Yesterday I took the boat out to Brooks Camp. Usually the ride out is about an hour. Yesterday was quite different. It started out beautiful. The sun was just about to rise and the sky was full of beautiful colors. It was a little windy but all in all it looked like a great day for a boat ride. Off we started across Naknek Lake.
Naknek lake got its name from the earliest Russian explorers. It is 40 miles long and can be anywhere between three and eight miles wide. It normally takes just over an hour to cross it to get to Brooks Camp on the other end. Yesterday our little journey over the water out there took two and half hours.
Once we got into the main part of the lake the wind began to pick up. We started to bounce on the waves. Then it got rough. We hit the trench of one way very hard and water poured over the bow of the boat. Up till this time me and two coworkers were sitting on the floor in the bow area. When the first wave splashed over the top we quickly moved to the back of the boat. Wave after wave washed over the top of the bow as we bounced and rocked. Then we hit the bottom of a trough so hard that the engine stopped. That's when we were not only rocking from front to back but side to side. I felt like I was on one of those boats you see on TV on the roughest water. I wasn't scared but the fact that you are 10 times more likely to drown in Alaska did run through my mind.
We got the boat started again and slowly headed to Brooks Camp. Bounce after bounce. Waves of water higher than the boat passed by. On the average the average the waves were five feet high. Two hours passed by and finally the shore line of Brooks Camp came into view. It was good to see the place. It was quite the ride out and everyone was glad to arrive and get off the boat. By the end of the day the winds had calmed down and the ride home was not so bad. Tomorrow I will tell you about my day at camp.
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