Alaska: The Final Frontier Away from Technology
Next week, I will take off to my annual trip to Yakutat, Alaska. Yakutat is a small town located on the Southern section of Alaska that snakes alongside Canada. It has one of the tiniest airports I have ever been to, security takes about 5 minutes, two flights a day arrive and depart from Yakutat. The only reason there is an airport here is because the USAAF built it during World War II. It also supposedly has some of the greatest surfing in the world.
John Muir, the famous naturalist once wrote that you should never go to Alaska as a young man because you’ll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live. I think there is some truth to that because this is the 5th year I will be going. In a previous blog I wrote about the importance of unplugging from technology and being one with nature. This trip is all about that. I also bring home a good amount of Sockeye Salmon and Alaskan Halibut in the process. Although I love what I do for a living, a bad day of fishing in Alaska is better than a good day at work behind a desk.
Alaska is a magical place where your senses become enhanced, I feel that I can see and hear better within a few days of being there. I read once that this phenomenon probably happens because your mind is no longer distracted by the hustle and bustle of the city and now needs to be tuned to your surroundings for survival reasons because you are no longer on top of the food chain. I saw that first hand a couple of years ago while I was setting up my fishing equipment on the sandy bank of a river . My foot stepped into what I thought was a hole, well, the hole was actually a Grizzly Bear paw print. (You can see the photo I took below, I wear a size 11.5 shoe). I had that creepy, hair standing on your neck feeling that something was watching me. I looked down at the print and saw that there was a trail of prints that led to the forest behind me which was about 50 meters away. I decided I didn’t want to re-enact the Leonardo DiCaprio scene from the movie THE REVENANT so I packed up my gear and headed to the top of a bridge where my buddies were safely casting for fish. About 10 minutes later, a female Grizzly and 2 cubs appeared right where I was standing.
Eddie Vedder, the lead singer for Pearl Jam, created a great soundtrack for the film, and book of the same name INTO THE WILD. The film and book is a true story of a guy who gets fed up with society and decides to go out into the wilderness and live off the land. I really identify with the song ‘Society’ from that soundtrack because it illustrates how a lot of us get caught up in the material aspects of the world which drive us to always want more:
“It’s a mystery to me
We have a greed
With which we have agreed
You think you have to want
More than you need
Until you have it all you won’t be free”
I have this song on repeat right now as I check out my gear and prepare the long journey to Seattle, then Juneau, then Yakutat. I really like how the lyrics also sarcastically state:
“Society, you’re a crazy breed
I hope you’re not lonely without me”
I’m not sure if Eddie Vedder meant it but when I read that line, it makes me think of our social media accounts with X amount of followers that will HOPEFULLY survive without my philosophical and amazingly life changing posts (I’m being sarcastic). I’m sure the sun will rise again while I am away.
If you can do it, I recommend Alaska a place to unplug and detach from electronics for awhile. In Alaska, detaching is an act of survival because you never know what is watching you from the forest behind you as you take that selfie.
PS I will update this post with pics when I return
