Spring

The locals are saying we're done with summer. We had two weekends of spring in a row.

Saturday night Mr. X and I walked to the glacier. It was a nice end to a fantastic day. Pictures and story soon. But I will say this. In the twilight, that stump was not a stump. It was a bear who was as concerned with us as we were with him. We looked at him, he looked at us. We were going different directions at the intersection of trails and none of us made a fuss; I think we all were too tired to.

So, it really is spring. More than a week before the cruise ships arrive.

Blue Mussel cabin

We've been to the Blue Mussel Cabin several times, but this was our first overnight trip. The weather report called for snow squalls, a gale warning with gusts to 40 knots, and waves to six feet. I convinced Mr. X to leave the packrafts at home.

We met up with Brad after work and drove out to Bridget Cove State park near the end of the road. Part of the road is dirt and shard because they are still widening it.

The first part of the trail (i.e. 2.5 miles) was covered in snow. After the first mile I put on my yak tracks. We hiked through Cowee Meadow and were met by six or seven swans hanging out near the beaver den.

We took a break at the Cowee Meadow cabin and were greeted by a nice, if territorial, golden retriever.

The going was good until we crested the small hill to the beach. Then the wind hit us and I was ready to make run for the trail through the trees. I was pretty cold. Don't ask me how Mr. X managed. He was wearing his swimsuit.

We hiked along the bluff, through the trees passing lichen and hearing varied thrushes in the bushes. We came upon a windfall and collected firewood - guess we didn't need to carry the two duralogs.

After another twenty minutes we dropped down to the beach near the cabin. The Chesire cat moon and remains of sunset greeted us. The first stars began to glitter in the sky. And yes, there were 6 foot crashing swells.

We all split up doing camp chores. Brad got the fire going right away and Mr. X spent an inordinate amount of time splitting wood with his kukri and newly carved mallet. I unpacked bags and got fresh water coming off the cliffs directly behind the cabin.

After a snack we went out to the front deck and looked at the stars. Brad knows alot of constellations so we spent time looking at Bootes the Bear chaser, Lyra, and many others that I don't recall. We spotted three satelites and noted the light pollution from the Kensington Mine across the water.

About 11:30 I spotted some new lights in the sky and asked Mr. X what they were. Brad confirmed our suspicions that they were northern lights. We watched the white-green lights dance over Berners Bay and the surrounding mountains.

You're really supposed to bring a gallon of diesel #1, but I don't like how that smells in the car and we don't have a place to store a gas can, so we opted to use the "emergency" mini wood stove. You can see the oil stove next to it in this picture.

In the morning, I gazed out the windows at the waves crash on the beach in front of cabin and the brilliantly white Chilkats across the Lynn Canal. Around 8 am, I started a duralog in the stove and got some heat going. Brad and Mr. X took a walk along the beach looking in tide pools. After some chores I followed them around the point, scrambling over the boulders.

With the rough seas we didn't see much in the way of wildlife. Just some eagles and gulls catching the air between the sea and the bluffs.

With that we packed up camp and headed out. By the end of the hike I was pretty much toast. I've got to figure out why I've stopped sleeping on these trips. Otherwise, some of our hiking plans might not work too well this summer.

  

 If you look close at this picture you, can see the blue mussels on the rocks. They look kinda-purple.

Fireside Chat

Friday night it was a packed house at the Mendenhall Visitor's Center for the Fireside Chat. The week before, when the lecture was WWII environmental impact on Attu (the Aleutians), Mr. X and I were the only folks under 50 in attendance.

This week's lecture was on Juneau to Skagway via the Juneau Ice Field. Three guys took the trip last spring and two of them were there to say it was tough but doable. 115 miles, 12 days, blizzards, feet of snow. No technical climbing though and one guy didn't even use his crampons. I think it sounded like fun. Except for the cold part.

Apparently, the route from Juneau to Atlin is shorter and you just ski the last bit across Atlin lake. So, Dad, I stand corrected. When Juneau is attacked (?). Mr. X and I can get to Canada...maybe. The guys said the toughest part was getting on the icefield. We would need to ascend Blackerby ridge, which we've been too chicken to attempt thus far.

Police Blotter

In September:
Motor Vehicle Crash

• At 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, 31-year-old {Jane Doe} was arrested for failure to provide immediate notice of a motor vehicle crash, reckless driving, and resisting arrest on the 2800 block of Mendenhall Loop Road. She was lodged at LCCC on $3,000 bail.

She has since been charged with Felony Assault 3 - Threat with a weapon.   We were witnesses and only feared for our safety, but it made for an interesting evening.

Mr. X picked me up from the Relief Society broadcast because I'd left my wallet at work. Lucky man, he was my chaffuer all weekend. When approaching an intersection we saw a full sized truck coming from the side street very fast. Mr. X pulled his foot off the accelerator and we watched the truck run a red light right in front of us. We continued driving straight (which meant we were following) with me urging Mr. X to increase the distance between truck and sedan. She fish-tailed back and forth, finally losing control, jumping the curb, crossing the bike path and rolling into a telephone pole. Then the driver opened the door, gathered her belongings and walked away. We stayed to provide a witness statement to the police.

For the next several days, I tortured myself with the "what if" game, freaking myself out sufficiently enough to have a few sleepless nigts.

In November, my friend John called me: Sarah, is your birthdate XX/XX/XXXX?
Me: Yes.
John: Is your address: XXXX ALPHANUMERIC?
Me: Yes.
John: It appears you were a witness to the {DOE} accident and I have a subpoena that I need to serve you. Would you like me to fax it or bring it to you tonight?
Me: Doh! fax it...please.

I was not happy about this prospect.

I just recieved word that {Jane} has changed her plea a week before the trial, and I happily will not be a witness in court on Monday.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving eve I checked out the Juneau nordic ski club's site and found that the Mendenhall Campground was groomed and ready for me and my new skis. It was welcome news since we really haven't had snow yet and I've been itching to get outside.

I conned Mr. X into agreeing to a sunrise lap on the trail, but we didn't make it out the door until 9:30. That's about four hours late by my standards - but I'll admit it - I was the one sleeping in. The trail was a little icy; there really isn't much snow out there yet. We enjoyed meeting four dogs and were awed by the skate skiers who zoomed past us toward the lake. We went down on the ice and looked around, but we'd already been out for an hour which is long enough for two out-of-shape, chair force members.

Mr. X's skis on the ice

We'll have to see about getting a ski club membership. They really do a great job keeping the trails in shape - they groom the campground daily. It's just a question of whether I'll actually get out enough to justify the cost.

On the lake with Skater's cabin in background

After our morning activities we went home and I put the chicken in the oven. Yes, chicken, since it was just the two of us and chicken was 1/2 the price of turkey last week that's what we did. I already had potatoes made from a batch I took to a work party, made boxed stuffing and a green salad. Mr. X had his obligatory rice. Good eats.

I was a little nervous about dessert. Mr. X was enthusiastic. It turned out pretty well.

I had made a pumpkin pie by adjusting a vegan recipe. Instead of milk and eggs, I used cashews. Instead of maple syrup I used honey. And I made a graham cracker crust - that I was afraid had burned. It was actually a really good pumpkin pie - though it might be hard to go wrong with pumpkin.

After our feast we sat down to a viewing of Toy Story 2. You know, I really think that should be our official Thanksgiving tradition: Pixar animated movie after dinner.

getting set to go. Thunder mountain in distance.

Edit:  Saturday night, we went night skiing at the campground. It was good, but there was a creepy guy hanging out in the middle of the trail with his headlamp turned off. Not cool. And wouldn't you know it. We finally got more snow (at least six inches) Sunday.

Evening at Egan - Being Caribou

In the fall, the University hosts a lecture every Friday night. When I learned the lecturer on November 16th would be Karsten Heuer, the author and adventurer from Being Caribou, I invited Mr. X to join me for a night out.

You might recall that I recommended his book and his wife's film in 2010. I first became aware of them soon after we moved to Juneau and read Being Caribou and Y2Y in 2007. This year Being Caribou was chosen as the "One Book, One Campus" book selection, and I was excited that the University brought them to campus so we could meet these adventurers in real life.

 Karsten has been a Canadian park warden in Banff for the past 18 years or so. His background is in wildlife biology. Leanne Allison is a filmmaker. Being Caribou is the real life story of this couple's trip following the caribou to their birthing grounds in the arctic and back again. The Y2Y initiative is a Yellowstone to Yukon corridor which would improve animal migration, and hopefully their survival. This is an idea that I have been aware of for many years as we've seen and heard of the increase of wildlife at Mack's Inn and the surrounding areas. Mr. X did a research project and presentation on this topic when he was working on his wildlife degree, and I remember discussing the concept with him at the time.

At the lecture Karsten summarized their adventures: Y2Y, Being Caribou, and Finding Farley. In Finding Farley, they took their 2 year old son and traveled from their home in Rockies of Canada to the Maritime provences where they met Farley Mowat, the author of dozens of classics including Never Cry Wolf. The family was able to find the den of arctic wolves just by following the description from the book! It was a real treat to see their slides from this trip, since I'd not seen the film yet.

In 2014, the family plans to take another of what they call a necessary journey. I can't wait to hear what they have planned next.

Veteran's Day (Friday) - Berry Patch Cabin

It's winter. Which means it's dark. And I didn't feel like hiking in it, so I reserved the Berry Patch cabin at the Eagle Beach Campground (Alaska State Park).

This cabin was recently built and has been beautifully maintained by the state parks. Located at campsite #1, it is drive up in the summer and only a 0.2  miles walk on a paved sidewalk...or snow in the winter.  Downstairs there is a sleeping platform with enough room for four adults. An angled ladder delivers you to the loft which has room for four adults or six if you know each other well enough for that kind of thing. There are plenty of hooks for your coats and gloves, a chain from the ceiling from which to hang you lantern, and I appreciated the counter and cupboards in the meal prep area. The cabin comes with a two wheeled wheelbarrow/cart so we didn't even have to lug our heavy dutch oven and bottled water the 0.2 miles from the car. The door has a combination lock. You are given the code when you get your reservation confirmation. We were glad the building was lockable when a man came knocking at midnight.

The Berry Patch cabin is heated using a kerosene stove (diesel #1). Mr. X and I have previously not had much luck starting one of these puppies, but somehow we made it work. Actually, when the instructions say "a couple tablespoons of oil" what they mean is when one corner of the cup starts to look damp. And Mr. X created a teepee with all the toilet paper he used on the cone. Once we got the stove going we were roasting. The whole time.

Since we didn't have to hike-in to this cabin, I wanted to try some dutch oven cooking.  I had decided to make an enchilada pie. Mr. X split kindling and we started the charcoal briquettes. I assembled the goodies that I had precooked at home and put them on the coals.

Our friends arrived now, clutching each other. Apparently, their flashlight went out so they walked out with only their cell phones guiding them. Another group of friends arrived shortly after, announcing, "whew, that's my kind of hike."

Dinner was bubbling away on the coals, and when I brought it into the cabin I set it on the stove to since that was the safest place for a hot pot...only the stove was so hot the enchiladas really boiled.

After our Mexican dinner we played Mexican Train dominoes and went to sleep. Well, really I think I just roasted all night.

In the morning, I took off on a the loop trail. I looked at the tide flats of the Eagle river, crossed under the highway and took a short jaunt up the Eagle glacier trail (we've never been up there despite it's being on my list for years), part of the Yankee Basin trail and then on the planked trail around the Methodist Camp. When I got back to the cabin, I watched some of the river ice break-up and grind itself on the shore. I also watched a seal watch me. Mr. X caught up with me then and told me he had found some bear tracks in the tide flats above the cabin.

For breakfast, I had planned to cook on our tabletop stove that we bought 4 years ago (garage sale $3) and have never used, but I just set our pot on the stove and cooked everything up that way. Easy Peasy. After breakfast burritos, Mr. X burned our trash and taught our friend to use his sling. Then we all headed for home. A simplified but satisfactory outing.