Adam and Shayla Swain met in 2009 while working in Alaska’s Chugach National Forest. Over the next decade, they settled in the gateway town of Cooper Landing, started a family, and launched a construction company called Backcountry Builders. Now, they spend their days camping with their three kids in some of the Chugach’s most remote corners while building cabins for the National Forest Foundation.
They’re among just 200 year-round residents of Cooper Landing, located 100 miles south of Anchorage. The town swells to some 3,000 people every summer when visitors from all over the world come to fish Kenai River’s famed salmon run, hike the forest’s 60 trails, and enjoy the area’s epic scenery.
We spoke to Adam and Shayla about how the Chugach economically impacts their small community.
What brought you to Alaska?
Adam Swain: A friend was living in Cooper Landing and suggested I get a seasonal job to check it out. So I started working in trail construction for the Chugach National Forest in 2009, and that first month I met Shayla.
Shayla Swain: I was working in the wildland firefighting crew at the time. Then we were recruited to play in a community softball tournament and that’s how things started. We were working an eight-on, six-off schedule, so during those six days, we’d go explore together.
What led to the launch of Backcountry Builders?
AS: After three years with the Forest Service, I started doing general contractor work and commercial building jobs. It’s a really small state, and if you excel, your name gets around. I began running projects all over and was barely home. When Shayla got pregnant with our third, we knew it was time to start something of our own.
How do you partner with the National Forest Foundation?
SS: Our first project as Backcountry Builders was actually two cabin remodels with the NFF. It was a great experience.
AS: This summer, we’ll be working at a remote cabin near Meridian Lake. We’ll helicopter all the building materials to the site and our family and employees will hike in. It’ll be camp life, with Shayla running business operations remotely and the kids running amok.
How does the community of Cooper Landing depend on the Chugach National Forest?
SS: Ninety-eight percent of our town’s economy is based on recreation that comes in and out of the Chugach, between hiking, fishing, rafting, kayaking, hunting, snow machining, and skiing. We have maybe 200 residents year-round, but in the summer, that grows to at least 3,000 from both visitors and every businesses bringing in their employees for guiding, hotels, and restaurants.
"We have a population of around 200 year-round, but in the summer, the town hosts some 3,000 people on any given day."
How has the area’s growing tourism impacted your business?
AS: Because of short-term rentals, the lack of land available, and the fact that we’re close enough to Anchorage that the majority of houses down here are second homes, it’s very difficult to afford something here. For us, it makes it challenging to find long-term employees. All the younger folks that live here are seasonal for the most part. Many of them would be here year-round if it was possible.
What’s your favorite part of the Chugach National Forest?
SS: We spend a lot of time in Resurrection Pass. Every spring we try to stay in a lakeside cabin along the trail. I helped build Trout Lake Cabin when I worked for the Forest Service, so it feels super special to us.
Follow Backcountry Builders on Instagram at @backcountrybuildersak. Book a stay at one of Adam and Shayla’s recent builds, the Porcupine Campground Cabin, located on the shores of Turnagain Arm. From there, spot beluga whales on a hike to Gull Rock, fly-fish Resurrection Creek, and explore the historic town of Hope.
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