Drawn by Linda Okamoto, Council Cartographer. Revised through Day 830. The physical map hangs in the longhouse. This is the text companion, because not everyone can read Linda’s handwriting, and because Linda uses her own symbology that she has explained once and refuses to explain again.
Settlement Core — East Shore, Chuck Creek Drainage
The settlement sits on the eastern shore of Heceta Island, approximately 2 kilometers north of where Chuck Creek meets the sea. This location was chosen by the first arrivals from Craig for three reasons: proximity to fresh water (Chuck Creek), a protected cove for boat access, and a relatively flat clearing in the forest where the canopy thins enough to allow garden plots.
It was also chosen because the first arrivals were exhausted, it was raining, and this was the first place that didn’t look actively hostile. Settlement planning under duress is not the same as settlement planning with options.
Key Structures
The Longhouse — Central communal structure. Post-and-beam, cedar construction. Approximately 20 meters by 8 meters. Houses the fire pit (center), food preparation area (north end), meeting space (south end), and the Archives (waterproof chest, southeast corner). Sleeps up to 15 in rotation during storms. Designed by Tom Kowalski after studying traditional Coast Salish and Tlingit longhouse construction. The roof leaks in two places that Tom insists are “features, not flaws” because they provide ventilation. Nobody believes him.
Individual Shelters — Twenty-three small structures ranging from “competent cabin” (the Petersons’) to “ambitious tent” (Monk’s). Arranged in a loose semicircle around the longhouse. Dale’s shelter is 200 meters away because Dale “didn’t sign up for a commune.” Dale signed up for nothing. None of us signed up for any of this. Dale is just the only one who mentions it daily.
The Smokehouse — Jim Taggart’s domain. Cedar-plank construction, built over a stone-lined fire pit. Capacity: approximately 50kg of fish at a time. The smokehouse is the single most strategically important building in the settlement and it smells like it.
Greg’s Tower — A 6-meter wooden platform supporting the solar panels, wind turbine, and shortwave radio antenna. Greg built it himself over three weeks. It sways in strong wind. Greg says this is “within design parameters.” Greg’s design parameters appear to be “it hasn’t fallen down yet.”
Water Systems
Chuck Creek — The settlement’s primary freshwater source. Flows year-round from the island’s interior ridgeline. Water quality is excellent after filtering and boiling. The creek also supports salmon spawning runs (pink and chum primarily, with occasional coho), making it both our water supply and a significant food source. The Council has established a 50-meter no-construction buffer on both banks.
Rain Collection — Fourteen cedar-barrel collection points throughout the settlement. On Heceta Island, rain collection is less “supplementary” and more “the sky won’t stop giving us water and we need somewhere to put it.” Current storage capacity: approximately 2,000 liters. This has never been insufficient.
Food Zones
Garden Plots (3) — South-facing clearings, partially sheltered by the tree line. Bev’s operation. Growing potatoes, kale, turnips, garlic. The soil is acidic (common in temperate rainforest) and Bev has been amending it with crushed shell from the beach. Deer fencing is constructed from woven cedar branches and is approximately 60% effective, meaning 40% of the kale goes to deer, which Bev considers an ongoing personal affront.
Intertidal Zone (South Cove) — Shellfish harvesting area. Butter clams, cockles, mussels, chitons. Access is tide-dependent — the best harvesting window is during negative tides, which occur roughly twice monthly. Dr. Tanaka monitors for paralytic shellfish poisoning risk by observing water temperature and algal conditions. She reminds us regularly that PSP “will kill you faster than the bears, and with less warning.”
Berry Grounds — Multiple locations, mapped by Linda with seasonal notations. Primary species: salmonberry (May–July), blueberry (July–August), thimbleberry (July–August), huckleberry (August–September). The berry grounds are shared with the bears, who have priority by virtue of being bears. Berry picking is a group activity, partly for efficiency and partly because nobody wants to surprise the Commissioner alone in a thicket.
Hunting Territory — The island’s interior, above the creek drainage. Sitka black-tailed deer are the primary game. The Council regulates harvest — currently 2 deer per month maximum, which Tom’s deer census suggests is sustainable. Hunting is conducted by teams of 3-4 using salvaged equipment. Dale hunts alone because Dale does everything alone. His success rate is annoyingly high.
Danger Zones
The West Shore — Exposed to open Pacific swells. Rocky, steep, and battered by weather that comes off the ocean with nothing between here and Japan to slow it down. The west shore is beautiful and will kill you. We have posted this on a sign at the trailhead. The sign reads: “WEST SHORE: Beautiful. Will kill you.”
Bear Corridors — Brown bears move through the settlement area primarily along three routes: the creek (salmon access), the south ridge trail (berry access), and directly through camp whenever the Commissioner feels like it. Linda has mapped these corridors and color-coded them by frequency. Red corridors are “do not build here.” Someone built there. It was Dale. His secondary fish cache was destroyed. He has learned nothing.
Muskeg Areas — The island’s interior contains extensive peatland bogs (muskeg). These areas look like solid ground. They are not solid ground. Tom Kowalski’s 8-year-old, Jake, sank waist-deep in muskeg during a berry expedition and had to be extracted using a rope and the combined strength of four adults. Jake thought it was hilarious. Tom has not fully recovered.
Routes to Elsewhere
To Craig (Sháan Séet) — 25 kilometers by water, across Bucareli Bay. This is our primary trade route and the closest functioning community. The crossing requires calm conditions and takes 4-6 hours by kayak. Dale’s motorboat (fuel supply: limited and declining) can make it in under 2 hours. The Craig delegation visits monthly; we send a trade party quarterly.
To Klawock — 30 kilometers northeast. Accessible by water. Klawock maintains a larger population (~200) and has more established agricultural operations. Trade contact established Day 400. They have potatoes and goats. We want both.
To Hydaburg — 45 kilometers south, on the southern tip of Prince of Wales Island. Haida community with deep traditional knowledge and established self-sufficiency. They were better prepared for The Correction than anyone else in the region, because they never fully stopped living the old way. They’ve been generous with knowledge. We are trying to deserve that generosity.
To the Mainland — Unknown. Juneau is approximately 300 kilometers north. The radio suggests some governmental structure is re-forming there. We have not attempted the journey. The open water between the islands and the mainland is not something our current watercraft can handle safely.
Linda updates the physical map weekly. Copies are not made because we don’t have a copier, and because Linda says her map is “a living document that exists in one place, like a landscape.” We think this means she doesn’t want anyone else drawing on it.