01/24/2024
Upon landing the wind kicked out the plane causing us to land in sideways and slide down the runway until we could come to a stop. Once we stopped sleds, pickups, and ATVs swarmed the plane, everyone started undoing the hatches and unloading the bags and packages from the plane into their perspective vehicles. We weren’t even off the plane yet.
The speed and hurry to get out of the winds are serious, not only are they dangerous in this climate, but they are also known to bring in predators to the village. The locals of Wales hopped on their sleds and ATV’s and sped away to their warm homes out of the weather. We grabbed our bags off the tarmac threw them in the back end of a pickup and got a ride to camp.
Walking in door of the camp was a nice welcoming after landing as we had a room with two twin beds to ourselves, a shower, a personal chef, wi-fi, and HEAT.
Outside it isn’t like home, there is 8-12 ft of snow all around you. You’re walking through small paths looking over your shoulder for any polar bears that may be tracking you. You’re bundled up in full winter gear covering your face from the winds making it even more difficult to walk in the snow.
The mornings were dark and foggy up until about 11:00, then you would see the sun start to peak over the mountains bringing in warm rays that wiped out the fog. If you were by the shore of the Bering Sea, you could look across and see the pink sky reflect off the mountains of Diomede creating a beautiful effect as it poked through the fog of the sea.
Behind the village near the camp, there was a smaller mountain closest. This mountain contained large rocks at the top of it almost telling a story of their own with a glance. As you are leaving camp to hike up the mountain, you’re met with snow packed past your waste, falling through with each step, thinking about turning back. Upon approaching the base of the mountain, after what feels like a mile hiking through the snow, you find moss atop of rocks acting as grip for your boots on a natural path to the top making it much easier to walk. The incline isn’t bad but the winds pushing against you force you to lean forward with your head down as each gust of wind to the face caused you tears to the eyes, freezing your eyes shut.
Reaching the top, we looked back to see the journey. The city was small almost lonely, but the kids playing outside, the dogs roaming free, the men on their snow machines. It reminded me of something I have felt distant from for a long time, community. The sense of togetherness, love, family, and lack of judgement was running through the air and I was reminded of all of it with one big deep breath of fresh air on top of a mountain in Wales, AK.
