Berry Season

Did I say that there was only two seasons in Alaska?
Well, actually there is three; Winter Season, Getting ready for Winter Season, and finally the short but beautiful Berry Season (commonly called fall by Outsiders).
For the last few weeks my life has consisted of picking and processing nearly 50 lbs of Alaskan wild berries.
We have Crowberry pie, Crowberry jelly, frozen Crowberries, and Crowberry syrup.
Blueberry Jam, Blueberry desert sauce, and frozen Blueberries.
Raspberry freezer jam.
Current Jelly.
And best of all, Current Liqueur.
As I have been picking berries in the autumn hued mountains, winter is moving in. With every clearing of the cloud cover, the snow has moved farther down the mountains. Soon we will wake up to frost. After first frost is when the low bush cranberries come into their own, and then I will go into another frenzy of berry picking. In the meantime, I hope to find time to get out and get some high bush cranberries before it's too late.

Fall colors in Arctic valley where I pick Crowberries and Blueberries.



From bush...



To bucket...



To Jar.

Whales

Three Beluga Whales

Even though I grew up here, Alaska still continues to amaze me. Tim and I had decided to drive out to Portage Glacier on a beautiful Saturday a couple weeks ago. Driving by Turnagain Arm, we noticed some movement in the water; Beluga Whales! We stopped to watch them as they moved down the arm, feeding, playing, and blowing water through their spouts. Sometimes we saw seven or eight at once-altogether I think there were 100's out there. We spent two hours following them up the arm and then back down. A week later, I went out before high tide to see them again. On this day, there was a strong wind blowing the water back out of the arm. There were only a few whales this day, working hard to swim just a little way before turning around to swim out. They were not playing, just raising out of the water slightly as they swam a straight, difficult line.



Beluga Whales in Turnagain Arm







Sunset as we headed home

Busy Weeks

A poppy in my window

With everything there is around here to do, I have not written much lately. After getting our wood ready for winter, we had a new, huge chore to get through; unpacking our stuff, which finally arrived from Colorado. Although we were quite ecstatic at no longer having to sit on lawn chairs in the house, as the movers continued to carry box after box and brown wrapped piece of furniture after brown wrapped piece of furniture we were wondering how on earth we were going to make it all fit. Finally they left us amid floor to ceiling boxes with a small, winding path in the center of them. A week or two and a couple new hanger rods later, we are finally beginning to be able to see the floor. Next up is the desk, which is still piled high.

In the meantime, my grandfather has just returned from about one week spent in the hospital after having a complete knee replacement. Now, in addition to having a black butt, he has a bionic knee. A black butt, you ask? That happened when the zipper on his sleeping bag broke in the Arctic. During his knee surgery they gave him an epidural and goofy pills instead of anesthesia. The first day in the hospital, he described to us how he could hear the saw being used to cut through parts of the bone, and how he could feel the vibrations moving through his upper body. Although he does not remember it, apparently he talked nonstop throughout the entire surgery!



Piles of boxes



Piles of wood



A hail storm in August

Seasons

Tim on 3rd Peak

In Alaska, our lives revolve around the seasons. You either have Winter season, or Getting Ready for Winter season. During Getting Ready for Winter, everyone runs around frantically, trying to squeeze as much enjoyment as possible from every last drop of warm weather; Hiking, fishing, camping, berry picking, rock climbing, and generally trying to see as much of the beauty of Alaska as possible when access is easy. Not to mention the chores such as weeding, mowing, chopping wood, and doing all the things that need to be done to prepare for another long winter ahead.

Tim has begun complaining about all the constant activity.
"I don't have time to relax" he says.
"I don't have time to read"
"Just you wait" I tell him.
"When winter comes around you will have more time to read and relax than you could ever want. Just you wait!"

Well, he doesn't quite believe me yet, but soon he'll see, when it's cold and dark and snow blankets the landscape and he spends most of his time relaxing by the fire. By next summer, he will be ready with the rest of us to run around like crazy through another of Alaska's fast paced summers.



One of the bluest sky days we have seen, climbing Penguin Peak



A black bear, interrupted from eating berries, watches us as we hike up the valley.





View from near the top of penguin



A bald eagle soars overhead on Penguin

Harp Peak

On Tuesday Tim and I went for a hike back to Symphony Lakes. On the way there, I saw a peak, called Harp Peak, that I thought would be great to climb. Yesterday, a friend and I headed up it. Wow, what spectacular views! And lots of climbing opportunities all around. I will definitely be back around there.

In other news, Tim is enjoying his new job. The weather has been improving. In fact, the sky was nearly all blue this morning! Our wood pile is growing. In general, life in Alaska is good!







Thanks Teresa For the photos!!!

Front Page News

My grandfather was front page news yesterday and there are also some great videos of him talking about bear encounters, slowing down at 81, and frostbiting his ass in the Arctic, online at the Anchorage Daily News website. Here are the links:

Mountain Man:Wilderness Shapes a Life
Griffiths bear encounters
Frost bite in the ass
Slowing down by doing the Alaska Wilderness race?

Employed!!

No, not me. But Tim is now employed! He will be working for Alaska USA/Alaska Option, my bank for 16 years!

Angel Dust

The clouds lifted up and out peaked a few spots of blue today. And, something besides blue. Angel dust. Now, I am not complaining, angel dust is beautiful. But it's weird to have Angel dust in July, on top of gullies full of last years snow. A long time ago, Manelek, the great Eskimo Shaman, said "The snows of one winter will meet the snows of next". This year, in the midst of global warming, it happened. According to the Anchorage Daily News, that is because of La Nina. La Nina is colder than normal waters near Peru rather than the warmer than average waters of El Nino.

Whatever kind of year we are having and why, today was a great day for a long hike. I decided to do one of my favorite hikes, an approximately 12 mile loop up onto a ridge, back to MC Hugh Peak, and then along another ridge that eventually drops down into Rabbit Lakes. It's a beautiful hike, with views of the inlet, Suicide peaks, several lakes, and valleys below on either side. To finish off, it's a great four mile downhill run to the shuttled car.



Notice the light dusting of fresh snow near the top.



Looking back towards the sunshine.

Blue!!

The day started with sixteen silvers, bought directly off the fishing boat. Under a characteristically cloudy sky, we washed and wrapped them assembly line style before tossing them in the deep freeze. As we finished, the sun began to peek out. We could see blue!! Tim spent the rest of the day shirtless with a chain saw and axe cutting up wood for the winter. I spent some time stacking, and then took off for a hike.

When I arrived at Bear Ridge, dark clouds were rolling in over the mountains and it poured down rain on me. By the time I topped out on the ridge, the sun was out again. Next, fog moved in. And then, as I ran further back the ridge to Mc Hugh Peak, the sun came out again. The views were spectacular as the weather continued to improve. Maybe summer is finally here! Several hours later I returned home, tired and happy, to find Tim even more tired, and maybe a little less happy after cutting up two trees.



The fog rolling in on one side while the sun shines on the other



Looking up Rabbit Lakes Valley



Near the top of Mc Hugh Peak



Looking up the next valley towards Suicide peaks



The mountain man

Global warming?

Here in Anchorage, Alaska, we are beginning to question whether global warming is a reality or a myth. It certainly does not feel warmer to us! It is mid-July and we have had exactly two clear, sunny days and the thermometer has not yet broken 70. Global warming? How about global cooling. Or at least Alaska cooling.



Heading back to Rabbit Lakes with just a few patches of blue. The cool weather is good for running and hiking.



Rabbit Lakes remain locked in winter ice under cold, cloudy skies.

Bears in our backyard

After the unfortunate late night mauling of a girl riding a bike during a 24 hour bike race in one of Anchorage's parks, bears have become a huge controversy. Some people, like me, believe that Wildlife in our back yards is just one of the things that make Alaska unique. Other people think we should go out and shoot them all. I say to those people, "go back to California!"

On that note, here are some recent photos I took of a bear wandering through our yard. He has become a fairly frequent visitor, so we walk around outside with a shovel or ski pole now!



Alaska black bear lounging by our deck. Check out his claw!



Taken from the deck



Here he is running off through the yard

Sweet Home Alaska

After watching Barney take over two and a half minutes off of the 50 to 59 age group record on Mount Marathon, Tim and I headed to the airport to catch a plane to Alabama for a whirlwind weekend family reunion. After clearing up some of the many stories Tim's relatives have heard about Alaska, it was my turn. Because I have heard quite a few stories about Alabama! We had a good laugh about the confederate flag, cousin marriage, and other rumours of the South. And of course, we watched NASCAR.

We returned to Sweet Home Alaska to find out that the black bear I had seen run through the yard on Friday had returned and plastered its tongue all over the windows in my grandfathers house while they sat inside, five feet away, and watched. Alas, no photos of the alleged event, but I did see some smears.



The men's race starting up Mount Marathon



Barney, coming down the mountain



Tim's uncle is an avid hunter, with a trophy room spanning six continents.



The family.



Tim is about to get eaten! Well, not quite. Hopefully, he never gets quite this close and personal to a bear in Alaska!

July 1, First Day of Summer

It has been a cold, cloudy summer. The temperature has not even hit 70 degrees yet! I have been burning through our supply of wood pretty quickly. At this rate, we will have none left for winter. Now that Tim has finished his resume, he will be busy chopping more. Poor Tim!!!

Finally, after all this cold weather, the first of July dawned clear, blue, and warm-the first day of summer! Tim and I headed up Crow Pass for a beautiful hike with a group from the Alaska Mountaineering Club. I really hope summer has finally arrived and we have many more days like this over the next couple of months!

Tomorrow, we will be heading to Seward to cheer Barney in another mountain race, Mt. Marathon. This race started formally in 1915 after it was run in 1908 as a bet; can you get up that mountain and back in less than an hour? That year it took the man who made the bet 62 minutes, but now the winners usually finish in around 45 minutes. It is about 3 miles round trip, 3000 foot elevation up and then back down. Average speed going up is 2 mph, coming down is 12 mph. Some of the racers get out of control coming back down and many end up quite bloody from slips on the rocks! Barney turned 50 this year and is trying to set new records for the 50 to 59 age group. He succeeded on Bird Ridge, now we are rooting for him to blow away the record on Mt. Marathon tomorrow!



Looking down towards Eagle River Valley.



Raven Glacier.



Tim sitting on the outhouse roof at Crow Pass. In July, the snow is still really deep in places!



Looking back from the pass. If you can find the people crossing the snow field, it really gives you a sense of scale.



New Growth