Navigational Discrepancies

Weather the past few days has been great. Tuesday I went on another outing with the Anchorage Adventurers Group. Five of us plus two dogs (Axle and Happy) set out from the Willow Creek Bridge on Willow Hatcher Pass Road on what is locally called the Purches Creek Trail. Beautiful day and really good exercise as we tromped about in the muck hoping to reach the confluence of Purches Creek and another creek. As the going was slow due to your feet sinking a foot into the ground on every other step, we just missed hitting our goal. On the way back we explored several alternative routes, some of them more than once, before rediscovering our original trail. Yes, if there is any one constant theme when I'm trekking its my old nemesis, the navigational discrepancy. As is usually the case (so far at least) I overcome and return home, albeit at 8 pm instead of 5. Champ is happy to see me and forgives me for not bringing him.

Prom night

The days are suddenly never ending. Got up last night and the cat was sitting in the big picture window staring out at the front yard which was still lit up...at midnight. Was at the gym Monday and half of the court had been decorated for a Jr. High school prom. Part of the decorations included black covers on the windows. Made me wonder how the teens handle all the daylight when it comes to matters of romance. I mean, do you go parking in somebody's garage just for the darkness factor. Or do you just wait until fall and then you can go parking right after lunch, or so it seems.

Painted my homemade furnishings the other day. Bright yellow to match my curtains. Like having the color. Could of used it this winter to brighten up the place.

Headed out to Nancy Lakes for a look at the place without all the snow. Lots of trees for sure. Champ and I hiked out one trail for a look at the backcountry camping area. As we hiked along I couldn't stop thinking that this was the place I would be if I was a bear. Luckily we saw no bears but the signs were abundant. By signs I mean bear scat. By scat I mean shit. We did see a moose on the way back, or at least I did. Champ was interested in something else and waltzed right by this lady. She was only too happy to pose for the picture above but for modesty's sake we didn't get too close.

EKLUTNA LAKE

Spent Saturday and Sunday at this beautiful lake. Saturday was a hike along the lakeside trail with the Achorage Adventurers Meetup group. Weather Saturday was perfect. Champ got to socialize with a couple of German Shepherds and a wire terrier. Nice day all around.

Returned on Sunday afternoon thinking kayaking was in order. By the time I reached the lake the wind was up and it had clouded over. Decided to leave the boat on the truck and hike the Twin Peaks Trail. About 2000 feet over 4 miles so it was a different workout than planned. Still a great day.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Let me start out by saying that I made it through the 3 day symposium with nary a misstep, despite being the oldest in my "pod." It was a great learining experience as well as a good refresher on handling a kayak in different conditions. Lots of time was spent on learning rescue techniques. Apparently once you enter the water of Prince William Sound or one of the other popular kayaking destinations, you have a limited time to get our before really bad things start to happen. So self rescue and or group rescue is an important skill. Really enjoyed the cold water immersion and Wind Weather and Wave classes. On the other hand, the knot tieing class brought back memories of church camp, with similar success. What can I say, I'm not a spatial thinker.

All in all a fun weekend. We even had a moose stick her head in one of the lectures although I doubt I'll be seeing her on the water anytime soon. Champ got to attend but spent most of his time sleeping in the truck. During lunch and on breaks he got to visit the dog park nearby and play with the other mutts. There must have been well over a hundred dogs of all types out as the weather was really nice all weekend. A little windy Sunday but no rain.

Hats off to my instructor, Bjorn. An ex California Tsunami Ranger, Bjorn is thought to be one of the top ten paddlers in this state.

I now know enough to be dangerous.

NEXT UP...SKIPPY THE BUSH KANGAROO

Beautiful sunny day here. Hope the weather holds out cuz I'm heading back to school this weekend for the Sea Kayak Symposium at Alaska Pacific University. Supposed to learn all there is to know (haha) about the sport over a 3 day period. Included is almost 8 hours of in water instruction so nice weather would be...nice.

If you ever wanted to visit Alaska and see one of the smallest creatures lurking about, you better hurry up. The cat has taken up the sport of Vole hunting and is having a banner year. Not sure how much of a dent he'll make in the population, but I thought I'd send out a warning just the same. He had two more piled up at the door when I got home this afternoon. Must be tiresome work since he's napping on the guest bed right now.

The Nenana Ice Classic wrapped up Wednesday night at about 10:30 pm when the tripod went down. It looks like there was only one correct guess (date, hour & minute) so that person will win about $300,000.

Whats up with Hollywood? Are there no more original movie ideas. Speed Racer. I remember watching that show on Sunday mornings when I was a kid. Whats next, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, The Movie? Shoot, I'd pay to see that one.

Coachspeak

Something happened today that brought to mind the old coaches axiom that "you can't coach speed." Meaning I guess that one has it (speed) or doesn't. In a similar vein the same is true for dogs. They either have it (whatever "it" is that makes them good dogs) or they don't. I'm thinking that Champ definitely has it based on what happened.

We got up early this morning so after lunch we decided to take a short nap before heading to the gym. Soon as the eyes started to droop, a gust of wind blew open the door. The cat departed for points unknown while the dog went out to investigate. Finding nothing he returned. No sooner had I resumed reading my book, he was back out the door growling. Very uncharacteristic. I hollered him back inside but he stayed just seconds before heading back out on the porch where the growling became downright ferocious. As I started out I heard someone pleading with him to "be a good dog." His growl in reply made me hurry outside. Seems as if a lady had started up the stairs but was stopped by her better sense. I took hold of Champ telling him everything was okay but he stayed a bit on edge. Turns out the lady was a process server looking for someone who had used this address.

Well, you can't hardly beat that. A dog that attacks process servers definitely has "it." What more could a person ask for? The fact that he's also nice to curl up with at night needs no mention. In fact lets forget I even mentioned that part.

Oh yeah, the corollary to "you can't coach speed" is "you can't fix stupid." I'm sure all you Ron White fans know what this one means.

You want fries with that?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and announce the arrival of spring here in Big Lake. Alaska. Temperature is staying well above freezing, the sun is shining more and more, the snow is gone, and the motor homes have hit the roads. Just took a little longer than normal for it to get here.

Speaking of roads, another sign of winter's end is the road construction getting underway. From what I've seen so far, looks like the Parks Highway is getting patched up in several places near here. Since it is the only north south road in the entire state, it stays busy all summer. Hope the construction doesn't lead to too much congestion.

One more jab at winter. It is easy to pack on a few extra pounds during the six months of cold. Too much food and not enough activity and BAM your pants shrink. I know of what I speak. Anyway, last few weeks I've been watching the eats and working out and generally staying active. Looks like I will not need to purchase a new wardrobe just yet. But yes, I do want fries with that. And pizza, and oatmeal cookies, and bacon, pancakes, and BREAD!

Russian River

The mosquitos and the weather cooperated for the most part and our trip to Russian River was a success. Some confusion about the meetup place in Anchorage resulted in me and Champ making the drive down to the Kenai Peninsula and then hiking in to lower Russian Lake by ourselves. Trail was generally good but there were several spots still covered in snow&ice. Crampons would have been overkill but some grippers would have been nice. There were also two sections which had suffered avalanche damage making it necesary to climb over snow piles but nothing real drastic. Champ enjoyed the avalanche parts immensely taking the time to roll around in the snow while I slowly picked my way through. With his doggie four wheel drive he had me at a distinct disadvantage. I reminded him that without me driving the truck he'd still be in the Valley and that I had all the food so he might as well wait up.

We reached the lake about 1 pm and had the designated camping area to ourselves. We found the most level site and set up camp, then ate lunch and settled down for a nap. Before we could get comfortable, the rest of the group wandered into camp. Four other brave souls were all that made the trip despite almost 20 people committing to come. After introductions they explained that since they had seen a bear track, they were going to stay in the Forest Service cabin for protection. We then spent the afternoon hiking the lake shore and watching Champ (our lone canine) chase ducks. The lake was still 95% covered in ice with just a narrow section near the shoreline ice free. Champ had a blast splashing through the freezing water after the birds. On one occasion he got on top of the ice and ran just a bit above water. As he did so he had a look of utter joy on his face no doubt overly impressed with his ability to walk on water.

As the afternoon progressed we went to the cabin thinking we might get a fire started. The wind was gusting pretty hard and the temperature was in the upper 30's. No sooner had we reached the cabin than the folks who had properly reserved it showed up. The group scrambled to get their gear out and headed back to the tent area. Lucky for me, I was already set up.

The wind continued to blow hard as we ate dinner. Champ wolfed his food down and then crashed while the rest of us ate. We then hit the tents at the early hour of 7 pm, with ample daylight still showing. Just too much wind for sitting around visiting. Oh well, we had a book, an ipod, and had been up since 5 am after going to be at 1 the night before. Champ and I slept okay but by 6 am we were ready to and did get up. Oatmeal and kibble charged our batteries for the hike out. On the way we detoured to a scenic falls and got a

few nice shots. Made it to the truck about noon and then hit the road for Anchorage and the REI sale. Needed a new pair of boots and got a great deal on not one but two pairs. Hopefully, I'll wear em out this summer.

Made it home about 5. Lester was happy to see we were still alive and able to continue feeding and providing him periodic amusement. As I write this Champ is sacked out. As soon as these pictures load, I'll join him.

If you lie down with dogs...

We're getting ready for our backpacking trip to Russian Lakes on the Kenai Peninsula. It will be my first overnighter with Champ. All indications are that he will be an excellent trail companion but I haven't yet exposed him to a crowd. There are about twenty people signed up for this hike and half of them will have dogs with them. A good test for Champ.

While trying to decide what tent to take, I remembered the last time I had spent a night in a tent with a dog other than Max. Its been awhile. If my memory is correct it was summer 1989, and the ex and I decided to car camp at Sea Rim State Park on the upper Texas Coast. We had the youngest (Ryan) and one of his friends from little league, Jake. Come bedtime the boys bedded down in a cheap two man tent. The wife and I and our Golden Retreiver made our bed in the back of an old station wagon we borrowed for the trip. We went to bed with the wind blowing from the water and were almost cool. Sometime in the night, the breezed died down and we were assaulted by several legions of mosquitos. We fled into the tent. There was enough room for the ex to lay down alongside the boys while Ginnie and I lay (sort of) across their feet. If that wasn't bad enough, sometime during the night the dog learned to open the tent. When I finally went to sleep, it was with one arm around her neck to stop her from opening the zipper. Was I ever glad to see the sunrise.

Here's hoping for no mosquitos.

Still learning

So I guess the larger photos don't really fit. By the way, this is a photo of yours truly perched atop a rock in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park last August. A truly magical place, but very unforgiving. No infrastructure at all in the backcountry. We were flown in by bushplane and landed on a lakeshore. Twelve days later, the plane met us for the trip out. No people in between. Bears, yes, people no. Pretty neat when you think about it.

Working out the kinks

It may take a bit to work out the kinks and learn just what I can do.

The beginning (Part II)

Well it has happened, finally. Kicking and screaming just a little, I have embraced the world of technology. What I started last May as a series of emails to update my "friends" on my travels north, has now morphed into this marvel of 21st century communication, the "BLOG." Let's call it Part II.

For those who have been following along, I left Texas on June 3, 2007 headed to Alaska for a visit. It was a long drive but well worth the trip. I tried to cram as much adventure into the summer as I could but it became clear real soon that three months was not enough time to really experience this place. So, I rented a cabin and here I am. made it through the winter nicely thank you and now I'm getting ready for my second summer. I hope to recap my misadventures here for your amusement. Heaven knows there were plenty of laughs last summer.