Nov 1988 Travel in the Kodiak Archipelago- Finished!

Our work is about to be completed...

That following week progressed without incident. Jim and I covered the necessary work on our assigned plots. When done we verified and completed the others Harry mentioned. What the heck, we were there anyway and now with the promise of added wages we did not mind the additional duty.

We counted our money, one thousand dollars per week for additional work. Our final tally would be worth the inconvenience.
I planned to pay off creditors. Jim had a dream of buying a freezer trailer. So when fishermen needed to store their catch in warmer weather to sell during off season. It was a sound investment. He was convincing me in partnering with him on this. This is how we not spent down time. Talking of dreams and plans. By this time, we were intimate to each other’s story. Two isolated souls whose only contact with the world was an occasional BBC broadcast at a specific evening hour. My batteries starting to wane I was selective when using my Sony Walkman these days.
During the shortening days we worked the sites. When we returned for the evenings we prepared for the increasing cold nights. With night lengthening our heating fuel starts getting exhausted before we could retire to warm ourselves in the recycled body heat within our subzero sleeping bags. Once comfortable in those bags outside temperatures were negligible. Cocooned in the bag kept the heat from getting out, the cold from getting in. With the exception of the face. I tried to cover myself with the bag but suffocation soon set. I was forced to endure the cold bite of winter on my cheeks. But it was useless to attempt to bag ourselves as early as it got dark, we would then lay there for hours without sleep coming and if it did we would wake too early to be effective.
The trick was to make the kindling last as long as necessary. Warming ourselves staying active. Within the lighted tent or outside close to the only light available in those overcast nights. Mostly keeping our wood stocks replenished but at times building furniture from scraps.
Sometimes at first light I would wake looking directly at the tip of a stalactite, hanging from the tent’s ceiling over my head, created from my warm exhales, heavy snores as Jim would say, that dry my mouth and chap my lips nightly. If I was not careful I could stab myself with it upon getting up. The daily routine now typical. After the morning dance to get our blood circulation in our bodies one of us would go get the water to boil for coffee and the other prepare breakfast. This we would alternate.
Each day the dawn delayed about six minutes from the last. We would consider this when we would start our hike. So off we go in the predawn light, work our day and return six minutes earlier each night.
Arriving at the tent I would go and gather wood on the beach. Daily more surplus would wash up on shore and Jim would chop it down with a hack saw of the chainsaw. Any means possible to make the larger portions easier to burn.
Our food stocks dwindling again even though we rationed for two more weeks. It has been a bit more than one week now since Harry’s brief arrival. The given timeline for his return now expired. But we now being accustomed to his delay did not worry about it this time. Our food situation being better. But dwindle is still became. We began talking about hunting to supplement. We also made note of food blinds we would find along the route. Supplies stored by returning hunters so they would not have to transport so much when dropped off during the season. At first the blue tarps secured by heavy rocks were an odd sight. But Jim soon educated me of their purpose. They would have canned food or powdered stores. Apparently the plastic of the tarp hid the smell from the most olfactory sensitive of animal. So our food concerns were not prevalent at this time.
We were finishing up, ours and others projects. We were within a day from completing all needed for this part of the island. We considered the transportation to another part of the island. Since Harry has not returned, hence we could not return, we should keep ourselves busy. We will start working the new site. Leave word here as to our location and expect our extraction there.
It was settled. We finish up here in a couple of days and start packing for the new site. So the next few days we packed and transported all from our sites back to shore station and started packing a twenty-foot skiff with the necessary equipment. Even the Rokon motorcycle was loaded.
In a few days all was set. We would shove off that weekend and start a new assignment. Just in time as it started to rain. That rain did not relent and what now became a torrent was a squall blowing in from the Pacific. We stayed locked in our tent. To windy and wet to go out and do our daily chores. Keeping ourselves warm with wet wood and listening to the news of the storm on the radio. My cassette starting to drag because of low voltage The Georgia Satellite’s version of Hippy Hippy Shake sounding more like a country ballad. I have long abandoned my Start Trek novel.
We waited for the storm to abate.