Missing my Sandals

Hello winter!

2008-10-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well the weather has officially changed up here in the last frontier, and we are well on our way to winter...already. The past week has seen mornings in the upper 20's and today when I got in my car to head to work it was a balmy 22. The cold isn't so bad, but we are getting our first windstorm this evening and it's been a bit blustery. Luckily, the wind is blowing out of the east and not the usual winter NE, which makes for quite a chilly day.

One thing is for certain, experiencing actual seasons really makes you appreciate the beauty of the natural world. Everything has died off or gone dormant for the season and it's a wonderful thing to know that come april life will spring forth out of the ground once again. In Florida, I never really took notice of seasonal changes until the last few years I was there, until I really got into surfing or began exploring the natural areas around oviedo and seminole county. Experiencing these changes forces you to face the world and be more in tune with whats going on in the world...well at least the natural world. No longer can I leave things outside, or expect to have the sun heat the house first thing in the morning, or even count on the fresh produce we have been recieving for the past 4 months. The time for layers is upon us, and I don't mind, because with this change comes snow, and powder and the revelation of experiencing the beautiful alpenglow on the peaks of the talkeetnas and the chugach. I can't wait for Erin and I to be able to head up to hatcher pass or even just around the corner and experience the pinkish hues on the mountains while traversing the trails on cross country skis. I love it here. We love it here and every day is a new suprise.

A little lunch break penning

2008-09-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

I began the day in the Field by driving up to Buffalo Mine Road. The road follows the canyon, winding and bending with frost heaves, rolling dips, non-existent shoulders and eventually steep drops to Moose Creek on the Northeast side of the road. As you head deeper into the canyon, the walls begin to grow and the road eventually reaches the lower reaches of the canyon walls, with rolling benches heading North towards the castle mountain fault at the base of Arkose ridge, within the coal shale filled Moose Range, part of the Talkeetna Mountains.

My duty today was to remove all signs and flagging from the Buffalo Mine Road fire area and then place boundary markers and signs around the new firewood area we have set up. I always enjoy these days because it means time alone in the woods, a clear conscious and the sounds of a fall breeze blowing through the spindly poplar and aspen leaves. The past two days have been especially beautiful, the hues of orange, red and yellow foliage glowing brightly under the puffy clouds and snowcapped mountains of a Fall day in Alaska. The colors are bright and beautifully arranged as if painted by a master. The Fireweed glows yellow transforming into bright reds, filling up meadows often as far as the eye can see. Sometimes, if you’re lucky enough you can reach a meadow filled with fireweed blanketing the understory and willow trees that scream the color of a yellow raincoat, glowing together and begging for you to stop, watch, listen and wonder in quiet contemplation. The silence in the meadows is broken only by songbirds fluttering through the branches of the willows, singing to each other as if commenting on the beauty of the day and discussing when the first big snowfall will be.

Today unfortunately was not one of these cloudless days. A front moved in yesterday evening and filled the sky with low hanging clouds, blanketing the higher peaks with decent snowfall and leaving a drizzle among the lower and warmer portions of the valley. Still, the scenery is beautiful and I am thankful for a day of work out of the office. When I began to reach my destination, I decided to drop the truck into 4x4 and push my way up into the timber, better to get my truck off the road. My first destination brought me along the edge of Moose Creek, at the base of the canyon leading up into the Moose range. As I opened my door, I heard what I initially thought of as a dog howling, after all this is Alaska and many people have sled dog teams, especially in this area. While I stewed on this for maybe a few seconds (really how much someone can stew on something in such short time I do not know), I came to the realization that, no this was not a a dog but instead the deep bellowing howl of a wolf. I began to wonder how safe I was, after all I was about 5 miles from the nearest large road and there were serious numbers of Moose out here. As I peered in the direction of the yelping and howling something caught my eye, first a quick glimpse between the yellow birch leaves; then gone. Then I saw what looked like a very large grayish/white dog, with an unusually bushy tail running down the side of the canyon across the other side of Moose Creek. …WHOA. I had just seen two wolves and I couldn’t have been more exhilarated and fearful. I strapped on my 12 gauge and brought my bear spray with me, because for all I knew they were going after a Moose on the River, or coming to check out myself and the rig. Being alone in the woods is a beautiful thing, but being alone in the woods, with predators and no access to immediate help can be very intimidating. I made my way around the property, eventually cooling my nerves by listening to the sounds of birds, a comforting sign that no predators were lurking in the tall grass or among the willow and birch saplings. I had probably overreacted on my initial thought that the wolves were interested in me, and I’d like to say I had a dances with the wolves experience, but no, I was nervous, and I still have that suburban uneasiness when I first enter the bush alone. I think it will only fade with time, but until then a can of bear spray will do my nerves good.

We all think we understand what it took to homestead on frontier lands, the hard work and toil, but I don’t think until you truly have to face some of the harsh realities of the real world that you can truly understand how hard life is. Reading stories that lead others to idolize people like Chris McCandless, kind of make me cringe. The wilderness is no joke. It’s not there for the taking. I don’t think those of us at home in the suburbs, with our gas heating, cable tv and 16 oz mochas can understand how dangerous these penned images can be. The fear of the unknown is very real, and if you wander out there unprepared and let it take hold of you, your mind will run wild with awful images and originally unforeseen consequences. Since moving to Alaska, I have so much more respect for people who really took it upon themselves to move away from home, search for their niche in a community or in the wilderness and then actually succeed in doing so. The quiet, the immense beauty, the hard work and sometimes the failures of well thought out plans are all very special parts of life up here in the last frontier. I guess what I’m getting at is that real happiness can only come from being connected with something you love, something you have put sweat and tears into, toiled hard hours to succeed at and no amount of money, computer programs, game consoles or hilarious prime time sitcoms can change that. I hope people can understand what I’m saying and not just laugh or shrug this off because it makes them uncomfortable to think about their place in our culture. Too many people make decent wages but look unhappy or just unenthusiastic about anything. Thus, I will end this note, the rambling thoughts of a man who has the distinct pleasure, honor and very appreciated privilege of being able to work in the woods. It’s wet and pretty chilly out there right now, but who cares, I’m working in the woods and the sun is trying to break through the trees. Perhaps I’ll find some more wild currants, I’m tired of seeing only cranberries over here, because I’ll tell ya, wild cranberries are certainly not the ocean spray variety…whooeee are they sour. Ok, no complaining, I hope anyone who reads this has a wonderful day as well!

Whoa now!

2008-07-11T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well it's definitely been a very long time since I've updated and I apologize for that. Summer time is hectic here in Alaska, and seeing as it's so short and the days are so long, we are usually out of the house most of the time. Erin and I are getting in to the swing of things, her working at trailside camp and me for the Division of Forestry.

From what she's told me and what I can see, Erin loves her job...at least the getting paid to be outside part. She comes home smiling most days, and I try too as well. My crew and I have been doing work all over south central, AK and it's been a really humbling and learning experience. These kids are so smart and I feel honored to lead them through these resource projects.

As for news on the homefront, Erin and I love our place and all of our flowers and fruits are in full bloom. Pretty soon we are going to be inundated with fireweed honey, raspberries, cranberries, rosehips, watermelon berries, strawberries and others. We've been trying to utilize as much of our natural bounty as possible and it's been a neat experience. The weather has finally warmed, relatively speaking, to a constant mid 60's to lower 70's when it's very sunny. It's been beautiful but of course mixed with days like today...I'm fogged in and feel like we're in Seattle.

I'll have Erin update next, but seeing as she's out bike camping in Eklutna for her job, it'll have to wait. Love you all!

Alaska at its best

2008-04-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

I just want to say I love Palmer. It’s a happening place. Let me outline my day for you. First off I must admit I should have ridden my bike the 4 miles into town instead of driving. Oh well, I will do this tomorrow. It’s a beautiful springtime 45 degrees and we are in transition from winter to green springtime. I ate lunch today at one of the new restaurants in town called the Red Beet Café. It’s a pretty neat little place and every week they run a Friday art and tapas showcase. The food is all locally grown or butchered and the meals are perfect size. Also, on Friday evenings they have live music for a few hours. This was my first meal at the Red Beet and it went well beyond my expectations, it was fantastic. I’m writing this update from Vagabond Blues, our local coffee shop, located about 2 blocks from the Red Beet, just past the old train depot and borough library. I love this town and it’s getting better every month. I just have this great inclination that things are happening here and unlike most places, there’s a real attempt to keep local business alive and commercial consumer giants out.

Besides the red beet, a few more places recently opened up. A long time coming has been Turkey Red, a new restaurant serving locally baked breads, poultry and pork along with only organically and sustainably grown produce. This restaurant is really neat and adds another nice touch to the cleaned up downtown area. In the same little plaza (not ugly strip mall, but small plaza on the strip) there is the Valley Winery and a few boutiques. The winery is a really cool place where you make and bottle your own wine, and then let it ferment there. They sell wine making kits as well, and they are all about educating people on making their own beers and wines, which is pretty simple considering the amount of sugary goodness that naturally covers this beautiful state (blueberries, rosehips, strawberries, crabapples, cranberries, raspberries and fireweed).

On top of all this, my friend Tony just opened up a new bike shop, so we now have a locally owned and operated bike store to cater to Palmer residents and in going with the trend it’s in the downtown business section of town. There’s a real sense of community here and it blows away any notion I ever had of a small town, it’s beautiful. People care for each other, watch out for one another and always lend a helping hand. There’s no question about giving a person walking a ride to the top of the hill, or helping someone with car trouble. I imagine this is what Erin’s hometown Vero Beach used to be like before the developers and businessmen got their hands on the small beautiful beach town. I can’t wait for the festivals, carnivals and fireworks this summer all which will take place in downtown. I know this “downtown” district sounds weird since I’m describing a small town, but it’s kind of a misnomer. The “downtown” is a 2 block wide strip that is maybe a quarter of a mile long, with homes and residences spread out across an easily accessible grid system, just as most people would picture the quintessential small town USA. There are no strip malls, shopping malls, 1000 acre suburban sprawling developments (yet and hopefully for a while), billboards or overly manicured lawn areas.

It’s local, it’s natural and it’s beautiful. I think to put the icing on the cake, today I saw elementary school teacher walking their classes down the sidewalk to the library in town, while kids walked the streets heading to the bookstore and coffee shop, as cyclists rode by to head to work or play. As they say…Palmer: Alaska at it’s best.

aurora

2008-03-28T02:12:00.000-07:00

been watching the Northern Lights the last 3 nights. You may also know this occurrence by its other nomenclature such as the “aurora”, the “aurora borealis”, or simply…“the lights.” It’s a pretty spiritual thing to watch these waves of bright light dance on the cold night sky, twisting, twirling, bulging and glowing among twinkling stars and snowcapped mountains. The lights bulge with intensity and then fade, sometimes lasting for hours, other times as quickly as a few minutes. At first you simply think to yourself…Hey, where’s that light behind the mountains coming from, what’s going on over there? You see, it’s a strange thing to see new lights on the horizon here, especially when not coming from due south. Light pollution is still pretty minute; so a backlit mountain range to the north throws you off kilter a bit. But then all of a sudden you realize, oh yeah, nothing up that direction for the next 300 plus miles, the lights must be going off!

It’s pretty weird at first, but then you just stand there dumbfounded and awestruck, silent in the winter night, staring up towards the heavens in silent unknowing praise. It’s so quiet at this point, I mean so deafeningly blank, that you can hear your heartbeat as you breath in and out trying to take in this glorious site…that is until everyone seems to oooh, ahhh and hoot all at the same time.

It’s a pretty beautiful thing, the northern lights. In this age of scientific explanations for everything, answers to supposedly all our problems, and a technology to remedy any malady…there’s still something that’s so spiritual and perplexingly mystical about this world. Science can explain the how, and possibly the what; but there’s no way anyone will ever prove the why. Why do the northern lights happen and what’s the point? Yes it’s electromagnetic fields; yes it’s photons from solar flare periods reacting with those fields; but why? No one knows, and I think its best that it has stayed that way. There’s too many answers for everything in our world and sometimes it’s still good to have a faith and belief that there’s still something special out there.

Update

2008-03-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Whoa, it’s been a while since I’ve updated. I can’t type much because I have to go work at Sherrod Elementary for a bit but I will quickly post some pictures. Needless to say, Erin and I had a great honeymoon in Jackson, Wyoming. It’s a place of great natural beauty and of beautiful people as well (as soon as you get below the surface façade of recreation industrial tourism). We had a great time snowboarding, saw some amazing artwork, enjoyed the classic Americana of Wyoming and the conversations with many a local residents.

These pictures are from my camera. We didn’t take many because, well, we were having fun. Erin has some great pictures, a lot better than mine, but I haven’t downloaded them yet. Maybe I’ll put them up some other time.

Erin bootpacking lower Moran

Same caption as above
Resting in the sun after attempt at the boulder section
Hiking up to hit some fluffy pillows!

2008-02-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Went up to Hatcher with Rob & Sierra today. Of course, after spending time making sure I could properly fasten my snowshoes to my pack, I promptly forgot my snowboard boots, thus making it wholly impossible for me to test my pack out. In the end, this dilemma turned out to be alright, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fun jumping down a mountainside with snowshoes on could be. It was pretty insane, you would just jump through the air and take 4 – 5 ft. leaps down through the fluffy stuff. The picture and short video I’ve posted are from our little avalanche pit we dug at the top.

On the drive up, the snow looked decent enough, but upon ascending the ridge we came across multiple signs of potentially high avalanche danger. Luckily, we were on a pretty low angled slope and could choose better options down. Near the top there was a large slab of wind and sun crust. This didn’t seem too bad until rob saw a propagating crack in the snow pack that started at sierra’s foot and ran about 20 ft. down the slope.

Sierra beginning to dig a pit. Notice the top layer.

Crack of settling snowpack under our weight

Holding a block of slab material

Size reference

This slab equals bad news. We had 3 weeks of frigid conditions with no snow. The snow turned mostly to facets (sugar snow), which would have been great skiing. Then it warmed for a week and wet heavy snow and rain fell on the mountains. This wet snow froze, became windblown and now has sun crust as well. The faceted snow from the cold weather has almost no support capability and acts like balls bearings under the solid slab of frozen snow on top. This leads to high avalanche danger. It was a good day to practice our avanlanche skills, that’s for sure.

Notice the sugar snow falling from the block:

This block from under my feet weighed about 30 pounds.

Rob holding the same piece. Close to 6 solid inches of slab!

Holding a piece of slab in one hand, and a handful of ball bearing like sugar snow in the other.

Sierra & Rob inspecting the chunk

The video shows how the hard layer on top has very bad support from the faceted layer of sugar snow beneath it.

Beauty in the eye of the beholden

2008-02-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

The snow is blowing in from the Northeast in drifting white versions of dust devils. The mist of snow is picked up by the cold winter wind and blown clear across the frozen fields of hay, only to land god knows where; in a gully, against a tree, pulverized and sucked of all moisture until it evaporates completely. The sky is a deep gray haze, a blustery winter day if I’ve ever seen one. The winds are howling at around 30 miles per hour, and the blowing snow has increased to blowing snow and precipitation. While the grayness is dreary, it adds a sigh of relief to nature, a return to precipitation and a quick respite from bitter cold and moisture sucking arctic sunlight.

The snow is beautiful, no matter the color of the sky, but what’s even more beautiful is the way a snow drift piles against bails of hay, hiding from the wind behind other snowflakes, building up until the snowflakes make a windblown, semi-wind proof barrier. A cornice of sorts, yet only set behind rolled bails of hay. The deep brown of the hay, lingering through the coldest winter days, has been frosted ever so slightly by a layer of white fluffy snow, resembling confectioner’s sugar coated on top of a tasty cinnamon roll. The whole scene of blowing snow is backdropped by dark, tall and foreboding stands of spruce/hardwood mix forest, the tall trees swaying in the wind like divinely made metronomes swinging to the beat of some distant drum.

It is a beautiful day. God bless!

2008-02-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Well, for some reason that I don’t know I decided to give skiing a try today. As a pretty die hard board sports fan, I really hate to admit it but skiing was so much fun. It was more muscle intensive, better balanced on my knees and felt way faster. The technicality was very surprising to me. I will definitely keep snowboarding, but I’d like to try skiing more as well. For the deep powder stuff it’s a snowboard all the way, but for groomers and minimal snow, the skis are killer!! I somehow managed to pull off a few black runs in my first day. Hey, I guess the skis count as boards too right?

The weather was amazing with clear skies, misting crystals of snow and plenty of sunshine to warm up the snow into a buttery pleasantness. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the story telling!

Girdwood, AK

Rob in the Glacier Bowl

View of Upper mountain from chair 6

Carrie not looking and Sierra making a weird face

Snow or Ice Crystals...either way it looked cool

View from bottom of High Traverse

Top of Chair 6 looking north

Elusive Florida Skunk Ape

To top off the day, on the last run we saw a rainbow rising vertically out of the center of town above a single light cloud dropping snow on the valley. The Rainbow had no arch but shot straight up into the sky. I thought about taking a picture, but figured that a photo would never do something so beautiful any justice…it just never does. Tomorrow back to the daily grind.

Sun and Moon

2008-02-09T13:16:00.000-08:00

Well school started this week and again I have been extremely busy juggling with school and working as a substitute teacher. I have a job interview on Monday with AK Fish and Game, so perhaps my days as a sub are numbered…we will see. On another possible high point, Erin and I might get the cottage up by Hatcher Pass that I went to look at. I think I’ll find out some time next week.

While I’m not extremely enthused that I have to spend all day in Anchorage for my rock climbing class, it could be a lot worse. I think the best part of the day occurred on my drive home, about 10 miles outside of Palmer. As you come down from the foothills of the Chugach Mountains, you cross the Knik and Matanuska rivers and then enter an area known as the Palmer Hay Flats. This seems to be some type of tidal estuary or marsh, but most of the time it is not really going through huge tidal changes. Geologists think the land used to be lower, but when the Chugach Terrane ran into the continental shelf of what is now the Talkeetna mountains something like 30 million years ago, the land rose quite a bit, leaving stunted black spruce and meandering creeks in its wake. The area used to flood every spring, but decreasing snowfall since the 1960’s have left less melt water or mountain runoff.

Ok, back to my drive. So these Hay Flats sit at the edge of the Cook Inlet, and looking due south, the horizon is open with no mountains except for the Chugach and Talkeetnas on the sides of the valley. It’s amazing how perfectly these two mountain ranges frame a sunset, which just so happens to occur right in the middle of the valley to the south. All of a sudden I looked left across the hay flats and to my amazement, I saw the most beautiful twilight scene I’ve ever seen in possibly my whole life. The sun had already set leaving the sky a dampened pinkish orange. To the left or southeast side of the valley, a sliver of moon had risen just of the peaks of the Chugach. This sliver of moon had a background of bluish-purple sky melding into the orange and pink in the center of the valley. Rising in uniform parallel formation from the horizon and stacked into infinity were line of cirrus clouds, rising ever higher and only widening with the valley as your eyes gained elevation. It was as if a giant V of clouds was filling up the entire Matsu Valley. These clouds had the background of orange and pink, and as I looked time seemed to stop so that I could sit their, mouth agape, staring at this beautiful display of god’s infinitely great wisdom and choice of location.

Perhaps it’s just the way we as human beings perceive what is beautiful, but I can’t help thinking that this place was created by a higher power. Everything here is in motion, working together, and in a way that it all fits into the scheme of subarctic winter weather cycles, which will eventually give way to summer and high sundogs in the sky, and then again turn into the beautiful harvest moon of September. All of this perpetual motion of nature and change must have been planned, at least at some point by someone or some thing; it’s just all too perfect...and fragile. I only hope it stays that way. I don’t know if I could stand to see what has happened to my beautiful home state happen here.

Thanks a lot Punxatonie Phil

2008-02-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

“Dude, it warmed up to 5 degrees, let’s head up to Hatcher!” These are words I never thought I would hear myself say, let alone live out. You see, this morning started out a balmy 20 below, but in all honestly it felt as cold as it did yesterday. They say that once it drops below zero you don’t notice the temperature change, just the effects on your skin. It really wasn’t so bad. Our plans to head to Girdwood for a Superbowl 2 for 1 lift ticket day were quickly heading down the drain. It was going to be cold, windy and there was no new snow. So, instead of heading south to the Gird, I made some rounds around the farm, stopping in for a chat with Steve in the moose cabin and discussing numerous things, then off to say hellos to Kelly and Jonathon who were dog sitting for Steve and Anne Corinne. This quick jaunt hi with everyone turned into a 3 hour morning of delightful conversation among many cups of coffee.

Talkeetnas & Chugach Ranges

All the while the sun was making its perpetual cycle, slowly increasing its brightness and intensity due to the low angle sub arctic latitude. By the time we were ready to even think about heading out, the sun had cleared high above pioneer peak and was heating everything in sight. The thermometer, which happened to be in direct glorious sunlight, jumped quickly to 10 degrees above freezing. Not a temperature for a picnic or a dip in the river, but certainly agreeable for a nice ski or snowboard, albeit with 2 layers, and full facial protection (at least for my face…beardless).

Pioneer Peak over Mat Valley

The thermometer lied a bit, but by the time we got the crew together up at Hatcher, it was a steady 4 or 5 degrees above zero. Carry, Kelly, Jonathon, Sierra, Rob and I ran about 5 or 6 runs at the mile 16 roads runs. It was pretty fun, the left side of lower marmot was pretty tracked up and skied out, but farther to the north there was untouched powder and great trails through low alder and willow thickets. It was a blast and the cold was no big deal at all, especially with the glaring sun to deal with. In fact, I’m almost positive my ears are sunburned from skinning up the triple benches at Murphy road yesterday, and having to remove gloves, hat, jacket and vest due to a serious sweat I worked up. I mean, it was 10 degree and I was hatless and gloveless, I was seriously that warm from the trek.

Anywho, it was a great day, the Pats lost, and Pat Williams won the game for the giants, oops, I mean Eli Manning. Back to work tomorrow subbing at Colony Middle. It’s not so bad, and it’s hilarious to listen to the things the kids say. I'll have some video up tomorrow hopefully, but nothing too great, and perhaps we will have a third night of northern lights, I keep passing out before they shine in all their triumphant neon brightnessThe pictures were taken just before sunset, overlooking the Matanuska River, and as soon as the sun went down, so did the temperature again…it’s going to be a chilly one tonight. BRRRRR!

Moose Range of the Talkeetna Mountains
(Hatcher Pass)

Welcome back to the last frontier!

2008-01-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

I’ve made it safely back to the North Country. My flights weren’t too bad, although I did get stuck in front of the exit row where your seat does not recline. I would complain more about this, but I made no concerted effort to move. By the time it started to bother me, we were half way between Seattle and anchorage and I just gave in and slept. The flight was pretty sparsely populated, so it wasn’t all that bad, I just slept on my side.

When we landed I was pleasantly surprised to see a pretty good amount of snow accumulation on the ground in Anchorage, over a foot in some spots. This was not a foot of new snow, but inches piled on top of inches. The difference this time is that it stayed. It wasn’t snowing in the urban metropolis of Anchorage (haha that’s funny) but as soon as we hit Eagle River the snow increased and became steadily thicker as we came closer to the valley. The temperature was about 17 when I landed in Anchorage and 11 when we pulled on to the farm at about 1 in the morning. All in all, considering this is the coldest month I am pleased with the temps I’ve observed.

My roommate had to let me in for lack of key, but she was still awake, therefore I only felt a slight guilt in bothering her. She’s really cool and I think we might head to Alyeska today. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy opening up peoples eyes to the wonder up here. I feel like if I give them a slight push towards all the options, than maybe I can influence them to get out and explore on their own. In the summer time I had minimal guidance in finding and scouting places to head in the outdoors, but I guess I did alright. All I did was get off my butt and head out…into the wild. Well, not really but in a sense of the manner that is what I did. Snow was a little more precarious, so I was really fortunate to have Sierra and Rob give me a heads up on some stuff and I also met a few other people from the mountaineering club that gave me some pointers. That’s what it’s all about, people sharing the desire to be in the outdoors. A tip from a person will only go so far, so I really took it upon myself to explore the option and get dialed in. I’ve learned a ton and I still have so much more to explore.

Perhaps this bug for exploration is what drove Shackleton to tackle the Antarctic, or Hillary to attempt a summit at Everest, or even Magellan to circumnavigate the globe. There’s this strange human instinct to find what’s around the next corner, to always keep going around that next bend. They say that is why people lost in the wilds should stay put, because the constant searching around the next bend just leads you further into the unknown. It’s good to know when to say when. There’s one instance where I’ve explored some of Hatcher with my friend Jonathon, and we began down Reed Lakes Trail and had to turn around. We were 5 miles from the road on cross country skis already, the sun was extremely low on the horizon and all we had for warmth were our fleeces and thermals. We’d left our outer shells back at the car because it was relatively warm (about 25 – 30) and we had no plans to continue past the reed lakes trail head. We carried about 30 ounces of water each and lacked any food to keep the body warm. The trail was calling us and the conditions seemed right for exploration. We headed off the main trail, skimming through low alder and old tracked snow about 1 to 2 ft deep. The trail descended and rose rapidly, and the alpenglow rising rapidly along the mountains in archangel valley meant we needed to make it a quick jaunt. We headed down the trail for a ways and stopped at a step below a massive granite peak. We could see the trail wrapping slowly up the side of the valley and towards the glacier, intermingling among car size boulders and patches of alder, another 5 – 8 miles away. The sun was waning quickly and we therefore decided not to press on, but to wait for another day. This trail leads to an old mine and the reed glacier, so I think I’m going to make it an overnight event. I will update more tomorrow and try and get some pictures up.

2008-01-24T05:12:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been filled with a somber happiness. Erin and I are married now, but as quickly as it happened I now have to head back to Alaska for school. I'm looking forward to returning to school in Alaska, to hanging out with friends and playing in snow but I can't help but feel a melancholy cloud sink over me. I'm leaving Erin again, and there's no other way to say it. It stinks.

This past week has been filled with joy from seeing old faces, sharing old stories and toasting to good times with friends. but every time I forget the good times will end, some one gives me a hug and reminds me that I won't see them for a long time. It's very sobering and definitely puts a downer on any situation. I can't be mad at anyone though. I miss everyone so much, but Erin and I can't put the next phase of our lives on hold to hang out in Orlando. If there's a caveat to these moments, it's knowing that the good times were so good because we all planned to "move on" or "get out of here." Erin is extremely ready to get out of Orlando, and any thing I try to stay to focused her on finishing school sounds, well, stupid. I have full confidence that many people will come visit us up in the north country, and vice versa as well. We've just signed up for the Alaska Airlines frequent flier car, so we've excepted the fate of carbon consuming giants. I don't care though, there's nothing as important as family and friends, and not seeing these people is not even an option.

On the topic of family and friends, I was extremely touched that so many people came to be part of our wedding, especially those not in our family. The Scius' from France, Jesse from Washington, Matt Rossen from Boston, Ryan and Kelly, Joe and Kristen and then the dozens of other people who I had not seen in a very long time. It meant so much to Erin and I to have all these people at the wedding, I almost started tearing up before the ceremony even started. Ok, damn, I lied...I did tear up. All said and done it was a momentous occasion. Today I have to begin sending packages up to Alaska, the first of many many packages. Our gifts are piled up in the garage and Im sure they've begun to irk Erin's room mates quite a bit.

Like I said, I'm ready to return, I'm just not ready to leave Erin. She's slowly increasing the pleads for me not to leave her, not in a serious manner but more of a; You bastard, you're leaving me here in this dump while you go play in the snow type of manner. It's ok, I accept this guilt trip with smiles and provide hugs. If only I could just go play in the snow. As soon as I get back I need to start working and looking for a better job. Subbing is great but there's only so much a person can stand.

Oh yeah, I'm bringing back two things that weren't on the wedding list. I name them and not wedding gifts because I find it rude to single out wedding gifts on this weblog, especially since all of them were so great. Sig, Erin grandfather had a bolt action, 12 shot magazine 22 rifle. Lynn gave it to me because she said it was of no use to her or Mike in Vero. The rifle looked pretty ancient, so we gave it a look on the old internet and found it to be between 30 - 60 years old. It's a Mossberg 22-S-LR. A pretty sweet little shooter if you ask me. It's not going to bag me any moose or bear, but it's a great little gun, and very accurate to boot. Dustin came over with his cleaning kit, and we shined, oiled and polished her right up. She shoots like a beauty and has the weight and barrel length of a larger caliber and more powerful rifle. The other gift was a fly fishing rod. Spencer handed this down to me for some unknown reason, and literally would not let me say no. It's good to have great friends, and I only hope I can return the favor some day. Fly fishing is not easy, but I like it, it's complicated, technical and takes more effort (I.e. it's not as boring as laying a line out there and reeling it in). I've been practicing the last couple days and I've almost got the cast down, just need to work on a couple of more techniques. I can't wait to try this stuff out up in AK. I'm leaving the rod here until May when Erin and I drive up north, so she'll probably dominate the Fly fishing category in our family.

FOG and clearing of the mind

2008-01-14T05:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't sleep too well last night, so I gave up around 6 in the morning and got up. After feeding the animals I for some ridiculous reason decided to turn on the TV and watch the news. I've missed a lot of large news stories over the past months, mainly due in part to my lack of television, but also to my growing lack of interest in what is considered "Thorough and good news." Watching the ridiculous political stories play out like a B movie made my stomach queasy. There's really no better way to say it other than this; American news media is crap. Where are the real stories? I want to hear about the economy, what's going on in congress, is Iraq still going on? These domestic issues are of great importance to not only myself but to other Americans as well. More importantly, in the eyes of American News outlets, it seems there are two maybe three regions of the world; The United States, Western Europe and China. I dare not say the middle east, because in the eyes of the media the middle east runs from Libya clear across the Asian subcontinent to Persia, an insulting geographical trend that I am embarrassed by.

Why aren't we hearing more stories about India, Indonesia, Korea?? Indonesia has the largest muslim population in the world, with many terrorist activites; yet we hear nothing about them in the news. Korea has nuclear weapons! What's going on there...I want to know because they ACTUALLY have WMD's. India has a vastly increasing middle class, created by western nations needs for cheap labor. They've been so successful that now they need to outsource jobs as well...oh yeah, they also have nuclear weapons.

Instead all we hear is long and drawn out, supposedly "expert analysis" of who said what and who's a point above who in the '08 presidential race. What happened to solid leads and actualy journalistic research? The media has already narrowed down the winner to be a democratic candidate, Hillary or Obama. This is evident in their lackluster and minute coverage of any republican candidate. This omission of a conservative and GOP candidate race also annoys me. News is supposed to be objective and unbiased! Probably the worst story this morning besides the constant bickering between Obama and Hillary, was the story about the golden globes. WHO CARES! Educators, law enforcement, rescue workers and service corps don't have million dollar award ceremonies where they constantly inflate their egos and pat themselves on the back. Why should I care if the golden globes were "a bore." I understand wanting to follow and know about celebrities, but honestly who gives a hoot if their awards were a bore, guess they can't go out and get wasted or pregnant and then publish it in the newest issues of Us or People....I miss my lack of TV.

Ok, on to better things. Erin and I get married this weekend. WOO HOO!! To say I'm excited is quite an understatement. Both of our families as well as most of our friends will be here and it's going to be one hell of a time. I would write more about this monumental occasion, but I will just let the suspense build and update next week.

I took Cody to the state forest with Sean, Pat and their dog Brutus. we went canoeing/walking upstream for about 2 or 3 miles. We all traded off walking at some point, and it required crossing the tannin filled brown water of the Econolockhatchee River. What an adventure it was. With Cody following in toe I had to run through the brush, sandal clad, eyeing spider webs and thorn covered smilack vines. You either ran along the bank or in the brush, but when the brush got too thick or the wall of the riverbank too high, you had to ford the river and swim across. It was a little hairy, but the cool water and cooler rains kept the gators at bay. At one point Brutus, Sean's dog, jumped across the river and up the other side, chasing two or three huge river otters up the bank and into a secluded den; it was a pretty amazing site.

After I had crossed the stream, I came upon the mountain bike path I used to ride. My sandals became only a hindrance, so opted to throw them in the canoe and run the trail barefoot. This may sound stupid and asking for an injury, but I felt confident I would be alright, after all, our ancestors managed for thousands of year, I figured I would do okay for a mile or two. I ran up and down hills, over roots, nimble as I could be. Cody and Brutus followed, and I felt very free. There's something very primeval and enchanting about running through the forest barefooted, with only a light pack on your back and not a care in the world. My feet made almost no sound as I ran the trail through saw palmetto, cypress knees, leaf litter, over logs and gullies and back down to the river.

We got to the bridge over the econ and hung out as the thunderstorm passed. We waited under the bridge with several bikers, hikers and horseback riders. We decided the rain probably wasn't going to stop and that it was better to brave the far off thunder than wait for the storm to worsen. The three of us jumped in the canoe and paddled downstream to our launch point. The dogs ran and swam behind and in front of us most of the way. It was pretty neat to watch the dogs interact and keep up. Cody was a little nervous that I would leave him, but once he got the hang of things he was in and out of the water, running up on the ridge or bank over logjams and under palmettos frawns. It was a very wild experience and also a great way to shed some of the haze that suburban living will put over your mind. It's weird to see that even our domesticated animals miss the freedom and, need I say "call of the wild." Cody is a pretty free dog, and he's much more at home running in the woods than laying on the couch like most dogs. It was a good day.

I'm backkkkkk.

2008-01-10T04:55:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe that my last post was on November 29th. I've truly been neglecting my blog (I hate that term) and my wanton need for writing down things I experience. I've been in Florida, the sunshine state, since December 15th and much time has been spent enjoying the company of both mine and Erin's families. Since I don't have much to do besides make sure Erin stays calm for the wedding, I've been doing a whole lot of reading and enjoying the outdoors.

I completed the monkey wrench gang, and have started another book entitled "The Good Life." It's basically a book outlining how this couple, Scott and Helen Nearing, decided to leave New York City and live self sufficiently in the Vermont countryside for 60 years. While I don't wholeheartedly agree with some of the anecdotes and ideology that went into their decision, I do fully understand why they left "civilization." The Nearings were pretty much social anarchists, wishing to not partake in wars, business, or social undertakings that had anything to do with a market economy based on greed and bourgeois lifestyles (they began their leap from new york in the midst of the great depression, following the roaring 20's). The topics they cover are as important now as they were in the 1930's, and I could only imagine that the two would have a stroke on the spot if they were standing here in Orlando, Fl. Ok, back to the core subject of the book; how to live a self sufficient life. Outlined are practical and easy methods for laying out gardens, constructing buildings and living off the land. I'd like to try some of their techniques, and I'm pretty excited to make an attempt at this in Palmer, Alaska. I'm disgusted with Orlando and the still rapid suburban/commerical expansion. It's like an amoeba of economic interests spreading and filling every gap of natural ANYTHING in central florida. None of these new buildings will last, yet the construction never stops. What would George Hayduke do in my situation?

On a lighter side, it is nice to experience some beautiful Florida scenery. Although I could do without the ticks, chiggers, fleas and car exhaust (whoops, there I go again). Erin and I have gone on some nice walks, out in Geneva and around Oviedo. It's amazing what you can do with a little local knowledge. Erin had an infestation of fire ants in her compost pile, so while walking a Black Hammock, we plucked some pennyroyal (a low sprawling plant from that mint family that flowers in early spring) and placed it among the compost detritus. It's two weeks later and still no ants. I miss the pines and flatwoods of central florida, they way they stand open to the sun with saw palmetto running like a green bladed carpet as far as the eye can see. But, unlike the pines I can honestly say that I'm not so sad that I left the swampy mess of cypress and hydric hammocks. People really are not supposed to live here. where would Florida be without AC and dehumidfiers? Better off I bet, but maybe not.

Ok, one more thing before I go. I miss my friends. There's a rift there that I haven't experienced before. Not so much with Mikey or Dave but it's very apparent with Dustin and Spencer. I can only assume that this is something that happens when friends move apart. Do not get me wrong, I do not expect my friends to stop their lives and hang out all the time while I'm here. I think it's maybe just the fruition of people going about their lives, taking what it brings and going with the flow. That what I did while I was here in central florida. I truly feel like an outsider here, and I cannot wait to save Erin from Orlando, Florida...The city...beautiful? These were and still are not trivial friendships, so I know it's not that big of a deal. What we all need is a good campfire and some beers to laugh stories over. Where Jesse and I have grown close, others that were best friends seem distant. Perhaps I have changed a whole lot and I don't even notice it, but I know I'm happy so there's nothing I really want to change. Anywho, just some ponderings of a man who feels out of place in a city that is supposed to be wonderful and bountiful. There are upsides here, but I'm finding it harder and harder to see them. Erin is certainly ready to move, so who knows where we'll be in ten years, washington, oregon, california? Only time will tell.

Some thoughts

2007-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

I’ve been informed that I have been somewhat complacent on my blog posting lately so I apologize and will attempt to update more often.

Today I headed up buffalo mine road to check out a back country spot someone had mentioned to me. The road runs right along the Castle Mountain Fault, and then dead ends at someone’s private property. It was pretty amazing driving along the fault, which took the form of a 100 to 300 ft deep canyon with a creek running through it. Apparently many people kayak and fish this creek in Summer time, so I will have to check it out following the break up in April. It was a beautiful drive and at about 2/3 of the way to the private property the road turns to dirt, which by winter standards becomes sheer ice. The road had obviously dealt with a couple of tectonic interactions because some spots had major bumps and dips. Access to the backcountry is via snow machine and 4x4 trails off to the left of the road, all in all it was a pretty sweet experience. You could also see where people had come to cut firewood and Christmas trees (both legal in AK). It’s all good though because the site where cutting took place was within the sustainable yield provided by the Alaska Department of Forestry.

After my little scout trip, I decided to go for a short ski up archangel road, about halfway to the top of Hatcher pass. Cody was with me and the short ski turned into a mildly long one, but it was amazing so I lost track of time. The road up archangel valley starts in thick alder and gradually ascends up into archangel valley and then further upwards into the fork of fern and snowbird valleys. I’ve driven and mountain biked this road in summer time, so skiing allowed me a whole new perspective on the valley. The skies were clear and the sun was shining and it just turned out to be a beautiful day, with both the moon and sun visible for a short time around 10:30. As the road ascends you come under might Idaho Peak and the views just continue to get better and better. There’s a lot of old placer mines for gold, copper and coal up here, so there’s little trails leading every which way. I took a very old trail, not visible in summer time and headed upwards for about 1000 yards. The trail climbed slowly through thick alder thickets, 10 ft tall and with an archway of about 3 ft to ski through. It was a pretty cool experience, but being that I was alone except for cody and lacking my transceiver, I opted to head back down to the road and ski up to the reed lakes trailhead, about 3 miles in. I made it to reed lakes trail after crossing the strange bridge over archangel creek. The views up into the Talkeetnas were so awe inspiring, I felt I should drop down and pray to someone or something. I didn’t drop down, but I gave a thanks to whomever or whatever helped create this place and then went along my way. I could have gone further up the road to the old snowbird mining camp, and then to lane glacier, but I decided to head back to eat some lunch and do a little school work. The way down was pretty fun, and I finally saw that cody was learning some commands for skiing in the backcountry. He usually runs right beside or behind me, but when I tell him to “go-go” he gets in front of me. Then if I say it multiple times he picks up the pace to a quick trot or run (whatever it would be in dog terms). While you could say that this was because my speed was increasing, it’s not just that. When I was going slow and I said the same thing, he began to run and pick up the pace. Come February when I get back from Florida I think it may be time to start training him for skijoring, I’m pretty excited.

Just taking in the views from the trails, and reflecting on life, I really am glad I came up here. I know Erin loves it here as well and I can’t even imagine how much fun we will have together when she gets her in May. Being up here, in the mountains, with their grand vistas and indescribable views, really makes a person appreciate life, love, family and friends. There’s something, in fact a whole lot of things, that are bigger than us out there, and it’s good to be reminded of that everyday when I look out my window. That’s something I think you just can’t get in Florida or in many parts of the world anymore. Florida's natural setting used to be so abundant and widespread, but the state has effectively written most of it off for monetary and economic interests. I will and do miss the sunshine state, but life is too short to dwell on things beyond my control.

Double speak is

2007-11-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

I began reading George Orwell’s Animal Farm yesterday. It truly is a great novel and I wish I could say I was rereading the book, but I’m not going to lie. For some reason I was assigned to read the book way back in 6^th grade. Why on earth would my teachers do this? Geo-political institutions is not a topic that most 11 year olds could discuss, much less grasp conceptually. I digress, the book can be interpreted in many ways, but there is no denying the indirect and very clear references to Marx, Trotsky, Lenin and Stalin.

I’m only 20 pages in and the future depictions of “doublespeak” and “big brother” are already beginning to make their appearances. Orwell was a pure genius and I wish I could have shaken his hand or had him sign a copy of his work before he passed; oh well, such things are not to be. In reading Animal Farm, it has become so abundantly clear to me that education is paramount to a free society. Now, I’m not talking about higher education. Not every person needs or should go to college or university. Humanity just doesn’t work that way whether George Bush wants it to or not. We need architects, builders, electricians, mechanics, farmers and every other job in the market and they don’t all come from a formal higher educational background. This education we need is provided from the very beginning of life and on through the formal education system until graduation. People need to be able to distinguish between political rhetoric and real issues. I’m not angry, but saddened at the state of ignorance our government has allowed people to reach. It’s not their own fault, we’ve built a system geared towards consumerism and needs, and the only way to perpetuate this system is to socialize it in schools. In so many words we teach students to sit idly by, obey authority, don’t question what anyone tells you and always follow the rules no matter what.

Fortunately, I was able to break that cast along with so many others. All around me, everyday I see people beginning to question the world that is presented before them, rejecting their preplanned future lives revolving around a 4x5’ cubicle and opting out for something better, a more fulfilling life. Free markets aren’t all evil, some consumerism is needed to drive the economy and I’m fine with that, but we must always be willing to question with some skepticism what is presented to us. If we don’t learn to question and rebel against unwanted authority then we fail to be any different than the individuals who capitulated to totalitarian rule in the past, we become the Animal Farm. It may not be the Nazi’s or the Soviets, or China or even Fundamentalists, it could be the politician you voted for, or even the business manufacturer two blocks over from your house. In this globalized modern society totalitarian rule may have a new meaning, a new definition and a new face. Knowledge is the key to power…only then will our eyes be open.

That was quite a diatribe but it just goes to show that there’s nothing like a thought provoking book. It’s easy to criticize the society you’ve grown up and been socialized through, but is what I’m doing any different than Galileo or Copernicus questioning the written fact about astronomy; Or post modern theorists creating theories about social construction; or even Karl Marx denigrating the disparities between social classes during the industrial revolution? It’s good to think outside the box, and it’s nice to be able to do so, without Big Brother (or so I hope).

I begin teaching sustainability to high school seniors tomorrow. I’m a bit nervous, but so far the kids up here have been extremely intelligent and open minded. Wish me luck.

Picture re-update

2007-11-17T02:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve been doing a lot of school work so I don’t have too much to update on except that I started substitute teaching and that Erin is coming up in a few days to celebrate the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving. I feel compelled to just post a long list of picture I have taken. I’m not quite sure why, but I really love some of these and they are kind of my ultimate mental vision of being in AK so far. All I need now are pictures including Erin and my set will be complete.

Little Su on Gold Mint Trail

Hermit's Cabin over Independence Mine

Enjoying a rainy ride on Gold Chord trail

The boys at Summit Lake

Dwarf Fireweed in bloom near Summit Lake

Dwarf Fireweed over creek

Matanuska River Valley

Fall at Hatcher Pass

Independence Mine with early season snow

Cody and I atop the Butte

Cody looking out towards Knik Glacier

Building the deck for the wall tents

Late summer at Spring Creek Farm

Grillin Halibut at the MSOEE BBQ!

Early morning call for farm work!

A slight chance of snow

2007-11-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

I just drove home through what could only be described as a TON of snow. Thank goodness for my Subaru and studded tires because the road conditions were less than ideal. I’m not sure if the plows had been through yet, but if they had it made no difference. The snow is literally DUMPING!!! It was a very gloomy day earlier with high winds and general blustery conditions. I don’t think there was supposed to be a whole lot of snow in the forecast, but wow have we been bombarded with quite a storm. We were all hoping for snow to end the madness and I guess we were answered.

The snow began to fall around 2:30 and it hasn’t stopped since. It’s now past 11:00 at night and there’s no sign of letting up. When I pulled into the driveway, no that’s wrong, when I turned onto farm loop there was over a foot of snow on the road. A FRICKIN FOOT!! WOO HOOOOO! I’m most definitely in Alaska, and winter is here!! Even with all wheel drive and studs I was slipping a little bit. The craziest thing was attempting to drive on Lossing road (the road down the middle of the farm). There hadn’t been anyone on the road for a couple of hours and there were no tire tracks to follow. It was like attempting to drive on a white canvas, not fully knowing where the road fell away and the fields began. Driving in the heavy snow was like watching a scene in Star Wars with stars and lights racing by, only live action. The snow was coming down so hard that visibility was down to a few hundred feet (maybe), and 35 mph was the top speed once on the Palmer-Fishook Road.

I had to shovel the porch and steps so that I can get out of the house in the morning and hopefully I can get some pictures for you guys. I’m loving the snow and tomorrow I’m going to get up early and hit up the mile 16 run in Hatcher or do some cross country skiing before class. I’m going to give the snow a day to settle and then head up to the backcountry to burn some very serious powder runs! Woo Hoo!

The nightly forecast, I'd say they were a bit off:

TONIGHT...SNOW WITH AREAS OF VERY LIGHT FREEZING RAIN...TAPERING
OFF AFTER MIDNIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 8 INCHES
OVERNIGHT. HIGHEST AMOUNTS WILL OCCUR OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS
TOWARD HATCHER PASS. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S. EAST WIND 10
TO 20 MPH.

Damn Hippies

2007-11-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

I headed into Anchorage early today. We left around 8:30 this morning, well before the sun had made even the slightest appearance. It was snowing lightly when we left the valley, creating a dense mist and effectively turning the drive into a guessing game. As soon as I pulled into the lot at APU the rain had transformed to light snow and within the hour it became a hefty snow storm, the first of the year for Anchorage. It snowed for about 3-4 hours straight at a steady pace, but it was still warm enough to only keep the slightest layer of snow on the ground.

I had to go into town to attend the Leading Green event at APU, a forum designed to open dialogue and set goals for APU’s sustainability and green policy. It’s one thing to say APU is a green school, but now we are really making a start. In my eyes it was a successfully day, and probably the coolest part was that the president of the university, Dr. Doug North, hung out with us all day. I say hung out because this is exactly what he did; no separation of power or delegations. Dr. North participated in round table discussions, scavenger hunts, tossing of ideas and general mingling among the crowd. He is a great man and I am very proud that he is the president of our university. The most touching and inspiring moment of the day was when Dr. North, during his quick closing speech, thanked all of us for giving him a kick in the behind and influencing him to actually make changes. Money and success can blind one’s goals, and Dr. North, after getting a little choked up, seemed sincere when he thanked us for reminding him of what was and still is important to him. It’s good to be reminded of what a real leader is. To top off this already special event, the coordinators provided us with a student blues/funk band, some ridiculously tasty local pizza from The Moose’s Tooth and a veritable cornucopia of beer choices….all for free.

I drove home in a great mood, carpooling with Steve T., and hung out at the farm house for a bit. The snow was beginning to build up on the farm, and when I walked home around 11 the snow had really begun to pile up and fall liberally. It’s both amazing and beautiful how bright the night gets when you have snow on the ground and a little bit of light in the sky. I love this place and I can’t wait to share it with Erin. Gotta get up early to volunteer with the NAOI Avalanche class and then maybe get some afternoon powder runs in. So, I bid you adieu…

Moose O-Clock

2007-10-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Just doing a little studying and happened to look up and find a family of moose checking out the trees in my yard. The male was quite a jerk.

ED

Dawn Patrol at 9:18...Count me in!

2007-10-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

Cody woke me up early this morning just before 8:00, so I decided to take the opportunity to head up to Hatcher and watch the sunrise, tentatively scheduled for 9:18. It’s pretty cool that you can watch the sunrise without having to get up at an ungodly hour. It may be dark here for a bit longer, but the sunrises are beautiful and the alpenglow of pinks on the mountain with yellows in the sky make for a very memorable and enjoyable experience. The sunsets are equally gorgeous, and from my bedroom window I can watch the sun cast an amber and red glow across the whole southwestern sky, illuminating everything from the Chugach, across the Inlet and over towards Willow. It’s quite amazing.

This video is a mish mash of clips I’ve taken over the past week. I was a little disappointed this morning because the Knik arm had a lot of cloud cover, therefore making for a less than perfect sunrise. The colors were still cool, and it was very clear at Hatcher, so the morning was not a waste, in fact I don’t know how a morning ski in clear beautiful conditions would ever be a waste. The moving shots were taken while I was skiing down the groomed road from the mine. I ate it pretty bad, but after I finished filming. Of course, I would only fall when I'm NOT doing something difficult, go figure. At least you guys didn't see me fall, although that would have been pretty funny to watch. Anyways, when I transfer my footage to the computer it really ruins the colors. Everything on the film is so bright until I bring it over to the CPU, oh well.

They’ve begun to groom the off road ski trails and they are pretty fun. I might give alpine skiing a go. I know it’s bad for your knees, but I’m healthy and I just need to keep them strong. If I can stop and turn on my huge cross country skis then I should be able to at least learn pretty quickly on the downhill skis.

You can say I told you so when I call complaining of knee pain.

Sleep PLEASE!

2007-10-24T03:14:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone. You may be wondering why I am up at 2 in the morning writing a mass email. Well, I was lying in my bed, pleasantly sleep until about 20 minutes ago when the farmer's 2 dogs began to go crazy. They just would not shut up, barking non stop for what seemed like hours. I figured they had spotted a moose somewhere in the woods, but surely they would have stopped barking by now.

I finally got up and went to look out my window, and not more than 30 ft. from my house were two moose. A cow and her calf. They were waiting there, not sure what to do about the dogs, and then made their way right underneath my window. Of course, at this point Cody began to howl like crazy, but I managed to calm him down. I spotted this pair a few weeks back, so I will assume they have taken up residence on the farm for an undisclosed amount of time.

Underneath my window are two crabapple trees and the moose were browsing what was left of the frozen and dead fruits. I opened my window and not 10 ft from me were these two massive animals, chomping away on their early morning snack. I attempted to get some video footage but I just couldn't get enough light. The moose stood out so well against the brand new snow that has fallen tonight and I am more than a little bummed that I could not get a picture for everyone to see. I'm going to try to get some sleep now, but I just thought I'd share my evening, or I guess morning.
__________________________________________________

King of the mountain mountain mountain...

2007-10-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

This video was shot from the ridge running up to Hatcher Peak. It was ridiculously crowded today, but the weather was beautiful and the snowpack was in great shape. What made the crowd bearable was the fact that the weather was cooperating. It's just been a beautiful day today, with temperatures starting in the 20's, and well into the 40's by the time we left to go home.

A little snow

2007-10-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to update. Again, lots of things due each week and it takes me a while to get all the work done. I took the day off -well at least the morning- and headed up to Hatcher Pass with Sierra, Rob and Devine. I woke up this morning not having any inclination as to the surprise outside my window. I slept with the window open and the blinds shut, and I was not cold at all. This morning I got up, walked to the window of my small room and opened the blind to a world covered in white. We had gotten about a ¼ of snow in the valley; first snow of the season!!!

I started some school work and was promptly called to head up to meet up at Hatcher for some powder runs. The farm looks beautiful covered in snow and I can’t wait to be able to cross country ski right out my door. Driving up the Palmer Fish-hook rd. I had a pretty exciting wake up call. I nearly slid into the little-su (the river running along the road up to the top of Hatcher Pass). My car handled the snow fine thanks to the AWD but the ice was a bit sketchy. I don’t know who keeps telling people they don’t need studded tires but I’ve decided for myself…I’m getting them. Maybe…if you don’t do anything but drive on cleared roads in anchorage or the highway, but it’s totally required out here and up at all the recreation areas. I took a picture of the car so you could see the 5+ inches of new snow lying on the road. Behind the car is Skycraper mountain, with most of it's snow blown off and loaded on to the adjacent peaks.

Hiking up the pass today I was sweating my gnards off. I ended up taking off almost everything. It was snowing and I was hiking only in a base layer top, ski pants and boots. I had my gloves, beanie and outer shell all removed. I donned my gear as we neared the top as the wind began to increase. There was a bit of wind loading but all the signs showed the snow was still pretty safe. Hatcher was busy today. We saw so many people, did some runs with people we didn’t know and just general had a good time with what seemed like everyone and their mother. We hike all the way to the top of the peak today and the view from the top down was amazing! It was a little scary, because we missed perfect visibility by about twenty minutes and were socked in with snow and clouds. Nothing goggles and a pre-run observation couldn’t take care of.

At some points, the powder was waist deep (not the whole snow pack). They must have gotten just gotten dumped on last night! This made for some ridiculous spills but still allowed you to bomb slopes well over 45 degrees. It was a great day overall. I bought some telescoping traverse poles and a snow shovel at REI two days ago. The poles make it way easier to get to the top, plus they double as avalanche probes and allow me to test the snow constantly all the way up the ridges. The picture with me came out quite strange but it doesn’t matter. Rob is not that tall and I am not that short, but I guess me being slightly behind him and about 2 lower in elevation made for a hilarious picture. If you look closely you can see I am quite drenched in sweat. Who’d a thunk…sweating in Alaska! I wanted to take many more pictures but unfortunately my battery died. Until next time!

Shralp snacks anyone?

2007-10-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today I experienced my first back country snowboarding session. It was amazing…plain and simple. I went with Sierra, one of the other students in my program. We parked at the lodge and had a mile and a half hike up to the pass. From there we had to climb a ridge and follow it to the bowl and surrounding slopes. Snowboarding this way is such a different ball game than going to a resort. I had my beacon strapped to my chest, my extra clothes in my bag and my snow shows strapped to the back of my pack. When we started to climb the ridge I had the snowshoes on, but because I borrowed them they were totally wrong for me. I began to sink instead of float on the snow. I took them off and hiked up the packed boot trail. This was actually easier and used way less energy.

View North into Hatcher

Up the hill to the top

Powder run anyone?

When I got to the top the view was amazing. The Alaska Range could be seen to the southwest and it was absolutely breathtaking. I’ve never seen the peaks of the Alaska Range from Hatcher, and it blew me away. When I got to the top of the ridge, my phone rang and it turned out to be Dustin. I felt bad but I had to inform him of where I was and what I was doing…he got quiet and not so happy. You guys have surf and I have powder. I’d say its fair game. Once at the top I relaxed for a bit, drank some water and checked out the conditions, angles and slope options. There’s a lot to take account of up there but safety (i.e. not getting hurt) is always worth my time. I found my drop in point. It was about 100 yards along the ridge above a small cirque (apparently the top of the bowl). I went to the ridge and dropped in to some of the best powder I’ve ever been in. The snow pack up there was not necessarily the deepest but it was still so perfect. There was about a foot and a half of powder on top of about 2-3 foot of soft fluffy snowpack.

Skiers Climbing the upper ridge (with dogs)
Alaska Range across Susitna Valley

Dropped in at the rocky outcropping

I made it down to the ridge, rode down the face of the ridge we climbed up and sat down in the snow, smiling with exhaustion and joy. Sierra and I decided to climb it once more and make the run again. This time was better. I found deeper powder and a wide open face. It was beautiful. I S-turned the whole way down and could think nothing more than a desire to head up to the top again. But it was not to be, it time for school. I’ll be back. Something tells me there’s going to be a little more snow.

Sierra is the speck in the middle of the shot

Tired and ready for lunch

Starry Starry Night

2007-10-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week it has been. We’ve had so much going on with school, environmental education workshops and preparing for winter. I took a break this morning to head up to Hatcher for some XC skiing. There was a little more snow this time and hopefully the pictures do the place justice. Erin sent me an awesome care package and it had a ton of stuff for Cody too. Cody is trying out his new reflective collar and I’m enjoying my new t-shirt and organic coffee. With the new collar Cody will be easier to spot in winter time when we go cross country skiing. For now, it just looks awesome.

Now remember, there is not this much snow down in the valley. Actually, until last night it was still moderately warm in the valley. When I head up to the pass today the dusting of snow had reached to the foot of the mountains. It’s pretty cool that I can drive 15 minutes and be in a completely different climate range. The temperature wasn’t that big of a change due to the strong sunlight, but man oh man was there a ton of snow. Cody came along and had fun running in front of me and trying to make me fall. I saw a couple of people up there hiking in the snow and was even able to make it part of the way up the Gold Cord Trail. I stopped about 15 minutes into the side trail and decided to save some energy.

While participating in a Project Wild workshop on Saturday morning, we got a chance to see the local moose family. While standing in the back field, discussing lessons and info about project wild, a Mama moose and her doe ran into the middle of the field. They stopped, as did we and then stared for a minute or so. We stared as well. The moose figured us for dummies standing in the cold and went about their way. Moose are no big deal up here but I am still getting used to this whole wildlife things. It may just be a moose but its right in our backyard, literally. For me, that is awesome. It’s 10pm, 28 degrees outside and a clear starry night. I’m getting up early to head to April Bowl and catch some runs, but for now….STUDY.

Is anybody out there?

2007-10-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Hello all! It’s been a really busy week. We started the session this week and I have 3 classes, lots of reading and many papers to come my way. The puddles in front of the house have been freezing the last 3 nights and I’m almost positive it will snow before the weekend is out. I tried my hand at cross country skiing this week and I must say it was pretty fun.

I left the house at about 9 in the morning and took Cody with me. We headed up to Hatcher Pass and it man was it a beautiful day. There was about 6 inches of snow on the ground and more the higher we went in the pass. Since this was my first cross country skiing experience I stayed out of the backcountry. I parked at Hatcher Pass Lodge, got on my gear and skied the 2 miles uphill to the old Independence Mine. Cody loved it, running through the snow, biting at chunks of snow slab. At one point a Snow Ptarmigan popped up out of his snowy enclave and then proceeded to be chased by Cody up the side of a large embankment and into deep powder. It was amazing to watch Cody have as much fun in the snow as I was. On the way to the mine, the park caretaker drove by on the way down to town. He said I was the first skier of the season and he wished he didn’t have to go to Palmer today. I never get over how nice people are up here. I skied around the old mine for about half an hour, stopping to take in the sights and revel in the beauty of this place.

I fell a couple of time, which was expected but it didn’t hamper my experience. While heading uphill for 2 miles I put on my Ipod and the beanie Erin bought me last year. The music made the ski session flow smoothly. I thought it would be cold but I quickly had to shed gear. After 10 minutes my gloves were off and I no longer needed my heavy jacket. Fleece was all it took. On the way down I laughed and smiled as I quickly realized I had to learn to snowplow and slow down or else I would severely injure myself. It wasn’t steep, but 2 miles of gradual downhill on skis is quite fast. After about 5 minutes I got the hang of it and was on my way. Cody ran beside me, jumping through the snow and wagging his tail the whole time. It was a really fun time.

I’m reading a book for class called “The Tipping Point.” Sometimes books seem to portray facts and skew statistics that most people are not aware of. In other words, I haven’t yet decided what I think of it, but I will get back to you. I’m going to try to ski in the early morning tomorrow, but it depends on how quick I get up, make some coffee and get going. It’s funny; no matter what you do there is always the element of the classic “Dawn Patrol.” It was driving to the beach at 5:30 to surf, getting up at 6 to drive to Ocala or Alafia and ride some trails and now it’s getting up early to ski or snowboard. The only major change is I don’t have my best friends to ride with. But hey, at least the sun will come up later, making for a wonderful 9:30 dawn patrol. Erin will love that!!!

Snow...in Alaska??? No way!

2007-10-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

I put these clips together real quickly so that you could get an idea about the snow up at Hatcher. I was just here the day before and it looked nothing like this whatsoever, much of the snow had melted away. But as we climbed the road today, the snow was everywhere, the lowest it has been on the mountains since I’ve been here. We saw 4 snowboarders, 2 skiers and their accompaniment of dogs (I was quite jealous) hiking their way into the backcountry. I don’t know why I said it was cold on the end of the clip. My hands were cold, not me in general. It was about 35 degrees up there and I was fine, I just decided it would be fun to throw snowballs without gloves…that always catch up with you. Nothing a warm cup of hot chocolate couldn’t cure at Hatcher Pass lodge.

The road to willow had almost a foot of snow on it, and this was for sure the last weekend it will be open. CLOSED FOR THE SEASON she will say. Bad for cars, good for snowshoeing, boarding, snow machining, and skiing. I was told by the skiers and boarders that I saw that there was up to 3 ft of powder over the pass at April Bowl. This all sounds great but I am a bit weary of early season snowpack. There is never too little snowpack to avalanche, and in going home after our little hike and doing some research, I discovered that 3 people have died in or around April Bowl since 1998. Now this is a little scary but as I read all the reports, every incident had visual clues that the terrain was a “NO GO.” So while I am respectful of avalanches, the research has helped out in showing me that all of these avalanches were caused by overconfident, peer pressured or ignorant people. It’s so obvious when you shouldn’t go, it’s just not worth it. April Bowl is supposed to be awesome but the slope aspect and leeward loading makes it a pretty high risk area. Not sure if I’m going to go there yet. If I can hook up with some people who have their shit together I will probably head up there. Before I do though, I need to get a shovel and probe.

As of now I think I’m going to rent a pair of snowshoes, hike the ridges, check out the wind loading, factor in the slope angle, slope aspect and then GPS the coordinates of spots that look good to go. I can’t wait for the first big dump on Government peak, because that is where Erin and I will go.

The Butte (notice the e!!)

2007-09-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well after a weird couple of days I’m back on track. I’m sorry for anyone who read that post I put up the other night. I was just in a real bad mood. Anywho, today is a different story. My friend Kristen and I took the dogs up to a real cool little place called “The Butte.” I’m not quite sure what to call it, it’s not a mountain and it’s too large to be a hill. The rock is composed of what looks like granite and other forms of very hard bedrock. This “Butte” stands alone in the middle of the valley, and when you hike to the top you can see 360 degrees around the whole valley.

The ecosystem around the base reminded me somewhat of Utah. There was lots of evidence of erosion, but the closer you got to the top the less soil there was. Instead the top of the Butte is dominated by bedrock outcroppings surrounded by loose soil. This “island of rock” look was exacerbated by the freezing and thawing of water on top, slowing eroding the soil and rock. This really is a cool place, especially because there is no where else like it in the valley.

The valley is known for its great farming, which owes much of its success to the many rivers and creeks that deposit silt over the years. The Knik and Matanuska glaciers have fed the two
main rivers and over hundreds of thousands of years have crushed rock, deposited soil and reshaped the whole valley. That is what makes this area so cool. While most of the valley floor is dominated by loam soil or soil covering glacial moraine (crushed rock that resembles gravel), the “Butte” stands alone as a natural wall, not giving in to the glaciers or their rivers. Also, it’s just a really cool place to hike.

As a side note, let’s ignore the fact that I look like Chuck Norris in these pictures. I lost my beanie on the way up, and also forgot that I had a sleeveless shirt on under my sweater. It got too hot on the way up so I had to remove clothing. I may not have been trying to look like a bad ass, but look at me….I’m frickin Chuck Norris! One more thing as well; Cody is a great dog, he loves to hike and run beside me while I bike. I really lucked out with him and it’s good to have a canine companion like Mr. Cody.

PS: It's fall and the colors are gorgeous! Check out the video!

A tirade Anyone??

2007-09-25T23:21:00.000-07:00

I am writing today in utter disgust. This is not my usual disgust of commercialization or over development; this is a disgust of filthy, squalid living conditions. Within the last 20 minutes I have killed at least 15 flies. This did not happen anywhere near the kitchen, but instead in my bathroom and in my freaking room. I am so tired of this crappy house; I don’t know how much longer I can stand it. If I can somehow manage to make some money I might say screw it and move out. I thought this would be a good way to save some money, but the decrepit and insulting condition this house is in leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

As a university student, I would never ever in my wildest dreams imagine that this place would even be a housing option. Now, do not get me wrong, I am not displeased because my house is old or has small rooms. This is a rustic house; it is old and was obviously not designed for college student. The thing that really gets me is the lack of general maintenance to the property. We don’t have furniture, but this is of no matter because our carpet and its resident “funk” would probably cause it to spontaneously combust. Our walls are yellowed and dirtier than a pig in a mud pit. The basement has multiple leaks stemming from god knows where, and this becomes a bit more dangerous by the fact that the leak spreads underneath the solar unit and its battery cell.

Whoops, there go 2 more flies. Oh yeah, the solar panel. Let me explain this doozy to you. Well, we have a solar panel, great for renewable energy clout and “sustainable living.” Hooked directly to this unit are the essentials of life here in AK. That would be our water heater, heating unit for the house, our phone lines and our refrigerator. The university has stated that this has been done just in case the power goes out in winter time. Well, gee that’s great except for this minor fact: IT’S DARK HERE IN WINTER TIME!!!! It rained for a couple days and the solar couldn’t even keep a charge. I wonder what the hell is going to happen when we get 6 hours of light on a good day, without clouds or snow. I would probably have left these things on the power grid; I mean why would I need a fridge if the power went out? It’s going to be 20 degrees outside and I doubt the food will go bad. This perhaps would not be a big deal except for the fact that no one, not even the damn university knows how to work the stupid solar system. Their suggestion you ask? Here it is: “You guys figure it out, and then right it down and we’ll make a manual.” What the hell? I’m not here for electrician school; I’m here for graduate environmental studies.

Now, do not confuse my anger with an Anger of Alaska. Everyone who doesn’t live in this POS house has an amazing place, with nice warm heat, plumbing that works, clean living areas, and a general lack of smell, flies and random garbage in the basement. I am embarrassed and angered to call this place home. I don’t even want to bring Erin in this house. Her and I worked our asses off to keep the house in Orlando in good shape and I know that there is no way we will ever live like this. This place sucks….

Can we snowboard yet?

2007-09-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

We finished the Wall Tent today and I'm glad that it's over. We started this morning at 8:30, and this also happened to be our first hard frost in the valley. Kelly's friends Jim and Denise came into town so I took everyone up to Hatcher pass for some hiking and scenery. Wow! It turned out to be an awesome day, especially because the sun was out for the first time in a couple of days. During the whole work week it was rainy and dreary, but as of yesterday the sun was shining, a crisp sense of fall was in the air, and the contrasting colors of mountains, snow and autumn leaves made for one of the most beautiful days since I've been here.

Everyone and their mother were out doing some type of outdoor activity, leaving almost all of the parking lots and trail heads full at Hatcher Pass. People were everywhere, whether it was paragliding, hiking, mountain biking, or just going for a nice walk. Perhaps it was the last hurrah of the season before it all goes downhill (Downhill being the time between snow and warmth…i.e. cold, but not enough to snow a whole bunch). We drove up to Summit Lake and made our way around the lake and surrounding ridges. The elevation of 4,000 ft. left us with 45 to 50 degree air temps, but the sun’s angle and intensity made for quite a warm and pleasant hike. The snow melt was pushing up the water levels of all the creeks, causing them to flow more rapidly and urgently than during the long lazy days of summer.

We ended the day by picking some of the remaining blueberries just on the southeast side of the pass. The bushes have since turned bright red as their leaves begin to die off in the ever descending temperatures. They were still extremely tasty, but definitely not as good as 3 weeks ago. It’s snowed up here for almost a week now, and I’m sure everything is on its way out. Overall it was a gorgeous day and I was sad to leave the park. You can see the beauty of a place, and experience it at that moment, but to fully comprehend the beauty of Alaska, Utah, Florida (anywhere in the world I guess) you need to be able to spend TIME there. To go somewhere for a day or two, see it and then leave feeling as if you know it is like saying you know the outcome of a book after reading only one page. But alas, I guess it is better to experience these places for even a short, minute amount of time than none at all.

Paying the rent

2007-09-21T23:57:00.000-07:00

I had to get up early this morning to help Steve build the new deck for one of our "wall shelters." These shelters are made of a canvas material, and are around 9 by 6 ft. We've constructed the frame of dead spruce trees, cleaned and turned into support beams. The look is that of a shelter used by miners during the gold rush of days past, or at least this is the image I see in my mind's eye.

The deck we started on this morning is being constructed using solid 2x4's made of Douglas fir and tongue and groove slats from local wood. The construction is not difficult, but definitely time consuming. We are trying to minimize use of electric tools as much as possible. Hand tools a tape measurer, a steady hand and lots of patience has been the key for todays work.

Steve had the idea to orient the deck in a fashion so as to be protected from the wind and still achieve a beautiful view. So, essentially you step out of the shelter door, onto the wood porch and into your day, framed by beautiful Pioneer Peak and Twin Peaks.

These pictures were taken before we put the actually deck planks on but the frame is complete, along with the cement piers. You can tell from the pictures the orientation and direction of the tent. It will be amazing once we get everything done. We're protected from the winter winds, and highly exposed to sunlight from multiple directions. I'll update tomorrow with the finished product.

Blog = simplicity

2007-09-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

After seeing Jesse's blog I have come to the realization that it would be much easier to just create a blog and update everyone through this instead of sending out mass emails, which seem to jam up everyone's computers because of all the pictures I send as well. I hate to copy Jesse, but a good idea is a good idea. But, I've given credit where credit is due so I don't want to hear anything else on the subject. Jesse just left for Washington to begin working for Americorps so please check out his posts here.

In AK news, we began our Snow-Smart training today and I must say that I have been humbled by the awesomeness of avalanches. That isn't a cool awesomeness but rather the awesome one uses to describe power and "wet your pants" inducing fear. We learned a lot today and I hope to be able to put that knowledge to use this winter, in as safe a manner as possible. The group that ran the symposium is called NAOI (North American Outdoor Institute). This a group of guides and professionals who want to spread avalanche education and "know before you go" knowledge all over Alaska. The other students and I have the opportunity to possibly become educators with them and one of their lead instructors has some great ideas for the future.

NAOI needs people all over the state to help teach the basic SNOWSMART course, so along with our own snow training, we take along knowledge to teach the basics as well. It was really cool to meet the creators of the program, especially those who I have seen on fuel TV or in backcountry skiing movies (If anyone wants to know more head to www.avalanche.org to check out some info).

As kind of an intro to Snow training, our professor took us up to Hatcher Pass on Tuesday and surprise, it was snowing. This was somewhat of a wakeup call that...Holy crap I'm from Florida!

BRING IT...