South Naknek

Heading across river

It was an overcast morning when we crossed over the Naknek River for South Naknek.  People were still using the ice road, but word was out that time was short.  It would turn out that businesses were in a rush to get heavy equipment across ASAP.

Pressure ridge

The temperature had warmed up, but it was the tide that had the final word for the ice road.  High tides had been increasing substantially, as the higher water pushes up against the ice, these huge pressure ridges grew.  Some went right across the ice road, which limited access to anything without clearance.  I saw no Subarus crossing with us.

An available home in S. Naknek

Of my time spent in the region, I enjoyed my day in South Naknek the most.  We picked up a couple of locals for guides, and we had an absolute blast exploring the southern side of the river.  We were welcomed by everyone we met, and had more than one offer to help us out if we wanted to move to the area.

I would love to come back to the region in the summer, but I can honestly say I’d want to spend my time on the south side of the Naknek River.  It’s a much more relaxed way of life here, and we were told that the huge influx of crowds to Naknek & King Salmon do not hit the southern side.  One can still meander down the river’s edge, fishing as you go, enjoying the solitude that Alaska is suppose to be about.

The canneries have all closed up shop in South Naknek.  The killing blow came when a road was built between King Salmon & Naknek.  It no longer made financial sense to process salmon from the southern side.  Grant Aviation still makes daily flights, weather permitting, to South Naknek, and they have a really nice airstrip.

Driving across the Naknek River

The skies cleared well before noon, and we had absolutely beautiful weather as we traveled throughout South Naknek and the surrounding area.  The Alaska days were already getting longer, and the sun had regained some of the power that we had been missing during the winter months.

Looking upstream

Now that Covid-19 has us all hunkered down, it’s hard not to wonder if I should have taken that job offer I had after one day in South Naknek.  Regardless, I can not wait for the rivers to open up, and for winter’s grip to be pried from the land.

————————————————————————————————————————-

By the way, it was -24F at the cabin on Monday morning.  Not too hard to figure out why I’m getting a bit stir crazy, surrounded by nothing but snow.  At 4pm, the temp had risen to +26F: A fifty degree swing.  “Springtime” in Alaska.