Scott Kerr sniggered when I asked him if he’d see us when we showed up in Nikolski in our kayaks. As we rounded the corner into the bay and saw the compact cluster of 20 or 30 houses I realized why. As we approached the beach, 4 or 5 quad bikes pulled up in front of the houses waiting to welcome us in. 8 sets of hands clapped as half of Nikolski’s residents welcomed us warmly to their small community. We were whisked up to the luxurious lodge in a ‘Ranger’, a quad bike with 2 seats behind the driver, where we enjoyed our first hot shower for almost 3 weeks and our clothes were thrown straight into a washing machine before they could cause too much offence. The 5-bedroom wooden Lodge is mostly used by hunters who come to shoot reindeer in the Fall when their racks are biggest. We’re very grateful we are allowed to stay here and that we’ve been fed and mothered by Pam & Tom, who are here from Anchorage to oversee the painting of the Lodge.
A plaque in the Lodge describes how this is the oldest continuously inhabited area in the world. Aleuts have lived here for the last 8,000 years, with Nikolski itself being the 2nd oldest settlement and the last remaining village on Umnak island. In the 1700s before the Russians arrived there were more than 20 villages on the island. Now Nikolski has a population of just 17 people, most of whom are related. This is our 5th day here as Northerly or north-easterly winds have swept across the island most of the time we’ve been here. For me, the winds have been a bit frustrating at times but it’s been a privilege to spend time here getting to know the locals, learning some history and exploring the area. It’s a tamer landscape on the south end of Umnak than the geologically-more recent ragged volcanoes of Amutka and the islands of the 4 mountains. The land is lower and flatter, sandy beaches have had time to form, lakes sprawl across the grassland. Cattle and reindeer keep the vegetation in check and leave their marks splattered regularly around. The cattle were once farmed here but now run wild, although they are occasionally hunted for their meat. Red foxes wander past the lodge window, searching for food scraps and 2 eagles regularly give us a fly by, or sit perched on towers nonchalantly scanning the environment, ignoring me with my camera, used to sharing their space with humans.
The ever present wind, a few collapsed buildings and the impressive 7000 foot Mount Vsevidof 10 miles distant remind you that nature is in charge here. The locals enjoy that – they can fish and hunt and they support each other. The youngest inhabitant, 18 year old Eric doesn’t have his driving license yet but he’s been riding quad bikes since he was 6. Since the local school shut down, he goes to high school on the main land, but he loves it here and hopes to retire in Nikolski one day.
Flights come to Nikolski twice a week – although yesterday’s flight was cancelled due to fog in Dutch Harbour. A 1964 plane wreck above the village shows why they wait for better weather. There is a post office, community centre, tribal office and an ornate Russian orthodox church.
We spent one memorable evening drinking whisky and chatting in the ‘boat shed’ with some of the residents and 2 divers from NOAA who were here to take tide measurements and maintain equipment.
We hope to set off kayaking tomorrow when the winds are due to be lighter. From here we have about a 150-200 mile paddle to Dutch Harbour, Unalaska where we’ll find the biggest settlement in the Aleutian islands and our first and only supermarket. We’ll be mostly paddling along the coastline as we just have 1 crossing to make to Unalaska island. On our way are some hot springs, which is very exciting!
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