(NOTE: Very long post)
I
was supposed to fly home out of Sitka at 7AM on May 30th for an
appointment that couldn’t be missed, so set my alarm for 5AM only to find the
flight had been delayed until 10AM due to fog. The flight would go on to be
delayed three more times and I finally reached Seattle around 3:30PM. The fog
has been thick and to the ground the past few days. John was going to take me
to the airport at 6AM then go fishing, but since I was delayed…he went fishing
anyway and left that chore to Shannon and David! While the salmon were elusive
that day, he decided to troll with his salmon gear close to a reef and picked
up two nice sized ling cod, so fish tacos for us this week!
Back
at home in Bellevue on the 30th I ran around and did the important
errands, first up was Peet’s Coffee so that I had my serum for the next
morning, then a couple necessities (like a month’s work of mail) before picking
up some takeout sushi and heading over to Jordan & Katie’s new house so I
could get some face time with Asher, my youngest grandchild. They’d only been
in their house a couple days so nothing was unpacked yet and Jordan ended up
eating off a cutting board, while Katie found two serving platters for the two
of us! I did get some Asher playtime and snuggles so that was special.
The
next morning (May 31) was my appointment, and that went smoothly, ran a couple
more errands late morning then called my LYFT ride and it was back to the
airport. This is where the adventure begins. I had with me a case of wine for
John packed in a shipping box I’d bought from Total Wine, along with a duffle
bag with some clothes and canned goods that I can’t find up here (read: HEAVY),
and finally I thought I’d bring up a couple basil plants from Trader Joes
because again, can’t find them up here, so had a carry on tote with the mail,
my jacket and the basil. So that was my luggage load I got to haul around by
myself. Stroke of luck I was able to check the box and duffle at the Alaska
Airlines curbside station, so “SCORE” I didn’t have to schlep the load into the
ticket counter. All checked in I headed for TSA precheck line to go through
security. Because I have 2 hip replacements, I always have to go through the body
scanner unfortunately. This time I apparently set it off in several places and
received the most intimate pat down I’ve ever had in my flying history, which
was somewhat humiliating but I guess I am glad they examine people so closely.
They even tested my hands for gunpowder residue. Got on my flight just fine
which was the “milk run” to Alaska meaning it goes
Seattle-Ketchikan-Sitka-Juneau-Anchorage, so I had one stop before Sitka. The
flight into Ketchikan went smoothly, it was gorgeous and sunny out, in the 70s!
The flight to Ketchikan was only half
full and we had nobody in the middle seat, but a massive crowd boarded in
Ketchikan and now I had someone next to me in the middle seat – bummer! But he was a darling young man from Texas so
it could be worse.
Once
airborne again it was a 39 minute flight to Sitka. Since I was in the aisle
seat, my view to outside was obscured somewhat but what I could see was bright
blue skies and snow-capped peaks passing by. As we approached Sitka I could see
that there was a layer of fog between us and the ground, but didn’t think much
about it, even though Sitka is one of those runways that has water on either
end, so the pilots don’t have room for error. As we descended and became
submerged in the fog, I just had to remind myself that the pilots know what
they are doing and that they don’t want to die any more than I do -- I know,
extreme thoughts, but my biggest fear in flying is lack of visibility, you can
give me turbulence and bumps all day long, but if I can’t see it makes me
anxious. And of course I grew up in a flying family and have been in small
planes my whole life, go figure. Anyway, we are descending below the tree line,
I’m thinking we must be about to touch the runway when all of a sudden the
pilot floors the engines and pulls us straight up and out of the fog, pulling
some G’s. My heart flip/flopped and the fear shot through me. Then we get up
there back in the blue sky, and the pilot is turning left, then right, then
going up, then down, the engines surging and the cutting back. WTH is going on
I’m thinking and I had to go that place inside where I will myself to trust the
process and stay calm. The pilot then gets on the sound system and says
cheerfully “well folks, that didn’t work out so well, so we’re going to fly
around and try it from the other end of the runway and see if we can land that
way” – oh joy another “TRY” to land. Again, we set up to land, fog still thick
soup on that approach, and I closed my eyes and braced for whatever was coming.
Once again, engines floored and steep climb out of the airport, and the pilot
announces that we just aren’t going to get into Sitka so we are now headed for
Juneau. I am not sure what shock looks like, but I think I had a mild case of
shock as my body began to shake involuntarily which I’ve never had happen
before. This was a terrifying experience for me and one I hope never happens
again. The other thought that was on my mind is that the Alaska pilots are on
strike, so now we have substitute pilots not the guys used to flying into these
remote locations. I am just hoping that they know the terrain and anomalies of
flying in Alaska like the regular pilots do! Looking back this morning at that
experience however, I am thankful to see those big 737s perform when called
upon, that part was pretty impressive. And the pilots certainly did a good job.
Once
in the airport, the agents were busily rebooking everyone, and thankfully I was
one of the first 10 in line, and the line was 50-60 people long. Once it was my
turn, they wanted to rebook me on a 10PM flight out that evening into Sitka, to
which I said HELL NO, send me out tomorrow. That fog wasn’t going anywhere,
we’d been living in Sitka for the past 4 days on the boat, and I witnessed it
myself. And “trying” to land at night, and in the thick fog?? NO, not going to
do that, so rebooked for 10:22 AM flight the next day. Plus I wasn’t sure where
I’d end up if the flight was again aborted (which it was in fact, I learned the
next day) – didn’t want to be back in Seattle, or Ketchikan, and trying to
figure everything out at midnight. Nope, I opted to stay overnight in Juneau.
First I had to get my bags though, and that had to be done by going to the
Alaska baggage desk, describing my luggage and giving them my claim check, then
an employee would go in the back and retrieve my luggage. They had to do that
for each person that wanted to claim their luggage from the failed Sitka
flight. By 9PM I finally arrived at the Baranof Hotel in Juneau, was able to
rent a room that turned out to be probably the second most dive room I’ve ever
stayed in, but it was a bed and a shower. I collapsed, pulled out a sandwich I
had bought 7 hours earlier in Seattle, had that for dinner, and fell asleep.
Awoken
shortly later, someone was desperately trying to get into my room! These rooms
didn’t have that flip around safety latch just a deadbolt. My mind was racing
about what I had in the room to defend myself and it wasn’t much. Soon it
stopped and I heard the same rattling happening at another door. I peeked out
the peephole and saw some guy attempting to get in the room across the hall
just as security came up and asked him what he was doing and ordered him to go
to the lobby immediately. The guy just kept saying his key card didn’t work,
and security reiterated “go to the lobby”. Right then the door across the hall
did open for him so I guess it was all legit, but I believe he was inebriated
and didn’t know his room number or something. Anyway, another thing to get my
heart rate up.
After
that I passed out and had a good solid sleep until 6AM, and it’s now June 1st. I started checking out weather reports and
flight status on my phone and see that it’s completely fogged up in Sitka
again. Soon I was able to confirm with John who was still on the boat, at the
dock, in Sitka, across the channel from the airport, that indeed the fog was to
the ground. Wheels turning, I figured I couldn’t get back to Sitka today, and was
NOT going on any flight that was going to “attempt” a landing at Sitka, no way.
Since the next land stop on our journey was Hoonah on June 3, I decided that
was Plan B and began making arrangements to get to Hoonah (which had clear
skies) via commuter flight on Alaska Seaplanes. I booked a commuter flight, and
John was onboard with meeting me there as soon as he could, and I just resigned
myself that I was going to be in a hotel in Hoonah that evening. Meanwhile I
answered Alaska Airlines’ email that YES, I volunteer to give up my seat on the
10:22AM flight for 250 miles, thinking I would first get the mileage credit
then just cancel my flight altogether. Around 8:30AM John texted and said that the
fog had really cleared out quickly and that I might actually be able to get
into Sitka after all, and sent me pictures of a clear horizon. Switching gears
again, I now decide I’m going to go for it, and try to get on that Alaska
flight even though I’d given away my seat. The long and short of it is that I
was able to get on the flight, after revoking my offer to give up my seat, and
piled onto the full plane, my poor basil plants still in tow and looking worse
for wear. Sitka was indeed clear, we
landed without incident, and I was finally reunited with my captain and my
boat! Absolutely exhausted to the max, we pulled out of the harbor and began a
slow cruise to the Sergius Narrows which were slack at 7PM, and it was just 1PM
when we left. Normally it’s a 3 hour cruise but we went at idle speed the
entire way so we didn’t hit it too soon. I subsequently went to our stateroom
and fell fast asleep for what turned out to be a three hour nap, I was truly
depleted. When I awoke John excitedly told me about his two whale sightings
that I slept through. One was a whale feeding along the shoreline where he was
able to capture some great pictures, but the second nearly gave him a heart
attack! He was just motoring along when a whale surfaced not 20 feet from the
starboard bow heading towards the boat, startling John as he briefly thought it
was a rock! He threw the engines into neutral and prayed there would be no
collision, and thankfully the whale avoided the boat and no incident occurred.
Got his heart pounding though!
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