Greetings from Alaska

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Family and I are back in Alaska working on our cabin. It is on an island. We started this project in 2017 and this is our forth trip since then. We have family up here and they use it when we are not here.


This trip is focused on finishing the inside walls.



The only room left to finish will be our bedroom. Then I will install the trim and a tile back spash in the kitchen.

Everything is off grid. The fridge and stove both run on propane. We have solar or a small Ryobi generator for cabin power.

 

[MrSmitty]

Ok, that is neat. Can you post pictures of the view from the cabin? I've alway loved Alaska, just been through it, never stayed.. What island are you on? (in case I find my self there....lol)

 

[BigRed]

I recall your earlier posts when this was in early stages....

AWESOME!!!

 

[printcraft]

 

[indykid]

NICE!!!

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

When we arrived on June 20th, the dock was on dry shoreline. Since then, the glaciers and snowmelt have raised the level of the lake. In the distance, partially hidden by clouds is Mount Redoubt, 80 miles away.

View from the upper deck.

We are on Caribou Island on Skilak Lake. We are 50 miles from town and five miles across the water. We have family up here so they bring us over in their boat. They also have a cabin on the island and use ours for friends when we are not here.

Up here in Alaska, coffee is a lifeblood.

Another view from the upper deck.

 

[BigRed]

When we arrived on June 20th, the dock was on dry shoreline. Since then, the glaciers and snowmelt have raised the level of the lake. In the distance, partially hidden by clouds is Mount Redoubt, 80 miles away.
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View from the upper deck.
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We are on Caribou Island on Skilak Lake. We are 50 miles from town and five miles across the water. We have family up here so they bring us over in their boat. They also have a cabin on the island and use ours for friends when we are not here.
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Up here in Alaska, coffee is a lifeblood.

Another view from the upper deck.
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Do you do much in the way of hunting and fishing there?

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Do you do much in the way of hunting and fishing there?

Not yet. Spend each of my trips working on the cabin. We also get in a day trip or two to Seward or Whittier. Hope to fish next summer. The hunting and fishing rules for a non-resident are more complex than the federal tax code.

 

[Dingleberry]

View attachment 285239
Family and I are back in Alaska working on our cabin. It is on an island. We started this project in 2017 and this is our forth trip since then. We have family up here and they use it when we are not here.
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This trip is focused on finishing the inside walls.
View attachment 285248
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The only room left to finish will be our bedroom. Then I will install the trim and a tile back spash in the kitchen.
View attachment 285252
Everything is off grid. The fridge and stove both run on propane. We have solar or a small Ryobi generator for cabin power.

Nice place man. So where at in Alaska? I was at Wainwright for a few years.

 

[DragonGunner]

Living the dream! Do you ever plan on moving there or just visit when you want to?

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Nice place man. So where at in Alaska? I was at Wainwright for a few years.

We are at Skilak lake, three hours South of Anchorage. Closest "town" is Cooper Landing. My BIL and SIL live in Sterling and work in Soldotna.

Twenty five days from today, I will be retired. The plan is to come up here in the summer and live in Indiana the rest of the year. We also plan on traveling to other places.


The other day, we went to Whittier/Prince William Sound. Here are some pics.

 

[MrSmitty]

Awesome!!! With a capital AWE!!! such a fantastic view from the deck......I would just sit there and waste away, not wanting to miss anything.....wow, just wow.. I know I would die there, but I'd love to try 1 winter in Alaska, I flew into Elmendorf AFB years ago. The whole hour and a half layover, I spent outside looking at the mountains.....great for you, and your family!! Thanks for the pictures!

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

We have been here a couple of times in the winter. The -25 temps are not too bad. The darkness takes some getting used to.

Even in the summer, the cooler weather and changing winds can limit our ability to travel across the lake. We always leave the island a few days early, so we can make sure we make our airline flights. Here is a picture from a three day wind storm. The lake was a churned mess of whitecaps and four foot swells in the middle. The picture was taken at 3pm.

 

[tomcat13]

Absolutely Gorgeous!
Thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[Expat]

I have to admit to being very jelly bro.
I would love to be able to live up there.

 

[Mounty09]

Beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing! Rough idea how much property you have and what land like that cost? How are the bugs?

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

The island is 160 acres of 1/2 acre lots. We own 2 acres. BIL owns 3 acres. Lots on the water sell for $25-$40k. Our property is towards the middle of the island and sits at a higher elevation. Lots up here average $4-$7k. A lot with a cabin on the water goes for $100-$250k.

Most of the cabins out here are in various states of dis-repair. Bad or rotted foundations. Buckled floors. No water. Dorked up solar with toasted batteries and wiring done by a spastic chimp. Cabins on the shore built on swamp/marsh/45 degree slope. People see the ads online and have these wonderful dreams. Then they get here and discover it is hard work. Most owners never visit the island. If they do, they only visit once.

The bugs at our elevation are not too bad. Down on the shore, they will cover you like a fog. DEET is a must when you go outside.

We like it up here because we have family and friends. That gives us a huge advantage in having access to boats, barges, tools, trips to town, and other support. Without that, it would cost $$$ multiplied by 87 unplanned factors to be out here.

Much of my time is spent on energy and water management. If it is sunny every day, than the solar works fine and we have power to spare. However, it has been cloudy a majority of the time so that limits of use of lights and results in more generator run time.

Our water comes from the rain or from the lake. One inch of rain gives us 200 gallons of water from our roof. This trip, the rainfall has only been 1/10 of an inch every other day. Then we run down to the lake and haul water. We haul up 60 gallons at a time (500 lbs). It takes two hours from start to finish.


The work it takes to store water limits us to one minute showers every other day. Oddly enough, it is raining right now (and 48 degrees outside) so our water barrels might have gotten a nice refill.

 

[Jaybird1980]

And I mean WOW. That is a lot of work for 3 trips.

Beautiful view. I am jealous for sure.

I would love to visit Alaska and do some hunting and fishing.

 

[Mounty09]

That is a great overview! Thanks for taking the time to type that out as it gives a real perspective of what it takes up there.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

Here is our modern sewage facility. Out here, there are no building permits, no inspections and no utilities. Everyone has one of these for their bathroom. We keep a selection of reading material in the outhouse. My wife and daughters decorated it.

This is posted inside for those cold wet days.

We all our haul drinking/cooking water out here. There are plenty of places in town where you can fill up bulk containers. Three of us average one case of bottled water and five gallons of bulk water per week.

Water from the rain/lake is for washing and showers. It gets stored in three rain barrels where I add clorox. Then it gets pumped through a whole house filter and into a fresh water storage tank. That water then flows through a 12 volt RV pump into the plumbing. This trip, my primary RV pump died and I had to hook up my spare pump. It is important to have a spare for everything.


Here is how we do laundry. We use a washtub and "breathing washer". It takes 5 gallons of water for washing and 5 gallons for the rinse cycle.