Kashevaroff Mountain

Long before we were a sailing family, Alisa and I were a young couple in love with adventuring in Alaska.

The opportunity to introduce Eric and Elias to the delights of outdoor living in the Great Land was one of the big bright sides of our return to Alaska.

Earlier this winter, the boys and I headed up Kashevaroff Mountain, one of the most accessible peaks in Kodiak. Our goal was to spend the night in a snow cave. Elias was particularly endearing in his desire for Eric to accompany us in spite of my concern over his younger brother's ability to do the trip.

Digging the snow cave.

Eric did great. There turned out not to be enough snow to dig a cave so we had to retreat back to the truck by headlamp.

Last weekend, with spring well advanced, we returned to try our luck at sleeping under nylon.

Spring in Alaska. The brown season.

Alfresco. Al dente.

Tent floors are for people who don't care about weight.

Still snowy if you go high enough.

The difference in ability between the two boys is something to navigate. Eric is doing great, and can clearly get up the mountain and spend the night, no problem. Elias, though, is ready for longer trips.

Letting go

So...this beautiful island is our home.

See the barky?

The boys just had their spring break. A week off from school and nothing to keep us from buggering off in Galactic. The weather was generally poor - nothing like the pics above for the most part - so we just snuck off to the west side of Kodiak Island and darted from bay to bay for the week.

Eric steering Galactic out of Anton Larsen Bay, early in the morning and in the rain. Our kids seem to be completely immune to the effects of poor weather.

Eric has turned into a mad reader.

We had many rainy day Monopoly sessions.

Fly fishing is our latest passion.

Elias casting from a beaver dam.

The trip was great family time. It was so affirming to see how happy the boys were to be on the boat again.

But, a change is in the offing. Our work from the boat wasn't funded for this year, so we are confronting the decision to sell the mothership.

When we told Eric, he cried.

There's just no point in having a boat as grand as Galactic, and as demanding in terms of upkeep, while we're living in a house...unless we have work on the boat. 

But while we were away last week, a plan hatched among the family. What if we spiffed the boat up and got her ready to sell, and listed her, and then kept using her? We reason that a boat in use is in the best possible nick. 

And the Aleutians are right there in our back yard...