Snow Day in July?

July, 2008: Anchorage, Alaska

Well... maybe not quite a snow day, but there was certainly a fresh dusting on the peaks when i arrived at work last week. Does global warming mean that Southcentral Alaska is going to become more like Southeast, rain and all?

It has been a soggy, cold July in Anchorage and just when we think we might catch a break in the weather, it starts drizzling again. It certainly makes for fun bike rides. These past few weeks have actually involved staying home a bit more, getting a lot of work done and helping Darcy and Toby prep for their three week float down the Noatak (so jealous!). Other then that, there has been lots of dodging moose on my bike (i think my summer moose count is somewhere in the 20's?), fixing flat tires, shorter hikes close to home, and becoming an expert on the culture and social structures of villages in Northwest Alaska. Throw in an indictment of Uncle Ted who has kept the state flush with pork barrel money for over 40 years now, and life in Anchor-town can get pretty crazy.

For those interested in getting a better sense of the communities i am working with, here is a first cut of a National Geographic Documentary that is coming out about one of the communities i am studying. It does a great job of giving a sense for the land, the people and the way of life in these far flung villages.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8151647920867682260&hl=en

the view from my office on yet another overcast day...

Add a dash of snow a few days later.

Biking the Fireweed 400

July, 2008: Sheep Mountain Lodge to Valdez, Alaska

After several years of hearing about this crazy race where people bike several hundred miles on Alaskan highways, i was finally roped into participating this past weekend by Steve, my road biking-enthusiast boss at ISER. The race consists of several different divisions, with race distances ranging from 50 miles to 400 miles, the 400 miler only being for about 10 or so super-crazies. Steve and Luke were planning on riding the 200 mile distance and as i was clearly not ready for anything that long, i ended up riding the 200 mile race as a relay with Anne, Steve's girlfriend, trading off biking and driving legs throughout the day.

We started at Sheep Mountain Lodge at 7am on Saturday morning in an intermittent, drizzling rain which eventually cleared into a beautiful day. We proceeded to bike west on the Glenn Highway before turning south to follow the Richardson Highway and the TransAlaska Pipeline all the way into Valdez. The scenery was incredible and the biking was fun, but by far, one of the best parts was getting to know other riders as we biked or waited for relay partners at exchange spots. The whole thing had the feel of a moving party of folks all crazy enough to do this sort of thing for fun.

All told, i probably ended up riding between 80 and 90 miles of the 200, as Anne had actually trained for the race (training? what's that?) and was in much better shape than i. She also rode most of the serious uphill legs, so really i got off easy. Despite all of that, i have to admit that i was pretty tired when we finally rode into Valdez, tired enough that i read the "Fireweed" sign as "Free weed" and remember thinking..." huh, that's a new post race perk!" right. But... i survived, had a great time and will definitely be back again in the future, maybe this time with a few more miles on my bike to help get me through. And, for anyone interested in planning a trip next year... www.fireweed400.com

Bike racing, Alaska style. Throw your tent out next to the airstrip, put your bike under a plane you are good to go. Just keep praying that the rain lets up by the time you have to start riding in the morning...

The rainy start of the 200 mile relay at Sheep Mountain Lodge

Steve is all set to go for the 200 mile road race!

Random biker climbing up towards Eureka Summit... incredible scenery everywhere!

The sun comes out as Luke bikes towards Tiekel River Lodge

Race photographer took this one at a food station... sheesh, what a dork.

i may have been driving while taking this picture....

.... but i did actually pull over for this one.

Anne heading up the first climb of Thompson Pass. What you cannot see in the picture is the ridiculous headwind that made the ~6% grade feel about twice as steep. Go Anne!

The climb up Thompson Pass with the Worthington Glacier dominating the scenery

Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon on the way into Valdez. The Canyon is famous for its world class ice climbing in the winter.

Our ride back to Anchorage

Five bikes on a roof rack? No problem!

Packrafting the Tokositna

July, 2008: Peter's Hills & Denali State Park, Alaska

Fourth of July found Darcy, Toby, Ian & i driving up to Denali State Park for a backpacking and packrafting trip across Peter's Hills and down the Tokasitna River. Peter's Hills was the site of my very first backpacking trip in Alaska, five years ago, and it was fun to revisit this beautiful place.The area is located just south of Denali National Park (http://tinyurl.com/5zokye) and when the weather is clear, provides an incredible view of the whole Alaska Range and particularly, Denali itself.

We arrived at the trailhead late on Thursday night and, after a night camping in the gravel pit that serves as a parking lot, we headed up the hill on Friday morning, following ATV trails for a ways before setting off cross country across the soft tundra and remaining patches of snow. The hills, although only about 3,000 feet tall, are mostly above treeline and provide a great ridgewalk with the whole expanse of the Alaska range keeping us company along the way. While we got a great view of Hunter, Foraker, and Moose'sTooth, Denali itself was shrouded in clouds for most of the day, giving us just small hints of the 21,000 ft peak that towers over the other peaks in the range.

We finally camped on the east side of the hills after some good paddle-sledding and hunkered down for what seemed likely to be a rough night, with winds fully collapsing our tent before we moved it onto a narrow rocky shelf to help provide some protection. Luckily, the winds died down shortly thereafter and around about 4 in the morning, I woke up to find that the winds had blown the remaining clouds away from Denali to fully reveal the enormous mountain.

Denali was our fifth companion for most of the day on Friday as we hiked down the east side of the ridge; a 3-hour, shin-bruising bushwack later, we inflated our rafts on the Tokositna River and set off on part two of our adventure. We paddled for about 10 miles before setting up camp on a gravel bar covered in moose and bear tracks and enjoyed a brief swim in the 34-ish degree water.

Sunday dawned foggy and cold as we proceeded to pack up and float the remaining 18 or so miles to the junction between the river and the highway. As it had been so warm the past few days and with the previous nights thundershowers, the river had risen considerably, and Darcy and I got to test out our new packrafting skills on some small rapids that kept the paddling interesting as we floated down river. A perfectly timed stop at the Tokosha Mountain Lodge, the only sign of human development we saw the whole trip, provided us with coffee, hot cocoa and great stories from the owners, John & Marisa. As we got back on the river, the weather finally started to clear as the Tokositna met with the Ruth and the Chulitna Rivers and carried us further south, back to civilization. Credit for most of these photos belongs to Ian and Toby as my camera battery went dead on day one.

Darcy and Ian during our lunch/nap/yoga break on top of the ridge

The backpacking was fun, but the scenery... eh, whatever.

Ian and Toby studying our route overlooking the Tokositna River valley. Denali is hiding in the mass of clouds in the middle of the range.

The mountain came out to play! Not a bad breakfast spot...

Toby and Darcy hiking down the ridge

Darcy models proper packrafting form in her yellow rubber duck. Denali wants in on the action too as it peaks over the ridgeline.

Darcy and Toby in the lead

Making dinner on our gravel bar after a refreshing swim in the 34 degree water.

The river widens considerably after its confluence with the Chulitna. We got practice navigating around gravel bars and sweepers as the weather started to warm up.

They said there were eagles...

Miss Handling the Alaska Jamboree

June, 2008: Anchorage, AK

The team name was Miss Handled, and mishandle we did... in all the best ways of course. It was my first weekend back in Alaska and my first time playing in the Jam since 2004 when my team took it to double game point in the finals. This time, things were a little more relaxed as i joined Luc, Tomas and co. for a great weekend. There was jumpsuits, yummy salmon, rodeo themed dance parties, and burritos with ice cream... what more can a girl ask for? Pictures courtesy of Sharon Goodwin.

We deliver with care...

bil looking like he just rode his bike out of prison

Rodeo themes at the party... Luc shows off his beaded jacket

Tomas... equally excited about his shirt

Requisite team picture- Tomas, Sharon, Jen, Luc, Dylan, bil, & Jamie

The biker gang rolls over to the fields in the morning

Team strategy... call code black and eat a burrito