Welcome back to the last frontier!

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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!