Ptarmigan Tracks

Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it.”

Margaret Thatcher may have unwittingly explained the fulfillment that our whole crew deserves to carry with them from the 2015 season. Opening projects got underway quickly, thanks to a drivable park road in early May. Pre-season projects included remodeling guest rooms and repainting the porches at North Face Lodge, as well as bringing a new well and water softener online.

Christine Byl and Gabe Travis of Interior Trails visited for a week in July to lead a workshop on trail maintenance. Many staff jumped at the chance to learn from them while repairing trails on our property damaged by 2014’s heavy flooding.

These highlights were rounded out by the standard tasks of splitting firewood, painting cabins, and keeping the buses and vans spit-polished, restoring the staff cabin, Aurora, and more.

There is also cause to celebrate this year with several of our staff getting hitched! Hannah Wagenaar and Chris Noel got engaged on the last day of the summer, while taking a walk through the woods; Jan Tomsen eloped with her sweetheart in September along the banks of the Nenana River; and Marianne Cataldo and Sky Purdy tied the knot in October on the coast of Maine.

photo © Dennis Stogsdill