For the past 3 summers, my friend Asa flew out of Port Alsworth for Lake Clark Air. During his first summer there in 2019, he invited me out to spend a few days exploring the area. This offer was like a dream come true and I eagerly accepted it, having been inspired to begin my Alaskan journey after reading Dick Proenneke’s journals. In late May, I had 5 free days between the end of forestry training and the beginning of field work. After loading clothes and gear into the car for the coming days, I drove the 6 hours down the Parks Highway to Merrill Air Field in Anchorage. There, I spent the night camped out in the abandoned pilot’s shack amongst old scrap and neglected planes at the edge of the airfield. Come morning, I walked down the road to Lake Clark Air and, once airborne, soon found myself looking down on the city, Cook Inlet, and the flats beyond. Westbound for Lake Clark and Twin Lakes country.
The flight took us through Lake Clark Pass, a gap through the southern end of the Alaska Range that stretches roughly 50 miles, emptying into the northern end of Lake Clark. Turquoise waters filled some of the ponds and lakes below, melt off from some of the surrounding glaciers. We flew over Lake Clark and the surrounding mountains, touching down on the southern end of the lake at Port Alsworth. Asa was out flying, so one of his coworkers showed me to his place then took me to the only spot to eat in town, a food truck run by the local church group.
Port Alsworth is one of the most unique communities off the road system in Alaska, centered primarily around two things: aviation and religion. Two airstrips run through the center of town, with dwellings bordering along their lengths. Aviation has been a mainstay since the town’s inception, when the Alsworth family settled down in the area to homestead and fly supplies and people to the surrounding villages. Over the years that lifestyle expanded to the business that is now Lake Clark Air, a booming air service business. Outside of the airstrips and planes, one’s gaze is drawn to some of the larger buildings in the center of town. The community boasts a well attended church, a Samaratian’s Purse retreat that helps veterans, and a Christian camp that brings in youth from the surrounding area during the summer. Demographically, the village is almost entirely white and is the only village in the Bethel census area that has grown in the previous decade.
Asa still had to fly for the majority of the time that I was there. I’d find ways to pass the time through explorations during the day by exploring the local country. One afternoon I walked up the trail to Tanalina Falls and beyond to Kontrashibuna Lake. Another day I hiked up a nearby mountain, gaining a view of Lake Clark in its entirety. At night we’d boat on the lake, walk around town or eat with some of the other people in the community, chewing the fat.
We took advantage of the days in which Asa did not have to work, going on excursions like our hike up to Kontrashibuna Lake and then canoeing nearly to the far end. Another day we took one of Lake Clark Air’s Tripacers and went up to take a tour of the park. We first flew north, heading towards the Chilikadrotna and Mulchatna Rivers, then heading east by Turquoise Lake. After reading so much about the area over the years, I was finally matching maps with reality. My extensive reading of Dick Proenneke’s journals led me to recognize many of the areas that we passed.
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at Twin Lakes. Mountains sharply rose up from around the lakes and glaciers nestled back in its headwaters. It was no wonder that Dick had picked such a site. Grand in its splendor and with a variety of animals to keep him company. We took a low pass over the cabin, continuing down past Lower Twin Lake and over the mountains south to Lake Clark once more.
Two days later I hitched a ride back to Anchorage in another TriPacer with some of the young Alsworth boys, themselves on a grocery run to the big city. We flew a couple hundred feet off the ground, spotting moose, wolves and bears throughout the flight.
The trip had fulfilled all my expectations. I had come full circle to an extent, catching a glimpse of the origin of one of my primary life inspirations. Reading and years of dreaming had prompted me to take on challenges, gaining skills and experiences in an effort to follow in Proenneke’s footsteps. Those skills and experiences providing a greater appreciation and understanding of what someone like Proenneke accomplished, enriching my experience. Being able to spend time and enjoy these moments with an old friend like Asa is icing on the cake. A trip like this only provides further inspiration, one that hopefully plants seeds for richer experiences in the years to come.
