I know, a little dramatic with the title, but hear me out. Two days before Gwen and I were to depart for Selawik for another round of sampling, a rogue bear that has been looting cabins up and down Selawik River finally made its way to the Kugarock Cabin, OUR cabin. Perhaps the fifth or sixth cabin this bear has visited, he (or she) has become pretty proficient in getting in, getting the food, and making a general mess of things. Entering through a large, double-paned picture window located six feet off the ground, it bee-lined for the food shelf, helping itself to a smogaspored of packaged tuna, fermented maple syrup, and various other goodies before chomping down on a can of spray foam insulation and then a can of bear spray. This sent him scurrying pretty quickly back to from whence he came. The cabin was discovered by a few locals on a hunting trip, who upon peering into the torn off wall, got a healthy blast of residual bear spray so potent their eyes promptly became a watery burning mess. Bloody bear prints were all over the cabin, shelves were torn from the wall, siding was torn off in multiple locations, and the rogue bear was again on the loose. Recognizable only by its new Santa Claus style spray foam beard. One funny scene when we arrived at the cabin was that the bear's nose prints were still littered across windows. Just like a dog looking at a squirrel outside.
Sonny, along with Tina and Shawn, were able to clean up most of the cabin, boarding up the gaping window and wiping away the bloody prints. But, they did NOT manage to remove all the bear spray residue. A fact made very obvious with every surface we touched on the food shelf. Which migrated itself to every food item packaging. A burning tingle of the fingers, a wonderful sensation on an itched eye. Extra care had to be taken when going to the bathroom so as not to have the worst happen. We had considered not going to the cabin following the bear attack, but Sonny had brought his big gun, and really there is no better or more tranquil place to work. Fortunately, the weather was again beautiful, allowing for a lot of data entry and filtering to be done outside.
To top off the bear break-in, multiple tundra fires had sprung up in the area from a thunderstorm that rolled had recently rolled through. But, nothing too serious. Storms continued to roll across the tundra but miraculously swept by, avoiding the cabin and treating us to a display. The storms did produced some spectacular sunsets and sunrises, both of which were made further prominent by actual darkness coming back to the Arctic Circle. It is strange how perpetual light begins as an adjustment, then turns into the norm. When dark does return, it is disorienting to say the least. No longer can you wake up at any time and be greeted with plenty of light to read your book before you drift back to sleep.
The week passed quickly at Kugerock Cabin, and on Sunday we headed back down river. Not before Gwen and I squeezed in a quick morning paddle however on the perfectly tranquil waters. Upon arriving back in the village, we became aware that everyone was wondering where we were. Somehow, it had spread that we were due back in the village on Saturday, prompting many phone calls between everyone at the Fish and Wildlife office, Joe and Della, and others. Gwen and I are still not sure how this miscommunication happened but everyone we bumped into in Selawik village apparently thought we were missing and was happy to see us back. When I got to the airport, Della was bombarded with questions about if the Fish and Wildlife people had returned. She promptly pointed to me riding on the back of her ATV, only to have everyone tell me they thought we had been gotten by the bear. A search party I am sure would have been mounted if we hadn't returned Sunday morning. Kidding aside, it is nice to know that people are looking out for us. Many of whom we barely know or have only become friendly with since June. This knowledge made me feel I had become part of the Selawik community, if only just slightly so.
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