Year, Beard

Back

Dear friends and family, I am back.  

Following a trip to Ohio to celebrate my parent's 4oth wedding anniversary, followed immediately by a two week trip to Alaska, and then several days of fun with the boys, I have returned to "normal" life in Texas.  

Just in time to leave again tomorrow.  

But that will have to come later.  Let me tell you a bit about my travels.  

You can get a feel for our trip to Ohio from this stunning post by my brother Eric.  I think he is too generous is some cases, but I was deeply moved by his words of praise (or at least that's how I took them).  I plan to write the antithesis of this post soon (my envy for the stalwart icon that is "Eric"), but I'm not sure I'll have time today.  

The day after returning from Ohio, I jumped on a plane bound for Anchorage.  The plan was to head to Denali National Park.  I heard that they had nature and stuff there, so I thought I'd check it out...alone.  I was a bit nervous about this fact, mostly due to the presence of bears.  However, my fears proved unfounded and the trip was a glorious success.  It wasn't without its difficulties, but the following pictures will illustrate key events and fill in the story.  

 I include this as a reference.  This was the highest point I hiked in Keller.  The view was incredible.  (I was hopeful that there would be at least a slight difference when hiking in Alaska.)

 It just so happened that this fine gent, Jason, was going to spend the exact same amount of time in Denali, so we joined forces.  I was super grateful to have a companion, because it eliminated the fear of getting lost or hurt and having no one to go for help.  As a result, the trip was not only more fun because there was less worry, but also because we attempted so much more (as you shall see).

 This is the Toklat River basin; the length of which we explored for five days.

 This is our visitor on the first evening.  My camera isn't great, so I don't have any National Geographic-style shots of grizzlies...only photographic evidence that we did see them in close proximity (but thankfully not too close).  His presence at the end of the first day of hiking (around 7 hours) complicated our campsite selection, pushing us further onto the gravelly surface of the riverbed.  It was a bit disconcerting setting up camp knowing that a bear had just wandered out of view.

 The next morning we hiked along the river bed and were fortunate enough to pass through a herd of caribou.  

 We climbed a glacier (the gaiters I'm wearing are WWII relics, purchased for me by Brandi at an antique store in Ohio).

 We decided to turn back when the fog descended, coinciding with the steepest part of the climb up the ice.  The temperature was around 40 degrees.

 And we returned after a long day's hike to this site.  During the day the water level had raised and a new course had been cut in the riverbed...directly through our campsite.  My tent (seen here) was tethered to the bank by a rock, but Jason's was completely washed away.  Thankfully, although the water had flowed through my tent, my air mattress had served as a raft, lifting my sleeping bag and spare clothes out of the water and keeping them mostly dry.

 We did find Jason's tent about a quarter of a mile downstream, and decided the situation was bleak enough that we should light a fire to help dry his items out (fires in Denali are prohibited).  Had it not been for the intermittent rain and mosquitos he might have tried sleeping under the stars.  Oh...and there were no stars.  The photo above was taken around 1 a.m.

 Our backcountry travel plan made it necessary to change units (we started on the East fork of the Toklat in Unit 9 and stayed for two nights, but needed to reach the West fork in Unit 10 for our third night).  Rather than walk back the way we came, I studied the topographic map and found an area in the mountains that looked passable.  Neither the ascent nor the descent seemed too formidable.  So we loaded everything up and decided to climb a mountain under full pack.

 The landscape often changed drastically and suddenly; in places looking like a lunar hill (background) and in others seeming very much like Scotland.

 There were several tense moments due to the mist and fog that rolled in, blocking the landmarks we were hoping to use for navigation.  I might have turned back if not for Jason scouting out a route he thought might lead us along our planned path.  The alternative (walking for hours back down the mountain then hours up the river) wasn't too pleasant, so we pushed on.  I'm so glad we did.  At several points, we simply followed the route left by the Dall Sheep, trusting that they knew their way around the place.

 Contrast this image with the first picture--this is the highest spot I traveled in Alaska.  I figure we were at roughly 6,000 feet in elevation, having gained 3,000 feet during the five hours it took to summit the range.  Here you can see the mist rising out of the divide between two peaks.

 And here is the exhilarating feeling that came from finding we had NOT misread the map: the descent on the other side--a complete mystery to us the entire time we climbed--was beautiful and gradual.  It took us half the time to descend.

 Being a lover of skulls, it was difficult to leave these artifacts behind.  But sadly, it is forbidden to take anything from the park.

 This one nearly killed me: a grizzly bear jaw.  Man I wanted to bring it home!

 Our next day was fairly easy and the weather was gorgeous.  Nice enough to enjoy a pipe.

 But we (foolishly) decided to try to find a camping spot on a hill.  But we had to hike through steep tundra, densely packed with alder and willow bushes.  And did I mention the mosquitoes?

 Though poorly focused, here you can see the dozens of bites on Jason's hand.

 To avoid blisters I tapped my feet earlier that morning.  It worked: no blisters.  But when I took the tape off it ripped off sheets of skin on my heels.  Fortunately, we only had a short hike left for us the next morning: our last day in Denali.

 (The mosquitoes gathered in clouds on the wall of the tent.)

 This was the closest I got to viewing Mount McKinnley.  But the clouds would not comply.

 I took a train to Seward on the coast.  I had half a day to spend before my kayak trip began, so I camped out on the upper level of Resurrect Art coffee shop and gallery.

 Being inside, out of the rain, was a relaxing change.  I would return here before returning to Anchorage.

 I found a beautiful spot on the road outside of Seward on the way up to Exit Glacier.

 And the next morning we set out on the water taxi to explore Kenai Fjords National Park.

 I saw puffins and sealions as well as whales (both killer, seen above, and humpback).

 Cascade Cove was beautiful.

 And finally we were dropped off near Northeastern Glacier.

 This marked the new "farthest west and north" spot to which I have traveled.

 We (myself and the couple I went with, the Bradys) spent a lot of time under the yellow camp tarp.  It rained all four days.

 Joel, a Wisconsin native and possibly my best friend in the world...if we have the fortune of living close to each other, was a fantastic guide.

 Rain was my constant companion.

 Our paddling brought us to majestic views of glaciers.  (Although it is sad to see how far they have receded over the past hundred years.)

 Here I attempted to emulate a photo taken in the Highlands of Scotland.

 Kayaking was hard work and my body wasn't trained for it.  But by the third day I had found my rhythm...just in time to explore Northeastern.

We sat in the ice-filled water for a good, long time, watching pieces of the glacier break off and tumble down its surface.  

Unfortunately, my camera got a little waterlogged from being within reach to take pictures on this second to last day of the journey.  As a result, I have few pictures after this point.  I'm only thankful that the memory card wasn't destroyed.  

By the end I was actually looking forward to coming home to spend some time in the sun and heat beside a pool.  It seems I have a knack for taking the weather with me, however.  When I arrived in Alaska they were experiencing record highs into the 90's during days of bright sunshine.  I have just spent the past several days in persistent rain and temperatures in the 70's here in Texas.  It's a bit odd, but has been fun.