How (Not) To Move To Alaska, Part II

Winter.

Midway through winter one chilly February evening, he remarked: You shouldn’t write a story about how not to move to Alaska, you should write one about the benefits of Alaska in winter!”

“What are they?” I asked

Outdoor refrigeration!” he beamed, and grabbed a container of yogurt from the outdoor pantry (read: the outdoors).

“What else?” I asked, unconvinced.

He paused and thought. “I’ll have to get back to you”, he said, and walked confidently out to get firewood for the wood stove.

Ah, the ever relatable dry cabin in the woods. In winter. In Alaska.

I had upgraded from a small shanty with a loft and a fire stove to a small cabin with a loft and a fire stove. I still had no running water.

I had hemmed and hawed about staying the winter in Alaska. I knew I wasn’t prepared. I was broke, had no stock of firewood, and no fish or meat stored, and was gathering coal and driftwood for the wood stove. Yet when September came and went and the seasonal coastal town emptied out, I didn’t want to leave.