Day 1: It Begins

Quote of the day: “I woke up and the wolf was looking at me like he was wondering if he should give me back the blanket or eat me”
-Justin describing a tough night of dreaming

I haven’t had a dog in my life for a while.
-Shane

We kicked off the day with Andy’s two big skillets of eggs & potatoes and then set out on our first hike of the trip. The sun came out on cue, and we were told that we were incredibly lucky to see it. It beamed all day, in fact, so we are counting our blessings.

As we hiked up the slope deeper into the middle of Near Island, the forest grew tall and the electric green moss carpeted the ground thick and spongy. It wrapped around the trees and hung off its branches. The sunlight peeped through making cylinders of light that polka dotted the trail. Andy stopped us a few times to teach us the anatomy of trails and introduce us to the art of trail building. We also walked the trail the CGPS students made last year. The picture with Jasmine smiling on a gravel-covered trail marks the proud moment.

We returned to the boat to meet Tom, Mike, and Allison—the rest of Andy’s crew. Good-natured, enthusiastic, and fun, we were immediately drawn to them. We jumped in the van and headed into town for lunch.

Andy, forever thinking of providing the best experience, suggested a drive up to the wind turbines at Pillar Mountain. We could see all of Kodiak from there. Some of the mountains still had patches of snow, but most of them were a lush green. We hiked to the far side of the peak to look down on town and The Island C—our temporary home.

In the late afternoon, we went to Andy’s house to get these very cool boots called “Xtra Tufs.” Alaskans take great pride in these things, so I suppose we’ll learn why soon enough. We then took a short hike to a black gravel beach for a little R&R. The most popular activity was rock skipping. The beach was full of round, slender rocks, and it was clear that Mike and Tom had put some time into perfecting their tosses.

To our disbelief, it was already time to head back to the Island C for dinner. Mike, Tom, and Alison teamed up to make us freshly baked cheese bread, pasta with a meat and vegetable tomato sauce, and spinach casserole. We were all able to fit around the long table in the main salon, and we ate to our heart’s content. Shane read a fitting passage from Jack London’s In a Far Country about pulling away from the “comforts of civilization” and embracing “unselfishness, forbearance, and tolerance,” in hope of thereby finding “true camaraderie.” We also shared our favorite part of the day. Hiking on the trail they made last year topped the seniors’ list, while Hayley loved coming out of the forest on top Near Island to see that first spectacular view. Jonathon told the story of reaching new heights on the buoy swing outside of Andy’s house while Emily remembered our rock skipping session. Michael loved looking up at the wind turbines, and I just can’t get over that electric green moss! Shane told a funny story of bonding with Andy’s dog, Gauge.

So now it’s 10:30 and it is still perfectly light out. I’m signing off to heat up some water for a makeshift shower of sorts, and then I’m heading to bed. The boys are playing cards and the girls are reading and chatting. It’s a good vibe.