The Summer's Work Begins

The work at Camp Denali to prepare for a summer's worth of guests has started. The learning curve is steep as I listen, observe, and do. Making all of this easier, the above picture shows the view from the porch of my cabin. Top of the Continent. Denali. Mt. McKinley. Location, location, location!

Staff come from all over the country--Florida, Kansas, Vermont, New Hampshire, California, Texas, Iowa--and cover a nice range of ages. We seem to be a congenial bunch, and I am loving every minute of being here, even the hard work. All work is shared: women tote (and climb) tall ladders, men are assigned housekeeping tasks, and vice versa. Naturalist guides learn about trails and birds; operations staff grade, paint, repair. Cabin by cabin up here on the ridge at Camp Denali, and room by room down at North Face Lodge, the place is being readied for the first round of guests due to arrive on Friday.

My duties are still being ironed out, at least in terms of specifically what jobs I'll do on which days. I am on the list for 'new driver check' on what is called here the "hill of difficulty." From the main road, the Camp Denali road rises via steep switchbacks through mid-camp (Operations has their base there) to upper camp where the common buildings and staff cabins are. Guest cabins sit at the edge of the ridge from mid-camp to upper camp. I'm over the breath-holding on the steep parts.

The food surpasses all anticipation--and I knew from my time as a guest here in 2008 that it would be heavenly. We've had a delicious meatloaf, lamb, pork tenderloin, salads, freshly made bread, mad-on-the-premises yogurt. Lots of fuel for very demanding days. The first week or so finds the chefs and kitchen staffs testing new food ideas. Yesterday morning we had poached eggs on a root vegetable hash. Dreaminess!

Of special interest to me is the fact that I've been here both as a guest and now as an employee. I've seen the premises through both sets of eyes. As a guest I wondered how on earth staff kept the place looking so shipshape even at the last week of the season. As an employee, I see the work that goes into ensuring that each detail is as crisp at the end of the summer as it is at the beginning. That makes me even more willing to work hard so the September guests get as fresh a look at our end of the Park as the June guests.

Being dog-tired each evening is not a chore--it simply makes the shower feel better, and the bed more deliciously comfortable at the end of the day. I've had no problem sleeping, despite the fact that we're officially at 24 hours of daylight. The sun never dips below the horizon. That helps with those middle-of-the-night trips to the outhouse, and while it hinders the sleep of some, I've had no problem.

But because it's the end of the day right now, and I'm dog-tired, I'll close, clean up, and snooze out. I'll have more to write on Friday (my first day off).