Walking the Dog

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)

XtraTufs

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.

A trois

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!

The DNH, Part Deux

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!"

Sanctuary

The Denali Highway....

a.k.a Highway 8.....

a.k.a the DNH...

a.k.a. the Boneyard.

It opened for the season Sunday, May 15. I went the first chance the following Friday.

As a reminder, it's called the Denali Highway because it was the original and only route leading to the National Park from Canada, but it is completely separate from the National Park - there is a whole other highway in between. It is officially the Denali Highway, and it is officially Highway 8. The other two names are my own. Before you say it, I know DNH isn't an accurate acronym, but for whatever reason it is my favorite name for it. And if you wonder why I also call it The Boneyard, well, read my previous blog entries! Or, you can just wait for one of the follow-ups to this one.

Anyway, let's keep this between us, because most people who live here don't even know about this 135 mile stretch of Heaven, and rental car companies forbid touristas from driving it because it isn't paved (although I seem to remember aiding and abetting a violation of that rule in 2006 when I myself was a mere tourista.)

It is one of my favorite places on Earth. It is my sanctuary. I'll post a good dozen pictures and story later this week, but for now I'll post a preview pic of my campsite. If you click on the photo you can see my modest little campsite with my tent at center right, and more importantly the greatness and vastness of this place in comparison.