Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the office: Opening windows

“Maybe we should open the window,” my cabinmates said.

“No,” I replied.

It was late November 2021 and we were in the Engineer Lake Cabin. The temperature outside was in the high single digits. It had taken a sled full of wood to get the cabin up to a comfortable temperature. Just because things were getting a little hot was no reason to let heat escape.

I was still scarred from an experience I’d had in the Barber Cabin on Lower Russian Lake years earlier.

In similar temperatures, I had brought in a sled full of wood and that too warmed the cabin to a comfortable temperature.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Then the hunt began for more burnable wood. Everything was either too awkward to saw, too green or too wet to keep the cabin warm. The temperature started dropping as I stayed up all night sawing wood, trying to get it to burn, and convincing myself not to walk back to the car.

Those days are over.

What I didn’t realize that night on November 2021, much to the chagrin of my roasting cabinmates, is that we’ve entered a golden age for winter use on many of the more accessible cabins on the Kenai Peninsula.

As a friend recently pointed out to me, newer cabins like those at Kelly Lake, Engineer Lake and Dolly Varden Lake are beautifully constructed and hold heat well, but they also clearly were not built with winter efficiency in mind.

The high ceilings are cool to look at when lying on your back on an air mattress, but old-timers needing cabins to live in and warm up quickly would have judged the lofty beams wasteful.

Thus my problem at the Barber Cabin. It took a bunch of wood to warm the cabin all the way from the ceiling down to the floor. Once all that wood had burned, I had nowhere good to turn.

Enter the Swan Lake Fire of 2019 and the spruce bark beetle outbreak on the Kenai Peninsula. Thanks to those two events, the cabins at Kelly Lake, Engineer Lake and Dolly Varden Lake are surrounded with perfect firewood.

That night in November 2021, I had sawed and split a bunch of spruce and birch that had partially burned and fallen in the Swan Lake Fire. When I was ordering the windows remain shut, there was still some question in my mind how effectively the wood would heat the cabin.

The spruce incinerated quickly. The heavy birch logs burned long and deep, piping out so much volcanic heat that the cabin eventually became unbearable, forcing us to open the windows. Even then, the cabin remained uncomfortable for quite some time.

Cabins in winter have a special type of magic. The long, cold nights. The lack of bugs. The frozen lakes that allow direct routes. The sleds that allow travelers to bring whatever gear, food and libations they want, no matter how heavy.

Jugs of water, cast iron skillets, massive air mattresses with battery-powered pumps, luxurious meals — they’re all on the table.

So load up a sled and visit the wonderful, easily accessible cabins here on the peninsula.

And don’t be afraid to open a window.

More in Sports

Nikiski's Kameron Bird attacks the defense of Matthew Phillips and Lucas Oyoumick of Cook Inlet Academy on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at Cook Inlet Academy just outside of Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tuesday hoops: CIA boys top Nikiski varsity; CIA girls beat Nikiski JV

The host Cook Inlet Academy varsity teams pulled off a sweep Tuesday,… Continue reading

More than 50 people work together to perform a traditional blanket toss during the Kahtnuht’ana Hey Chi’ula Native Youth Olympics Invitational at Skyview Middle School near Soldotna, Alaska, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Native Youth Olympics brings competition, community to Skyview gym

Dozens of athletes gathered in the Skyview Middle School gym this weekend… Continue reading

Cook Inlet Academy's Ian McGarry dribbles against Kenai Central's Ben Harris on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at the Revolution Sport and Spine Therapy Al Howard Shootout at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Saturday hoops roundup: Kenai sweeps Al Howard titles

The Kenai Central girls and boys basketball teams won the Revolution Sport… Continue reading

tease
Saturday: Brown Bears complete sweep of Wolverines

The Kenai River Brown Bears completed a weekend sweep of the Anchorage… Continue reading

tease
Saturday: Kenai hockey completes weekend sweep of Juneau

The visiting Kenai Central hockey team defeated Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kale 5-1 on… Continue reading

Soldotna's Anaulie Sedivy drives past Kenai Central's Ellsi Miller and Gracee Every on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the Revolution Sport and Spine Therapy Al Howard Shootout at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Friday hoops: Kenai sweeps SoHi at Howard tourney

The Kenai Central girls and boys basketball teams swept Soldotna on Friday… Continue reading

tease
Friday hockey: Kardinals defeat Crimson Bears in overtime

The visiting Kenai Central hockey team defeated Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kale 5-4 in… Continue reading

tease
Friday: Bears score late to top Wolverines again

The Kenai River Brown Bears defeated the Anchorage Wolverines 6-5 on Friday… Continue reading

Owen Braband, Hyrum Henderson and Ian McGarry of Cook Inlet Academy celebrate a victory over Soldotna at the Revolution Sport and Spine Therapy Al Howard Shootout on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Thursday hoops roundup: CIA boys knock off Soldotna

The Cook Inlet Academy boys, Kenai girls and boys, and Soldotna girls… Continue reading

Most Read