[bird sounds]
[wind]
[projector whirl]
LYNN: Iâm spoiled with my lifestyle.
I mean, I started out as a child in the backseat of a Super Cub. And my dad flew everywhere.
And so I just kind of grew up with it. And I kind of accept it as - itâs just natural for us.
[projector whirl]
Iâm Lynn Ellis and I grew up on a homestead in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Iâve been flying within these mountains since I was 16 years old.
[wind howling]
LYNN COCKPIT HEADSET: When I was a little kid, my dad took me on my first airplane ride.
Flew up there, flew over the edge of the Nebesna glacier.
And of course I was probably, what, 7 years old maybe? And ah, I never have forgotten that.
[engine rumble]
LYNN: The ability to be able to access places that are inaccessible, basically.
I mean, thatâs a real gift.
And Iâm really thankful that Iâve managed to be able to do that all my life.
[engine turning and starting]
[birds singing, insects humming]
[water splashing]
[loud thunderous crashing]
LYNN COCKPIT HEADSET: So much freedom here, and so much beauty. And it never getâs old.
[engine rumble]
LYNN COCKPIT HEADSET: I donât know the words for it, Iâm at a loss for words. But, itâs just, awesome.
LYNN:This is where I grew up, and so it becomes home more then anything.
[babbling water, splashing]
My mother was one hell of a backwoods lady. She taught us all the things that we needed to know.
It was a subsistence - a true subsistence lifestyle.
I worked for my dad as soon as I got to be old enough to do things and was in his guide business.
And then I started my air service, and I flew air charter out of Gulkana for â what, 30 years out of âem.
[clanking, engines]
Weâre going to fly, kind of up into the caldera on Mount Drum.
My job designation, now, is 2181 Pilot. So what I do is I fly for the park.
I primarily, I haul a lot of the maintenance people around, because thatâs the only access we have is by air.
I fly search and rescue missions if they come up. I fly the rangers and the LEâs.
And we do eagle surveys. We do moose surveys. We do caribou surveys. We do wolf surveys.
LYNN COCKPIT HEADSET: Air traffic, ah, 757 is overhead, Jake Spare, 4,000.
[engine accelerating]
LYNN: And what I really wanted to do when I came here, was to pass on my knowledge of the Wrangells
to the younger rangers that are coming in,
and to be able to mentor the pilots, the newer pilots that come in.
[wind]
And as I get older, I realize that my time is running out.
I just seem to pay more attention now to nature than I did before.
I actually think that it â it helps me deal with the mortality of the human race.
[low rumble]
[distant plane engine]
I think that if we can keep what weâve got, basically, especially the wilderness designations,
I just think to have this vastness that we have is unique, and we should endeavor to keep it, like it is.
[wind howling]
[low rumble]
You really begin to feel humble and you feel small in these mountains. I like the feeling of small.
And you get up against one of these mountains and youâre in your airplane and itâs so tiny.
Itâs smaller than any mosquito ever was.
And you fly around this mountain and look at it and itâs like â itâs a good feeling.
Itâs just a really good feeling to know that thereâs bigger and better things out there.
[wind]