Alaska Uncovered Podcast

Better Bear viewing in Lake Clark National Park with the Porter Family of Snug Harbor Outpost

Jennie Thwing Flaming and Jay Flaming Episode 142

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Jennie shares about her visit this summer to Snug Harbor Outpost at Lake Clark National Park and the Porter Family share their stories of growing up here and building a place for visitors to come for authentic Alaska adventures, incredible food and unique bear viewing.

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Music credits:  Largo Montebello, by Domenico Mannelli, CC.

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 Welcome to the Alaska Uncovered Podcast with me, your host, Jennie Thwing Flaming, my occasional co-host and full-time husband, Jay, and I bring you accurate, helpful, and entertaining information about Alaska Travel and life in Alaska. Enjoy the show. 

Hi everyone. I am really excited about today's episode. This is Jennie, of course, your host of the Alaska Uncovered Podcast, and today we are going to Snug Harbor Outpost and Lake Clark National Park

I am really excited to share with you another interview with Abe Eli. Their dad, their uncle, and Abe's wife, Mariah, who is the manager at Snug Harbor, who does all the reservations and all the operations and that kind of thing.

And it's really fun to do this episode because I have talked to Mariah on the phone so many times. I have met Abe and Eli, but until June, I had not met her in person and I had not been to Snug Harbor, so I wanted to record a little bit with their family, a little bit about their story while I was there.

But also I wanted to just soak it up. This is, this is the kind of place that I absolutely love and I've had a number of clients who have gone there and have absolutely loved it too. And people who have told Mariah that they heard about them on the podcast.

And so if you're thinking about going there, if you go there, let them know that you heard about them from the podcast. This has been just such a fun partnership for over two years now, and it was really fun to bring it full circle by getting to go visit. So I wanna start by telling you a little bit about my experience, visiting Snug Harbor for three days, and then I'm gonna bring some of that interview that we did while I was there.

Snug Harbor is a remote location. It's a fly in experience. There's a couple different ways that can work, which you'll work out with Mariah if you book. But I went on a float plane from Homer, over to Snug Harbor, which is on the west side of the Cook Inlet, um, right outside of Lake Clark National Park.

And we'll hear more from the Porters about, the property and its history and that kind of thing, but it's just, it was just such a cool experience. So if you like to connect with locals when you travel, if you like intimate, authentic experiences where there are no crowds and you're just, you're just there experiencing it.

Then this is for you, you get to go bear viewing with just a handful of other people. You get to visit Lake Clark National Park. So not only see bears, but go to the fossil beach, which is really cool. Go to, see birds and it, and you get to see this incredible scenery. It was just wonderful.

So you're staying at a. About a rustic historic cannery. But it's beautiful. It, every touch is amazing. They have like power sources for you. This is an, an off-grid spot and they have amazing food and it's all included and all of the excursions are included. It's just, it's really wonderful. And you'd be staying for multiple days.

This package that I did is kind of a typical thing for Snug Harbor, but there's some other variations on it as well. And what we did is we flew out there in the morning from Homer and we had like an orientation to the property. We did a tour of the historic buildings and found where rooms were, had coffee and Snugs, then had some free time.

There was a lot, there were a lot of activities, but also a lot of free time. And I really love that balance. 'Cause I like to have downtime and. Just be and experience things. And I also like to go out and do stuff. So for me, this was the perfect balance. We also. Went out to a couple of beaches in Lake Clark National Park, looked for fossils.

We had time to just explore. We had free time at Snug Harbor, where you can go down to the beach, you can play games, you can go to the sauna, all of that kind of thing. They have a fire pit, so you can sit around the fire pit and watch the. Very late at night. Sunset. I was there in June. So sunset was at like 11:40 PM something like that.

The both days, both full days that I was there, we went out bear viewing for several hours. So super comfortable boat. You know exactly where they go. Depends on. What bears they're seeing and where the bears have been. And Abe and Eli are both really skilled at, finding bears and teaching you about bears, which is really wonderful.

So we spent some time on the boat looking for bears. One night we had dinner on the boat prepared by the chef who came out with us. It was really awesome. All the meals were incredible. There were people on, on the trip I was on that had several different dietary restrictions and as long as they know in advance, they can totally accommodate that.

There was someone who was vegan there when I was there. They also. We had fresh caught salmon that like the fishermen had been sent out to catch lunch at one point. That was pretty fun. There are just so many different things. You can go out fishing if you want to. We went out to an island that is famous around the world for it's bird viewing.

And I'm not really a birder, but I still thought it was really cool and I loved walking around on this remote island. It was very cool. The flight over and back was really smooth and beautiful. It was on the way over, it was kind of overcast the whole way until we got there and then it was sunny and then on the way back it was kind of the opposite.

We had these great views and then we were in the rain. But that was fine. It's rainy and homer a lot, so, that's pretty typical. Anyway, all of that was really fun, but by far the best part was getting to know the other guests, sharing meals with them, sharing stories and adventures with them, and getting to know the Porter family.

And like I said, I'd already gotten to know them a little bit through the internet and I had met Abe and Eli. At, in person a couple of times, but it was just really, really special to have the opportunity to go there. And this is an experience I would recommend to any anyone. Next week on the podcast, we are gonna be hearing from Bethany, who is someone who listens to the podcast and did an epic trip in Alaska with her family last, this past summer.

She'll tell you more about that, but. It was great because when I arrived at Snug Harbor, her family was getting ready to leave and Mariah knew that Bethany and her family had found out about. Snug Harbor from the podcast, but she didn't tell me that they were gonna be there. And so when I arrived they were like, Jennie, we feel like we know you.

And then we had this great too short moment, unfortunately, on the beach while we were switching. I was getting off the plane and Bethany and her family were getting on. So next week we're gonna talk more about their whole trip, but that was just a really fun moment. It was just great to get to hang out with them.

I think everyone who visits this place leaves feeling like a member of the family, and that's part of what makes it so special. Everything from what to pack to, what to expect. Um, they do. Mariah in particular does a really great job of preparing you for your visit. And then Abe and Eli are just such incredible guides.

When you're out there, whether you're looking at birds or fossils or bears, it's just really awesome. So. I could go on and on. But I will stop there. I am gonna share now a couple of interviews that I did with the Porters, while I was there. We're gonna start with hearing from Abe and Eli.

  last time we talked was on Zoom in the middle of winter and one of you was on your boat and. One, I think one of you was on the boat. There were like seagulls in the background or Ravens or something. Yeah. And I was in Seattle and now we're all here at Snug Harbor.

'cause I finally got to come visit you. So this is really exciting. So I wanted to ask you guys for this episode specifically, a little bit about. Bear viewing. And before we do that, let's just have you both introduce yourselves again because it's been a couple years since you've been here. So, um, Eli, let's start with you.

Well, I'm Eli Porter. Um, yep. Owner operator of of Snug Harbor Outpost, and, still here. Trying to get people over here, get 'em out to the bears

uh, and I'm, Abe Porter, brother number two. And, Jennie, first of all, thank you so much for being here. This has been awesome.

I also, so fun. I'm also, yeah, I just appreciated so much, owner operator and, just, uh, really looking forward to this season and, uh, thanks again for being here. 

So for folks who listen to you. The last episode we talked about where you are, kind of just on the edge of Lake Clark National Park, and at that time, as I recall, you were focusing more on fishing and you've kind of pivoted more to really.

Focusing on bear viewing and photography. So I'm wondering if you could tell people a little bit about kind of why you made that decision and, and what that transition's been like. I mean, I know that you still fish, but why, why you've chosen to focus this business on that more? 

Well, I, there's many reasons I think, but, uh, one of them is we have bears here and, um, it's a resource that we grew up around, but we, we didn't know that it was.

A marketable resource until of late, we've always thought people came up to Alaska to fish and mm-hmm. See the sites and bears is sort of a, to us, , like, oh wow. People will come and they wanna see bears and, and we can get 'em to the bears. And fishing is, uh, is great. It's hard to get people on the fish all the time.

And it's, uh, getting them to the bears is something we can make sure and, and make happen for people. 

Mm-hmm. Cool. 

Well, I don't have much more added to, other than the fact that we do still do fishing, but it's just kind of unguided now. And we have great fish right out here in the channel. But as far as the bears go, yeah.

I mean recently, it seems like to me more recently anyways, this whole explosion of the Bear Coast and stuff of, yeah. People recognizing, hey, this whole area, not just Katmai is full of bears. Yeah. You know? So it's not just, we're not just a one man band over here trying to promote. Bear view in this area, this people are starting to recognize, Hey, there's bears all over this area, you know?

Yeah. That are awesome to go watch in the wild. And, you know, we have more of a exclusive situation than other places might have, where we can get people on bears in the wilderness. You know, maybe some bears that have never seen people before, that kind of thing. Mm-hmm. And we just really love that, you know, so, 

yeah.

I, I really love that too. I do think for folks listening, if you've listened to the podcast for a while or you're on my email list, which you should be if you're not, you know, one thing I talk about a lot is like, other ways to see bears besides Brooks falls in Katmai.

My, which is super cool, but also kind of a complicated, kind of crowded, very controlled experience and obviously. What you do is still controlled for safety and ethical reasons. But yeah, so I think it's really a really cool place. So if people come to Snug Harbor, so as we've talked about listeners, this is not a day trip, right?

This is like a multi-day experience. So, what can, can people kind of expect from bear viewing here? When is bear viewing good? And why is it good? Here in, lake Clark National Park. Who wants to start? 

Oh, 

okay. Go ahead Abe. 

I'll, I'll give it a shot. Uh, well first of all, our situation here, you know what we're doing here.

We're trying to restore this thing and, and build this thing up. Everything's going back into making this place awesome, you know, and keeping this old historical place going. So, but because we have this place, we're able to offer. An awesome experience for, I think, a reasonable amount. If you look at some of the day trips they get, uh, you know, they get inundated with just coming for a day and spending a thousand to 1500 bucks and for a similar price for an overnight.

You get to stay here and still go see the bears. You get the whole thing. So, yeah. You know, I think, as far as that goes, that's like we, I think we've set ourself apart from that

well, I think what they can expect when they come up to Snug Harbor Outpost is they're gonna feel like family. Yeah. And they're gonna feel like, Hey, this is, this is the, the Alaskan experience that I wanted. And once they go up and see the bears that, you know, they're wild animals, we can never predict exactly where they're gonna be.

But in general. We've learned a lot about these bears and, and how to get close to them in a safe way, and a lot of them don't view the boat, for example, as any, any kind of threat. And so oftentimes we can pull the boat right up to the bears and if people like to walk, we can get off and kind of be in.

Bear land with the bears, if you will, and, and people that like to be on the boat and are not comfortable with that are, are welcome to stay on board and still get this, get a similar experience of getting close to the bears. And I think that's probably what people will come to expect out of a trip with us is that we can get you pretty close to the bears in a safe way that is, is comfortable and also a very neutral, what we call a neutral experience for the bears, which is what we're always going for that.

When we, when we're there, they're not gaining anything from us and they're not getting anything negative from us. Yeah. We're just there and they, and we get to be around 'em and see 'em in their natural state. 

So almost like we are just part of the environment with them. Yeah. You know? Well, knowing that they're bigger and faster.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Okay. I'm curious too, how you guys. Kind of gained your knowledge about bear behavior and safety and kind of where to look and when is it, is it just like a byproduct of growing up here? And, and by the way, listeners, if you didn't listen to the episode two years ago, with Abe and Eli, you definitely should 'cause in, in that episode we talked.

A little more in depth about how you came to be here. So is it just kind of learning it like that or did someone explicitly teach you? I'd love to hear a little about that. 

Yeah, I think it's, it's a mix of both. Actually growing up, we grew up in major fear of the bears. I remember growing up with, with the family and, and looking at the bears, but it was very much a different experience.

These are man eaters and. And you have to be very careful and, and you do need to be very careful. But since then, we've gone up there so many times and we did have, we've had a couple of different guides come through that this is, what they do is they bear bear guide photography tours and we've learned a lot from them.

Car, car photography comes in and they've been invaluable to us. Yeah, they, they've taught us a lot about. How bears actually communicate, which to me would sound like, what are you, this is a joke, but bears are very good communicators and you can really tell an aggressive bear, uh, from a non-aggressive bear, uh, from the water before we even put people on shore.

Yeah. 

Yeah. I, I loved, um, when we were out last night, Abe, and there was a couple times where we were like. Observing a bear and you were like, well, let's see if she'll be okay with us standing over here or going over there. And then, I thought it was really cool how you, like, were aware of when our presence was, like they were not thrilled with it.

And then we just like got out of there without running very slowly and calmly.



Can you guys share a little bit about why Lake Clark National Park is such a great place for bear viewing and a little more about that?

Go ahead. Please help, please. Well, yeah, June is a, a great June and, and up to mid-July is a great time for bear viewing for us, which is, I think, unusual.

Most places are in, in July and August, but because they're coming down, outta hibernation and they're eating the sedge, uh, grass, which is 25% protein, so some of the, the bears that don't want to compete for fish at the rivers even stay. Throughout the whole summer, like sows and cubs often do, um, because the, the sows are very protective of their young, so they'll, they'll stay longer in the sedge grass before they head on over to try to get a salmon.

But there is, like I said, the sedge grass is 25% protein, so they, they're getting enough mm-hmm. Uh, in their diet to put to pack on the pounds they need. So, yeah. There's lots of it up there. We have other things to explore in this area that we haven't really fully explored as far as rivers and, and whatnot.

Salmon streams were, we know there's bears. But it takes some special resources to get into 'em. So as we grow, I think, I think people will see that we'll have other Yeah. Bear viewing opportunities in the area also, so, right. Yeah. 



One more thing I would love to ask is just about the park service. So I know your, an authorized operator in Lake Clark National Park. So listeners, if you're not familiar with what that is, if you go into a national park. As a tour operator or a guide, or even if you're operating a hotel or something like that, there's a process to be authorized to take people into the park.

So I'm curious like what that's like in Lake Clark and how big of a process is it, you know, what do they care? What do they wanna see from you, or are they, or is it not that hands-on? 

Well, there's the commercial use authorization and, and you've gotta work with the park to get that. And, and that's, you know, paperwork and insurance.

But we also have a really. Great working relationship with the Park Service. They've been really good to us and we feel we've been good to them. Mm-hmm. They often come in the off season and, and they'll even stay here when they're doing some of their research or whatever it is. And, and we've had a really great relationship with the Park Service.

Um, but the commercial use authorization is, yeah, it's a challenge to get, but once you get it and you show years and years and years of, of a successful business, they have been very accommodating to us and. And we really love Lake Clark National Park and yeah, and the people that work here, they've been really great.

Is there anything else you guys just wanna talk about or share related to bear?

I love it when we bring people up to see the bears and we have these. You know, it seems like every time we go up there, I have a, you know, I've done this a lot now, but I have, I personally have a unique experience. I see something I didn't see before. I see, I see behavior, you know, interactions between a mom and a cub or two other bears that I haven't got to see before.

I just, I really love that. 'cause it may, it may be that you go up there and you see some days, you know, 30 bears, which is a great day, great seeing bears, but if you just even just go up there and see two bears interacting with each other in a special way. That's enough for me. You know? Yeah. And I just, I love that.

'cause it seems like every time we go up there, we get something special, you know? Yeah.

Just adding to what Abe said, you know, whether there's swimming or just even a bear rolling in the grass on his own, there's, it's, it's very different every time. And even though there's similarities every time.

Just the interactions the Bears give you is, it's been a really cool, I think people get a sense of personal experience when they Yeah. When they go up there.



Something that Abe and Eli talked about related to bear viewing, which is that it's better. In different places at different times. So there's no straight answer to when is bear viewing good. It depends on the location because bears have different diets and move around and eat different things at different times of year for some bears.

For some, they're more active at sometimes than others. So just be careful if, if anybody ever says like, oh, bear viewing is always better and. This month, that just isn't true. Right? It depends on where you are. So that's something I really wanted to mention, before we move on. Okay. So next we're gonna hear from Abe and Eli's dad, Willie and their Uncle Jack, about their years growing up and commercial fishing at Snug Harbor.

, Before it became a place visitors could go. So let's hear from them.

Jack, start by telling us a little bit about your family history here at Snug Harbor. Well, my history here is, uh, basically with, uh, deck handing for my dad. And, uh, when I first started deck handing, we had the Amie Joe. Which was, uh, one of my favorite boats ever.

And, uh, then later we had the, the Snug 12. When, when, uh, snug Harbor got its own fleet, we had the number 12 and the bunch, and I was with dad when we picked it up brand new. They just, they just brought it up from Seattle. Cool. And I was with him when we picked that up and took it for a run up to bay here to give it a test run.



So let's pass it over to Willie here. So Willie, um, what do you wanna add to that? Just what Jack said about kind of the family history here in fishing, family history here? Yeah. Was the same thing. I guess it coming with my dad, but, uh, it was not fun back then. I was a, I was a young kid and they, you know.

Yeah. All the other kids got to stay home, play baseball, and I had to come here and work on boats and Yeah. And I didn't realize what a paradise it is here until I got a little older. Yeah. But, uh, I love it here. I think it's a piece of God's country and, uh, the best part of God country, so. Yeah. Absolutely.

Willie, can you share a little bit too about how you came. To, 'cause Jack I know was telling me earlier that he left here really as a teenager. Right. But you kept kind of working here, right? Is that right? 

That's true. Although as soon as I was outta high school, I was sent off to Vietnam for two years, so I missed a couple of years.

Yeah. 

And then when I got back, I got my own boat, which started out to be the Snug 12 for a year. And then. I bought the armada and then the sunburst a few years later, 

so, yeah. Yeah. Cool. Okay. Alright, let's go back to Jack here for a second. So, I mean, we're talking about fishing. Can you tell us a fishing story?

Well, I can tell you that there were times when we were fishing, when, uh, fishing was slow and we didn't catch too much, and there were other times when I can remember having deck loads. Yeah. As a matter of fact, I can remember. One year I got a brand new, uh, boy scout pocket knife, and I was proud of that knife.

And I was deck handing with dad and we were catching fish like crazy. And how old were 

you? 

I was probably 12. Okay. At the time. Somewhere around in there. Yeah. Anyway, uh, the, the net was loaded. And it was actually, the fish were dying and an net was sinking faster than, than dad could pick it. Dad did the picking.

I didn't do the picking in those days. Okay. I was young. He'd put me up on the flying bridge. Mm-hmm. And I'd watch him and my job up there was to keep him off the gear. He'd let me know, move forward, you know, or whatever. Yeah. And my job was on the bridge to, to keep him off the gear so that we didn't get the gear in the wheel.

Yeah. And, uh, so anyway. We were picking fish and picking fish, and then that was finally, it was hanging straight down and we already had a deck load and he said, give me a knife. And I handed him that boy scout pocket knife of mine, and he cut the gear loose and dropped my knife overboard. No. 

Oh, the prize knife.

Oh. Gone. That's so sad. 

Oh, what about the thousands of dollars worth of fish that went, 

yes. Went to the bottom. Went to the bottom, your, we couldn't, it was really this in these days. This was long before we had hydraulic power wheels and the, and the safety pedal and all that. Yeah. We didn't have those in that, in those days.

Yeah. And uh, so when we were pulling, we were pulling the gear up, and as we pulled it kept getting harder and harder. And the reason he cut it loose is because the equipment we had couldn't pull it anymore. It was so heavy. Mm-hmm. We just couldn't pull it. Right. Just otherwise, I don't think he would've cut it loose, but he just, yeah.

He couldn't pull it. 

Right. 'cause it was just too heavy. Yeah. Yeah. 

If we had the hydraulics and stuff they have today, he caught, probably could have pulled it, but he couldn't then. 



Willie, do you know, do you know about how your dad got involved in fishing? Do you know any, could you talk about that a little bit?

Well, he. He started fishing when he came up here from Oregon out right outta high school. Okay. And, uh, um, he fished at Dory for a couple of years and, and fished in Chin the Bay mostly. 

Mm-hmm. 

And then he, he and a friend came from Anchorage and an old boat with the little two cylinder engine that make maybe three knots, I don't know, I'm guessing.

But, and they came in here and, uh. Joe's Frocks father ran the place then Young. That was 

Eric. 

Eric, yes. Okay. Eric Frock. And he treated him like gold. They brought him into the, to the blue room to eat, which was where all the wheels would be. And, and uh, dad was very impressed and he fished for Snug Harbor for, well, all his years that he fished, so, 

yeah.

And so when your, when your dad was fishing, was that during the time it was the cannery? 

They were processing here? Yes. Okay. 

Okay. And they, 

uh, they all the early season there would be 50, 60, maybe more boats in here because the fish are in the lower inlet at that time of the year. And, uh, you know, and we had all slow boats, you know, all eight knot boats if you're lucky.

Mm-hmm. 

And, uh, so the, the fleet would start out from here and 

Got it. Okay. And move 

up. 

Yep. And 

so this was a buzzing place here? Yeah. Not only all the fish being processed, but all the fishermen were here and, um, it was, it was fun. Yeah. It was different, but it was very fun. 

Yeah. And so when, when you guys were growing up, if you were coming here, were you sleeping on your own boat or were you actually staying in the bunk house or?

What I remember with Joe was his Eric's son, that he's the one that we dealt with and, yeah. If you came here because we were using a canary boat, we had to get it ready, we had to caulk it 'cause it's a wood boat. Been sitting out all winter time. Mm-hmm. And so you had to caulk it, then we'd put water inside to let it soak up.

And until the boat was launched, Joe put us up here and you know, we had free meals, whatever. Mm-hmm. Until the boat went in the water, then we stayed on the boat. 

Yep. 

And we still ate here, but we, you know, we had to pay for it then.



When I just got back from Vietnam in 1970, a little closer. I had, uh, the limited entry permit 'cause I'd fished enough before where I was eligible.

Okay. 

But I went to Homer and I bought halibut, black cod, and salmon licenses, and they sold 'em to me. And then three weeks later, I get a notice in the mail that I'd bought the salmon license after the deadline, and therefore I wouldn't be able to fish salmon. And that was my money, 

right? 

So I came in here, I was really uptight.

I came in here a week or so after worrying about it and walked into Joe's office and I said, Joe, what do I do about this? I, you know, they say, I can't fish. And he looked. He said, well, they sold you the license, didn't they? And I said, yeah. Rip, rip, rip. He said you didn't get that notice.

Problem solved. Thanks, Joe. And that just took the 

pressure off. I said, but Joe said it's okay. It's okay. 

Joe. Yes, Joe is like the, the unofficial but important rules. 

He would just remind me talking about Joe of another thing. When I was fishing with my older brother, him and I would fish together. One, it was a company boat, but uh, it was, it was probably the oldest boat in the fleet.

And, but anyway, we were fishing that boat and, uh, one day we were, as we was getting the end of the period mm-hmm. And we were heading actually back into here, and all of a sudden we were in the middle of a bunch of jumpers and we still had an hour before closure. Yeah. So we said, well. Put it out to see what we can do.

So we put the gear out and we actually pulled it in according to our clock. Just before the time was up. 

Yeah. 

And here come an airplane alongside Uhhuh and it was Fish and Game. And they claimed we were five minutes over at a time. So they told us that you take those fish into the cannery and you turn 'em in into name of the A, D, F, and G Department of Fish and Game, you turn 'em in because we're, those are our fish now.

And we had probably, I don't know, five, 600 fish aboard before even we made that last set. But they wanted them all turned in in their name. So we came in here to turn in the fish. And again, we talked to Joe and said, Joe, this is what they told us to do. He says, okay, put a hundred fish over there and that's what you claim.

And the rest of 'em were going, oh, he, he was good at figuring out what to do. So, 

yeah, like Joe was a fixer. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Love it. And Joe was at that time, the owner of Snug Harbor, right? Yes. Yes. Yep. Okay, cool. 

Yeah, he was a good guy. Joe was a good guy. 

Yeah. He couldn't keep up with him. He had long legs and he would if, if you wanted to talk to him, if you wanted to talk to him, you had to be running because Uhhuh, yeah.

He was either in his office or he was moving. 'cause he was here everywhere. 

What was the story? That, was it Eli that was telling us the story about Joe in his office and the No, that was. When, when was it you that was telling it? Okay. That was a good one. Let's hear that one again. Okay. It was, it 

was the same year that my older brother and I were fishing and we've been out fishing in that boat and like I say, it was an old boat, Keita.

And we The Keita, yes, it was the Keita and uh, we hit the fish real. And we loaded that boat down and we loaded it down so much that there were seams that never were underwater, that were now underwater, and they were not caulk good. And the seasons just pounded the cotton out of it. So we're taking on water like crazy.

So we were trying to get back in here into Thug Harbor and that boat had what they call a double hole. The haul inside and outside. Yeah. And over the years, some, some trash had washed up between the two halls from the shaft log.

Mm-hmm. And then washed up in there when we got it so heavy and stuff, some of that stuff washed back down again, and it got caught in the prop shaft, shaft spinning, and the prop shaft whipped something over and grabbed a hold of the fuel line and pulled the fuel line into the prop shaft and wrapped it around, and all of a sudden our engine quit.

That means that our build pump is out. Yeah. And you know, we're taking on water and the bilge pump is out. We, and you're already really heavy, so Yeah. And, and we're dead in the water. So we got on the radio and started calling Mayday saying, you know, we need somebody to come out here and to us in or something.

And, uh, we didn't get any answers and didn't get any answers. And finally, one of the beach fishermen here that we knew his name was Delbert Phillips, jumped in his Dory and he heard us on the radio. So he jumped in the ho Dory and came out and he actually told us in. Yeah. But uh, when we got in here, we tied up to the piling.

Yeah. And like I, we tied up instead of, normally you tie around the piling one time so you can slip up and down. Yeah. We tied up tight 'cause we were, we were getting heavy in the water. Yeah. Keep it from sinking. We tied it up real tight. Yeah. And they brought somebody alongside then and, and took our fish and dropped a.

Pump into the boat. Got it. So we got back out, but then while this was happening was the only time I ever saw Joe come running down the beach and into a skiff and come out to make sure we were okay. Aw. Later I back in the store and I found out that when we were calling Mayday, there were people in the store and Joe's radios were on in his office, and people heard us calling Mayday, but.

They'd always been told that you don't go in Joe's office when he is not there. So they didn't go in to answer the may date. No. And when Joe heard about that, from what I understand, he came completely unglued, which is very uncharacteristic of Joe. But yeah, that one he didn't put up with.



So tell us a little bit about how you managed life with a baby or young child on a fishing boat in the summer. Okay, well first of all, all the other fishermen thought we were crazy. To have a little guy like that on board to boat because he could barely walk around, you know? But yeah. Yeah. So when we would go to pick fish and we were busy, we'd tie him off to the mass so we wouldn't go overboard.

And, uh, everything on deck that was loose went over the side, so. Right. And so you don't want that to happen to him. Yeah. And uh, so we decided to lock him inside the house while we're picking fish and. All the toilet paper was off the roll in the toilet. Everything inside was thrown around, so it wasn't easy to do, but it was fun.

Yeah, it was fun. We liked having him on board. Yeah, it was, it was great. Really.



So, Willie, can you, share a little bit about how your. Family how you and Jenny and Aen Eli ended up owning Snug Harbor. Can you talk about that a little bit? 

Well, I, yes, we, uh, we saw it advertised and we made an offer 

the way people end up owning things. Yeah. And, 

uh, Jenny was the negotiators. He talked with them.

And, uh, brindles were great because Brind owned it then with Okay. Which is Wards Cove in Ken. They were going back and forth with the lawyers and stuff and, uh, we were afraid that another outfit was wanting to buy it. You know, some lawyers wanted to buy it and yeah. And Jenny called up to Brendan's and they said, or no, the lawyers she was talking to, and they said, don't worry, the Brenda's wanna sell it to you.

So that made us feel pretty good, so. Aw, that's so cool. 



Yes. So, yeah. Yeah. So, um, so I know fishing still happens here in addition to people being able to come and stay here as guests, what kind of fishermen are typically here now?

Well, mostly the ones that stay here now are the Set Net all around the bay. Yep. And they have a tender that comes in now. It 'cause, uh, snug Harbor is no longer packing or buying. Right. 

They're in, it goes to Kenai. Right. So,

and, uh, so they have an, uh, cannery and Ken sends a tender down and all of the, uh, set netters around the bay. Delivered to the tender. And so today is opening day, by the way, for this year. 

Yes. I know that's so appropriate. Yeah, it was fun to see the nuts going out this morning and all that. Cool. Okay.

Right on. Um, okay. Any more like stories about fishing or snug or anything like that? Well, when we were 

in here early in the season when I was first back, we had. E, Eli and Zach, my three boys, they were all small and mm-hmm. And they would come in here and, you know, and, uh, I remember boogie boarding behind the skiff and playing the water like it was Hawaii, you know?

Yeah. But, uh, yeah, a lot of fun times and they have, they have very good memories in here too. 

Yeah. Yeah. And now your grandchildren are growing up here? 

Now my grandchildren are doing the same thing, and they're loving it. 

Yeah. 

They get, you know, uh, wanting to go to town too, just like I did when I was that age.

Oh, 

yeah, yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Real deal. 

When we were deckhand for dad, that wasn't, it wasn't like what he did with his kids when we were deckhand with dad. At least when I was, it was a job. Yeah. And it was, it didn't, I didn't consider it fun, you know, Uhhuh, I didn't, I I, I did it because Dad says, you come and duck handy and I says, this is your job, and.

Yeah, so, right. 

So kind of like how Willie was talking about Yeah, yeah. Like wanting to play baseball and like fishing instead.

It was after I got out that I really started missing it.

Yeah. And I've missed it all my life, but it's too late now. But yeah. Yeah. I, I really do miss the commercial fishing, but from hearing Willie talk and the fishermen talk today, it's not the same fishery it used to be. And it's not near as much fun as it could be. Yeah. Yeah. The idea was you worked hard. But you, you were on your own.

You were actually, if talk about freedom, that's freedom. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yep. But it, yeah, starting out it was, I wanted to be in town, you know, chasing girls or something. Yeah. Right. 

Of course. Well, thanks so much guys for, for chatting with me.

 All right. Well, it's really fun hearing from Abe and Eli and Willie and Jack and for the last mini interview that I did at Snug Harbor this summer, we're gonna talk with Mariah who grew up in the Midwest and came to Snug Harbor as an adult. So let's hear from her.

Mariah, it's so awesome that I got to actually meet you in person and come to Snug Harbor.

I would love to have you, first of all, tell everybody a little bit about how you got to Alaska and then we'll talk about Snug. Okay? Sounds good. I'm so happy you're here too. We've been friends on the phone and I finally got to put a face to the name. Let's see. I went to a job fair after I finished my master's and I signed up with this random Alaska school.

'cause I was like, it'll be the perfect mock interview. And where, tell everybody where you were when this is happening. I was living in Ohio. Okay. Yeah, good point. I was living in Ohio, just a regular old Midwestern girl. They had me fill out this form before I sat down for the interview and it was like, can you live without running water?

Could you live with an incinerator toilet? And I was like, this is wild. This is crazy. I didn't know this stuff kind of still happened. I don't know. Yeah. So, I went to the interview and I loved it and it was exciting. And then I got another interview and then I told my dad, I'm thinking about moving to Alaska.

And he was like. No, you're not gonna do that. That's crazy. Aw. And I was like, okay, watch this. Watch me. Yeah. So then I, I took my spring break that year, and I went to Tuk Bay to visit to see if I could hack it. And I was like, this is the coolest thing ever. Aw. And can you also tell everybody what, what you do.

Yeah. I'm a teacher for what you did. I was a teacher. Okay. I taught forsook, or I taught in Tuk Bay for one year and then, uh, wanted a school on the road system. So I moved to Nikiski to teach for six more years and then, yeah. Awesome. Okay. And, uh, where is Nikiski? Not my, everyone might not know that. Oh, Nikiski is on the Kenai Peninsula.

Fabulous. Okay, so, so you're from Ohio. You go to the village to teach and you wanna stay in Alaska, but you're like maybe on a road now, by the way, did you have running water int bay? I did. I had running water in power and Oh, it was no big deal. You had it all? Yeah. I think it's funny, whenever you've lived in like a dry cabin or anything like that, or anywhere without.

Running water. It always feels like for me, even like 20 years later, it kind of feels miraculous sometimes when I turn the tap on and I'm like, water. Oh. Anyway. So you're teaching in Nikiski now? Mm-hmm. So tell me a little bit about how you got to know and become a Porter and then, then we'll talk a little more about Snug Harbor.

So I was teaching math at Nki and one of my teacher buddies was Eli Porter. And I asked him, well, he was a commercial fisherman too, and I was hoping that I could get my brother into Alaska for the summer. So I said, Eli, can you please get my brother a job fishing with someone or doing something? And then he set my brother up as a deckhand with Abe, his twin, and they fished for like two years together.

And we kind of met in passing. Anyway, long story short, we ended up getting married. Aw. Yeah. And now I'm a Porter. Yay. Love it.

So we've talked with Jack and Willie about what Snug Harbor was like back in the day, and Abe and Eli, a little bit about them growing up here. So, how did Snug Harbor kind of transition to being a place where guests who were not, fishing necessarily, could come and stay with you all? Tell me a little bit about that.

Well, I think that was always the goal when they bought it, it was always the dream. And it took 20 years of renovations and work to keep this place standing and make it beautiful and guest ready. And then five years ago we just like really decided to make it happen.

I love it. So what. So one of the things I think is really cool about this place is all its different things that it's been over the years. Like even just from a clam clammy to like herring to salmon, to not being a cannery and but still processing and having its own fleet and now being a place for guests and fishermen.

What are some of the kind of unique things about visiting here. You know, obviously all of Alaska is super unique and interesting, but what are some of the things that make this really special for you? Well, I think the history is huge. A lot of the canneries that are similar to this one have been, you know, swallowed up by the ocean or burnt down.

This was one of the places that. It was awesome, like built during the Red Rush and yeah. People have fond memories of this place, even if they've just been here for a short time. And then, the secluded area, we mm-hmm. Yeah, it's very authentically Alaska last frontier.

Nobody's around. Yeah. Uh, we don't see another person while we're seeing the bears and for me, my kids are the fourth generation of Porters, living over here for summers and commercial fishing and yeah. That's huge to me. Mm-hmm. Let's talk a little bit more about your kids, you grew up in, in the Midwest

so what is it like to raise your kids in this very different environment? What are some of the things that you're thinking about or that are happening that you're like, what is this happening? I am learning so much as an adult who like did not grow up around the ocean. Yeah. Being around boats and .

All of the stuff that I didn't even know about. And then I just feel like it's so special for my kids to grow up around mm-hmm. This different lifestyle that I didn't even know existed. I didn't even know I loved bears, but I love bears and my kids are like just chomping on this edge grass.

Hanging out with the bears. Yes. Like it's nothing. Yeah. You know? Yeah. I don't know. I hope that they don't take for granted their special circumstances. Yeah. Yeah, totally. That's, that's interesting. 'cause that's something that Willie and Jack were talking about as wanting to be on the baseball team and Chase girls in the summer instead of being on a fishing boat, but that now they're like, okay, yeah, this was pretty cool.

I know you talked about bears a little bit, but before we wrap up, maybe tell us. Tell me a little bit about like, just some of your favorite things about being here and about this place, . Hmm. Definitely the bears. But the people too, like we build such an awesome team and then we get to spend time with them all summer and we get family time, I don't think anyone else does either.

Like stranded on an island together yeah. And my kids. And, uh, Eli's kids were just all, I don't, nine kids all together all summer. Mm-hmm. It's amazing. And the bears are pretty special too. Yeah. Bears and cousins. Bears and cousins, yes. That's perfect. And, I think my kids will have a work ethic that is,

unique. They, they know a different way of life. You know, we don't always have power it's interesting for me 'cause one thing that I often tell people is that being a teenager in Alaska is kind of amazing. 'cause you can have a real job.

Yeah. I mean a hard job, but. Jobs that aren't necessarily available if you're living in LA or rural Nebraska. Or at least not till you're a little bit older. So that's kind of cool too. I know people often say like, there is someone driving the boat and they're 15. It's like, well, yeah, that's really common.

I'm gonna ask you one more thing . Which is, what is your favorite. Alaska food.

I usually ask people like about restaurants, but this is not exactly a restaurant. Um, yeah, so favorite Alaska food. I do love a good clam chowder. Mm. Abe makes the perfect clam chowder, actually. Nice. And then also crab. Always crab. Yes. I'm with you on the crab. Yeah, I love it.

Okay, cool. Thanks Mariah.



 Alright everyone, this brings us to the end of today's episode. I hope that you enjoyed getting to know the Porters a little bit as much as I have. And reminder, the Alaska uncovered planning. Club is underway. I am answering lots of fun travel questions about Alaska every week. So come on over and join us on Patreon.

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