Camping at Becherof Lake

On June 3rd, we departed Wasilla and made our way out of the Matanuska Valley, and headed southwest towards the Alaskan Peninsula. For the last ten years, Woodsen and I have dreamed of taking a trip down the Aleutian chain, and now it was finally happening. Our plan was to break up the 800 miles from Wasilla to Umnak into to 2-3 hours of flying a day. From our experience, this was a manageable amount of flying for our kids in a day.

The first stop on our adventure was a strip Woodsen had found through the Tundra Pilot map near Becherof Lake, the second-largest lake in Alaska. We hoped that camping inland would prove to be less windy and possibly have fewer bears than camping on the coast. No bears were spotted as we circled to land (which is always a bit comforting), the sun was hot, and the course sand was warm when we landed.

Despite looking brown and barren from the air, once on the ground, we found plenty to love in our first campsite for our trip. I opened the plane door to get out, and as I looked down, the tiniest bright blue flowers greeted me.

The kids were immediately fans of what they came to call “The Sandy Spot”. Shortly after landing, sandals were tossed aside, and the kids could be found running across the sand and up into the soft tundra. With the kids happily entertained, Woodsen and I set to work unloading the plane.

Our first priority was to feed our hungry kids, so while I Woodsn set up the tent, I set to work setting up our camp kitchen. Soup was on the menu, and despite it hardly being soup weather, the kids finished off every last bit then were eager to go explore the surrounding area.

With a lake nearby, sunny weather, and no fear of frigid water, the kids donned what they deemed proper exploration attire: swimsuits! Suddenly our sandy strip was taking on a hawaiian beach day vibe.

We debated where to look for water first and decided to head to the water source closest to camp, the river. We followed bear trails through the brush and found the creek, which provided water, but we didnt stay long thanks to the hot stale air, bugs, and brush that made it hard to see if bears were heading our way,

As we walked back to camp to drop off the water, the sun highlighted small bright yellow and orange dots scattered throughout the sand. On closer inspection, we realized these little dots were actually bright, tiny flowers bravely growing in the sand. Now that we were paying attention, we were surprised by the rainbow of flowers that grew in the sand and the nearby tundra.

After a short walk, we arrived at a small sandy beach and the crisp, clean water of Becherof Lake. We spent the next hour our two enjoying the sun and watching the kids splash and play in the frigid water.

While we hadn’t spotted any furry company, the beach held evidence of their presence.

Eventually, we pulled ourselves away from the beach and headed back to the tent.

Last year, our camping bedtime routine was to put Eska and Yukla to sleep, then send the older girls to the tent once the younger two were asleep. This year, Yukla transitioned to staying up later with his sisters, so while Woodsen tried to get Eska to sleep, I introduced the kids to Nutella (they were fans) and read to them from a new book, Adventures with Waffles. It could have been partly thanks to the sugar high from the Nutella, but the kids were giddy with delight as I read to them about the adventures and mishaps of Trille and Lena, which were punctuated with delightful rounds of tasty waffles made by Trille’s Grande Aunty. I happened to have cooked up and frozen a batch of waffles for our current adventure, so we decided they were the most fitting breakfast to eat the next morning.

In the end, Eska did not fall asleep first as we had hoped. Eventually, we all headed into the tent, where there were frequent reminders from Woodsen and I to “lie down”. “Stop talking” and GO TO SLEEP!” Eska was the worst of them all and the last one standing. It turns out that while she has mastered putting herself to bed at home, her bedtime mastery does not translate to tent camping.

The next day dawned sunny and warm, and we enjoyed a slow morning making coffee and eating breakfast.

I’ve started giving Atlee the privilege of taking my phone to take photos from her perspective. After all, I’m forever taking photos and videos, and kids have a tendency to want to do what they see their parents doing, so it’s not too surprising that she wants a turn as well. Sometimes she takes pictures of flowers and the landscape, but this time around, she took advantage of willing siblings, and selfies were in order. While the kids happily took selfies, Woodsen and I started packing up camp.

Our plan was to take off and head back towards the Pacific side of the Aleutian chain, exploring the coastline as we gradually made our way to Sand Point. Our friends Kyle and Morgan were living in Sandpoint for the summer while Kyle flew for Fish & Game. They had generously offered to let us stay with them, so we packed up, anticipating seeing a new coastline and ending the day with friends.

Below you can see where we landed. The blue dot is where we parked, and we happened to find tie-downs there as well.

By 11:30, we were in the air and making our way toward Sand Point.