am really new to all this bloggin’ stuff so I am going to give it my best shot. 

My real hope is that this blog continues on for many many years as a journal entry for us personally so as it archives month by month we can look back on our life and events as it happened in the moment. And also, I hope that many people will find it awesome and entertaining to keep up with us and keep coming back here for more posts.

I will try to be as candid as possible as we put our lives out here and show all of you how the girls are growing up, how the lodge business is going, and along the way try to be a good resource for other folks who crave a wilderness lifestyle, need help with their own outdoor gear and projects, and post some videos that are insightful and entertaining. 

As we transition from town life to full time wilderness life in the next couple years I am so glad that my brother Joe & his wife Bonnie will be there with us and helping us get used to life off the grid. 

Joe & Bonnie with their dog, Howie, have lived at the lodge full time for about a year and a half.  If you would like to get to know us all a little better and see how we came to be the owners of Caribou Lodge visit THIS PAGE of our website.

 

Here at the lodge we are known for being an adventure wilderness lodge catering to travelers from literally all over the world. But that summer tourist season only lasts for about 4 months a year up here, so being lodge hosts, and owners only takes up a fraction of our year.  So I suppose the purpose of this blog is to fill you in on what happens in and around the lodge the remaining 8 months of the year.

Joe and I would love to become very well-known and trusted for our outdoor gear use and reviews. That is one thing I am very excited about, and we will post gear reviews here and on YouTube from time to time.

I suppose that’s all for now.  Keep coming back for more updates and posts on this here fancy blog thing.

 

Signing off!

-Zac

CEO (Captain of Epic Operations) of Caribou Lodge Alaska, LLC

www.cariboulodgealaska.com

 

P.S. I know that people love videos and photos and I am sorry this post didn’t have any but I will make them a priority in the future.
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3/16/2016