diomede – Page 3 – Front Porch Coffee

The north trails

So there are a few trails on the island. Two head north out of the village, a low one that stays a few hundred feet off the water, and a high one that heads up to the top of the island. The low one, I found the other day, only goes to the north cliffs…where it stops gradually. Well, sort of. The trail starts out incredibly nice, wide and easy, fades to a narrow and sort of tricky little route, and eventually you turn a corner and, wham, cliffs. Big cliffs. Up to that point, it is a gradual fade, though. From the best I could tell, the north cliffs are just shy of the northernmost point of the island.

So the trail is nice at first — The trail is wide and flat!

There are great places to sit down for a spell

The trail gets narrower (can you see it?) and the going gets steeper. I didn't take any pictures of where the trail stops. I was a little bit preoccupied. — The trail gets narrower (can you see it?) and the going gets steeper. I didn’t take any pictures of where the trail stops. I was a little bit preoccupied.

Looking back where I came from--the trail skirts over that cliff — Looking back where I came from–the trail skirts over that cliff, just above the picture’s frame

and of course the picture of the flower from the lovely walk back on the upper trail

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How does Diomede get electricity?

Well, it works like this. See that picture, that funny looking boat? Well, it’s a barge and tug, actually, loaded with a lot of diesel fuel. They come around once a year. The fuel they deliver powers the village power plant and is sold to individuals for home heating–google ‘toyo stove’ to see how the majority of alaskans heat their homes.

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Show me the way in the fog

After a walk–in the beautiful long arctic summer sunset–which got dicey near some cliffs, after a long climb that seemed to never end and get harder and harder, there finally came a corner and around it was the plateau of the top of the island. From there all I needed to do was cross the plateau and find the nice and safe trail back to the island; I had had my fill of brave trailblazing for the day. I breathed a great sigh of relief and started the long walk over boulders as the thick sea fog rolled in. I walked and walked and walked, and finally the sight of a cairn and a well worn footpath brought a smile to my soul.

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It’s good to be back

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Look to the right

Off that way, which is East, just past the edge of the picture is the dateline and the border between the U.S. and Russia. To the left, which is west, near to the village there are a few of my coworkers, friends. People and places, people and places.

Eight days of school left in my first year of teaching. It went by in a blink, yet the first months seem like they were years ago.

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Open the door

I go to take a step outside and watch the sunset at 10:30, open the door, the hinges creak, loose doorknob and all. Door left open, step back inside for my camera, snap one picture and set the camera down, hope it doesn’t blow away and enjoy the sunset and cold wind.

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Saturday island life

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The fleet

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The sun sets behind big diomede

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Visitors

They are pricey and lack the mind blowing practicality of a 172. but my oh my super cubs are unbelievably cool.

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A case of the willies

I had this conversation with one of the other teachers here at 9 o’clock last night:

“Dave, did you hear about the chopper?”

“no, what about it?”

“they didn’t make it back to Nome.”

…

Spine chilling. Simply put, in these parts, “they didn’t make it” means that they are dead.

Thankfully that wasn’t the case this time. Much later last night the local who does seat booking for the chopper heard from Captain Mike–him and Simon are o.k., they set the bird down outside Nome for weather reasons. But holy cow, that was a case of the willies like I haven’t felt in a while. Mike (pilot) and Simon (flight mechanic) are two of the greatest flying guys I’ve met. They bust their asses to get passengers and mail out here to dio, and they’re just nice people. They’ve picked us up on their way into the airport (“hey, why take a taxi? we’re headed there too, we’ll just pick you up!”), hauled silly amounts of cargo jammed tetris-style into the tiny helicopter for a bunch of teachers all traveling at once, given us hot tea and coffee while waiting in a freezing cold shipping container.

There is an important moral here: it is an unfortunate fact that sometimes it takes a god-awful thought wrenching your gut around for a while to realize just how much you appreciate people.

So this one’s for you, Mike and Simon. Best damn chopper crew in the 907. Keep it up.

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Top trip: wintertime

Firsts: ice axe, crampons, beard-frozen-to-parka, solo top trip, winter top trip.

I’m not sure I would’ve made it down safely if it weren’t for the tea and biscuits shot of calories and warmth one little climb short of the top.

The picture with the little pointy mountain is a shot east towards mainland AK and the village of Wales.

The nighttime shot is of the school, during the home-stretch back. I underestimated (badly) both how much daylight I had left and how long it’d take me.

The picture of me, that’s the only place up there where I could stand up straight-ish.

It was a good monday afternoon :)

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Big diomede and other unrelated stuff

Ice fog, snow and the fierce winter wind is beautiful in it’s unique way, but it’s nice to see the deep blue sky and our russian neighbor island once in a while. It’s been at least a week, maybe two, since I’ve seen something aside of white when I look out my classroom windows…

And in unrelated news, a box with tea in it and another with a nerf gun in it came in the mail this week :-). Money can’t buy happiness, I’m a firm believer, but it can buy nerf guns. money can buy big nerf guns. and big nerf guns are up there with homemade cookies, good cigars, coffee and good tea for being close to happiness.

DSCF1828 — see the nerf gun down there in the sneaky hiding place?

(of course, because of it's default status, the irish breakfast tea is in a lower cupboard closer to the stove) — (of course, because of it’s default status, the irish breakfast tea is in a lower cupboard closer to the stove)

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