Boots on the Ground

You know how you notice something, then wonder if it's just you, then someone else says exactly what you were thinking? I can't explain the science of it, or lack thereof, but some of us have noticed that somebody has flipped the light switch on up here. Last Friday, for the first time, it was literally hot in my office because the afternoon sun was so intense. The sun is easily twice as high in the sky as two months ago. And we've picked up over 4 hours of light per day already (which is kind of a big deal when at bottom you hit 5.5 hours).

What does it all mean? Time to come out of hibernation. But rest easy bears. Me first!

A couple weeks ago I hit the nearby, much celebrated Turnagain Arm. Sun, snow, moose - the perfect February vacation destination!

It was nice to see a couple moose along the way. I've seen snowshoe hare up in Denali in summer, when they are all brown, then in fall, when their legs turn white. By winter, they are all white. Moose legs, as you can see, also turn white during the fall, but that's it - the rest stays brown all winter. I wonder what the purpose of that is? I really don't know.

Anyway, it was pretty nice out (supposedly in the teens, but with the sun & a little physical exertion I only had a thin long-sleeved T and a regular T on). It looks almost solid, but all of that ice is flowing in and out with the tide:

I like all the giant ovals of ice out there - I think of them as Alaskan lilypads:

And, at risk of redundancy, it was AWESOME out this past weekend, though colder with the wind, so I was back at it - same trailhead, opposite direction (so I guess not that redundant).

We're headed up to the top of the peak on the left - well, almost to the top. It got too sketchy on the steep side trail to the top with snow/ice over loose, shattered rock. Close enough though.

Not surprisingly, there was a nice bull moose on the trail. With that schnoz and hump, reminiscent of camels, aren't they?

Moose are warriors. There is NOTHING green to eat out there all winter, so they walk around in the freezing cold and eat wood. Wood. They have persevered here for a long time. They are to be respected. And they always keep their eye on you:

They stayed out there unsheltered all winter, while a lot of us cozied up indoors. But now, it's time for more boots on the ground, with my ice-gripping Yak Trax courtesy of my pops:

So, a little huffing and puffing aside, you've got a good spot to just sit, relax, listen to the wind, and watch the ice go by. And how about that blue sky?

It's gotten so bright and pretty warm out (upper 20's), I'm trying not to get spoiled. I remember last year it was FREEZING at the Iditarod, and that's still over a week away. It is gorgeous here now, but I think maybe winter still has a few tricks up her sleeve.