July 28, 2009

July 28, 2009

From Anchorage we drove north to nearby Palmer. We stopped at the Visitor Center where we learned about the history of the Matanuska Valley. During the Depression, the government transferred some Minnesota farming families here to develop an agricultural industry. It wasn’t terribly successful but farming eventually took. Now with the 24-hour summer sun, this region is noted for monster vegetables (e.g. 100 lb cabbage). It is too early in the season for harvest but the flower garden is in full bloom. I spend more than an hour taking photos.

Outside of Palmer we stop at a Musk Ox farm. Now that is an animal you rarely see. The Musk Ox looks like a cross between a cow and a wooly mammoth. Not surprising since the Musk Ox is a relic of the Ice Age. It is ideally suited to the frozen tundra and is one of the few animals that lives there year round. The Musk Ox went extinct everywhere except the far northern reaches of Canada’s arctic region. It was reintroduced into Alaska and Siberia. Qiviut, the under fur of the Musk Ox, is highly prized for its softness and warmth. This farm was setup to provide an industry for local Native tribes who knit the fiber into hats and scarves. After looking around the exhibits we walk past pens that contain several dozen adults and a handful of calves.

From Palmer we head up the Matanuska River valley. This glacier carved valley is simply gorgeous. Eventually we come to the glacier feeding this river. We do a short loop hike at Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site to gain a better viewing advantage. The glacier extends 23 miles up farther into the mountains. We spend the night in a nearby RV park.

July 27, 2009

July 27, 2009

This is our last day in Katmai. We take a last hike out to the falls before leaving. It is pretty quiet and the fishing is slow. We are at the end of the Sockeye salmon run and the bears are returning to their normal homes. The only item of interest is I finally captured a photo of a salmon jumping upfalls into the waiting mouth of a bear. I had to take a zillion photos till I caught it.

After lunch we board a small seaplane for the hop back to King Salmon where we catch our flight to Anchorage.

July 26, 2009

July 26, 2009

Katmai was made a National Monument in 1918 but not because of the bears. In 1912, a local volcano, Novarupta, erupted in the largest explosion of the 20th century. When National Geographic explored the area, they found an ash filled river valley with steaming fumaroles everywhere. They thought they had discovered the new Yellowstone. Unfortunately after being named a Monument by Woodrow Wilson, this “Valley of 10,000 Smokes” cooled down and the fumaroles disappeared.

Today we are taking a ranger-led tour to the “Valley of 10,000 Smokes” to see what remains. A school bus takes us the 23 miles down a dirt road and thru several streams to the Visitor Center. It is a Denali bus déjà vu. Seated behind us is a local girl out of King Salmon. Her husband owns a fishing boat in Dutch Harbor and he crab fishes in the Bering Sea ala the “Worlds Deadliest Catch”. She says it is not as bad as the cable show makes out. Then again she is sitting at home.

At the Visitor Center, we have lunch and then head out on a trail down into the Valley of 10,000 smokes. The volcano eruption completely filled this valley with microscopic sand up to 700 feet deep. A roaring river has carved a canyon into the tan-colored sand. The valley looks like it is still smoking to us. Unfortunately it turns out to be a swirling cloud of the volcanic sand. It is so fine that it gets everywhere. We can barely see. The canyon is neat but afterwards we feel like we have been sand-blasted. I can take a shower to remove the sand but I am worried about the camera and our lungs. They have taken a beating.

After dinner we return to Brooks Falls for more bear watching. It is an exciting night. First we watch a wolf cross below us. The wolf considers snatching a salmon from a bear but gets chased off. The wolf was the last of the big animals we have been waiting to see in Alaska.

Later a big “bully” gives us an incredible show. He is not very good at fishing; he doesn’t need to be. Four times during the next hour he steals a fish from his neighbor. Fur and Claws go a flying each time. They may look like lumbering giants but they are fast and carry a wicked punch. They are 1000 lbs of muscle with huge fangs and even sharper claws. Humans don’t stand a chance. Short but brutal fights must be common as several bears have huge claw scars and missing fur. The ears are a favorite part to chomp on.

July 25, 2009

July 25, 2009

We are spending the night in a very bad neighborhood. Aimee is not happy, she is scared to go outside with all the antisocial males walking the area. The local inhabitants sport scars, sharp weapons and are known for their thievery. How we ended up here is a long story.

We (or at least me) are on a quest to see all 392 National Park sites. Alaska alone has sixteen. Unfortunately most are virtually inaccessible except by air. I am unlikely to ever visit more than a few of Alaska’s entries. Despite the difficulty (and exorbitant cost) we are going to Katmai National Park today. Katmai is on the Alaska Peninsula that extends out to the Aleutians. We drive to the Anchorage Airport, park the RV and take the shuttle to the South terminal where we board a 30-passenger prop-job. After a ninety-minute flight we land in the tiny town of King Salmon. There we are bussed to a local lake where we climb into the largest seaplane I have seen. This 46-year old DeHavilland Otter, veteran of UN flights in Congo, can carry ten passengers. Thirty minutes later we land on Brooks Lake in Katmai National Park.

Before we can go any farther, a park ranger gives us a warning lecture about the local inhabitants, Brown Bears. Browns are the larger coastal cousins of grizzly bears. Coastal browns have a rich diet of salmon allowing them to grow far larger than the inland grizzlies. 1500 lbs is not unheard of.

The star attraction of Katmai is Brooks Falls. This ten-foot waterfall is world famous. Every summer spawning salmon headed upstream have to make spectacular leaps to clear this obstacle, much to the joy of the brown bears. The bears crowd around the falls hoping to catch a few as they jump past. After checking in to Brooks Lodge, we take a short ranger hike to a local Aleut archeology site. Afterwards we head for the Falls. The viewing stand is a mile away thru the forest. Aimee hugs close to me as we nervously make the hike. There is nothing between us and the bears. It is like a zoo without bars, except this is for real. We are told to expect bears everywhere. With all the bear scat along the trail (and around the cabins!), I know they are not joking. We have been trained not to run, but to back off slowly and let them walk by. Supposedly these well-fed bruins like salmon flesh far more than humans. We hope so.

After reaching the falls without incident, we climb a viewing platform where we watch two male bears standing in the water. Not a lot of action. Eventually they both catch a fish but it is a lot like watching me fish. There is a lot of waiting. When the fishing is good, these bears mostly strip off the fatty skin, leaving the meat for scavengers. We do get some excitement. At one point five bears are fishing at the same time. We even see a bald eagle swoop down to the falls and almost make off with a jumping salmon.

After dinner we head back to the falls for more bear viewing. Before leaving Aimee asks a ranger if it is okay to carry lipstick. The ranger recommends leaving it in the cabin. For good measure Aimee smears some of this fragrant paste on her lips before stashing it away. Aaaahhh!

Bear activity seems to be heavier in the late evening. We are not disappointed. A sow walks past the falls with three cubs in tow. They are cute but obviously very wary. Apparently male bears are known to feed on cubs.

After we landed this afternoon the winds picked up to almost gale-force. Strong enough that the seaplanes are grounded, but not before a private seaplane overturns in the lake. The grounding strands 73 tourists here for the night. Most will be sleeping on the floor. We make friends with an adventurous older couple from Winnetka and invite them to share the extra set of bunk beds in our cabin.

July 24, 2009

July 24, 2009

In the morning we stopped at Anchorage’s Earthquake Park. The park memorializes the 1964 Good Friday earthquake that hit southern Alaska. This 9.2 tremor was the biggest ever recorded in the northern hemisphere. It devastated the area destroying most bridges, roads and buildings. The ensuing tsunami swamped Alaska’s ports and killed people as far away as California. It was an inauspicious start for Alaska’s statehood. Earthquake Park sits at the site of the former Turnagain Heights neighborhood that sat atop this sandy bluff. It slid into the sea along with 75 homes.

It starts to drizzle rain, so we opt out of the outdoor plans we had. Instead we take advantage of our return to civilization and spend the afternoon at a cinema watching two movies. We see Angels and Demons and Night at the Museum II. We thought both were very good.

July 23, 2009

July 23, 2009

From the RV park we walk to downtown Anchorage. On the way we stop at the statehood monument memorializing Alaska’s entry into the union in 1959. Our next stop is the Alaska Federal Lands Visitor Center. There we peruse a couple exhibits and watch several films about bears and Alaska history. There is also information about the Alaska railroad, one of the few federally funded rail lines ever that connected the ice-free port of Seward to the riches of the interior. For many years the railroad was the primary mode of transportation in Alaska.

In between we catch up to a ranger-led walking tour to the Cook Monument in Resolution Park. Captain James Cook, the great English explorer of the Pacific, mapped the Alaska coast on his third voyage in 1778. 

At the end of the day we attend the Chamber of Commerce’s annual street party. Although the Mambo-like band played well it was hard to get excited about it. Besides the long beer lines, it was a little too cold for us to stand around drinking beer.

July 22, 2009

July 22, 2009

It rained all night and it hasn’t stopped. Since my weeklong fishing license has expired I am not concerned. We spend the day slowly making our way back to Anchorage stopping at several roadside pullouts along Turnagain Arm. In Anchorage we spend an hour looking around the downtown area getting the lay of the land. I am surprised how crowded the town is. We find a spot at a local RV park. It is the first time in a long while that we have electricity. Back to civilization, or at least Alaska’s version of it.

July 21, 2009

July 21, 2009

Having conquered the lower Kenai we head upriver towards Anchorage. Several Alaskans told me they prefer the Russian River over the Kenai so we stop there on our return route. Unlike the Kenai, the Russian is supposed to be clear. I am hoping to see the salmon swimming upstream in masse. After paying a stiff parking fee I walk with my pole to the ferry. There I have to pay another fee to take a ten-second ferry across the upper Kenai River. When I get to the other side I see a long line of fisherman along the bank as far as I can see. I follow the bank upstream hoping to find a spot. Most of the “Russian” fishermen are really on a shallow slipstream of the Kenai where the Russian flows in. Continuing upstream the Russian River turns out to be just an overgrown stream. It is very shallow and I don’t see any salmon swimming. Yet farther along, a dozen fishermen are huddled around a tiny “hole” pulling out one fish after another. Apparently the salmon at some point skinnied up the shallows only to pool in the deeper sections to hide out from danger.

I have no interest in fishing out of a “bucket” so I return to the Kenai and try out several spots. I don’t have any success until I elbow between two fishermen in a spot that looks successful. The locals call it “combat fishing” and the term is appropriate. Over the next two hours I get a couple good hits but don’t land any of them. The biggest hit sent my reel a whizzing even with a tight drag setting. He ripped loose after racing across the river. It was either a big Red or a small King. As much line as he took out, he for sure would have been tangled with a dozen other lines if he hadn’t broken loose. After several hours of fishing in the rain, standing in ice-cold water, I am freezing. Snag fishing for Reds is exhausting. My right arm hurts from the repetitive motion. I return to the RV fishless. Aimee is happy. We don’t know what we would have done if I had landed any fish. Our freezer is too small to hold a big fish and we can’t afford to ship anymore home.

July 20, 2009

July 20, 2009

It is drizzling again today so we don’t get moving very fast. We stop at Soldotna’s Visitor Center to use the Internet. We are right next to the Kenai River so I take a quick peak to see if the fish are biting. It looks like people are catching some, so I get my gear and try my hand for an hour. All I catch is another Dolly. No Salmon. No one else is catching any fish either except this young kid and he is pulling them in left and right. I take a break for lunch and then stop at the local tackle shop to buy what the kid was using.

After lunch I give it a go again still with no success. The kid is gone but his spot is still hot. Frustrated, I quit fishing and wait behind the guy fishing in the hot spot. I don’t have to wait long and I am in the prime seat. It works. In less than hour I catch my limit of three Sockeyes. All three were a treat to bring in with their jumps out of the water. They bent my pole completely over. I am the hot fisherman of the hour. On the way out people want to know what gear I am using. Aimee laughs because it is her knitting yarn I tied around the hook. One guy even wanted my leftover yarn. Before catching the salmon, I had several people tell me that my trout pole was too small for salmon. Not for a fish god it isn’t. But I have to admit I am relieved; I feel I can now leave Alaska, having caught my limit of the current salmon run.

Although smaller than a King, these three salmon are good size, one especially so. We get 14 lbs of filets which we take to the processor for shipment home. The processors in Alaska are a racket. They are very expensive. At the end of the day, it would probably be cheaper to just buy salmon at home. But then it wouldn’t be my fish.

July 19, 2009

July 19, 2009

It rained all night and rained all day. Instead of fishing, we read the newspaper, and try (unsuccessfully) to troubleshoot some problems with the RV. Our travel home is ten years old now and like any older home has maintenance issues. I am normally good at fixing things. RV home repairs are another story. They can be exceedingly tricky. Parts are not off the shelf (especially in Alaska) and getting access to the problem is sometimes impossible unless you have tiny hands and are a contortionist. RVs were meant to be compact, not maintainable.

The whole time we have been on the western side of the Kenai, I have watched people stream thru the campgrounds with coolers full of fish to be cleaned. I started off being frustrated in trying to perfect a sockeye salmon fishing technique. Not anymore. They are all residents with dip net fish. Not a one was caught by a visitor with a fishing pole.

July 18, 2009

July 18, 2009

I have been told the run of red salmon is much better in the Kenai River. Feeling the pressure to catch a salmon, I figure I need some professional help, so I enlist the services of a fishing guide. The guide picks me up with his boat at 4:30am. It is cold and I am barely awake. Fishing for King Salmon requires a King stamp in addition to a license. We stop at four gas stations before we find one that is not out of stamps. How in the world can Alaska run out of fishing licenses during tourist season? Finally successful, we head to the boat launch where we meet another tourist joining me on the charter.

As we motor to our fishing spot we are surrounded by dozens of fishing boats. So much for wild Alaska. Both of us troll with a large plastic lure wrapped with a small slice of fish. Although we are officially fishing for a King, I am not expecting one. They are monsters and rare. I am expecting to get a couple Reds (Sockeyes). In talking to our campground host (from California), he said it took him five trips before he got a King.

Well I must be living right. I got a hit on the rod less than an hour into the trip. A big hit!! The line sang as it whizzed out of the reel. I start to pull in but the fish is running all over. The surrounding boats are trying to scatter but the fish runs to the other side of an approaching boat. I have to raise the rod high to let another boat pass under. The line also gets tangled with another fisherman’s. We cut his line. Luckily my line survives all the obstacles. Eventually after a lot of reeling, and aching arms, we net the fish. It’s a King and he is a monster. 46 inches long and it takes two hands to lift him!

The limit in Alaska for tourists is one King. So I have to leave the pole out of the water and watch my partner fish the rest of the time. He gets a hit but quickly loses it. He doesn’t get another bite the whole time. He goes home empty-handed, not even a Red. I would be big time depressed if it was the other way around. At trip end we take some photos, clean the fish, remove a gallon of fish eggs and take the biggest filets I have ever seen (12 lbs each) into Soldotna to be packaged and flash frozen by a processor,

When I get back to camp, Aimee doesn’t want to hear about my exciting news. She can’t wait to tell me about a moose and calf she saw in the campground. Later in the afternoon I try my hand again for a Red along the Kenai Riverbank in Soldotna. The only things I catch are numerous snagged lines with the fisherman at my right elbow.

July 17, 2009

July 17, 2009

One of the things I have been looking forward to in Alaska was watching the salmon spawn runs. Salmon are extraordinary fish in that they are born in a river, live most of their adult life in the ocean, and then amazingly re-find their birth river, swim upstream for endless miles leaping up past waterfalls, lay their eggs at their birth spot, and then die. We saw a little of it on our Alaska cruise of the Inside Passage five years ago but expected to see much more. So far most of the Interior rivers are full of glacial silt making the water murky. The Kenai is no different.

Well at least I will catch a few salmon. Even that has turned out harder than I thought. First timing is crucial. You have to fish when one of the four main species is running. Second, none are hungry when spawning. They have other things on their mind. Reds, which are starting to run now, will not hit a lure. They can only be caught by snagging. I asked some locals what to use. Just a hook. A plain hook?! So I am slapping the water with an empty hook. Stupidest way I ever saw to fish. I later learn that snagging is technically illegal so I have to tie a piece of Aimee’s knitting yarn on the hook to transform it into a "lure".

The largest runs occur at high tide. High tide was midnight last night. I gave it a try in the midnight dusk catching no salmon. Amazingly I did pull in a local trout variation, called a Dolly Vardon. I thought I was a fish god, turns out I am only a trout god.

Today, I gave it the old college try again with no success. I ask around and I am not the only one doing poorly. It turns out this river is not having a good salmon run. Plus it seems the sport fisherman (and tourism) are getting the short end. Many of the fish are being taken by large nets at the mouth by commercial fisherman. Next in line are the Alaska residents who use 5-foot dip nets to take lots of fish. What little is left, the tourist can try for....with a fishing pole. Unfortunately snagging is only effective when the water teems with salmon. To top it off, since snagging is theoretically illegal, you can only keep what is “caught” (read snagged) in the mouth. If you snag them in any other spot, back in the water they go.

I also had expectations that fishing in Alaska’s Kenai was going to be in pristine wilderness where I am fighting bears for the salmon. Far from it. The Kenai is very developed, very crowded, and shoulder-to-shoulder combat fishing is the norm.

And to make matters worse, one of my brothers-in-law sends me an email to send him 20 lbs of salmon. Not just any salmon but the expensive hard to catch King Salmon. I haven’t been able to catch a sockeye. How am I going to catch a King, the giant of salmon, which few people have the pleasure to catch. He has unrealistic expectations even for a fish god. This is too much pressure on me.

July 16, 2009

July 16, 2009

Before leaving Homer, AK, we stop at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center. The center covers the work of the US Fish and Wildlife Service managing the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge. The refuge mostly consists of the rocky Aleutian Islands that are home to countless nesting sea birds. The center has some interesting exhibits and a nice movie. Apparently the Service spends a lot of money counting and studying the birds. To my distaste and typical of environmentalists, they have a list of which species they value and are intent on eradicating other species so that the preferred ones proliferate. The biologists don’t like the fact that foxes and rats are eating some of the bird eggs. Their latest effort is the release of 100,000 pounds of rat poison on a small island. It seems we never learn. In our visits to the many National Parks, we have discovered that we have a history of these eradication efforts. Most with disastrous effects. When will we learn to leave Mother Nature alone.

The Visitor Center also hosted a talk by a Lake Clark National Park ranger. Despite it being given by a seemingly very young college student, she was very knowledgeable and the talk quite interesting. The presentation was on the line of 40+ active volcanoes that stretch all along the Aleutian chain to Lake Clark NP. It was pretty ominous how frequent and how close the eruptions are to our location. Maybe Aimee was right about not wanting to camp on Homer’s spit. If one of the volcanoes had a mudslide, the ensuing tsunami would have washed us off the Homer sandbar.

Rethinking our visit to Homer, we leave town immediately and retrace our route north stopping at a campground on the Kasilof River.

July 15, 2009

July 15, 2009

Homer is advertised as the Halibut Capital of the World. I aim to test that billing today. Aimee and I walked down “The Spit” last night and we saw lots of people cleaning fish including a 170lb giant Halibut. Seeing the fish convinced me to sign up for a charter. Getting to the nesting grounds of a giant Halibut requires a full day outing. I am not sure my stomach can handle that long a boat ride so I sign up for just the half day version leaving at noon.

The boat leaves the harbor of Homer and drives full speed for an hour and forty minutes to open water. By the time the engines are turned off I am chilled to the bone. I am a little worried when I see there are twelve other fishermen on board. Thinking back to my Lake Michigan salmon days, I envision waiting in line to take turns pulling in the fish. I am pleasantly surprised when I am handed a pole and told to find a spot around the boat. It is a large rod with 80-pound test, a three-pound lead weight and a huge hook baited with a large piece of fish.

I release the lock and down the lead goes, for 200 feet of line. I get a fish as soon as it hits bottom. It is a struggle to pull it in. Must be huge. I get it on board and my arms are aching. Feels like 13ish pounds. I throw it back, hoping for a bigger one. For the next two hours it is like this. It takes 133 turns to pull in the line and it is a struggle just to pull the three-pound weight back up to check if I still have bait. I finally keep two, the limit. Almost every fish was the same size. When finished, my left hand is numb and my arms noodles. It is a good thing this is only half day. I couldn’t catch another fish.

The fish are filleted for us on the return journey. We get some 15 lbs of fillets out of the two keepers. Aimee meets me off the boat and we walk it over to the processing plant for packaging and freezing. We keep one fillet fresh. Aimee cooked me a delicious meal of fresh halibut and mashed potatoes. I am in heaven!

July 14, 2009

July 14, 2009

Aimee and I have really come to like Seward. On our first visit five years ago, we spent a couple hours looking around town before embarking on a cruise ship and we were not impressed. For a small town it has a lot to do and it can be pretty when the clouds clear. I was a little annoyed last night though. We went searching for a small piece of fresh fish to grill and we were stymied. The local grocery store only sold frozen, and the fish dock would only sell a whole ten-pound fish. Aimee made a dinner omelet instead.

We left Seward, driving north and then west across the top of the Kenai Peninsula. Along the way we followed the Kenai River to Soldotna. The Kenai River is popular for salmon fishing. Unfortunately too popular. I checked out a few sites and it was crowded despite being in between salmon runs. The next surge is supposed to hit in a couple days. For now we head down the western shore of the Kenai Peninsula. From Ninilchik we can see forty miles across the Cook Inlet to Lake Clark National Park and the volcano, Mt Redoubt. This volcano reawoke just a few months ago. I am hoping it stays quiet till we leave. We also stop and see an old Russian Orthodox church that is a reminder of the era when Alaska was not US soil.

We stop for the night at the end of the road, literally, in Homer, AK. We are camped on the beach, a 4-mile gravel bar, called “The Spit”, that juts out into Kachemak Bay. Parts of Homer look like the stereotypical Alaska town. Lots of water, trees, surrounded by high snow-capped peaks. Where we are camped is not so idyllic. We are on the ocean but just feet away from a very commercialized fishing harbor.

July 13, 2009

July 13, 2009

We got a big dose of marine wildlife viewing yesterday, but the Puffins we saw just teased us. These odd-looking birds with large orange beaks never really let us get close. We heard we could observe the Puffin’s feeding habits at the Alaska Sea Life Center in Seward. We were not disappointed. The highlight of the aquarium was the underwater viewing tanks. With them we could watch the Puffins “fly” through the water searching for fish fry to feed on. They flap their stubby wings under the water just like they do in the air. They are very cool, almost comical to watch.

We also watched the sea lions swim underwater next to the glass. Aimee swore that when they passed they looked right at her.

Beside the underwater viewing, the facility has lots of unusual animals you could touch including anemones, sea cucumbers, and 24-armed starfish. Like all things Alaska, the experience was very pricey but where else can you see birds swim.

After spending the morning with the wildlife, Aimee and I walked around the small town visiting the shops and the marker for the Iditarod National Historic Trail. We also spent a couple hours in the local library using the Internet and catching up on our magazine reading.

July 12, 2009

July 12, 2009

Except for a thin section near Exit Glacier, most of Kenai Fiords National Park is inaccessible. The interior consists primarily of the vast Harding Ice Field. The coastline is a series of steep narrow glacier-carved sea inlets or fiords. To see more of the park Aimee and I sign up for a full day cruise. We chose the tour company using a catamaran-hulled ship, which was advertised as being speedier and less rocky.

Our ship sails south down the long Resurrection Bay of Seward, AK. During the transit the ship’s staff serves a delicious lunch of locally caught and smoked salmon. Before I can finish lunch, humpback whales are spotted. After wolfing down the last pieces of salmon, we rush back to the deck to see three whales cruising by. At one point they are so close they pass right under the boat. A little further on a pod of Dall Porpoises play tag with the boat darting in and out. The porpoises are black and white and look like miniature Killer Whales.

Eventually we get to the end of the point and we make a hard right turn and head up one of the fiords. At the northern end we see Holgate glacier flowing into the sea. Yesterday's Exit glacier flowed into a valley floor. The one today is known as a tidewater glacier because it ends in the ocean. Tidewater glaciers are interesting because their toes are not supported by land so they calve large chunks of ice as they fall into the sea. The glacier ice cracks like the sound of a gun.

After watching the glacier for a half hour we start our return journey. We view lots of sea lions and several otters. We pass several bird rookeries where we see millions of sea gulls nesting, a few cormorants, and quite a few puffins with bright orange beaks. Oddly the best Bald Eagle view was back in the boat harbor atop a light pole. Before making it back to the dock we get serenaded again by the fun-loving porpoises and we watch a humpback leap out of the water (called breaching) several times in a row.

By the time we are back, Aimee and I are both chilled to the bone. I am glad Aimee decided she needed to knit both of us a stocking cap on the drive thru the Yukon. They were a necessity today! Now if I could only get her to knit gloves.

July 11, 2009

July 11, 2009

At the end of the road is Exit Glacier and Kenai Fiords National Park. As soon as we enter the park we get a good roadside view of this glacier as it spills out of the mountain above. We intended to leisurely have our coffee and breakfast at the Visitor Center parking lot. But as soon as we drive in we see a ranger led hike getting ready to depart. Aimee thinks bears are crawling all over Alaska so she prefers these group hikes. So we quickly don our hiking boots and nylon pants, pack breakfast and a few snacks in the backpack, and head up the trail.

Fifteen minutes later we catch up to this group hiking the Harding Ice Field Trail. The route heads straight up the mountain following the right side of the glacier. We ascend thru a rain forest of dense vegetation with lots of wildflowers. After a while we catch glimpses of the glacier below us. It is pretty cool, looking like a river frozen in midstream. The glacier has a light blue tinge.

Eventually the rain forest gives way to treeless tundra and we can see the cloud level just above us. At the cloud level, the trail enters a snow field. Very eerie! But it doesn’t last. The snow gives way to rocky terrain and we soon emerge above the clouds into blue sky. From here we alternate between rock and snow till we ascend to the point that the glacier joins up with the Harding Ice Field.

The ice field is huge, some 300 square miles. Up here in the mountains, it snows heavily. As the snow accumulates, it packs down, squeezing the ice into its blue form and like toothpaste oozes out the sides and spills over the edges. The spillage is the glaciers, forty of them! Incredibly Exit glacier moves down the edge a foot per day. The scenery on this hike was incredible although a little long. At some nine miles and 3500 ft elevation gain, it took us four hours to reach the top and three more to get down. My legs are dying by the time we get back, but we are so glad we did it.

July 10, 2009

July 10, 2009

Besides being the home of Sarah Palin, Wasilla, AK is the headquarters for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race. “The Last Great Race on Earth” stretches 1049 miles through wilderness from Anchorage to Nome. The original trail was used in Alaska’s early days to deliver supplies to remote mining camps. The race was staged along this historic trail to celebrate the role of dog mushing in Alaska’s history. In good conditions a sled team can cover the span in nine days. The first race in 1973 took twenty days. Winners must endure extreme cold, deep snow, whiteouts, and gale-force winds. Brutal! For the totally insane there is also a Yukon Challenge that runs 1400 miles from Fairbanks to White Horse, YT.

Besides race information, the site also has Alaskan Husky puppies to hold and a short sled ride around the block. Aimee and I both like dogs and we seem to stop everywhere dog sledding is mentioned. I had no interest whatsoever before, but now I am contemplating returning to Alaska to watch an Iditarod start (and maybe see the Northern Lights).

Before leaving Wasilla, we visit the local Walmart, the largest in the state. Its second claim to fame is that it sells more duct tape than any other Walmart in the US. I guess when things break in the cold, duct tape is the only solution.

From Wasilla, we head south where traffic suddenly comes to a standstill because a car ahead is engulfed in flames. Luckily the driver got out in time. We pass right through the center of Anchorage. We don’t stop but continue past, and around Turnagain Arm, a long narrow sea inlet that experiences some of the highest tides in the world.

On the south side we hit the Kenai Peninsula and drive south towards Seward. The drive thru the center of the Kenai is gorgeous despite being overcast and foggy. After only an hour, I am already thinking that the Kenai is Alaska’s best part. A few miles north of Seward we turn onto Exit Glacier Road and find a gorgeous spot on a pullout off the road. We are literally feet away from the rushing glacier-fed Resurrection River. Something we would pay big money for, but since it is public land it is absolutely free. We read about this option in “Milepost”, the bible of Alaska travel. Don’t leave home without it!

July 9, 2009

July 9, 2009

It rained all night. I am not complaining…this time. I am hoping it will kill some of the forest fires and clear the smoke out. We leave Denali National Park and head south towards Anchorage. Alaska is a big state and all drives are long. The road is lined with beautiful magenta wildflowers called Fireweed. It got its name because it is the first plant that grows after a forest fire.

On the drive we stop at Denali State Park (not to be confused with the National Park) to see the Alaska Veterans Memorial. Besides a leisurely walk to Byers Lake, we read the interpretative signs about Alaska’s war highlights. Surprisingly it started during the Civil War when a rebel warship sailed to the Bering Sea to harass the Union’s whaling fleet off Alaska. Alaska figured prominently in WWII when the Japanese invaded and occupied some of the Aleutian Islands. During the Cold War, Alaska had several important air bases that played a key early warning role against intercontinental ballistic missiles. A couple weeks ago we talked to a man who was once stationed up here and he regaled us with stories of flights to listen to Russian communications.

From the state park we continue our journey south stopping for the night in Wasilla, AK, the governor’s hometown. We are thinking of calling up Sara to see if she is free for dinner.

July 8, 2009

July 8, 2009

The setting sun last night was blaze-orange from the fire smoke that returned. That doesn’t bode well for mountain viewing today. We were so lucky to see Denali yesterday.

This morning we drove back to the entrance of Denali. On the way we stopped at the Savage River pullout to do a short hike along the creek. Afterwards we stopped at the entrance Visitor Center where we watched a video about Denali wildlife. The photography was simply stunning.

In the late afternoon we took a bus to see the park’s sled dog kennel so Aimee could pet a few Alaskan Huskies. The dogs were lethargic from the heat. But as soon as the ranger came by they all jumped up and wanted to be a part of the demonstration sled run. Amazing that they love to “mush” so much. A small exhibit room described how important dogs were to survival for Stone Age man, especially so in the arctic. Interestingly the oldest dog burial remains were found not far from my hometown in Illinois.

We stopped at the Wilderness Center to secure a site at the park entrance campground. The staff said it was full. Undeterred, I called the 800-number and got a spot anyway. After staying at so many National Park campgrounds I have learned the left hand often is unaware of the right. I could write a book.

July 7, 2009

July 7, 2009

Experiencing Denali National Park is a difficult and time-consuming process. To prove that, we spent the entire day on a school bus again taking it west, this time to the end of the road at Wonder Lake (mile 85). A longer déjà vu of yesterday; but not quite. While the sky was clearer than yesterday I wasn’t prepared for what I saw as we approached yesterday’s stop at Stony Hill Overlook. Staring us in the face, clear as a bell, no clouds in the sky, was Denali, “The High One”, the fleeting Mt McKinley. Definitely a special treat. Denali is normally obscured by clouds four out of five summer days. But somehow, the couple drops of rain last night and a breeze in the right direction must have blown the smoke out of the park. I now feel complete with the park and can leave Denali content. Mt McKinley is impressive to look at. It is 20,320 feet high, soaring high above the valley below. Plus it is a massive peak, one big hunk of snow-covered rock.

Denali and the accompanying Alaska Range are so high, they block much of the rain clouds heading north. As a result the north side is an arid treeless tundra. We would have liked to stay at Wonder Lake and maybe hike out to the “dirty” grass-covered glacier, but we have a long return bus ride ahead of us. Seeing the interior of Denali requires a huge commitment of time and effort (and camping). On the way back we stopped at the same scenic spots as yesterday, but with sunny smoke-free skies, the colors are much more dramatic. Back at camp, we strolled the Teklanika riverbank before dinner.

July 6, 2009

July 6, 2009

The bus system at Denali is very complicated. You can take a wide variety of shuttle and tour buses into the park. The prices all vary depending how far you go. By staying at Teklanika River campground inside the park, we bypass much of the complexity. We hop on a “school bus” shuttle shortly after 8am heading farther into the park. The scenery is still very hazy from the smoke. Since the road is dirt and gravel, and we stop often to view wildlife, it takes several hours to navigate the 37 miles to Eielson Visitor Center. We see white dots on the surrounding hillsides that are supposed to be Dall sheep (a cousin of the Big Horn). We saw Dall sheep up close and personal in Jasper National Park in Canada so we can’t get excited. We also see one brown grizzly bear in the distance. We make brief stops at Polychrome Overlook and Toklat River Ranger Station. On a bench is a set of Caribou antlers. They are so heavy; I can't imagine walking around with them on my head.

At the Eielson Visitor Center we are bummed to find that Mt. McKinley is nowhere to be seen. The smoke is so thick we can’t even see the outline. We take a ranger-led hike to the ridge high above us, where we learn about the vegetation on the tundra. The tundra surprisingly has lots of flowers and wild berry vines growing in it. We also spot a cute Collared Pika (aka Rock Rabbit) living in the rocks. Back at the Visitor Center the sky clears up a little so we see some of the other snow-capped peaks in the Alaska Mountain Range. It looks like the scenery could really be magnificent if it was clear. From a photographic viewpoint this trip has really been a bust. It rained the whole week we spent driving the Alaska Highway; now it is dry and smoky. I haven’t taken a single wall-worthy or National Geographic covershot in several weeks. Depressing!

On the ride back to camp we did get the pleasure of seeing a half dozen more grizzlies. Compared to this morning’s bear, these were of the “California” variety, almost platinum blonde. We also saw several bright red foxes.

Having gotten a fill of wildlife I pay a little more attention to the return drive. The road passes through some fairly rough terrain and I start to get a little nervous at how close the bus comes to the edge of the dirt road. On most of the route the road is on a mountainside staring at the valley a thousand feet below. There are no guardrails and this dirt road looks like it could give way any minute. I fasten my seat belt but a lot of good it would do if we slipped off the edge.

Once back at Teklanika campground I am grateful we got a spot here. It cut 2.5 hours off the normal bus ride time.