The Adak Files: Hiking to Lake Betty

Once upon a time in the land of long ago*, my buddy and I decided that it would be fun to hike from the barracks to Lake Betty. There was an old jeep trail out behind the buildings, and a quick look at the aerial map assured us it was only a couple of miles away. Any excuse at all to get away from the barracks was considered a good choice.

So on a warmish, sunny winter day, we gathered backpacks, all the normal camping accoutrements, and set off. As we set off down the road, buddy Bob M. asked if we should have signed out snowshoes. "What for?" I asked. "The forecast didn't mention any snow." My words rang hollow even then; anyone who'd been on Adak for more than a week in wintertime knew the island's three-day weather pattern: heavy snow/blizzard/whiteout one day, followed by one day of sunshine, and one day of melting. Lather, rinse, repeat, from September through May.

Did I mention it was warm and sunny that day?

We were just out of sight of the barracks when the first snowflakes began to fall. The wind picked up, and in less time than I've spent typing thus far, there were fresh drifts of snow forming across the trail.

"Come on," I said. "It's only a couple of miles."

Bob looked doubtful, but shrugged and kept trudging along. We pulled our ballcaps lower over our eyes to keep the snow out, and soon were plodding with the straight-up-and-down footsteps familiar to to those in snow country.

After another 15 minutes, the snow was knee-deep, and we were both leaning forward into a 40+ knot wind. I looked at Bob; he wiped the snow from his beard and stared back.  "Okay, okay: you were right. Let's go back," I said.

"Told you we needed snowshoes," was all he said. "You know that's irritating, right?" I asked. He just smiled grimly and kept walking. With the wind at our backs, we made pretty good time, even through the now-thigh-deep snow, and soon were back in the barracks, safe and (eventually) warm.

I wanted so badly to get away that weekend, but learned my lesson. To be properly prepared, hikers on Adak needed to bring practically every bit of winter camping gear available. That island had a way of demanding extreme measures, without much warning. But no, I had to just get going. Never mind that last bit of preparation; it was a short hike, right?  Right?

That's what I get for putting my heart before the course.


* Circa 1976, but who's counting?