The alarm went off while the cabin was still pitch dark. We had twenty minutes to get ready for sampling in the last stop of the ferry before reaching Unalaska. When the ship landed in Akutan the lights of trucks and floodlights around the harbour gave us a faint idea of how this island looked like. We had read the eastern Aleutians.
Three figures with headlamps raced away from the ferry as soon as the ramp was set, while everybody else remained on deck or greeting passengers at the harbour. We split into two groups to cover more ground, and I quickly found Mimulus growing along a small creek or burn that came down the mountain, near the helicopter pad. With nor landing strip for plans, the helipad is the only aerial link for Akutan’s few residents. On the way back I got chatting with the bartender of Akutan that was travelling to Unalaska for a weekend outing. He told me many stories of living there, hunting, and the difficult and often solitary live he endured. The stories I heard would make a post on their own, but I will save them for later as we are about to leave.
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We arrived in Dutch Harbor around 10am. As we came into the bay we saw a whale so close that you felt you could touch it. From the approach we could see Unalaskan Orthodox Cathedral, the iconic building that has come to be a synonym with this town.
We picked up the rental SUV and stopped for lunch at the Cathedral. We ate as a bald eagle kept watch on us from the highest cross of the church. This place has so many bald eagles, it is unbelievable. Later we learned from an excellent naturalist that in one Christmas census, the townspeople recorded 800!
In the afternoon, we met Steffi Ickert-Bond and Roger Topp from the Museum of the North and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The following day we would meet Suzi Golodoff, and with her the Langsdorff expedition would be complete.
After meeting with Roger and Steffi, we decided to hike up Balyhoo, the pointy mountain overlooking Dutch Harbor. The steep ascent rewarded us with botanical prizes including a swan orchid, dwarf rhododendron, and a myriad of other wild flowers. At the top, we had a clear view of the bays of Unalaska, Iluliuk, and Capitains, as well as Hog island. Eagles and ravens circled and passed near us. The precipitous cliff on the other side was not enough to deter Jannice from sampling dwarf rhododendron for Steffi.
After the hike, we checked in the Grand Aleutian, probably the only hotel in town. We met a team of volcanologist travelling by helicopter to sample ash. It is easy to spot scientists here. The plastic bags full of samples, permanent markers in hand, and GPS devices. But most of all by the faces radiating a mix of exhaustion and excitement, and the thrill of exploring a beautifully remote land.
