Giving Up Eight Summers - Was It Worth It?

When I was asked to write about my experience at Leader Creek Fisheries I was immediately transported down memory lane, ruminating on my experiences in Naknek Alaska over the last eight summers. In total, I have spent over a year of my life in the not so quiet fishing village up on Bristol Bay. If anyone had told me that during my first phone interview with HR I would have called it out as a bald faced lie. I applied to LCF in hopes of occupying myself during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college and hoping to make enough money to cover the costs of my textbooks for the next year. So, to think that that one textbook motivated summer turned into what has amounted to my longest standing job and what I (not so) jokingly call my salmon career feels entirely wild to me. I have been asked countless times if working up in Alaska is ‘worth it’ and during this time of reflection I hope to answer that for myself and anyone else thinking of working up at Leader Creek next summer.

Like I said, I applied to Leader Creek with pretty modest hopes and expectations. I was nineteen years old and to be brutally honest I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Eight years ago Leader Creek was a smaller operation with significantly less readily available information about what to expect, so most of the information I was working with came from the one person I knew who had done it the year before - my seventh grade stand partner in orchestra who I had all but lost touch with. Rest assured she did an amazing job telling me about how crappy the job was, sore/cold feet, long and ever tiring hours, and the inevitable cold I would catch while working in a fish factory. Thinking back on it I wonder why I actually committed to leaving the beautiful PNW just as summer was hitting to go work in a fish factory in Southwest Alaska. Nevertheless I boarded my flight in Seattle and fully committed myself to a fish filled summer with the hope that I would make a little money and experience something new and exciting.

While a lot has changed at Leader Creek over the years (the food is better, the housing is better, almost everything is just… better) the welcoming atmosphere and instantaneous feeling of camaraderie was there then just as it still is now. Other than going away to college, I had never done anything so independent and had absolutely not experienced anything nearly as scary in my life. Despite being nervous as hell immediately upon arriving I knew I was going to leave a piece of my heart up in Naknek. That first summer I learned so much about myself and truly pushed myself beyond what I thought myself capable of. Yes, my first year was incredibly difficult. Yes, the long hours were brutal and at times felt nearly impossible to manage. Yes, I got the promised head cold and sore feet and achy joints. Yet, despite all of this I loved that first summer in Alaska and I have loved every summer since.

One summer turned into two, and two summers turned into eight.  I rose up the ranks, and after years of being a processor and learning more than I can imagine I became a junior lead. Later I found myself as the head lead of a department, mentoring other junior leads. My hard work and commitment to the company has constantly been met with a reciprocal commitment from LCF. I have made the choice every year to leave my friends and family here in the PNW to go see my Leader Creek family. A big part of the draw back to Naknek has been to spend time (a lot of time) with my coworkers turned friends, the ones who keep making that choice to return as well. I always say that it takes a certain type of person to go work the salmon season up in Naknek and it turns out that kind of person is my kind of person. A dwindling number of people have returned as long or longer than me, but my old friends are replaced by new ones and every year I have been so impressed by the individuals who find themselves giving up there summers at home for this experience.

So, has it been worth it? Was committing all my college summers and four since to working in Alaska worth it? Absolutely. Leader Creek has shaped me as a person, worker, and as a leader. I made that textbook money and a lot more since, but what I have really gained is invaluable experiences, lifelong friendships, and a connection to a place I would never have visited without this opportunity. I am so glad my nineteen year old starry eyed self took the plunge and got on that plane in Seattle and I’m glad I have made the choice to spend eight wonderful summers working for Leader Creek Fisheries.