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.

9/11

Just a couple thoughts on the eighth anniversary of 9/11:

1. Everyone remembers where they were. I was asleep. Being in CA at the time, everything started unfolding in the five o'clock hour my time. I remember hearing the phone ring, much too early for anyone to be calling me. But I didn't get up, because, being a couple thousand miles from any potential family emergency, no one could be calling me for that reason. When I got up, before I showered or anything, I figured I better check the voicemail.

It was my dad. There had been some kind of terrorist attack in New York. I shook my head - "What?" I turned on the TV, and the announcer was very solemnly describing the scene at the World Trade Center. I didn't understand what I was seeing. Then, without really any surprise, more of a tone of resignation, he said we were watching the SECOND tower coming down. In the smoke, I hadn't even figured out the first had come down, and now was watching the second come down, astonished. My mouth was open. I lost it.

2. I had to go to work, like everyone. Did anyone in America actually get any work done that day? No one knew what was going on. It wasn't "over" yet. What was going to happen next? Probably, outside of the morning news on the TV, my most vivid memory is this. Sharing a parking lot with my Allstate sales office was a little Denny's type restaurant. I remember seeing a couple come out with a little baby. She was maybe six months old. I remember staring at her, and I'll never forget this, thinking she didn't know how her world, and the world I had known, had just changed forever. For all the stresses of the Cold War, and nuclear fears when I grew up, what world would she know? Suicide bombers in malls in Iowa? Bridges being blown up in San Francisco? Everything seemed like it was about to crash down.

Eight years later, I'm amazed. Whether it be boots on the ground, luck, or divine intervention, no one would have believed on 9/12 we wouldn't be hit again. And again. And again. Thank God for that.

9/11 hit me hard. It hit everyone hard. I had just visited my brother out there over Labor Day 2001. I had been up in the World Trade Center earlier that year. Though I hadn't visited it on the Labor Day trip, I had just seen the World Trade Center eight days earlier from the air on the way back to California. Eight days earlier, it was there, out the little jet window. Right there. A girl I dated in California the next year lost her aunt and cousin on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center.

Everyone should remember 9/11 in their own way. For my part, I remember it in two ways: 1) There are people in the world on 9/11 who host parties, not memorials. I don't want to forget that; 2) Firemen, EMT's, Police, etc. regularly, not just on that day, run TOWARD danger in order to save others, not away. No one is perfect, but there is a special place in heaven for those who put their lives on the line for others. God Bless Them.

Over the Rainbow.

OK - here we go. Perhaps it would have been better to operate in a "post-as-you-go" fashion this summer - but I was too busy! So, let's drift back to long, long ago - May 2009. When the Devil's Club was just budding, instead of being 9 feet tall with both needled stalks and sharp leaves:

Back when warm May temperatures portended a spectacular summer, even if some of the trails, while seemingly crusted over, where slow to give up their suddenly knee-deep snow fields.

When Portage Valley, while Anchorage was brimming with spring leaves, was still clinging to winter vestiges despite Memorial Day campers tucked in to the Alders.

And when perhaps pools were opening in the Lower 48, but winter's lingering icy grip still sealed glacial lakes in Portage Valley in ice.

But a short time later, and only 45 miles to the north (yes, I said north) the sun was already warm. Looking now in September at the mountains stripped of all snow from a long, hot summer, and looking back at these pictures...dare I say? I prefer some snow on the mountains. Before long we'll have all we can handle.

Outside of camping, there were a number of day hikes in May/June. I did (part) of a trail near McHugh Creek along the Turnagain Arm with my friend Beth. These hikes start down near the water, but this one really wasn't too strenuous - lots of switchbacks.

Aha - proof I dragged Beth all the way up here (and I DO mean dragged).

Speaking of hiking up from water level, this is another hike, a few miles down from McHugh Creek, up "Rainbow." I've hiked part way up Rainbow before, and if you look back on this blog there are some pics. Saw a black bear out there. It was cool. I thought this time I'd go all the way up, that it wasn't that much farther. IT WAS. It made the McHugh Creek hike seem like a Sunday stroll. McHugh Creek may have well been named "Miss Daisy Creek." There were moments of hand-over-foot, using all fours to get up. There were moments of "that next rise has the be the last," but it seemingly never was. No switchbacks on the steepest parts. I thought I might die from exhaustion. I'll admit it. I stopped a couple times, looked down at the ground, and was literally pouring sweat.

It was worth it, though - especially since I didn't have a heart attack!

Way down there on the left of the highway you can see a little turnout parking lot where my truck is. Now the only problem is you have to hike all the way back down! This hike, after my feet went out from under me on two particularly steep, loose sections, and I went sliding down the mountain, drawing blood, was the first time I really considered buying trekking poles. More on that later.

Summer 2009 Redux

At one point this summer I camped six weekends in a row. And now, as I get them toghether, all the pictures of adventures I neglected to post all summer...