I’ll sum up the pieces: a short post-trip note about Iowa, a successful Hatcher Pass rescue, a tragic Kotzebue recovery, a harrowing bear encounter where a woman defended her dog, and a little shooting range footage — with the original quoted passages left intact and the embeds preserved.
We just returned from Iowa after a visit playing grandparent, which is its own kind of joy and mischief. The heat there made coming back to Alaska feel like stepping into a different world, and that relief is something you notice the minute the plane lands. Home here means cleaner air, cooler temps, and a quieter pace that suits the bones.
Up near Hatcher Pass two hikers got turned around in cold, potentially dangerous conditions but were found and escorted back to the trailhead. It’s the kind of story that could easily have ended worse, so it’s worth pausing to be glad when people make it back safe. These rescues remind you how fast weather and terrain can change in Alaska and how important it is to be prepared.
Early Saturday morning, Alaska State Troopers received a report through the iPhone Emergency Relay Center that two men were lost in the Hatcher Pass area. The report indicated both individuals were experiencing symptoms of hypothermia.
Troopers say the pair were equipped with a tent, sleeping bags, and food, and were sheltering in place while awaiting help.
Alaska State Troopers contacted the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group to conduct a search and rescue operation.
Around 9 a.m., rescuers located the hikers approximately ten miles up the Gold Mint Trail. Crews then escorted them back to the trailhead on foot.
Officials say no significant injuries were reported.
Not every search ends with that kind of relief, and unfortunately our next item is a reminder of that darker possibility. A Kotzebue hunter who went through the sea ice last fall was found deceased after months of searching, which is a tragedy that underscores how unforgiving remote places can be. When a momentary lapse becomes life-ending, it’s a heavy blow to the community and the family.
The body of a Kotzebue hunter who went missing after falling through sea ice during a hunting trip last fall has been found, according to his wife.
Bergman Pete Nelson Sr., 58, was discovered Sunday by a Kotzebue resident — his nephew Vern — after months of search efforts that stretched through winter conditions, according to his wife Charlotte Nelson.
”It’s a relief, a sigh of relief, like we can finally quit wondering where he is,” she said. “We can finally put him to rest.”
Nelson had been missing since Nov. 1, 2025, when Alaska State Troopers said three Kotzebue men riding a snowmachine and two four-wheelers went through the ice near Lockhart Point north of Kotzebue.
Kotzebue is far north and not forgiving of mistakes; travel over ice and open water carries real risk. The family deserves our condolences, and those kinds of recoveries, while they bring closure, also bring sorrow. There’s nothing to score here — just respect for people who make their lives in places most of us never see.
On a lighter but still tense note, a woman near Skilak Lake ran into a nightmare scenario when her dog collided with a bear. Hearing your dog make contact with a bear is about as stomach-dropping as anything in the woods, and the encounter quickly escalated. Her response was quick and forceful, and it’s a stark example of how unpredictable wildlife encounters can be.
A bear is the last thing anyone wants to run into in the woods face to face.
Even worse, hearing your dog run into the bear first.
“I just, I don’t wish that upon anybody to hear those, but as soon as I heard the bear, I heard the yip and I heard the bear and I registered what was going on,” said Lori Price, who encountered a bear around Skilak Lake.
Fortunately, Price was carrying bear spray and a Glock 43 9mm pistol.
“I pull my pistol and I shot, boom, down like a sack of potatoes goes the bear,” Price said. “And I was like, okay, good, lights out.”
After that, Price’s other dog, Willis, was unharmed and ran to her side, and she looked to see if Chaos was okay. Despite seeing blood everywhere, he was still moving.
“I’m like, okay, good,” Price said. “My dog’s alive, he came, I could see his head pop out, then all of a sudden there’s like this bloody mess. I was like, ‘but you know what? He’s alive,’ where that’s like a good thing, and then all of a sudden the bear gets up.”
Price’s first shot didn’t kill the bear.
“I shot the bear a second time. Bear goes down,” Price said. “Okay. Bear’s gotta be down. He seems like lights out. We’re – we’re good.”
After calling Chaos to her side, the badly injured dog dragged himself to her side, but they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“All of a sudden, the bear gets up again. And I’m like, ‘oh my God. What?’” Price said. “So, I tried to shoot it a third time.”
The trio didn’t wait around to see if the third shot landed and high-tailed it away as fast as possible. When looking back, Price said she saw the bear lumbering off in the other direction.
Bears are resilient and scary when things get violent; a 9mm is small for a bear, but in this case it appears the defensive actions helped keep the people and at least one dog alive. Predators will see pets as competitors or prey, and abandoned animals in rural places often don’t last long against native wildlife. Chaos looks to have a fighting chance at recovery, and that’s something to be grateful for.
Finally, while in Iowa I swung by a range and put some steel on target with my son-in-law, a little reminder that time with family and simple pastimes anchor the rest of the stories we live through.
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