I’m on my way to a summer on Buldir, where I’ll only have a satellite phone with e-mail. I’m going to try posting by e-mail once a week, and I won’t know if it worked until the end of summer. Due to my capabilities, I won’t be able to share pictures. Sorry! If it works, I’ll share various things about camp life weekly.  If not, there may be a post dump when I return to internet. Enjoy summer!

Monday 23 May 2016, week 2: at sea north of Akutan, 21:30    (week 1 of work was in Homer)

The sounds of the engine, the slosh of the water just feet away from me, the sway of the boat as I fall asleep. These are a few of my favorite things at sea, which is where we’ve been for just shy of a week. Other than a brief period outside King Cove when we had cell reception just long enough for me to almost cancel my health insurance, my social world has consisted of some Fish & Wildlife Service fox trappers, University of Alaska Anchorage mammalogists, the ship’s crew, and my fellow Bio techs (biological science technicians).

Last Tuesday morning we made our way out of Kachemak Bay, headed southwest toward the Barren Islands and then down Shelikof Strait on the north side of Kodiak Island.

Crew: 6               Passengers: 14

Our first stop was Chirikof Island, home of the first animal that comes to mind when I think of islands: cattle. Okay, that sentence was partly a lie. Years ago a ranch was in operation, and I guess the cows just got left behind when the operation was shut down. Like I said, it’s bizarre to have over 2,000 cows (as of 2014 count) hanging out on an island in the North Pacific.

We helped set up two 2-man camps on the E and W sides of the island, where fox trappers will spend a couple months trying to continue fox population control efforts. Those guys have it easy with ATVs and skiffs at their disposal. While they won’t have the luxury of cabins when the winds and rain come, they did have the luxury of having about 14 people help shuttle gear from the skiff to the beach and set up parts of camp.

Dropping off crews for a final time does have a strange feel, since we’re essentially leaving them stranded on a beach with no visible human contact for months. Sometimes I miss my chance to say goodbye to people, leaving me thinking, “And I never saw them again…” (It’s true! The trapping crews get picked up earlier in summer, so I won’t know if they survived.)

Passengers: 10

Chowiet, part of the Semidi Islands, was John and Emily’s stop. With clear skies we had nice views of rocky cliffs on many of the islands as we approached. Fortunately the green cabin and shed at the base of a prominent hill were still standing, but the same couldn’t be said for their outhouse or produce bin, whose pieces we gathered from all over the surrounding area. Over the course of an evening and the next morning we got their radio communications up and running, as well as all their gear lugged from the skiff to the beach and up the short, steep hill to the flat in front of their cabin. God bless the human chain method of moving packages from place to place.

Passengers: 8

From Chowiet we headed north toward the western end of the Alaska Peninsula before starting our journey west. Our next stop was a roughly ½ x 3 mile island called Outer Iliasik. There we all meandered around as much territory as we could cover to check for signs of mammals’ presence. Foxes and rats were introduced to the Aleutians years ago and prey on seabird eggs, so Fish & Wildlife has worked on eradicating these mammals for decades. Mostly we stumbled our way through tall (knee-high) grass and over spongy tundra that sinks in a half a foot with each step. Undoubtedly we all earned the rhubarb raspberry danishes that awaited us back on the ship.

Today we spent the day at Aiktak, home of the highest density of puffins in the eastern Aleutians. Dan and Sarah’s cabin needed a new roof and new door, so the captain even made it to shore for carpentry work and banter. Watching thousands of tufted puffins circle through the air and raft on the channel separating Aiktak from Ugamak was awesome.

By the end of dinner, Sarah and Dan were shipped back to their home on shore.

Passengers: 6

Update for 25 May: Since we’re running ahead of schedule and needed to get some parts, we diverted to Dutch Harbor. Here the Fish & Wildlife mammalogist/trapper + 2 UAA mammalogists are jumping ship since we’re done exploring islands.

Crew: 6               Passengers: 3 Buldirians