Snowbound

THIRTY-SIX

For fifteen minutes, they followed the westward track of Alaska 3, climbing steadily toward cruising altitude. That gray thread of pavement hooked south toward Anchorage, but they flew on, due west into the Alaskan bush.

Not even the brown, unpeopled waste of northern Arizona rivaled this level of desolation. No sign of human habitation. Endless spruce forests interspersed with patches of turning paper birch—veins of gold from Will’s vantage point.

They flew over foothills, expanses of high tundra. Buck pointed out herds of caribou and a massive white bulk far to the south—McKinley, highest mountain in North America.

An hour into the flight, Devlin asked, “Are there grizzly bears where we’re going?”

“You bet,” Buck said. “Bears live everywhere out here. And you want to avoid them, especially now. It’s late season and they’re trying to fatten up in advance of hibernation.”

“What about wolves?”

“Plenty of those, too.”

“Are they dangerous?”

“Oh, no. You’re lucky if you see one. Also keep an eye out for caribou, moose, fox. One good thing about coming to a little-known place like the Wolverines—the wildlife will be abundant. Hey, I think I see our destination way, way off on the horizon. Samantha, why don’t you take the controls for a little while?”

Will felt nauseous and he had a crushing headache from the noise.

“We’ll be in the Wolverines in just a minute here,” Buck said.

“Could you do a quick flyover?” Kalyn asked. “Just so we can get a sense of the area.”

“Sure.” He pushed the stick and the Cessna dipped earthward, Will’s stomach lifting, Devlin squealing.

“It’s like a roller coaster,” she said.

The plane banked left.

“That’s them?” Kalyn asked.

“There’re your hills.”

They were only a thousand feet above the ground now, and the Wolverines lay beneath them like a succession of low earthen waves. It was undisputedly a minor range, a rippling uplift amid a vast, otherwise-unbroken forest. They could see the whole of the chain in one glimpse—wooded hills rising toward the biggest mountain of the bunch, a four-thousand-foot unnamed peak, most of it above timberline and blanketed in scarlet and yellow from the turning underbrush. A valley cut through the middle of the range, and it was here that they spotted two lakes, one in the middle, one on the eastern edge.

“You could land on either of those lakes?” Kalyn asked.

“Yep. I’ll set down on whichever one you prefer.”

“Joe, do you see that?”

It took Will a moment to realize that Kalyn was speaking to him. “What?”

She was pointing out her window. “Oh, now I’ve lost it.”

“What was it?”

“Looked like a structure of some sort on the shore of the interior lake.”

“Could very well be,” Buck said. “I called a friend of mine after ya’ll left my office this morning, just hunting for a little information about the Wolverines. He said there was a gold strike out here, turn of the century, along the Ice River, which flows south out of these hills. Apparently, nothing much ever came of it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were still some old structures down there.”

“This thing was big,” Kalyn said. “But it was in the trees. Hard to see.”

“Well, there you go. Be a great day hike for you three to undertake. Look, this cloud deck’s starting to come down on us. Where do you want me to land?”

They touched down on the outer lake, a turbulent landing, water spraying up onto the windshield, the plane listing on its floats.

When Buck killed the engine, it was 2:30 P.M. The prop sputtered to a stop, and the Cessna drifted up onto a sandy shore.

They climbed down one at a time onto the pontoons.

It was cold, a raw, steady wind pushing small waves onto the beach, the sky a uniform, textureless gray, mist falling out of it.

Will and Buck opened the cargo pod and carried the three backpacks up onto the beach.

Buck said, “You know a little something about camping, Mr. Foster?”

“A very little. Why?”

“Think you can figure out setting up the tent on your own? And how to use the water filter and the propane stove?”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“I’d stay and give you the rundown, but this weather’s coming in faster than I expected, and I’d like to get back to Fairbanks.”

“No, that’s fine. We really appreciate your flying us out here on such short notice.”

“My pleasure.” Buck waded back over to the plane, climbed up onto the pontoons. “I’ll be back Sunday, three P.M., to pick you up. There’s no cell phone service out here, so just be aware of that. Don’t get hurt. You’ll be here?”

“Sunday, three P.M. We’ll be here,” Will said.

“I hope ya’ll enjoy your time out here, and I hope the weather holds for you.”

Buck climbed into the plane and shut the door.

The Cessna roared, and Kalyn, Will, and Devlin stood watching it from the sandy beach.

The engine screamed as the Skywagon sped away from them.

After thirty seconds, it lifted into the gray sky, eastbound.

They watched it dwindle, then vanish into the clouds, the drone of its engine fading.

Soon there was no sound but the lake lapping at their feet.