From Indian To Glacier Bay

Greetingz!

On the fine Saturday of June 13th,  AK team 5 frantically packed and finalized  gear and food for the Journey to Glacier Bay from the Compound in Indian.  Coffee and bagels fueld our anticipation as thetime neared for our flight to Juneau .  After a scramble to get our gear bins onto the plane we were finally ready to trod on!

An hour and a half later we had arrived at the Juneau Airport where we had a long lay-over, some spent it by recharging the brain in a quick nap while others paced around frantically(although this was due to the excessive amount of coffee consumed before takeoff).  At around 4:45 AK.T.5 boarded the aircraft headed to Gustavus, Alaska located 15 minutes from Glacier Bay.  Within 20 minutes of flight time we were landing in Gustavus.  From there we met up with our Project Contact with the NPS, Dustin.  We loaded up gear into a flatbed truck and we climbed into a very retro, early 90's mini van, complete with a remote control cd changer!  We were finally away from the constraints of the civilized, modern world, and intern had taken a step back in time to the 90's.  After meeting several NPS staff upon arrival in Glacier bay we were invited to have spaghetti and moose-sausage for dinner!  This was much needed as airport food is excessively expensive in Alaska and having eaten our packed lunches many hour earlier! After cookies and much needed animal interaction with a very friendly golden retriever it was time to set up tents and call it a night.  Although its very hard to go to bed in such a magnificent setting, the crew needed our rest. 

Sunday the 14th was spent organizing food for the next 3 weeks and a more extensive look at bear interaction prevention and behaviour . Over the coming days We are getting trained in ATV and chainsaw use as well as small-plane flying procedures.  This may be the last Blog post for a good while!  Peace and Love- Alaska Team 5 

                  (written By Scotty Martell)