Northwest Reel Life April 2023 Volume 2 Issue 10 - Flipbook - Page 26
Alaska Memoirs By Chad Bryson
It was a foggy, rain-soaked day in
King Salmon. One crusty looking
grumpy guy in hip boots was
clearly the ringmaster of what
appeared to be a five-ring circus
happening in front of me. An
entire fleet of float planes were
tied off to a massive wooden dock
on the Naknek River. Dormant.
Grounded due to the fog that
socked in right down to my boots.
Pilots were yelling at dock hands
to get the planes loaded and the
ringmaster just looked on with
what seemed like surly disgust.
Apparently, the tower was going
to give special clearance for a
few airplanes to fly. This fleet had
been sitting for a couple days and
everyone was anxious to make
the planes do their job. It wasn't
a time to be late to the party. I sat
there with my head down, staying
out of the way, and waiting to
be told to load up.
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I didn’t know a soul. I didn’t have
any friends there. No family. No
one. I was as alone as alone could
be. The crusty looking grumpy
ringmaster just called me “the
kid from the south.” He finally
came over to me and said “well
kid, looks like I’m gonna have to fly
you out to the Branch. Go ahead
and load up in that 206 down
there. I will be there in a minute.” I
didn’t have the guts to ask what a
206 was. I knew it was an airplane
but obviously it was a different
airplane than the others. I knew
that he knew I didn't know but,
I wasn’t going to give him the
satisfaction of delivering more
surliness my way. Instead, I asked
the dock hand that was getting
yelled at the most. He was glad
to load my two duffel bags and
backpack in the right airplane.
When the ringmaster returned, I
quickly loaded up per instruction
and that was it. Off to the Branch.
Just like I had done it a hundred
times.
That was not only my first day in
Bristol Bay but, it was my first day
in Alaska. Almost 20 years ago
now. I had no clue how much it
would change my entire life. As
the years and seasons rolled on,
the grumpy ringmaster stopped
referring to me as “that kid from
the south.” I earned my spot in the
Bristol Bay community and made
friends. In later years as my interest
in aviation grew, the ringmaster
would message me asking about
weather conditions at my location.
I became a part of an inner circle
that once again, changed my life
forever. I am grateful for all of it.
By the time I started working
in Alaska, I was no stranger to
the duffel bag life. Living out of a
couple of bags and a backpack
was normal for me.