Talkeetna

Flying to Attu requires good weather, but predicting weather in the Aleutian islands is a difficult business.  The normal procedure for Reeves is to call out to Adak and Attu to check conditions early in the morning and then make a decision to fly or not.  The flight is about 1800 miles and took about 6.5 hours, stopping for fuel on Adak which is about 2/3rds down the Aleutian chain.  With few alternatives to land, you don’t want to get out there and be unable to land, or take off to return to Anchorage.

Reeves canceled the flight the first day, so I rented a car and headed off toward Mt Denali, stopping along the way at Talkeetna which is a bit of a hang-out for climbers, bush pilots, and other interesting folk.  I found the cemetery’s unique grave markers interesting.

Next: A short week on Attu