First night in Alaska and when I step off the plane in the late evening, it's still bright outside. "Interesting." I take an Uber to the Holiday Inn and try to get some sleep before my flight to Iliamna the next morning.
Lugging around my four huge bags to the regional airport is a process by myself, but once everything is weighed and accounted for, I finally take a deep breathe and enjoy the flight. When I land, I'm greeted by John, my fellow guide, and his girlfriend, Macy, who will be running hospitality at our lodge. From there, we spend a couple days at her parent's cabin in Iliamna as we wait for our next flight. I'm a mix between excited and tired, as I adjust to the strange daylight hours.
But on May 26th, it was time to fly to the lodge. The pilots hold back their jokes as they lug my old corporate rolling suitcases (now full of waders and boots) into the float plane. Not exactly what you would expect from a fly fishing guide.
My first float plane ride was exhilarating. "I get to ride in one of these planes twice a day during guide season...lucky me!" We touch down at Rainbow River Lodge and immediately get to work. I rely heavily on Patrick, the head maintenance guru, and John, my fellow guide with multiple seasons under his belt, to show me the ropes. We assess the bear damage from the off-season, start pulling plywood off the windows, turn the water system on, and get the satellite WiFi up and running over the course of the next few days. And of course, there's jet boat training.
"Well, this feels different than my center console prop skiff." I muster all the confidence I have and captain the jet boat for the first time, getting mixed up each time I prepare to make a turn with the tiller. It's different and confusing, but pretty fun to drive. Oh, I definitely screwed it up a few times. But a moment that will be burned in my brain for eternity is finally running the grass pass without issue and seeing John in his own boat at the exit point.
"I did it, John."
"Rebecca, I have chills. I'm so proud of you."
The next few days are a blur. Work days are long because we have so much daylight. And evenings are spent continuing my jet boat practice. I'm exhausted. I'm sore. I'm mentally drained from all the new things I'm learning. And I'm starting to feel lonely, even surrounded by such wonderful people. I meet a fellow new Alaska guide and his wife who will be working at River River Lodge, and together we all become a tight-knit crew as we tackle the chores and get Rainbow River ready. And finally, I get to see The Ridge - the lodge that John and I will be guiding at. "This is getting real."
I learn that before our season opens at The Ridge, we will head to Iliamna River Lodge for a couple weeks to help them open and participate in their first week of guiding. But before we go, we have to make a full day of hauling freight from a barge to Rainbow River Lodge and The Ridge to supply the operations with food and other necessities. No problem...except expired food items first need to be disposed of. So, with both me and John's boats loaded to capacity with old canned goods and just a single can opener, we spend hours opening each rusty can, disposing the food, watching for opportunistic bears who might smell what we're doing, and recycling the cans. My new guide waders are now covered in expired clam juice, refried beans, and crushed Oreos. "Be an Alaska guide, they said...it's the dream."
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