So Long, AK!

My alarm rang at 5:45 this morning, to wake me up for my long journey home, which began with a 3/4 mile walk to the airport. Luckily, I go to ride in a (slightly) larger plane this time and we had semi-clear skies.
Glacier just south of Haines, AK.
Between the clouds just enough to see the Chilkat Mountains.
Approaching Juneau, AK.
Nearing the Juneau airport.

Although I am not officially home yet (I am currently sitting in the Anchorage airport on a 7 hour layover), I can confidently say that it has certainly been a summer to remember. It was truly inspiring to wake up and see glacier-topped mountains from my front porch, to drive along ancient fjords on my commute to work, and to see authentic, untouched wilderness. I witnessed the annual salmon runs and listened to my heart pound as I watched grizzly bears feed. I slightly improved my cooking, learned to ride a bike balancing a week's worth of groceries on the handle bars, and mastered the art of sleeping with constant daylight. I learned that I am proactive in my work to meet deadlines independently and creative enough to problem-solve in the field. I learned that I can do anything I set out to- including all the unforeseen challenges and unexpected bonuses.

As amazing as it was to live in Alaska- even if only for a summer- it wasn't always as easy or glamorous as it sounds. One of the most difficult things was having to do so much alone- pictures can't capture what your eyes can, verbal descriptions and blog posts could never satisfy the senses as experiencing Alaska in person can. This trip has made me value my family and friends so much more (in case I didn't enough already!) and has helped me understand the value of having loved ones to share life with. I am so excited to return home, so share stories and laughter, and finally enjoy the company of you all again!

And who knows, the lab does need someone out here again next summer...

Skagway City Museum

As my trip nears its end, I have been scrambling to visit all of the places I haven't seen yet. Sunday I visited the Skagway City Museum, which featured a great mosaic of gold-rush era artifacts, Tlingit art and artifacts, WWII exhibits, and a collection of contemporary art from Alaskan artists.

What caught my eye most was this stuffed grizzly. The placard under this beast read "When brown bears stand on their hind legs, they are often in a curious mood." Why then, is this bear positioned to give children nightmares, if it's just being playful?!

Denver Glacier

When Iraise invited me to join her on her final trek to complete the Skagway Trail Challenge, I couldn't say no. We set out to conquer the Denver Glacier Trial, which involved a 3 mile mountain bike ride out to the "trail head" (which begins when you begin to wonder when you're going to hurl over your handle bars and decide to ditch your bike and begin walking).

We hiked in lush rain forest, in which I was more worried about seeing a dinosaur than a black bear. After 5 wet, overcast miles, we finally reached a clearing where the trail simply stopped. We stood there, listening to cascading waterfalls, wondering where the glacier was. Suddenly, the clouds parted and our jaws dropped as we gained sight of a massive, clear-blue hanging glacier. I was speechless. Iraise was so excited, she began jumping up and down and put a hand on my shoulder. I of course thought she was a bear, and screamed at the top of her lungs, which made her scream in surprise. We then concluded that we were safe, as we probably scared off all of the wildlife within earshot.
Denver Glacier.
Denver Glacier.
Trekking back home, trying to remember where we left our bikes...

After the hike, we gathered together with 5 of our friends to celebrate the end of the season with a Thanksgiving Dinner. Although it sounded a little off-season, it was a nice was to reflect on the end of the summer. We all had a lot to be thankful for; for staying safe out here, for the beautiful vistas we saw, and for the great friends we have made. Although we all said our good-byes, I left with a strong feeling that I would cross path with some of them again.

Brown Bear vs. Grizzly Bear

During my lunch break, my co-worker Stephanie and I decided to eat out on the tidal flats to enjoy the last of the "summer" weather (50s, overcast..). As we drove out onto the flats, we noticed a few people who were standing next to their cars taking photos of something by the river. Excited, we pulled over our car and scanned the banks, and surely enough we saw a grizzly bear fishing for pink salmon.
We watched for about half an hour before we had to return to work. Just as we were leaving, he decided to head out to. I was so glad we were in a car!
Also, I would like to take this time to clarify a point of confusion for most people (including myself, until today). Although many people use the name brown bear and grizzly bear interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. Grizzly bears live within the interior of Alaska and are known for being slightly smaller. Brown bears, meanwhile, inhabit the coastal region of Alaska, and are known for reaching larger sizes due to their diet of fatty fish. Glad I'm living on the coast.

Laughton Glacier

My friend Iraise is on a mission to complete the Skagway Trail Challenge, which involves hiking all of the local trails in Skagway and Dyea. The trails range from an easy 1-mile jaunt to Yukatanea Point to a 33-mile trek on the Chilkoot Trail. I joined her on her second-to-last hike (and my third-to-last) to the Laughton Glacier.

We took a 14.5 mile train ride over the boarder to British Columbia, before being dropped off with seven other hikers hoping to see a retreating glacier at work. We hurridly hiked the 3.5 miles to the glacier, flowing frigid, silt-choked streams until we finally arrived at a massive boulder field. It took us a few minutes of staring at the wall ahead of us before we could begin to decipher ice from rock, but we slowly realized the glacier filled the whole valley we were in. It wasn't the picturesque blue glacier we had anticipated, but the more we explored the "young" valley and massive ice, we were awe-struck at the power of nature. The force of nature is still at work in Alaska and today we were able to see evidence of where the landscape is still being created.
And of course, no hike is complete without a little treat from the Lemon Rose bakery after!

Fjord Ecosystems

Yesterday was a quiet, damp day out in Dyea which provided me a day to explore a bit more than usual. I drove out to the tidal flats were the salt water harbor meets the glacial-fed Tiaya River in what is termed a fjord. This creates a diverse, dynamic ecosystem characterized by a mosaic of flora adapted to the different types of soil on the tidal flats. At this point in the summer, the fauna is particularly varied as well, as many birds and mammals make their way out for an easy meal.

Two bald eagles sitting side by side, watching the salmon fight upstream.

A group of funny birds- I wish I could identify them, but I'm not too great with ornithology- that flew in a manner that reminded me of a school of fish. They were completely synchornized as they flew up, dove down, and rolled to show their white bellies.
Fresh grizzly bear tracks lined the river, likely from an early morning breakfast.
I came across this print later in the afternoon, but I think it's only a dog. Either way, I made me look over one shoulder as I bent down to take a photo!

Halloween 2010

There is a Sarah Palin fan club here in Skagway, which seems to get a decent amount of business. After laughing about it on the phone with my mom, she suggested that I take advantage of it and try to find a Halloween costume. Well, the store did not yeild any success, but I did manage to find some wildlife hats!
In the mean time, I'll have to resort to taking advantage of the Sarah Palin store for some early Christmas shopping...

Parrotheads

Jimmy Buffet even has a presence in Skagway, AK.

Aurora Borealis II

Unfortunately my first attempt to view the aurora borealis on Tuesday night was unsuccessful. I set my alarm for 1 am and sat with 2 of my roommates outside, staring at the northern sky for 45 mintues. The next morning we learned that we had missed the spectacular light show by only an hour.

Determined to see them, my friend Iraise spent the following day tracking the solar storm intensity and the cloud cover in a 200 mile radius of Skagway. She tracked me down later in the day to invite me to drive up to Carcross, British Columbia with her, where she was confident we would find clear skies and dancing lights. When she said she could be ready to leave at 8:15 pm, I told her that might be taking it too far- the sun wasn't even due to set until 10:45 there.

We hit the road around 11:30 and began driving north. We crossed the boarder and found a parking lot where we set up a tarp and some blankets, prepared to wait as long as it would take to see the northern lights. At 1:45, we were beginning to suspect that the bright crescent moon was casting too much light, and we decided to drive south to where we could find darker skies.

As we drove south, we noticed the cloud cover was increasing, so we turned around, crossed through customs again, and began driving back north to where we had eaten oreos and told stories to stay awake earlier. As I was riding co-pilot, I looked up to the north and saw a beautiful ribbon of milky-blue light and immediately began yelling for Iraise to pull the car over. As soon as we were safetly out of the avalanche zone, we pulled over to the shoulder and scrambled to see the ethereal aurora. Just minutes after we pulled over, the clouds descended on us and we lost sight of the lights. But that one glimpse was all Iraise needed; we got back into the car and she bagn driving north, laughing that she felt like a storm chaser.

I don't know how far north we drove, but we never got a clear view of the aurora borealis again. We turned around and I tried to stay awake as we drove back through the lonely mountains. I woke up once we stopped outside my apartment at 4 am, and trudged inside to sleep for only 3 and half hours before waking up to go to work the next morning.

We may not have seen as much of the aurora borealis as we had hoped, but we sure gave it our best effort. Sometimes the journey alone is enough.

VT Plates... in Skagway?

I was running in Skagway the other day and did a double-take as I passed this Subaru. It had Vermont plates and a Mad River Glen bumper sticker. I've been keeping an eye out around town, wondering who it could possibly be.
The mystery was finally solved today, when I met a woman who works as a horseback tourguide out in Dyea. As we chatted, I learned she graduated from the Rubenstein School in 2007 and had some of the same professors I have had at UVM. Funny how the further you travel from home, the sooner you learn just how small the world is.

Bear Snacks

As I was stepping near the bank of the Tiaya River to try an snap a photo of this humpback (pink) salmon...
I nearly stepped on the remains of this one!

Looks like someone didn't clean up after their snack...

Aurora Borealis

For the past few days, we have been enjoying unsually clear, sunny weather, which has brought a smile to everyone in Skagway. Meanwhile, there have been a high number of solar storms lately. The two together mean one thing... great chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis, or, the Northern Lights! Of course, we all have to wait until after the sunsets at 11 pm, but everyone is getting their blankets and midnight snacks ready!

The Annual Salmon Derby

Every July, Skagway hosts an international Salmon derby, in which people fish for 3 days straight to see who can bring home the largest salmon. I went down to the docks to check it out, but quickly can to the conclusion that fishing is not a spectator sport.

One of my friends was working as the officiator of the derby, and scored a few discarded salmon that some competitors couldn't take home on their boats. We celebrated their poor luck by grilling the 17 lb. salmon ourselves!

My Return From The Chilkoot Trail

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to have the chance to hike the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail with 6 friends that I have gotten to know since arriving in Skagway 5 weeks ago. It was an incredible weekend; not only was it rejuvenating to escape from the busy port of Skagway for a few days, but it was incredible to hike this historic trail that thousands of stampeeders poured over just 100 years ago.
We left bright and early Friday morning, with the intention of hiking 13 miles to Sheep Camp, where we would then attempt the most treacherous section of the trail aptly named 'The Golden Staircase." The weather didn't exactly provide for an enjoyable first day; it poured all day. Despite the harsh conditions, we kept a good pace (maybe to keep from stopping too long in the rain) and even had a chance to get out of the rain at the warming shelter at Canyon City. But the time we arrived at Sheep Camp, it was about 6 pm and we were exhausted. Since the camp was full, the back country ranger there let us set up our tents on the heli-pad landing, with strict orders to move as quickly as possible in the event of a medievac. Fortunately, no helicopters blew away our tents in the night and we awoke to drier, albeit not much more welcoming, skies.
The next morning, we packed up our tents and began the 3 mile hike up Long Hill, to the base of the Golden Staircase. I almost had a hard time moving forward because I couldn't stop looking up; with every 5 minutes we seemed to gain entirely new awe-inspiring views. We hiked along the undulating geography, stopping to admire the cascading waterfalls and azure glacier pools. We took a brief snack break before beginning the 45-degree climb to the summit. The climb to the top involved scrambling up a half mile long boulder field, where the mountain is too shear for any plants to take root, let alone any soil to develop.
At the summit of the Chilkoot Pass, we were greeted by a Canadian flag, marking the boarder, and a 25 degree temperature drop. We enjoyed some hot tea before descending across several slick snow fields to our next camp, Deep Lake.

Along the trek to Deep Lake, the terrain was dotted with several cirques, glacier-fed lakes and babbling streams. It was surreal how quickly we transition from the temperate rain forest surrounding Skagway to alpine tundra. In a mere 17 miles, it was as if we had entered a whole new world.
It was incredible to be surrounded by hanging glaciers- it almost made the 10 strenuous miles we covered that day a little easier, as each step forward yielded more scenic vistas. By the time we got to Deep Lake for the night, we stayed awake just long enough to cook dinner and lock up our food before collapsing into our sleeping bags. I have never felt so comfortable sleeping on the ground!
One the third day, noticed a small patch of blue sky while cooking breakfast, which raised all of our spirits for another 10 mile day. Fortunately, the terrain was a little more forgiving on the third day, and we transitioned into yet another new ecological zone, boreal forest. We even briefly crossed an area that is categorized as glacial desert, but it just seemed to be a sandy patch to me.
We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at a sheltered lake, where we laid on the sun-warmed rocks and listened to loons in the distance. We covered 4 more miles before finally reaching the end of the Chilkoot Trail, at Lake Bennett in British Columbia. We were so exhilarated that we jumped into Lake Bennett, which is the origin of the Yukon River. Needless to say, it was ice cool and we all ran right back out. We spent the night playing cards and relaxing on the somewhat sandy shore of Lake Bennett, enjoying the seemingly endless night until the sun finally set just after midnight.
The next morning, we explored the lake before boarding a train back to Skagway. The train ride was really unique- the tracks ran along a precipitous cliffs and crossed thousand-foot chasms. It took us home across the White Pass, which served as an alternative route to the Chilkoot Trial at the time of the 1887 gold rush. We were all slightly delirious, happy to be returning home, exhausted from lack of sleep, and overwhelmed by the endless mountains.
After walking back into town to drop our packs, we immediately went right back out the door to go to the Skagway Brew Co. for celebratory cheeseburgers and veggie burgers. A perfect ending to a perfect getaway.

More Wildlife

Fortunately, I have seen a lot more bald eagles this summer than bears, which I am very thankful for! This bald eagle was hanging out along the Tiaya River for a few days, which indicated to all of us that the salmon runs were going to begin any day. We watched him for much of our lunch break, scouting for pink salmon.

The Real Bigfoot

After learning about how many bears are spotted in the Dyea townsite, I have now resolved to participating in every Ranger-led tour when I'm out there, to avoid being a sitting duck at the picnic tables. While I have come to learn their dialogue nearly verbatim, I do learn something new each time. Or at least observe something new, and this morning I happened to notice I was shuffling along the same path a black bear had moseyed along earlier that morning.

Sourdough

Today I officially became an Alaskan "sourdough," as I finally saw my first grizzly. From what I've heard around town, apparently the same day we embarked on the Chilkoot Trail, the salmon began to run upstream. This trend of running upstream is a phenomenon in which salmon leave the frigid salt water they have spend much of their adult lives in to return to the fresh water streams where they were born to spawn, before passing on in the circle of life. This usually begins in late July and continues through August, with several types of salmon including Chinook (King), Sockeye, and Pink. They return upstream in droves, making them an easy meal for grizzlies, wolves, and eagles- it's even common to see a lucky escapee fish with a bite out of his side fighting his way upstream.

With the salmon came the bears, and I finally got a chance to see a cinnamon-hued grizzly scouting out dinner on the Tiaya River of Dyea, Alaska. Although the Ranger I was working with that day claimed he was small at only 300 pounds, he still appeared massive to me. We watched him explore for about half an hour until he crossed the river, after which we high-tailed it out of there.

Our Classy Bathroom

Much of my time in Alaska so far has been spent trying to avoid seeing bears. I talk to the woman who works at the reception desk at the Skagway gym about how I run indoors to avoid seeing any brown bears. I talk to the guy at the post office about how lucky I've been to have not yet crossed paths with a brown bear. I always breath a sigh of relief when my roommates sullenly report that they didn't see any bears while out on their tours.

Well, I've spent so much time avoiding bears that karma has come full circle. Today, I walked into the bathroom one the first floor of our house after yet another day of successfully dodging grizzlies to find this posted on the back of the door. Nice.

Devil's Punchbowl

It is rare to have a blue-sky, sunny day in Skagway. It is even more rare to have a blue-sky, sunny day on the weekend, when I don't have to be working. Earlier today, I hiked up to a glacier cirque alone because I couldn't convince any of my roommates to take advantage of our good fortune and go with me. But I didn't know if I'd get the chance again and was so curious to see this glacier-fed tarn. So I after leaving a detailed plan with my roommates, packing bear spray, and filling my pack with more than enough food, water, warm clothing, and medical supplies for three people, I rode my bike over to the trail head. Even though I was scared the entire time that I was going to get mauled by a bear, and when I finally arrived, it was breath taking. All my fear was gone. I read that John Muir once described Alaska as looking like it "remains at the time of Creation," and I feel like that is exactly what I witnessed today.

View from Upper Dewey Lake (you may recognize the name from a previous hike, but the view today made it feel totally new).
Hiking from Upper Dewey Lake to Devil's Punchbowl; all above the treeline.
Again, Upper Dewey Lake; entirely fed by glaciers.
View of Upper Dewey Lake from the ridge line leading to Devil's Punchbowl.
Feeling a lot of respect for mountain goats.
Devil's Punchbowl; a tarn nestled in an alpine cirque, just 4.04 (strenuous!) miles from my apartment.

I think I also might have set a record on this trail for fastest ascent and descent, covering 8.08 miles in a mere 2 hours 47 minutes up and 2 hours and 23 minutes down, while singing Lady Gage and Cat Stevens (I prefer singing as an alternative to yelling "hey bear" every hundred meters).

The Chilkoot Trail

One of the most esteemed hikes of Southeast Alaska is the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail. Once described as "little better than hell on earth," the trail was originally used as a trade route between the Tlingit tribes of the southeast with the Natives of the Interior before the prospectors of 1898 claimed rights to the trail. Today, many still make the journey from Dyea, Alaska, to Bennet, British Columbia, trekking through what some consider to be the largest museum in the world.

At the peak of its use, the Chilkoot Trail served as an alternative route to the longer, albeit less treacherous, White Pass Trail to Dawson City, Yukon Territory, where gold was struck in 1896. Despite its reputation as a dangerous trail, the Chilkoot became to most popular route as it was the most direct and least expensive. The trail was so dangerous, in fact, that Canada's Northwest Mounted Police required all stampeders to carry one ton of goods- the estimated amount of gear to allow a prospector to survive one year. Among the recommended items were 150 lbs. of bacon, 5 yards of mosquito netting, 2 pairs snag-proof heavy rubber boots, 1 dozen heavy wool socks, and, of course, a pan for mining gold. Packing one ton of goods required that each prospector shuttle their goods a few hundred meters at a time, before turning around to make the trip again with another 50 lbs. of material. It was estimated that each stampeder covered the trail between 30-40 times in total after this arduous process was complete.

Most stampeders covered the 33-mile trail in the winter, as the snow cover made the terrain easier to navigate. 16 miles into the trail, prospectors reached "The Golden Stairs," a 45-degree slope that was so steep, the bare boulders were often exposed, posing an additional challenge. In case it wasn't difficult enough, there are two false summits, which often prompted a premature celebration.

I am preparing to hike the Chilkoot Trail this Friday with 7 Park Rangers that I have met since coming to Skagway last month. When they invited me to join them, I hardly hesitated- who better to hike with than a group of well-trained, experienced Rangers? Although, as the trip nears, and as I learn more about grizzly safety, navigating in alpine conditions, and preparing for extreme weather, I am beginning to realize this is going to be a trek unlike any I've ever done before.


Snow covers the trail for most of the year, and while avalanches are rare, much of the trail is above the treeline and is characterized by extreme weather.

We are planning on hiking 13 miles to Sheep Camp on Day 1, 10 miles to Deep Lake on Day 2, and 10 miles to Bennett on Day 3, where we will have the next day to explore before taking the White Pass- Yukon Route Railroad home to Skagway, where warm beds and hot showers will be waiting for us.