Adak Adventure: Day 5
Posted by heymoe on August 12th, 2007
8/8/2007: Thursday
More of the same morning routine today except instead of going to the local company office we had to do a few things to get ready for the flight out to Adak. First thing we had to do was do some laundry since this trip was longer then expected. After that we had to get everything packed up and checkout of the hotel by noon. From the hotel we went to grab some lunch at the Piper Bar and Grill which is located next to Lake Hood Float Plane Base which is the busiest float plane base in the world. It was really neat to see the float planes landing and taking off while we ate our lunch.
After lunch we drive down a little ways to the terminal to take some close up pictures of the float planes taking off and landing. The observation area was maybe 30-40 feet from the water so you could get a really good view of the planes. I think one of the pilots even posed a little as he was taking off with a smile and thumbs up. I still need to verify this though.
We wanted to make sure we did not miss this flight this time so we headed to the airport 2 hours or so early to make sure we got our tickets and bags checked and work out any issues if they pop up with time to spare. The plane for the flight to Adak was half cargo and half passenger plane where we had to enter the plane from the rear. There were a lot more people on this flight then I expected. It turns out that Adak is a great spot of you’re into hunting and fishing. There are so many Caribou the island that Alaska does not put any restrictions on the number of them you can kill on the island. Fishing is another big thing on Adak mainly for the silver, pink and red Salmon. Even though there is a limit on the number of fish you can catch, there is really no one on the island to enforce it.
Landing in Adak seem to take forever due to the low cloud cover and once we got under the clouds we were really close to the water. The landing was uneventful but seeing the big airport fire truck rushing to the airplane was a little weird. I’m guessing that since there are only two flights to the island a week that they try to get some practice in when a plane lands. There was nothing special about the Adak terminal. Instead of a jet way, two people pushed a set of stairs into place at the rear entry. It turns out there was a WWII vet on board the flight that was stationed in Adak making a return trip for a documentary or something.
Justin from the Adak company was waiting for us at the terminal and after packing up the truck with our gear we made a quick stop at the main office to drop off the hardware that we will install tomorrow. We then dropped off our remaining gear at the house that they set us up in. After getting settled in and finding out we had no water which turned out to be caused by a break in the main line feeding the city, we drove to the one and only bar on Island for some drinks and food. It turns out the bar is the only place to get food next to making it yourself at home. The sandwich I had was over cooked and crunchy but the onion rings were great. We also meet up with a few of the other guys that we would be working with over the next few days while at the bar including the big boss man. They all were a great group of guys.
After dinner at the bar Justin gave us a quick tour of the island from Clam Lagoon to Finger Bay which are north and south of the main city. For the most part the entire island is tundra as far as the eye can see. Other then the small trees that some people planted in front of their homes there are only eight native trees on the island that are all grouped together. This group of trees make up Adaks National Forest. We did see a few Bald Eagles on the drive and a whole bunch of abandoned buildings which Chris and I hope to have time to explore later.
After the quick tour Justin dropped us back off at our house and we were happy to find out the water was working. Chris and I turned in shortly after since we were going to get an early start tomorrow.
Stay tuned for Day 6.
