Journey to Yakutat

December 9th and 10th I had the opportunity to travel to the fishing town of Yakutat, AK.  Our agency is setting up substance abuse services there and I was sent to create connections with the Yakutat magistrate and police. 

Yakutat is one of the farthest north towns in Southeast Alaska: its weather is slightly colder, and even in the summer the population is only a third the population of Sitka. Without the draw of summer fishing, the winter population is further dwindled to 550. However, before Russian colonization, it was a commercial hub at the crux of many rivers. Sitkan mountains are around 2,000-3,000tf, but Mt. Elias looms behind Yakutat at an impressive 18,000 ft. The biggest surprise for me was that Yakutat is becoming a surfing mecca, with surfers coming from far and wide for the 20ft swells. Sounds like quite a ride if you can take the chill. I was a little disappointed the ocean was calmer than that when we were there.

After hearing my housemate Meg's stories of traveling to Angoon for a work trip, I was prepared to expect the unexpected. So sitting in the boarding area at Sitka's airport at 5:30 am and hearing an announcement that the weather in Juneau may result in our being rerouted through Ketchikan and Anchorage to get to Yakutat, I took a deep breath and got ready for what life was offering us that day: 13 hours of flying. 

7 flights--from Sitka to:

Juneau, whoops, nope-- the visibility is too poor, not Juneau. 

We are then rerouted to Ketchikan,

Wrangell

St Petersburg

Anchorage

Cordova 

Juneau again

and finally, Yakutat.

Phew. 

Fortunately I had my journal, Collections of Poems by Wendell Berry, and a nice deficiency of sleep to keep me in dream land.  

The Tribal Social Services were our hosts and are our partners in service delivery in Yakutat. The women that work there are very committed to their community and wonderfully hospitable. I was amused that our plane got in almost an hour early, but since Cindy heard the plane fly in, she came on over to the airport to welcome us. On our way to the apartment we stopped at one of the two grocery stores for dinner (no restaurants-- unless you count the bar).

I got to explore a little bit in the morning. The town is more raw and industrial than Sitka. Four wheelers, miles and miles of roads (originally laid down for the logging business)....  My favorite part was visiting the beach during our lunch break. Beautiful, open, black sand beach. If it wasn't for the chill and hail I could have been in northern California. 

I left truly hoping that our agency can provide the substance abuse services needed for that community. However, the time and monetary cost of the journey there and back is considerable, so if its not us, someone else. The importance of having someone that is local providing behavioral health services is something we've been discussing since our trip and hopefully a local person can be hired. I don't think I will be returning to Yakutat soon, but I'm thankful for the glimpse into small town southeastern Alaskan life. Sitka has never seemed such a booming metropolis.