CNX

Well, I said we'd be back from Adak on Thursday, weather permitting. It didn't permit going in the first place. There is only one flight Sunday, and one Thursday. So, if your flight is canceled, your trip is canceled. It's part of the risk of planning a trip out there, but still - saying I'm disappointed doesn't cover it.

Now, I Have A Hunting License. Ho...Ho...Ho....

Adak. No bears, plenty of caribou, no bag limits. Scattered naval ordnance, occasional Rommel stakes.

I'm not sure whether I'll be shooting anything besides pictures, but I do actually have a hunting license just in case. Likely I'll be sticking with helping out "field dressing" anything we get and lugging it back out.

This trip knocks out two birds with one stone - go on a hunting trip, and go to the Aleutians. We're back New Year's Eve, weather permitting. See you next year!

(More Than) A Three Hour Tour...A Three Hour Tour...

Ahhhhhh - today was WINTER SOLSTICE - shortest day of the year!

Sunrise: 10:14 a.m. Sunset: 3:42 p.m.

It's allllllll downhill from here (until Summer Solstice on June 21: Sunrise: 3:20 a.m. Sunset: 11:42 p.m.) I'm no mathematician, but I think that's about an extra 7 hours of light in the morning, and about an extra 8 at night!

In the meantime, it's the dead of winter when many Alaskans plan to go "Outside" for a breath of warm air.

Hawaii, our fellow non-contiguous state (and a little late to the party), is always a popular choice:

Or, maybe kick it up a notch, and head down to the Bahamas - ahhhh nice.

In banner years, why not turn it up to "eleven" and book a spread in Fiji? Classy!

Orrrrrrrrrr - if you really want a change of pace for your island adventure, you can veer down the path truly less traveled - the Aleutian Islands!

Personally, I'm headed to Adak (marked by the "A"). It's known as the "Birthplace of Wind" - at last report about 34 degrees, winds gusting to 30+ MPH, 1.25 miles of visibility.

Note where Hawaii is at the bottom right.

I'm headed out to Adak on 12/27 . Why on EARTH would someone do such a thing? More to come...

Fog Blind

Generally speaking, I love "freeze fog." I'm not quite sure of the mechanism, I suppose something to do with residing on a large body of water in a cold climate, but occasionally in the winter we get freezing fog. It's different than frost - much more "furry." It attaches to everything it can, usually in one direction with the breeze, but when it goes for a full week, in every direction.


The best is when you get freeze fog, then a little sun - beautiful. Not quite as exciting when you get 7 straight days of freeze fog, but no sun.


This is looking out into the Inlet, toward Sleeping Lady and the other mountains - out there somewhere. You can see all the trees are solid white - that's not snow.



It finally moved out, but only because snow came in (FINALLY, MORE SNOW!) We've picked up an additional 7 or 8 inches lately - in Valdez it snowed six feet in three days!

For the Record

Regardless of what you hear EVERY DAY now on TV, we don't talk like that up here....

Gull Rock

My favorite backpacking trip of summer 2009 (ahhhh, summer - seems so long ago now that we're in single digits)....anyway, cool backpacking trip - Gull Rock. It's on the Kenai side of the Turnagain Arm, out near the confluence of the Cook Inlet and the Arm.

It's pretty high up over the water, so often you're at eye level, or even looking down upon, the gulls. As the raven flies we're only maybe 20 miles from Anchorage, but it's a good hour and a half away by road as you must drive around the Turnagain Arm to the trail head. It's outside of a little town, called Hope.

I was convinced by my backpacking partner that this was the flattest trail in the history of trails. Like death valley salt flats flat.

Not so much. Not exactly a mountaineering trip, but NOT flat. But a very pretty trail. It's quite lush over there, and not buggy at all.

The trail is mostly in the woods, with occassional clearings with views of the arm. This is near the end.

The camping area was AMAZING! It's on a cliff over the Arm/Inlet, wind swirling, waves crashing. Fantastic! And luckily and surprisingly, we were the only people out there, miles from anywhere.

Of course, once we got there, the work was just beginning (for SOME of us). OTHERS of us sprawled out on the ground for a rest, while the menfolk (manfolk?) headed out into the twisted, gnarled woodlands to find and cut dry wood for a fire. OK OK - you know I love it.

Nice sunset that night.

We had a lot of wildfires this summer - made for some sailor's delight sunsets:

On the Kenai side of the Arm there are a series of points jutting out into the water creating little coves. There is a certain view, a favorite of mine, as you drive back up along the Arm from the Kenai which I haven't quite figured out how to photograph of a wonderfully symmetrical series of these points.

Here you can see a series of them from our camping spot. (Sorry for the finger - I appear to be reacting to an off-color comment from my backpacking partner.)

Take two - that's better...

Man, I LOVE these coves. Look at the pic below. Don't you want to go down there?

I certainly do, the next time. I know it's not Hawaii, but coves like that have a "From Here to Eternity" vibe Alaskan style, if the timing is right, anyway. We have crazy tides, so you can't camp down there on the beach as you might hope. I talked to some guy who tried to camp on a similar beach (not so wisely) and woke up being sucked into the Inlet.

Next year is going to be a huge backpacking year.

Your Place, Ermine?

First off, thanks to those who have posted comments - I don't expect them, but they are greatly appreciated.

Quick, random post - a couple weeks ago I went with my boss back to his cabin at Kenai Lake - guns, fire, booze, chainsaws (not in that order), but a first for me was felling trees - the two on the left of the frame gotta go.

Quick work on the first one - the second one, a little more care required - cut the wedge, reverse cut from the backside...

And there she goes! TIMBER! And I'd like to say the raised fist is just a follow-thru, but I'm pretty sure that's a fist-pump. Not so much out of pride (OK, a little), but the fact it fell the right way and not into the family cabin of my boss - that would NOT be a good career move!

Different topic - are those antlers I see below? (check the window with the kid in the back - Jurassic Park, anyone?)

As you can see, no snow in the city post-October? Wow! But, I think there's a little back there in the mountains, and not just high up in the mountains. Oh, and look - a moose!

That is a pretty, pretty bull. He was walking right down a major road as I was on my way back from Lowe's, and crossed the intersection diagonally a block from my apartment at another major intersection (with no regard for traffic, which came to a standstill in all directions as he meandered through about as slow as possible). I ran home and got my camera, and found him in the parking lot of a steakhouse, across from a T.G.I. Fridays and an Applebees.

And I won't do the whole Ranger Rick thing thing, but you should never, ever get this close to a wild animal, even if it's a city moose, and especially in October (the time of the "rut," or mating season, when moose go crazy.) I was at a safe distance, with a bit of zoom, and still impressed whenever he stopped eating that tree to look my way.

Recall, I said this was a random post. And now, at the cabin, the ermine. Hey, little guy!

Coolest pint-sized critter I've seen. He would run full speed toward a tree, or any other object, launch in the air, and rebound 90 degrees the other way. SUPER fast and nimble as heck!

And, of course, not white in the summer, but even without snow yet, ready for winter. I saw a snowshoe hare almost all white as well. Amazing to me to totally change color each year.

I suppose, for the record and in derogation of the title of this post, I should say it's actually pronounced er-men, not er-mine.

The White Whale

A funny thing happened at the office Friday. I've seen pods of beluga whales in the Inlet from my office window on seven different occasions this fall. All you really see are their white backs as they come up to breathe, one by one, but it's both soothing and exhilarating at the same time.

This one unfortunately was left behind by the tide on Friday, on the mudflats which reveal and conceal themselves every day with the extreme tides. This pic is from the paper, as Fish & Wildlife prepared to do some research to figure out how she died (the paper said it was a lactating female - I wonder what fate has visited whomever she was lactating for.) They omitted the scenes in the paper as they completely skinned the whale, and more. My office is in the building at the far left of the picture.

We thought maybe they were preparing to haul her up onto shore, but after they were done they left her out there, I guess to be retrieved once again by the tide.

Not something you see every day at work.

Redshirt

I have driven by Nancy Lake State Recreation Area many, many times, off the highway on the way north up toward Denali. It always looked pretty unassuming, and not so enticing, but after taking the time to head off the main road and check it out, it's pretty darn spectacular! I have no idea why I don't have more pictures. It's a nice 3-mile out, 3-mile back backpacker, and we were lucky to have only one other of the eight campsites taken. Unfortunately, we did not arrange to rent one of the canoes stored out to explore the lake - but next time.

Kind of a cool thing, and I don't know if you can tell, but at night some mini-fog rolled in over the glassy lake.

I was surprised all summer at the abudnance of "dead and down" wood ready to be sawed. And to avoid any confusion, the large logs are seats that were already out there.

There are actually a series of lakes in the area you can paddle across and portage between. That's definitely on the 2010 list. Not only is the rental canoe in order for next year, but there's a strong possibility of a kayak purchase.

Land, Spreadin' Out So Far and Wide, Keep Manhattan, Just Give Me That Countryside

Here's a tidbit - I love farms and farm animals. Especially pigs.

At the AK State Fair, you should've seen the content smile on my face in the livestock hanger. And I mean a pure, relaxed, smile. I could spend all day there. I went twice this year. The first time there was a 950 pound pig who was due the day before. I was REALLY hoping she'd give birth while we were there. We had already petted a 4-hour old goat. No such luck - but when I went back four days later, eureka!!! 10 little piglets!

Oh my - so amazing. Look closely - there's still an umbilical cord attached on the little sleeping piglet below.

Of course, priority #1 for little piglets, like I guess little anything, is feeding. Isn't it amazing we come into the world and are completely defenseless for months and years, but most animals come out walking, playing & eating. When momma finally got tired and rolled over, they all scampered toward the heat light. But they get while the gettin's good.

Not to be a swine snob, I visited the cows too. I'm not sure there were too many animals I didn't have a visit with:

But I have a penchant for pigs. I love 'em.

I didn't take pics, but another cool thing (really for kids, but hey) was the half-dome plastic incubator with eggs. We walked up at just the right time, and over the course of about 15 minutes watched an egg rock, then a little beak come thru, then through MUCH struggle that little bugger finally shed that shell, and collapsed there exhausted, but free. Very cool.

You wouldn't naturally think of AK for farming, but we have great root veggie agriculture. Don't believe me? How about a 146.5 lb watermelon, a 594 lb pumpkin, and a 125.9 lb WORLD RECORD cabbage! Really!

What's that? "Feed me, Seymour!"

So, as it turns out, Alaska has farmin', and world-record farmin' at that. Who knew? Alaska never ceases to amaze me, how about you? Enough to make you want to go out to a U-Pick farm in Palmer and get your hands dirty on a surprisingly warm and beautiful September Saturday (this is before it started snowing three days later.)

The best part was digging in the dirt by hand for red potatoes - as you can see my friends Catilin and Suzan doing below. A lot of people had already been through, making the search that much more rewarding. I cut some up later and baked them with olive oil, sea salt, rosemary and dill - delicious!

And check out the bounty we laid out to split up back at Caitlin's house!

Pigs are still king. But, never, ever doubt the power of the giant zucchini.

Termination Dust

Well, I thought I'd report, now that it's officially fall (1:18 pm autumnal equinox today) that the snow is creeping. We had our first "termination dust" as its called up in the Chugach mountains above town two nights ago, and last night, as shown in the below pic from the Daily News, I think it did a little more than dust!

The good news? The days started shrinking at the summer solstice in June, now at the equinox we're halfway done with the shrinking days then they start growing again at winter solstice in December. Now THAT'S looking on the bright side! Truth be told, we had a long, spectacular summer, winter is beautiful here and brings opportunities for new kinds of adventures, and I'm looking forward to it. I mean, you can't really move to Alaska and not embrace winter, right?

The Eagle Has Landed

Back when I was still living the contiguous lifestyle, I listed some goals to work on in Alaska. Goal #4 was:

"Hike. A lot. And then consider stepping it up a notch to backpacking."

And away we go - first week of June, Eagle River, Alaska:

As you may be able to tell, it was raining. This is a short trip - only a couple miles out to the first of several designated camping areas (by which I mean a piece of flat, cleared ground - not always easy to come by around here). We figured we'd put on the raingear and waterproof backpack cover, hike out, and if the rain was too much, just hike back in and go to Plan B.

It's amazing how much it costs to "rough it." I needed a new tent, new bag, new pad, camp stove, water treatment, etc. etc. etc. Did I already have a tent/pad/sleeping bag? Of course. But for CAR camping - WAY too heavy. On this trip I had the smaller tent, but still my old sleeping bag and pad - I kid you not they took up half the backpack! The ones I have now weigh half as much and take up a third of the space. Oh, and as you can see, after sliding down Rainbow in a previous post (still have a scar from that one) and getting turned back by the river on the Denali Highway by slippery rocks, I scored some trekking poles!

I was nervous about forgetting something, or something going wrong, and it was comforting to know it was only a couple miles back to help/safety. And right on cue - SOMEBODY forgot to bring matches/lighter. Luckily, and completely by chance, I ended up finding some in one of my "diddy bags" in my pack. Cold hot dogs don't sound good.

Between a bit of constant light drizzle and some serious sweating while traipsing around to find, cut, and carry wood for a fire, I was soaking wet. When it started cooling down, it was nice to have a fire handy to dry the hair. Took less than 30 seconds.

You can only carry so much water in your pack because of its weight, so you have to be able to get your own water out there. One of my trepidations was needing to use a filter/purifier. I tried it out in the sink, but that's not exactly field conditions.

The main concern with filtering/purifying water is to avoid giardia. Those microscopic little buggers get in the water from animal business, then if they get in you, you get really sick for a really long time (up to six weeks).

"Glacial river" may sound refreshing (and it is), but in the case of Eagle River it means the water is completely opaque from "rock flour" - pulverized rock scoured from the mountains. I've come up with a better 2-step plan since, but believe it or not this filter, when pumped slowly, took that opaque turquoise-gray water and turned it clear as tap water! Add a few drops of "MSR Sweetwater" purifier solution, wait a few, and you've got some great tasting water!

Then again, when it's you're first run, it doesn't hurt to say a little prayer you don't get sick.

Suffice it to say, we lived. Oh, and if you're wondering what that deal is strapped to the top of the backpack - it's a bear keg (in a carrier). It's a bear-proof plastic food canister bears can't get into. The tree line is pretty low up here, so it's handy to have. Even though there were plenty of trees to put food up in this trip, I left the food on the ground (far from the tents, in the woods) to give it a test. The next morning it was untouched (though I would have been happy to find it flipped over and not where I left it).

Lesson One: GET LIGHTER GEAR!

BORN...for the DNH, I was, BORN...for the DNH.

I know, DNH doesn't exactly make sense for Denali Highway, but I like it. Hey, it's a blog. I guess the second camping trip, outside of the wintry Memorial Day trip, was a trip up to Byer Lake in Denali State Park, then over the Denali Highway, a night at Paxson Lake, then back around the Glenn Highway home. I don't have pictures of all that, but it was cloudy in Anchorage when we left, and the next day was a glorious day on the Denali Highway.

Cool - a Trumpeter Swan. All white with the black schnoz. You see quite a few nesting in the wetlands up there in summer, dotting the landscape.

We stopped and did a little (and I mean little) hike along the way. This is a paradise, but not exactly a hiking paradise. Seemingly flat, yet unforgiving uneven terrain (like hiking on misshapen pillows), and water EVERYWHERE. Oh, and did I mention the landmines? Yep, part of the area is an old army training ground, just last year they found a couple unexploded mines off a trail. Geez.

Why such a short hike? We thought we'd try to cross this river:

Even in June, as you can see, the river hasn't quite de-iced yet.

I wonder if it's cold? Ohhhhhhh yes - it is!!!!!

That's about as far as we got. Not so much because it was cold, but because it was SLIPPERY! We went barefoot, and the rocks were so slippery it was impossible. Any further, and there was ZERO chance of not biting it. I think somewhere I mentioned the thought of trekking poles. This cinched it. If we had poles to maintain balance on the slippery rocks and rushing water, we could have made it. I don't like being held back like that.

Next summer, you'll be seeing a picture from that other bank - that much I promise you. Man I love the DNH (is it catching on yet?)

And as much as I long for summer in the depths of winter - I really do love it when the the grass is green but snow is still on the mountains.