Alaska—It’s More than Just Adventure
I’ve been an adrenaline junkie for as long as I can remember. From rappelling to roller coasters to hopping on a sled pulled by a four-wheeler, the thrill of taking a chance is intoxicating. Three years ago, when my sister told me about this remote fishery up in Alaska, I knew I had found my next adventure. Little did I know that Leader Creek had much more in store for me than free food and some hard work.
Leader Creek is a place where I’ve come to expect the unexpected. Every story I hear about it: “I never would have thought, but I found my best friend!” “I’d never have believed it, but here I am five years later!” Leader Creek has a way of capturing your heart that I’ve never experienced anywhere else. The people are strange and hilarious. The work is exhausting and exhilarating. The food is—pause for effect, longing sigh—divine.
More than anything, Leader Creek has become my home. At the end of the day, my thoughts are up with the bald eagle I saw my first season. My feet tingle when they remember how sore they were in my Xtra Tuffs all day. When my lungs inhale a salty sea breeze, I brace myself for an impact of smelly fish and a chorus of “Hellos!” from my coworkers.
So when someone asks me about Alaska, it starts with adventure. But inevitably, the story becomes how I found family, love, and a place for myself where I never thought I would. Leader Creek is more than just a company. It’s more than just Naknek, with fly-sized mosquitoes and bonfires that last until sunrise. Leader Creek is where I belong. This is where all of us who have found our way up here belong.
Top 10 to Remember About Alaska
The first time I stepped off of a tiny plane in King Salmon, a mosquito the size of a fly bit me (I swear—they’re huge)!
Sitting under the warm dryer vents during breaks on those chilly evenings in Roe Room.
BREAK SNACKS. Especially the lemon bars… Perfect lemony softness melting under a thin crust of sugar… Lemon bars sustained me on those sixteens.
It was probably my 13th straight sixteen with Leader Creek. I don’t even remember what the joke was, but once I started laughing I couldn’t stop. I belly-laughed for at least three straight minutes! My supervisor was concerned, my coworkers were concerned. My stomach ached and life was beautiful.
French toast mornings! They always came as a surprise, but something about that crisp toast drowned in thick syrup energized me for an entire shift.
The squishiness of a stray roe egg that fell out of a skein. They were so perfectly round and utterly squishable, bursting with a satisfying pop or a messy squelch.
My coworker Perla gave the absolute best massages on break. Trading a Starburst for a few minutes of relaxation was the best decision I could have made on those steps outside the laundry room.
When I got into a rhythm at work, it felt exactly right. The baskets would swing as my hips bounced to whatever song was on right then. Eggs poured to the perfect weight, slide them down the pallet. I’ve yet to find anything as satisfying as working as hard and fast as I can for as long as my body can stand.
One time my feet were aching especially bad, so I “borrowed” one of the softer mats that the Japanese men used. Fortunately for me, they laughed it off and let me use it! Best four hours of packing roe during the entire season.
A freezer van was at max capacity of frozen chum and sockeye when—gasp of horror—the freezing system broke! Joshie and I went up to the plant and down stacked the ENTIRE van of frozen roe into a new one. Hundreds of squats. Thousands of pounds of fish. Seriously sore but happy legs for days!
After the season started to slow down at the end, bonfires would pick back up. My first season someone had brought up a guitar. I just remember sitting around the fire with friends I’d worked alongside every day for a month, fire crackling, darkness settling around us as the soft strums of the guitar echoed out across the bay.
Yes, there’s eleven things to remember, not ten, but I could name at least a hundred off of the top of my head, and it was hard to choose. I will never forget Leader Creek. I will never forget Alaska. This company has become my home. It is where I belong.
—Snow