The Kuskokwim River ice is super close to breaking up. Migratory birds are flying around everywhere. Open water is iminent!
Juncos, thrushes, seagulls, geese (Canada, snow and white-fronted aka speckle bellies), swans (mostly trumpeter but also some tundra), northern shovelers, northern pintails, mallards, green winged teal, greater yellowlegs, and the list goes on. I saw my first pair of sandhill cranes yesterday.
As the ice melts, rots and begins pulling away from the riverbank edges, more and more water is appearing. The river level is rising, and we are again ranked in the “moderate to high flood potential” category. Yesterday, Benjamin and I decided to hop in the Supercub to see the sights from the air.
We’ve been wondering how the cabin is doing that we built last summer. We know it can flood so we built it three and a half feet off the ground. Still, I am wondering, how will it do in its first breakup?
Benjamin and I arrived at the airplane to find a layer of frost on the wings. It was 26 degrees yesterday morning. We untied the tiedowns and turned the Cub around so the wings would face the rising sun in the east. While waiting for the sun to melt off the frosty wings, we checked fuel levels, oil, gear, wings and completed our checklist preflight. The wings were soon thawed, and we departed for our flight.
It was a calm day, the kind of day the plane slices through the air without a bump of turbulence. It’s like cutting through butter with a knife when it’s that perfect consistency. With the advantage of an aerial view, we could see that the main river channel ice is mostly intact while the edges or shore ice areas are opening up.
When we approached the vicinity of the cabin, I was delighted to see a large flock of geese and a pair of swans nearby. Those were not the only neighbors in the area-a beaver was working the cottonwood trees near the cabin and we glanced 3 trees down with wet beaver trails traversing camp!
The good news, at least so far, is the cabin is high and dry!
May 11th update-Oh NO! The river is flooding in McGrath. Read my next blog post to find out what happened.
Alaska Wilderness Mom 