Full Teapot: Tiedeman Cabin

Our dear friend, Tom, died on Easter Sunday.

He'd been fighting pancreatic cancer, hard.

It's still hard to believe that he's not with us, and we miss his friendship, laughter, and love of life.

Tom spent many years studying geese on the Copper River Delta, and loved the place so much.

A few weeks after he died, we spent a few days at Tiedeman Cabin, out on the Delta and deep in the country Tom loved.

The cabin is 7 miles down the Alaganik.

We’ve canoed as a family before, but mostly on lakes, and never on a river that gets so big. And, we’d never canoed as a family downstream of the Alaganik boat-launch. Even though we had good maps, and had quizzed people about the route, tides, safety etc., it felt a big adventure.

The day we left was beautiful, and canoeing was easy with the outgoing tide. Lots of ducks along the muddy banks, geese honking, eagles lining the river edge, and seals following us. The cabin itself is beautiful; big views and lots of life to be seen from the front deck. It really felt coastal, and we loved watching great displays of jaegers chasing the terns. The boys got a real kick watching the “pirate birds”.

The steep take-out beach was the most challenging part of day one. Thick, super slick mud that was hard to navigate with kids and gear, but we did it… and hauled the canoe up the steps to the dry ground around the cabin

That evening, the light was magical. Clear clean air, vibrant colors, birds singing everywhere. We explored the area behind the cabin… the boys loving the thick wet moss, and beautiful ponds. Leif is into small life, and quickly stripped off to look for water beetles. Peter spotted a short-eared owl, and there were two phalaropes that let us get super close. We took the canoe up a narrow winding slough, exploring old beaver dams and really soaking up the feel of the Delta in spring.

It was such a mix of emotions. It felt so sad to know that Tom can no longer tromp in this place that he loved so much, we wished he was there to help show and teach us about the Delta, and we were sad knowing we couldn’t share this experience with him. But, it also felt really peaceful and positive to celebrate and think about Tom, and really be present in a place he loves so much. And, to try to soak up the beauty and privilege of the place as much as possible. I also felt he’d be proud of the boys on the trip. They were great team members… even when cold, muddy, and hungry towards the end. When Peter got tired walking through the deeper bogs, he'd say "Tom would walk in this ALL-DAY"... then he'd speed up, put his head down and keep going.

The next day, we each wrote a note to Tom on paper hearts, and boarded the canoe again in search of the perfect pond. After some paddling, and quite a bit of stomping through bogs… we found it. Sheridan Glacier glowed behind the pond. There were pintail and phalaropes on the pond itself, a snipe standing guard nearby, and two geese flying overhead. The air was really buzzing with spring energy. We gathered at the edge, spread some of Tom’s ashes, and sent our hearts floating off with them. It felt incredibly sad, but also peaceful. It’s a beautiful place, one that Tom would love. And, it will be a great place for us all to go back and visit.

Later that evening the wind blew, and the cabin rocked. The water was too rough for paddling home the next day, so we holed up in the cabin and played cards, read, drew pictures… and tried to keep boy wrestling games to a minimum… We put on raingear to burn some boy energy and search for fiddleheads to help our dwindling food supplies.

The paddle home the last day felt long, even though it was only 4 hours. We had to walk the first little bit due to low tide and a fairly stiff head wind, but it got easier the further up the river we went. It was cold and wet, but the canoe was a great boat for us all, and word games helped keep the boys going. We made it back to the car just before slack tide, and breathed a sigh of relief.