Blog Entry #6 The Yukon (very briefly), Valdez and mostly Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve

Dear Family and Friends,

I told a friend in an email recently that it is hard not to feel a wee bit of guilt on this trip. Just a way to say … ‘I wish you were here’! More in our next entry as to where we are perched right now, as I write .. just say it involves surf, snowcapped mountains and sunshine.

I know that many of you have been sweltering and we wish you cool. It seems so odd but Tom and I often have on four layers! While AKans say that it does get hot here (80s – 90s briefly), I think many of you can honestly respond … pfft.

A few of you have asked about our camper and how it is working. Perfectly!!! I have christened her ‘Turtle’ and it is great to have our home with us at all times. We have gone to some wonderful ‘ends of the road’ . Loose sand and very steep downs with very steep turns at the end are just about the only thing that Tom won’t attempt -- glad he is the driver!

And now the highlights since we last were in touch.

 The Yukon: We were briefly in the Yukon in order to reenter AK from our SE ferry hop, though we will spend considerable time there on our way back home. The welcome sign said “Larger Than Life” and that became the catch phrase of the day. Each ‘large’ sight (huge Million Dollar Falls – tremendous emerald green water cascading down its channel and Lake Kluane (Yukon’s largest lake) looking like the ocean, was greeted by a glance at each other and a nod. The Yukon branding group got the tag line right. And that phrase also captured the potholes and frost heaves of that part of the Alcan -- receiving regular ‘uh ohs’ from both of us.

 Valdez: Frommer’s said “go to Valdez for the drive” (the Richardson Hwy) but unhappily we were heavily in rain and low clouds. That said, we did manage to boondock right below The Worthington Glacier and it was gorgeous even in the clouds, do laundry, have showers and enjoy the museums Valdez had to offer. It was more than sobering to think about the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, oh so many years ago, still seeming to have an effect on the environment and then think of the Gulf.

 Museums: Just a quick note to let you know that we have seen some outstanding small museums, sometimes in the most unexpected places (Burwash, YK?) and are amazed at the energy local citizens put into keeping their natural and human history alive! We can’t mention them all, but museum visiting is an important part of our travels and we have loved the discoveries from each one of them.

 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (McCarthy & Kennecott). If I told you we took nearly 300 photos in 2 days, it might tell you something about this incredible adventure. When Tom was just daydreaming about this trip, one of his co-workers said you must see the Wrangell Mountains – you must. Now this is easier said than done.

This, our largest NP (the size of Connecticut or 6 Yellowstones) is accessible only by two very challenging roads. The McCarthy road is infamous for taking 5 hours to travel sixty miles and then there is the bridge! It was described as a wooden, 60 year old railway trestle, one lane, and spanning a canyon 200 feet high. At that moment I was reading an AK mystery novel that told of a very tough cop crawling across same bridge (in winter) to avoid his fear of heights. Since I could relate, I told Tom I didn’t think I could drive across it, and I knew I couldn’t crawl across it! So began the very best birthday one could have and I considered it my gift for this year and several years to come!!

o On Thursday morning July 8th, at 9AM we flew out on Wrangell Air to McCarthy (a 30 minute flight) with a darling Swiss couple. Karin and I laughed nervously that we hoped the pilot had grey hair, and when he taxied up to us, he did! Besides grey hair, Don also had 30 years of bush piloting experience. The day was Colorado blue sky and everyone, in those magical two days, told us these were the first good days of the summer. A bit like Denali, only a few get lucky enough to see Mt. Blackburn. The flight was smooth and ended all too quickly. At five o’clock on the 9th, we repeated this flight and in the photos below you will see glaciers, mountains and the braided Copper River with a wing strut or two to prove authenticity.

o McCarthy is a tiny ‘ghost’ town that still survives, even unbelievably over the winter. It was founded to serve the giant copper mine of Kennecott, just 5 miles down the road. It is tiny but the few photos below will show its charm and uniqueness … the residents’ photos were from the 4th of July and were strung up all over town (what a wonderful way to ‘show off’). It now mostly serves tourists, wilderness guides and of course, the citizens of McCarthy.

o The Kennecott Copper Mine buildings are now owned by the NPS and are being restored for a peek into a time lost to most of the world. In the lower 48, the mine would have been dismantled and recycled but it is just too difficult to do that here. The mine was abandoned without a backward glance in 1938 when the quality of the ore diminished.

Some buildings will be restored, some left to fall down and some bought up to ‘restored decay’ (just enough to be able to safely visit). The ruins are stunning in their setting and the tale is stunning, too. In many ways, one wonders what one will do ‘to make a buck’ and I think the answer is just about anything. They built a 250 mile railroad through unbelievable wilderness in 1910 finishing in 1912, to pull out the copper from this incredibly productive mine; perched buildings on precipices; and created a civilized town for the managers. The workers? It was brutal … both the mining and the milling … but unlike the fish canneries, miners and millers did earn money and thus did not owe everything to the company store in the end. At least that was something (I guess). The tour, given by the St. Elias Alpine Guides, was fantastic … we got to start on the 14th floor of the mill and over unbelievably steep stairs, follow the path of the ore.

o The Kennecott Glacier Lodge was formerly a group of apartments for the mine. It burned down in 1987 and it was rebuilt adding rooms until you have the photo below. It was our first night out of “Turtle” and we enjoyed the wonderful family style meal (with two more Swiss families … those Swiss do like to travel!), the birthday cake and wine and the endless long night looking over the glacier from the veranda.

o And the adventure of all? Hiking the Root Glacier with a wonderful guide (environmental biologist about to take on a PhD program at Colorado State (!) who is also a mountaineer and ice climber. Keely was doing ‘lite’ guiding that day. Even tying on the crampons was a thrill. Just one more note -- you have to walk differently on crampons (duh!) and so we were instructed on the uphill technique. Halfway across our hike, Keely, said ‘I’m turning it up a notch with the downhill technique’. And that is how we ended up at the bottom of the waterfall … steep downhill ice walking. It was so worth it! Other images … the different crunch sounds of the crampons on the varieties of ice on the glacier, and the bluer than blue water of the ‘moulins’ … glacier water –filled features. It was simply the most amazingly wonderful day.

And so, the adventure continues. We miss you and cannot believe we have been out for 52 days. It is flying by. Special love to our kids in Truckee and Monument and to all of you following our adventures.

Until next time,

JP and Tom

Blog Entry #5 Mostly Juneau and Haines

Dear friends and family,

Here we sit in our camper in Valdez, AK and I will make only a couple of comments on the weather. Today we finally cried ‘uncle’ and bought our very own rain pants. And one more thing … I have altered expectations to say that a day without rain is a very good day … and only high clouds a very, very good day.

Considering that Juneau was a bit ago, I will need to read my journal to remember what I want to share. We have been out 43 days now, and, gulp … things are blurring just a bit. Thank goodness for both the journal and photos. This is a blog in arrears.

And still more highlights:

• Mendenhall Glacier: Arriving off the ferry from Sitka at the still very light 9:00 PM, we first checked out the lake in front of our site at the Mendenhall Glacier National Forest Service Campground. And as you will see, we had our own personal icebergs (and cubes). Hiking the West side of the glacier was easy, moderate and difficult depending on the section of trail … but the views were only spectacular. Reminding you all of the basic physics of light absorption that explains why glacial ice is blue (the ice absorbs all the spectrum of light except blue) … but why it is this absolutely otherworldly blue is, for me, not explained by physics.

• Juneau: Absolutely loved walking the neighborhoods of Juneau (the only state capital that cannot be reached by road). When you walk up (and I mean up) eight blocks you have reached the end of Juneau. Its streets are laced with stairways linking the streets and joining the neighbors. Some folks have their front doors opening off these staircases. And as you can see from one example below, they love to garden. Although grown-up in some ways, Juneau is also very homey and accessible. The Governor’s Mansion is in a regular neighborhood with a bungalow across the street. Space in ‘historic’ Juneau is at a premium. My quest for the world’s best ginger cookie may have been achieved at the Paradise Café. If I can convert her recipe (that she was kind of enough to share) using 4#s of grated fresh ginger, than I will be able to share with all of you.

• No death by water adventures in Juneau

• Meeting folks: just as we were leaving the campground, we met an Alaskan (Eskimo-Athabascan) documentary film-maker. We do not get reliable enough internet to watch his entire film about a radio station in remote Alaska but watched the trailer and it looked great – check out www.nfb.ca (national film board of Canada) and search for CBQM. His website is www.mackdelta.com I can’t wait to watch it when we get home.

• Saved the best ferry ride for last: While I wish the photos would do it justice, the 4 hour sunny ride from Juneau to Haines on the Malaspina MV was absolutely glorious. My book was unread as I watched one glacier or incredible waterfall after the other appear in the truly rugged Chilkat Mountain Range. The mountains rose 8,000 ft. right from the ocean! And, a bit regretfully, from now on we will have to leave the driving to us.

• Haines : We will remember our campground owner hosting a campground crabfeed-potluck; a sunset at the “end of the road” with grizzly bear (no photo); watching a Dept. of Fisheries young man sitting on a dock in the middle of the river, net catching salmon coming through a break in a weir. They are tracking the returning salmon coming back to spawn (you could say that AK still has a ‘salmon economy’!!); having a gift shop owner ask the best question as he was getting to know us “now what do you know the most about?”

• Another water adventure: Ok, I know what you are thinking. Still a float down a river in the Bald Eagle Preserve when it is possible that you have to get out and push the raft over the shallows, sounded pretty safe to me. And it was. Special moments of that adventure were having a young guide on the bus who had grown up in Haines giving us his perspective of the community; seeing 24 Bald Eagles including a juvenile captured in a photo below (4000 return mid-winter for a late salmon run in February); and learning about braided rivers and the incredible amount of silt coming off the glacier changing the channels from hour to hour (hence the potential to get stuck). Deserving more than a semi-colon was our river guide Aurita … a very special young woman who has just finished her Army tour as a talented linguist serving just recently in Afghanistan. We know that there is much to learn about her and from her but I will leave you with this … at one point, she threw out her arms, encompassing the mountains, the water and the eagles and said – “and this is my office!” She takes nothing in life for granted.

And so dear friends and family … another entry. We will catch up with you again soon. Please take good care and let us know how you are.

As always a special sign to our girls, their guys and our four legged friends.

Until we check in again,

JP and Tom

Alaska Blog #4 – Mostly Sitka, AK

Dear friends and family,

We sure hope that after this entry, we will not have to write that here we sit in our camper with the rain pouring down. Funny, Juneau the “Forest Capital” also gets 107 inches of rain per year. We hiked for 3.5 miles in it today (up the Mendenhall Glacier East Trail) and while still beautiful, we looked at each other and said ….we need some sunshine here. So to tempt fate, we purchased two expensive Gortex hiking hats and we will let you know if the trick worked! If you had seen our wet hats you would understand the purchase.

A philosophic note-as we were boarding the Fast Ferry ‘Fairweather’ from Sitka to Juneau, the captain announced that due to the narrowness of the “Peril Straight” (huh?), he would be making … and I quote “bold corrections in both course and speed.” What an interesting way to think about life …certainly not all phases of one’s life… but some? So watch for the bold corrections.

More highlights:

• Hiking in SE Alaska has been very … you guessed it … wet. That said, we have had some wonderful hiking moments -- some even in the sun.

*Herring Cove: Bears and shotguns – so we had just returned from this wonderful hike up from Herring Cove with the beginning made up of chest high grasses. We knew that there were more Grizzly Bears on Baranof Island than people, so much to Tom’s dismay I had been working through my Broadway tunes repertoire. As we exited the trail, two young men, with shotguns strapped across their chests, were about to begin it. I asked about hunting (naively) and they said …oh we are just hiking but we never hike without a shotgun! Bears, you know! We then found out that the bears are in transition right now waiting for the salmon and berries. And what do they eat? Grasses. P.S. Some Sitkans have never seen a bear.

*Boardwalks and more boardwalks: Almost every hike we have taken since we arrived has involved wooden planks, steps, and bridges. Many of each! Really many, many as the photos will show. While Tom has been amazed at some of the wonderful woodworking, my knees have yearned for the now enviable CO switchbacks! 

• The Flora: While we were in absolutely perfect timing for the Rhoddies (everywhere), we are still a bit early for the masses of wildflowers. We see hints of Fireweed and had a few beautiful stretches of Lupine. Miss Rumphius was busy in Alaska. We have learned quite a bit about some of the rainforest and muskeg plants … Devil’s Club or Skunk Cabbage anyone? The blue flower is the Himalayan Poppy that we saw in an Arboretum. Lovely, no?

• The Fauna tally: One Grizzly Sow and Cub (from a distance on the ferry); two whale flukes (pretty up close and personal); a raft of sea otters (just as cute as you think they are); many, many Bald Eagles; Redbreasted Sapsuckers; Great Blue Herons and of course those two wolves. Keeping track belies the magnificence of actually seeing each of these creatures in their natural environment. Thrilling.

• Sitka itself: We just loved Sitka with its intriguing and complicated history … Tlingit, Russian and American … and its beauty. There is a wonderful National Historic Park that explores both the Tlingit and Russian cultures and histories. As is true everywhere in North America, it is very sobering to contemplate what has happened to our native peoples. And it would trivialize it if included as a blog entry. Just know that this awareness is a part of our trip – as well as a great appreciation for the tenacity and creativity of this special group of people. We also learned a lot about commercial fishing … and that up here talking about eating farm raised fish … well, thems fighting words. We hated to leave … had more to see and wished we could have stayed and enjoyed some lazy days there. We also had 2 beautiful days with bright sun. I tell Tom I would like to visit again!

• Death by Motorboat: Oy vay. Our new friends Darryl and Sheri (whose son lives in Aurora!)and the two of us hired a smallish boat with this express purpose: poke around the numerous, wonderful looking islands and to see otters! Period. Done. Our operator after showing us otters, persuaded us that it would be good to see whales. Just down the next wave, he’d say. Two whales later, and still feeling confident of the boat and driver, he persuaded us that we must see St. Lazarius Island – a lava rock island where millions of birds roost, including the tropical looking Puffin. OK. When we reached the middle of open ocean (this can be embellished in the years to come as well as the kayak adventure), he said … this is a bit rougher than I thought. Then when the deep swells began and a big one crept up beside and he said, ‘wow that was a big one.’ … I was DONE. White knuckled it all the way back (the dang Puffins were cute!) and collapsed in our bunk. Be surprised; be very surprised if ANY of our further adventures involve water and a water conveyance.

As we mentioned before we have been lucky to meet new friends and we have been sharing our lives and some adventures (like wolves and death by motorboat). Darryl Painter is a fantastic photographer. Please give him credit for the eagle, otter and puffin photos. We were along for the ‘ride’ and he was good enough to share them with us … and now with you. We hope to see them again in Denver in late fall.

We love hearing from you. We apologize for brief responses in advance. Sending special love to our goils and boys and pets.

Until next time.

JP and Tom

Alaska Blog #3 “the blog less travelled”

Dear family and friends,

We sit cozy in our camper with the rain coming down in spurts. Petersburg, AK gets 107 inches of rain per year and it is certain that some high percentage of those inches have fallen since we have been here. Still, we had the pleasure of arriving in sunshine and have an appreciation of how beautiful it can be when those special sunny days occur. This combination of glacier capped mountains, endless water and rainforest is most dramatic and appealing. Here are a few more highlights since we arrived in Alaska.

• The Alaskan Marine Highway: What a wonderful way to travel. Think of it as a bus on the water. It takes all of us … from 40 foot bus motor homes, to cars that need to be towed , to walk-ons (one couple brought their little guy’s mini trike and he amused himself riding around the deck). Perhaps the most spectacular route on the entire ‘highway’ is the stretch between Wrangell and Petersburg called the “Wrangell Narrows”. From the photo you can see that this is no small ferry and yet at times the Narrows lives up to its name with the two shores only being about 2 football fields apart. The pilot had 70 navigational beacons and made 40 navigational corrections in the space of less than an hour!

• The land of the 10:30 PM sun: I suspect as we travel toward June 21, it will truly be the land of the midnight sun, but for now, it is not quite. Right now, it is 9:00 P.M. and it feels like a very long dusk. Lovely shadows!

• The most beautiful campsite in the universe: In Wrangell (our first AK stop in this very authentic feeling town (not much dressing up for company) we headed north for a National Forest campsite about 8 miles out of town. Our site, perched high on a cliff looking miles up and down the Straight of Zamovia, was surrounded by snow capped peaks. It was breathtaking. To add to it all, there was a pair of Bald Eagles nesting in a large fir tree about 50 yards in front of us. I called it the total “Bald Eagle Experience”

• Making new friends: Waiting in lines for the ferry can create new friendships. One fellow, an engineering professor, is building a cabin that is either 45 minutes by boat or a.6 mile hike in through the muskeg (AK’s sponge …. very wet, very mushy, very intriguing). He was bringing the fixings for a bathroom so his wife would visit. He had enlisted a young engineering professor friend of his to help. I cannot guess how many trips they made over the rocky beach or up the sloughly path before they invited us for dinner (we did the hike piece). What a memory we have of steaks from the fry pan, wine in acrylic glasses (his wife sent them in the truck) and looking out of this barely finished beautiful cabin toward the icebergs of the La Conte Glacier. Wonderful conversation, too!

• Death by Kayak: No doubt as the years pass the embellishments to this adventure might include a rescue by a Coast Guard helicopter or the necessity for a ½ mile swim. No embellishments really needed as the actually truth is pretty good. It was rainy and a bit choppy when we went out on a guided adventure up a tidal creek (more like a tidal river if you ask me). While it was pouring rain, it was still very beautiful and I quite liked the kayak. While breaking for lunch, the storm that was expected later arrived with gusto. Trying to round a point in high winds against the tide was hard enough, but watching our young guide paddling her heart out and being swept into the reeds made it very real. Then she became quite serious and told us we must paddle as hard as we could as she had called for a boat to come for us. Since the tide was going out, the boat might not be able to make it to us. We had to beach the kayaks, wade through two feet of water and somehow (I am still not sure how) hoist ourselves into a high-prowed boat. I am calling it “the Kayak Adventure that Shall Not be Named”.

• Camping at the end of the road: I had not planned any more entries as I certainly do not want to become annoying … but tonight we are camping at the end of the road – literally there is no more road on the island! As we were eating dinner watching the tide go out and watching the sand bars appear, there appeared two beautiful wolves wandering back to the woods via the sand flats! I am afraid that no one will believe us except that we have witnesses as we saw them with another couple also camping at the end of the road.

Love to all with special shout outs to 355 and Truckee!

Sitka next.

jp and Tom

Blog entry 2

Alaska Blog Entry #2

June 5, 2010

Dear family and friends,

Here we are in Prince Rupert, BC waiting for the Alaska Marine Highway ferry to leave tomorrow afternoon for Wrangell, AK (12 hours). This requires a 3 hour check-in that includes, of course, US Customs. Fun fact: We will cross the US-Canadian Border six times during this trip! We have now travelled 2300 miles. But as ‘they’ say, it is the journey that is important and our journey so far has had special moments … so here are a few highlights:

• Springtime through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and BC was the western version of Ireland with the brilliant green of the fields and hillsides. It was gorgeous. The many different animal babies were fun to see … especially while walking a bit in this sheep ranch in Wyoming. We hope we weren’t actually trespassing.

• Friendship renewal … our friends Lynn (depending on who you ask, my childhood friend since we were 11 or 12 -- you do the math)and husband Mike were dear enough to take a week out of their lives and travel from Kelowna to Prince Rupert with us. Such fun … even when this young fisherman had to cast for Mike’s hat.

• A wonderful jewel of a museum in New Hazelton, BC (‘Ksan Historical Village) where we were able to visit with the curator and find out how and why this First Nation group was able to accomplish this amazing tribute to its culture. Let’s just say much determination. The Gitxsan People live on the Skeena River – River of the Mist. And as you can see from our garb, we have been living the misty life with enthusiasm.

I think I have caught you up. We’ve had a wonderful journey to begin our Alaska adventure.

Love to all,

To KT, HP, RG and BH lots of love. To Lily and Scooter, too.

Tom and JP

Alaska Blog Entry #1


May 24, 2010

Dear family and friends,

We will be on our way in the morning. I have been storing up superlatives for this journey and for this blog but please forgive if I end up repeating myself. We have spent many hours getting ready … packing the camper, outfitting it with clever little storage gizmos (for as those of you who have seen the camper have commented … it is small) tucking away enough soup for the duration and figuring out mosquito gear. I have a hat, shirt and gaiters. Pictures, you can be sure, will follow.

Just one musing to share at this point … I am travelling with four items I would not have needed when I was 29 – compression hose, walking sticks, knee brace, and a very large bottle of Advil.

Tom has created a map for you to follow our journey. Our first stop is to pick up Evelyn and Mike (our very long time friends) in Kelowna, B.C. and they will camp with us northwest across B.C. to the ferry in Prince Rupert. You will receive an email and link when we have posted but please feel no obligation to read and no guilt if you just hit ‘delete’.   You can catch up at anytime if you wish.

To KT & HP and RB & BH… xoxo

Tom and JP