Growing Up in Alaska
Jonathon Frankson
Thru-hiker from small Alaskan town won't stop talking about himself locals say:
I am Jonathon Frankson, also known as Roadrunner on a trail near…..my house for now. I’m an indigenous Alaskan, I'm a thru-hiker, and overall just a guy who once hiked a long way and likes the outdoors. I was born in Kotzebue, Alaska—a small village in the Arctic Circle. My mother flew down south about 150 miles to Kotzebue to give birth because at the time the little Inupiat village of Point Hope, where I spent the first three years of my life, didn't have any medical services. Point Hope is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in North America, dating back some 2500 years.
It is here that I have my earliest memory. My uncles were getting ready to go on a hunting trip, and I remember thinking I was going with them, only to be devastated when told I was too young. Today, subsistence hunting is incredibly important to the survival of the Inupiat people, but almost 30 years ago with hardly any infrastructure and no economy, subsistence hunting was the only way to get food. Looking back, I just wanted to be included with whatever the grown ups were doing. But I like to think a small part of me wanted to help with the survival of our family.
When I was three, my mother met my step father and a year later we moved to Craig, Alaska about 1380 miles to the south. It is here where I have what I believe to be my second oldest memory. Although I have heard this story so many times, I may have attached images to the story that my mother loves to tell. My step father managed a restaurant two miles from our house. Periodically my mom and I would walk to the restaurant to visit and have lunch. One day I got tired of waiting for my mom and I walked there by myself. I marched right into the kitchen and demanded food from the cooks. About an hour later my mom came into the restaurant in hysterics looking for my step father thinking she lost her 4 year old son—only to find me sitting quietly in the corner eating a bowl of ice cream. Sorry mom. It is here that I like to think I found my independence, love for walking, and of course food.
A year later our family moved from Craig to Trapper Creek, where I went to school and spent the rest of my formative years. If you have ever visited Denali National Park, chances are you drove through my town. And if you blinked you probably missed it.
Trapper Creek has an elevation of 352 feet. And 50 miles north sits Denali, the tallest mountain in North America standing at 20,308 feet. To say Denali dominates the landscape of my childhood is no understatement. It is probably the reason why I want to climb it so bad. Right now the plan is to climb it in 2022 with some hikers I met while on the Pacific Crest Trail. But that story hasn't played out just yet.
In Trapper Creek I had a childhood similar to many I suspect. I was out every day riding bikes, building forts, and even had some Mario Kart thrown into the mix. However there are a few quirks added in. Such as saddling and riding a polar bear to and from school everyday. My family’s Igloo melting every summer in the 70 degree weather, resulting in us being homeless till it started snowing again. And of course the birch bark we used as money. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but skiing was a part of the curriculum in elementary school. There were even a few times I couldn't get to the bus stop in the morning because a moose decided to hangout in the driveway. Not quite as epic as riding a polar bear, but pretty close if you ask me.
One thing that does stand out is fishing being such a big part of my life. Part of my weekly chores in the summer was to go out and catch some fish to bring home for dinner. I had to ride my bike five miles down to the creek and catch enough fish to feed a family of six. I even got in trouble a few times because I didn't filet the fish before bringing them home. When I was 15 I had to bargain with my dad, about going on a weeklong rafting trip with a friend's family. My dad wasn't worried about me or my safety. He was instead more concerned with not getting his freshly caught fish for the week. We made a deal however. The week before the trip I had to fish twice that week to make up for being gone the next week, and when I got back I had to go fishing twice that week.
Despite fishing being literally a chore that I had to complete before I could do anything fun with my friends, I used to sneak out of the house at midnight and meet up with friends to... you guessed it; go fishing. During the middle of summer Alaska has about 22 hours of sunlight. So, despite the late hour we would fish in the sunshine drinking beer on the creek. How would a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds get beer you ask? Well, someone always has a brother or cousin. Despite all that, I spent my rebellious years sneaking out of the house to drink a beer and do some chores.
Overall I am pretty damn happy about where I grew up. When I was a kid I hated it. I wanted to live in a city, not a town with 700 people in it. I wanted bright lights, concerts, and summers that lasted longer than 2 and a half months. I'm a bit older now, not much wiser yet, but you can keep the bright lights of the big cities. I prefer the midnight sun sitting beside a creek. You can keep the concerts; I'm an aging millennial, and I don't understand what the kids are listening to these days anyways. But, I do wish our summers were just a bit longer.
Follow Jon’s latest adventures: @jonathonfrankson
