04 — Seasons
The refuge does not have a high season and a low season. It has four distinct refuges, one per quarter of the year, each with its own light, its own animals, and its own kind of silence.
Fall
September — October
The peak. Nearly the entire Pacific population of brant — plus emperor geese, cackling geese, and tundra swans — stages on the lagoon. Cold clear mornings, gold afternoons, the loudest silence you will ever hear.
Summer
June — August
Wildflowers across the tundra, salmon in the streams, bears working the beaches. The most forgiving weather window — gray often, but rarely cruel — and 17+ hours of usable daylight.
Spring
April — May
The birds come back first. The light gets long fast. Storms still arrive without warning, but so do the first emperor geese and tundra swans. A quiet shoulder season for those who want the refuge to themselves.
Winter
November — March
For those who want the volcano in snow and the lagoon in slate gray. Few visitors. Total quiet. The Aleutian wind as your only company, and Frosty Peak rising white above the village.
If You Can Only Come Once