This is when you know it has officially snowed too much this winter!!!
I'm still sitting on some good pics from last year and have slacked on posting! Special thanks to Andrea for inspiring me to dust off the cobwebs. Here are a couple pics from Portage Valley, just about an hour south of Anchorage. How about the P's coming up from sweltering STL to hike the year-round snowfield below Byron glacier! 
Portage Valley - gorgeous! I think the P's agree. 
The North Pole hits its farthest point from the sun at 8:30 pm my time....then it starts tilting back toward the sun already! It arrived sooooo fast this year! I had barely started to notice how dark it was and how weak the light was even when the sun was around.
Sunrise: 10:14 a.m. Sunset: 3:41 p.m.
Tommorow we'll gain about 1 minute of light. But by the third week of January, we'll be tilted back far enought to gain five minutes of sun a day, every day, all the way until Summer Solstice on June 21, 2012. By then we'll have about 15 hours more of sun than today. Wooohooo - something to look forward to every day!
I won't get the quote quite right, but the best bus driver I ever had in Denali Nat'l Park (you generally can't drive in there) said something to the effect that at the zoo they put the animals in cages and let the people wander around, and in DNP they put the people in cages and let the animals wander around. Very true.
Today every living animal in DNP was born during a time when buses ran in the park. So, to them, it's just part of the environment. The bear in front of the other bus in this pic, oblivious to that bus, and to the one occupied by me and my P's, is proof of that.
I've heard tell that some folks go to DNP and do a six, or eight, or up to twelve hour bus tour and see no animals to speak of. Yeeeouch!!! I've done the bus four times (once in 2006 before I lived here, once on my own in 2008, and twice hosting the P's in 2009 and 2011) and have always seen an abundance of wildlife. This last time with the P's we saw moose, caribou, fox, wolves, dahl sheep, over a dozen grizzlies, and more, all very close up.
We also saw the most incredible wildlife encounter I've ever seen, and will likely ever see. I have no pictures, just memories, because it was well within binocular range but outside camera range.
We were just the other side of an area called Polychrome Pass when we saw a grizzly bear lounging in the bushes way off in the distance down the ridge. We were stopped for a rest stop, and he was just chilling down there. As we left, before we knew it, he was on the move. Suddenly a white wolf appeared, and they seemed to be circling one another, but still 30 yards apart, and it really wasn't clear who was after who. Then it became apparent the wolf had something in its mouth, which it dropped as the grizzly circled. No doubt that was food, part of a fresh kill. Then, as the white wolf and the bear closed in on one another, seemingly out of nowhere, because I didn't see them coming, four more grey wolves appeared (some other observers said five) and surrounded the bear. It was completely surreal! Where did those other wolves come from! Then, for the fifteen minutes we got to watch, the bear would launch into a charge toward a wolf full speed, the wolves would scatter, then the wolves would re-establish an attack formation around the bear and he would pick one and charge full bore again. It was UNBELIEVABLE!!! Unfortunately, on the bus, you have to keep moving, so we left at that point and didn't get to see it all play out. These things can easily go on for well over an hour or more.
When we came back by a few hours later on the return trip the bear was back to chilling, I assume satisfied with whatever snack he stole from those wolves. A ways down we caught up with the white wolf (obviously the pack leader) trotting down a river bank back toward the den. I've seen a lot of things up here and I'll say it again - most incredible wildlife encounter I've ever seen, or will likely ever see.
I took this picture June 10, 2008 to show $5.00 gas in Cantwell, Alaska in the middle of an oil crunch. Reflected is me, my camera, and my favorite gas station in America. And the fountain isn't even any good, and I'm a fountain soda aficionado.
You may or may not recognize the name Cantwell as the junction of the Parks Highway and my beloved Denali Highway, the expansive, spectacular area about 4.5 hours north of Anchorage featured many, many times on this blog, and soon to be featured again from a trip this fall. Cantwell isn't good for much more than gas, but the Cantwell Chevron became something more to me over the years. I always stop at the Chevron for gas (one of only two gas stations in town, and the one less likely to be featured in a horror movie "inspired by true events"), but while it may just seem like a fuel stop, you have to understand it's always been more than that for me. The last chance I have for the luxury of a restroom, for last minute supplies, and most importantly for cell phone service to let someone know where I'm going before it's too late, or to report I made it back OK. I don't think I can really explain it, but stopping at the Cantwell Chevron has always been part of an important tradition for me.
As of Sunday evening it's gone.
Gone, gone, gone. It exploded, but not from the tanks. Thankfully no one was killed. A 25 year old employee suffered burns while heroically running back in to save people. Five people were injured, I think three hospitalized. I hope they're OK.
I hope it comes back.
So imagine you invite your parents out for a boating excursion on a nice summer day the third week of July. Now imagine the sales job involved to convince them to pack long johns, hats and gloves! Luckily my P's heeded the advice, and we comfortably had the great fortune to sail out of Seward and see glaciers, puffin, dall's porpoise, seals, stellar sea lions, otters, fin whales (huge, and new to me), and humpback whales.
What troopers! It's pretty much always cold on the water down there - third trip for me, second coldest.
I camped I think five times along Denali Highway last summer and it was always cold at night this year. The P's and I camped one night in Denali National Park (northwest of the DNH) when they were here. It was pretty warm at bedtime relatively speaking, but it did get pretty cold in the middle of the night there too, I must admit.
Deluxe accommodations for the P's to be sure in my old 4-person tent equipped with TWO fresh twin air mattresses, BUT I think it's safe to say the camping trips for the P's above the 63rd parallel have come to an end! I guess there's a reason so many people up here camp in RV's instead of on the ground....
I've started fires with sparks on split-open cotton balls coated in Vaseline, sparks on magnesium shavings, and my favorite sparks on char-cloth nestled in a bundle of dried grasses. Spent hours stalking around with a hand saw searching for dry wood to keep those fires going. Filtered and purified my own water on the trail for safe drinking. Learned to use a number of different fasteners, straps, buckles, and knots to great effect out in the field.
And now, I finally know where I get it from........
The classic backpack re-adjust on the baby changing station at Exit Glacier! Now THAT'S using your resources!
Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood, AK, just south of Anchorage.
Creepy hotel. The kind of hotel you wanna make sure you don't visit for all work and no play, lest you become a dull boy.
No hedge maze, but a sweet view from the top of the tram.
Both photo credits to my pops.
Mom & I, the "beach" at Kincaid Park on Cook Inlet at low tide, Anchorage, AK July 2011:
Mom & Dad, trail to Byron Glacier, Portage Valley, AK July 2011:
David Banner, SoCal, July 1979:
Yes. I have slacked on posting. Big time. Sneak preview - my favorite pic of the summer, my mom & I at Hatcher Pass during their visit (photo credit to my dad)
I've been fortunate enough to cram in 3 camping trips in the last 5 weeks, plus multiple hikes (although short ones) and bike rides. There's no excuse for not gettin' while the gettin's good!
The weather, being the weather, can always surprise you - like this spooky sight - that's not the previous winter's snow on the front of that peak - that's the previous night's!
I've been here four years and a week or so, so I'm always a summer ahead (5th summer, 4 winters). Surprisingly, I talk to plenty of people who say "I ain't seen a dadgum bear in dern near (blank) years" (for effect, read that in your head in the voice of an old woman in a country store.) The fewest bears I've seen in any of my summers is five. Last year it took until August, but I'm happy to report I've already come across a blackie, so the streak is alive! Maybe I'm a like a bear magnet - talk about a double-edged sword.
Do I have a picture of the bear? No. Or of the baby moose I saw the other day or the bull moose with velvet antlers? Ah - sorry. Would a squirrel suffice?
Out of context I would have guessed this guy was some kind of prairie dog - actually, it's an arctic ground squirrel. Is it just me, or is that squirrel giving me the stink-eye?
With all the wild animals around it's nice to retire to the comfort of your Chalet, with Denali rising above the clouds through the window....
There was a much better joke planned here, if I had remembered to take a picture of the full context of the "Chalet" window. So I'll just say it - rest stop pit toilet (like a permanent port-o-poddy) - seriously, have you ever seen a better picture from a port-o-poddy?
I'm a huge fan of hiking around above the tree line for obvious reasons - 100% visibility, no surprises - especially when you're on your own. Pretty light for 9:30 p.m. huh?
Unstable weather patterns + mountain air currents = "isolated showers" to say the least. Better than anything on TV.
Sometimes, when you put yourself in the right place at the right time, with a little patience, the world just unfolds for you. (if you can't make out the rainbow, click to enlarge)
Going on midnight (sunset 12:11 a.m., sunrise 3:41 a.m)....
You may notice the divot on the right side of the tent - low 40's and SERIOUS wind that night - thank you rain fly! Inside it was like a peaceful little sanctuary.
No pic, but this morning on the way to work I passed a guy walking a reindeer. I mean, seriously, walking a reindeer, on a leash. That's not something you see every day! And just when we were overcoming that Northern Exposure image of a moose walking down Main Street....(or not)
I have head-to-toe raingear - from the waterproof lid, to the waterproof shell, to the rainpants, to the Gore-tex hiking boots (which I almost never wear) or the Gore-tex day hikers. There is SO much water around though, a pair of XtraTufs is a real blessing. It's amazing how many boggy/swampy/marshy areas there are - and having some sturdy rubber boots opens up a lot of doors (this is from an excursion on, you guessed it, the DNH.)
Also, I won't crow (or raven) about it too much, but I was able to gather the components to make a fire without matches by using flint and steel on some charcloth, with a tinder bundle of dry grasses, twigs from a dead tree, and wood from the same dead tree. It was actually too easy considering the dryness of what I was able to gather (and my crazy skills - just kidding!) Still, I don't know that many people who have started fire without matches or a lighter, just sparks, so I'll give myself a little credit. But what I've managed to do isn't in the same universe as the "friction method" of making fire (a.k.a. rubbin' two sticks together) which is exceedingy difficult. That's a long term goal, but a goal nonetheless.
Oops! I started a post, left it in draft mode, and forgot about it.
The last two posts were a two-parter from a trip on the DNH - I just couldn't help but go back the next weekend, over Memorial Day.
I camped in the very same spot (if it ain't broke, don't fix it). The first trip the nearby lake was slushy:
The next week - not so much! (not exactly the same angle, but pretty good from memory, eh?)
There was a pretty cool view of Denali down these railroad tracks. I walked down there a ways, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get a pic I liked. But I still like the pic of the tracks (the white at the end of the line on the left ain't clouds, it's Denali.) I also picked up a stray railroad spike, which proved amazingly handy at splitting reasonably sized pieces of wood using the non-business end of my hatchet. Mostly, I just like those vast blue skies, at long last.
Denali is a "pluton" - one enormous block of granite being pushed up out of the earth. It's still growing, at roughly the same rate as your fingernails. But if you think this kitten doesn't have claws, it's claimed seven lives already this year, which is way out of whack. We may be on our way to a grisly record.
Up on the DNH, buds were finally starting to come out on the Western, lower elevation side (2000-3000 feet). But on the Eastern side (3000 - 4000 feet) spring had certainly not sprung. I saw a young caribou but didn't post a pic because he didn't look so great. But, to quote Dr. Ian Malcolm, nature finds a way. The moose have had their spring calves even though food is scarce.
I saw a moose way out across some hills and on the other side of a long, narrow lake, but something didn't look "right." I was safe to move closer, and she would have no reason to get too freaked out with a natural barrier between us. When I stalked up closer a binocular view confirmed what had looked funky - she had a newborn (no more than 2 month old) baby moose nursing underneath her! Then the twin calf popped out from the brush in the background. Too far away for a real pic, but below is mom, and you can see at least the blur of one baby behind her. The babies are like puppies, prancing around on pipe-cleaner legs too long for their bodies. So awkward, and honestly so freaking cute. I can't help but think of the tough road ahead for them to make it. Sometimes best to just focus on babies and cuteness.
It just doesn't get dark around here at this point. I grabbed three pictures, 4 minutes apart, of the sun sidling down behind the mountains. Using those gunsight mountains a reference, look how far it moves from left to right in eight minutes. Then it kind of skims around back there, and comes back up a few hours later.
It got dim for a bit after that then light again. These pics look a little dark, because hey, if you aim at the sun, you have to crank down the amount of light coming into the camera. It's amazing to think that in just a couple weeks the Earth will start tilting back the other way already, and the days will actually shorten. "Shorten" being a relative term when the sun is up for almost 19 hours! Still - A LOT of summer to go!
I promised more pics from this season's first trip to the DNH - here goes.
A portion of spine near camp confirms it - it's the boneyard me mateys! Navigating these lands will take a portion of my cunning...no, wait....allllllll my cunning! (TV reference - someone will get it - I'm looking in your direction, Denver.)
Pop quiz - which fire ring is mine? Hopefully that's a no-brainer.
I came across Ptarmigan (prairie chickens), moose, showshoe hare, a predator to be named later, and a couple porcupine. Porcupine in full sprint is akin to me in full sprint. I assure you any blur in this photo is purely a product of my unsteady hand, as the porcupine is perhaps the only land mammal I might be fast enough to beat in a 50 yard dash. I suppose that's why they need those nasty quills to survive. And perhaps why I need the modern quills provided by a .454 Casull!
Go in peace, porcupine.
There are a lot of little burrowing animals in the area. There are also a lot of little bones (and "leavings" packed with little bones) around. Tough sledding for the meek I guess. This is a standard burrow with dirt kicked out at the front door....
So what the HECK excavated this! Industrious.
I have a general rule - don't go back in time weather-wise in AK. In other words, if you have green leaves in Anchorage, don't rush out somewhere that is a month behind. DNH is the sole exception.
It's still in melt mode up there, so where otherwise it would just be marshy, there are creeks and big reflecting pools of water. This is a direct outflow from the lake in the last picture...
Big pine trees like that don't tend to grow under water! The pool around it is probably almost three feet deep.
Not surprisingly, it never got dark. However, that doesn't preclude a nice sunset.
Just after midnight, I saw something trotting along about 150 yards out from camp. It was a wolf! When it saw me it turned and disappeared. T-H-R-I-L-L-I-N-G! I watched him for a good five seconds before he saw me and took off (wind was in my favor - and perhaps my cunning!)
It was t-shirt warm during the day, but after about 10:30 or so the temperature absolutely plummeted - 20's for sure. I subsequently had a "moment" at about 1:30 before going to bed, as I could not feel my fingertips and was keenly aware of the fact there was not another human for at least 25 miles an any direction, and plenty of other critters between. I'll speak more directly to the "moment" later, but for now, as I think Bruce Springsteen sang, "BORN for the DNH, I was, BORN for the DNH!"
