Alaska Round Robin Flight

Or how to “see” Alaska in one quick trip.

Yesterday was one of those whirlwind days where your well thought out plans for the day get shuffled and turned upside down changing everything? It was not necessarily a bad thing as I needed to make a spur of the moment trip to one of our project in Sitka Alaska. I did not have to pack a bag as I would return the same evening and I have learned from past trips that no being prepared for the unknown can come out and make things miserable if the weather changes.

I figured I could ‘pack light’ stuffing a light long sleeve ‘wind shirt’ into my computer bag in case there was some wind or light rain at my destination. The temperatures were supposed to be in the 50’s so that is not bad for me most of the time as my Hawaiian shirts seem to give me some protective bubble and I usually do not feel the cool winds.

It is after midnight when I quickly pack for the day trip and try to get a few hours sleep before leaving for the airport at 4:30 am. I make a quick trip by my office and pick up my reservation and check in online with Alaska Airlines giving me the opportunity to print my boarding pass so as not to stand in line at the airport. I arrive and many people are in lines and waiting to clear security so I make my way pass the TSA checkpoint and out to the gate.

It is nice in Anchorage as we take off and as we fly south there are increasing clouds below us. We will be making a stop in Juneau, Alaska’s capitol, before we make the short hop over to Sitka. This is what I call a milk run for Alaska Airlines as the flight originates in Fairbanks making stops in Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan before ending in Seattle. The plane changes crews and then makes the same return route in the evening so I can catch the flight after about 8 hours on the ground. This gives me time to take care of business and grab a bite to eat.

Juneau has an interesting approach and landing as the airport has hills and mountains on several sides and pilots usually just ‘plant’ the plane on the runway so they can reverse the engines to slow the plane quickly on the short runway. Along one side of the runway is a long “pond” where the sides are lined with float planes. We make our decent into the cloud layer where the morning sun is shining through as we first enter the white mist. My first thought is there is a ‘silver lining’ after all as the sun is giving edges this gold and silver color to the edges. It is kind of neat to look at it. My mind quickly jumps to other crazy thoughts . . . Stay out of clouds. That silver lining everyone talks about might be another “silver” airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable air traffic control sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds and are known to jump out and grab aircraft.

We make a solid landing and the stewardess asks everyone to clap for the captain who made it safely in. Everyone claps and I wonder why the commotion since he was doing his job. We quickly make the turn around and are off again bound for Sitka where it is overcast with a light drizzle.

I decide to walk to the jobsite from the airport as it is about a ten to twenty minute trek and on the island the airport is on. There is a bridge that separates the airport from Sitka which is a beautiful seaside town with marinas, eagles, and abundant sea life.

I walk for a bit and turn off the road to head to the job as about 15 bald eagles are swooping around looking for fish in the water. The town is across the way and you can see the Russian influences in the buildings and architecture. I miss my turn and walk to the end of the road wondering where my job is located. Sitka only has 14 miles of road and I have just walked over three of them and still not finding the school dorms.

My crew is shocked to see me when I walk up as they were not expecting anyone to drop in. We go over the problem areas and I check the overall status of the job and then give a few ‘atta boy’s’ for the work already plumbed and give everyone a pep talk to keep their focus on the short and tight schedule.

That evening I am back on board the same aircraft I came south on as we retraced our path back to Anchorage. I left the clouds and drizzle of the day to bright sun as me landed just before 11 pm. The sun was still in the sky as I drove home ending another long day. It was not the one I had planned 24 hours before but had not turned out so bad for the unexpected change.

It’s those unplanned things that help you remember to pay attention to the things around you so as not to miss out on life.

Ice