10 Years in Alaska

2009-01-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

This year I am celebrating my 10th year in Alaska.
I came to Nenana on December 21, 1998 with only a one way ticket, only a few 100 dollars in my pocket and one bag with wrong clothing (all cotton) and a dream of living a subsistence lifestyle in the bush of Alaska. I was the typical Chichacko (Athabaskan meaning greenhorn) but I found out quickly that this is not what I really want! I enjoy dog mushing and being outside all the time, even if it's way below 0F, but I couldn't see myself committing to a lifestyle like this. It is an everyday commitment taking care of the dogs and run and feed them. It is fun for a week or two but than I felt I need more excitement. I want to be able to travel, explore and see more places than what I was able to see on a dog sled. Dog mushing turned out to be a bit boring for me after a while. Standing on the back of the sled for hours wasn't for me. I needed more physical exercise and less responsibility (for the dogs).
After a winter I moved to Anchorage where I worked for travel agencies organizing customized itineraries for people visiting Alaska. This is what I am still doing, I tried for about a year to do something else but I missed tourism too much. I moved to Talkeetna and started working for the fancy lodge up there. Now I am back to organizing vacations to Alaska and I can do that from my cabin in Talkeetna. In the summer I guide for a Royal Celebrity Tours. This way I don't get caught in a routine. I love doing this, in the winter working at home and in the summer guiding for 4 months and get to meet new people and see Alaska differently every time.
In Anchorage I met a lot of people who where like I am and they introduced me to the local art and music scene. I also met people who did different activities than most of the crowd. They were involved in the Iditasport and somehow I became part of this race as a volunteer and later as member of the board of directors. With 2 friends I started Alaska Ultra Sport with the Iditarod Trail Invitational Race on the Iditarod Trail.
I worked in checkpoints for the Iditasport, Iditarod Invitational and the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in remote areas in Alaska and got to see the insides of the race. I am not a racer and not competitive at all. As soon as there is any kind of pressure in a race I get frustrated and don't enjoy the event anymore, so I do everything on my own time and schedule (schedule, I don't even know that word means....).
I also started doing winter activities from the Iditasport (skiing, biking and running) and fell in love with bicycling on frozen rivers. I tried running as well but I always went back to the bike. So I still was able to explore the vastness of the Alaskan wilderness but human powered - that was more for me than on a dog sled. I bicycled the famous Iditarod Trail in the winter time 1100 miles through remote Alaska and also explored other areas such as the Yukon River and Porcupine River.
Now I live in a small town of 800 people between Anchorage and Denali National Park, own a cute little cabin "off the grid" and am a part of an awesome community in Talkeetna. As a small town like this there are so many things you can do that it never gets boring.
Once the year I try to get out of the country and explore the world and I have been to many places now. I have some pictures on this blog to show you some of the places and impressions I have been. And of course there is more to come. This year I am planning on going to either South Africa, Malawi and Namibia or Chile and Argentina with hiking in Patagonia, I haven't decided yet but this still has time since I won't be going until the fall.

Claudia - Citizen of the world

10 Years in Alaska