Mosquitoville

We are disgusting. At the beginning of the trip we joked about how gross things were going to be. Even a few days ago we laughed about the lack of showers and cleanliness in our lives. It is no longer a laughing matter. We are truly disgustingly dirty. We made friends a few days ago and the first thing they said when they got close to our car was “Yuck! That smells really bad!”

Our campsites have gotten consistently more remote. They no longer include the things we used to take for granted, most importantly water. Washing dishes is often not even an option. We have come accustomed to licking our plates clean and throwing them in a plastic bag until we find a sink or stream. Our first stop of the day is the closest gas station where we all pile into the usually one-room bathrooms to clean our faces and brush our teeth. I am no longer fazed when we exit the bathroom to a long line of angry locals.

Yesterday started off pretty much the same. We packed up the tent at our Fairbanks site, piled into the car, and began our drive. First on our agenda was a nice hike up to Angel Rocks. We made it up and spent some time climbing around the rocks, exploring the many crevices and peaks. We made friends with an old couple who also drove from Colorado. We discussed our trips, gave suggestions, and then we made our way back down. This is when things started to go downhill (pun intended, hhah).

The hike down was along a very still creek. There were, no joke, MILLIONS of mosquitoes. When swatting proved ineffective, we all broke into a run. We finally reached our smelly car, our bodies covered in quarter-sized welts. We then were off to the Chena Hot Springs.

After a short drive, we arrived. We paid, put our stuff away, and headed to the hot steamy pool. It was amazing. The itching immediately subsided, our muscles were no longer sore, and believe it or not, we actually felt clean. We spent about two hours soaking in this amazing natural hot tub. We even were able to take showers there. The showers used the hot spring water, so we were basically washing with sulfur, but it was better than nothing.

We found a campsite about 20 miles away. With our bodies clean and relaxed, we began setting up with an optimistic attitude. That feeling quickly disappeared. The Alaskan mosquitoes, which have an uncanny ability to find flesh, almost immediately sensed our presence. Pretty soon they were so thick that we couldn’t breath without them getting in our mouth. When we walked, we could feel them all over our skin, like walking through a dust storm of bugs.

Thank god we all had bug suits, which offered some relief. We set up and cooked as speedy as possible. We decided the only way to enjoy our cheeseburgers would be to eat in the car. I cleared the seats, and Rachel passed the food to me, a sort of assembly line. We ate in peace. The mosquitoes banged against the glass. We watched in delight, feeling as though we had somehow outsmarted them.

The burgers and corn were finished; plates were licked clean and thrown into bags to be dealt with at a later date. It was almost 9pm, definitely time for bed. We sprinted to the tent and zipped it closed. We felt like captives, jailed in our own tent, not knowing when it would be safe to leave.