Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 About twenty yards from the cabin were two big steel drums, each the size of a large garbage can. Dad used his knife to pry open the bear-proof lids. Inside was everything they needed to keep from freezing and starving to death: a sturdy tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, a first aid kit, a camping stove, and a pot to melt snow for water. Plus, there

was enough moose jerky to feed them for a few days. Of course Mom and Dad had made sure they were prepared—even for this. The sounds of the fire filled the air. Sizzle. Crackle. Hiss. Boom! A window shattered. The thick smoke burned Jackson's nose. Falling embers sizzled as they brushed against his face. But Jackson ignored the sounds and the smells and the pinpricks of pain. He barely glanced at the fire's twisting flames. He kept his mind focused on the work of loading the supplies onto the sled. When everything was piled on top, they dragged it to a spot far from the cabin. That way they'd be safe from flying sparks and embers. As they set up the tent, Mom and Dad worked out their plan. "We'll stay here tonight," Dad said, grabbing a tent pole. "At sunrise we'll leave for Glennallen."

That was the closest town, twenty miles away. In the summer, they'd take their canoe down the river and get there in a day. But it was winter, and the river was frozen. They'd have to walk—a three-day journey. If they were lucky. Jackson tried not to imagine what could happen to them on such a long trek in the winter. They could get slammed by a blizzard. They could fall through river ice. And that winter bear… But he understood why they couldn't just stay here and live in their tent. It was too cold. And just like that winter bear, they wouldn't be able to find enough food. The calendar said that the first day of spring was only a couple of weeks away. What a joke. Here in Alaska, the freezing weather could stick around for months after that. "We'll call Uncle Solly from the general store," Mom said, spreading out a tarp over the snowy ground. "He'll drive up to Glennallen to get us."

Uncle Solly. Just hearing that name helped Jackson relax. Uncle Solly was Mom and Dad's best friend— Jackson's, too. He lived in Valdez, a busy town on the sea about one hundred miles south of Glennallen. Jackson, Mom, and Dad stayed in Valdez with Uncle Solly every summer. Those three-week trips were a chance to take a short break from the wilderness. They'd stock up on food for the winter, see the doctor and the dentist, and go on adventures with Uncle Solly. Uncle Solly lived in a small cottage not far from the busy Valdez waterfront. Jackson felt like a prince as he took hot showers and used the toilet—which was inside the house! And the storebought food! Milk. Eggs. Chips. Cookies. Ice cream. Jackson stuffed himself at every meal. But three weeks in Valdez was always enough for Jackson. The noise, the cars, the people… it was all too much. He never liked saying goodbye

to Uncle Solly. But he couldn't wait to get back home to the quiet of the bush. "How long will we stay in Valdez?" Jackson asked as he pounded a tent pole into the frozen ground. "Dad and I will have to get jobs," Mom said. "We're going to need to save up money to buy supplies to rebuild." "Maybe we can get back here by August," Dad said. Four months. Already that seemed like forever.