Talkeetna, Fairbanks and Chena

The long weekend for Veteran's Day was put to good use. A large group of us drove up to Fairbanks, with stops on the way, to check out life in the Interior.

This is a long post, so for those of you that want to cut straight to the pics, here ya go:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/TalkeetnaFairbanksAndChena

First stop: Talkeetna. The site of future Bachelor Ball/Wilderness Woman shenanigans, my introduction to this town was a blast. A group of about 8 or 9 of us left Friday night on the 2+ hour drive North. Talkeetna is a (very) small but (very) cute town Southeast of Denali. It is the home of many climbers and a definite draw. It is said to be the inspiration for Cicele, the fictional town from Northern Exposure (hey, that sounds like this blog's name!).

We arrived and dropped off our gear at The Roadhouse. The Roadhouse is a combination restaurant and hotel. The downstairs is the restaurant and is justly famous for its giant breakfasts. I very contentedly split a half order the next morning. The downstairs also features a number of couches and fire places with books and boardgames liberally strewn about. What with all the coziness and books and the ecclectic group of people who stay there, I can think of few places that I would rather be snowed in.

After dropping off our gear we headed out to hit the town (all one block of it). Dinner was at the Wildflower Cafe, where, rumor has it, the chef is the former cook for George H.W. (Bush to our current Shrub).

Post dinner we headed for the local bars. The first featured a well-lit game room where Justin and Lara demonstrated their ping pong skilz. Lara really gave an Army guy a run for his money.

The next bar was the Fairview Inn. This bar was much more what you would expect with low light, a guy playing the guitar in the corner and dogs freely roaming around. Ok, maybe that's not what you'd expect, but that's what there was. Here the group settled in for some serious fun. I retired early to a very creaky room at the Roadhouse, but others shut the place down.

-------

Saturday began with a liesurely breakfast. I might (or might not) have been the last person to get up. This is my blog, so you'll have to be content with not knowing. As mentioned above, the portions at The Roadhouse were generous and the cinnamon rolls were fantastic. We got several text messages from the rest of the group (another two cars full that left Anchorage Saturday morning) informing us that they were about a hundred miles ahead of us on the drive to Fairbanks (no joke, it's about a 350 mile trip).

We hit the road after walking down to the river. The drive up was long, but quite beautiful. After Talkeetna, the Parks Highway heads north between the Talkeetna Range and the Alaska Range. Denali (Mr. McKinnley) was off to our left, but was obscured by cloud cover. I took my turn behind the wheel. The town (tourist trap) of Denali was shuttered for the winter. The town of Healy overcharged us for gas. Mostly, it was like any road trip and we were happy to finally get to F-banks (other names: Bearflanks, Squarebanks, etc.).

We finally met up with the rest of our group at our place for the night. Liz had gone above and beyond and secured us all a B&B for the night. We had the whole place to ourselves. After a brief catch-up session and scattered planning, the group split up again along varying lines of fun. Some headed to a local bar. Others (me included) headed for the Athabascan Fiddle Festival that was going on. The Festival was lively and it was really interesting to see the native population gather. The music was good to fair, but the energy was great and the dancing was fun. We had to leave too quickly.

Dinner was at a Thai restaurant which had surprisingly good food. Many in our group thought that it was the best Thai food they had eaten in the state.

Our evening plans were in a constant state of flux: some wanted to head to a coffee shop for some live music, some wanted to go back to the fiddle festival and some wanted to drive out to a bar outside town for a blues show. I opted to head with the large group heading out to see more shows. We first checked out the show at the coffee shop which turned out to be a benefit to help battered women in Africa. We listened to the music for a bit, but gravitated into the "kids" room and played Uno for a while. After a few rounds we headed out.

Our next stop was a bar out in Ester, a town about 10 minutes south on the Parks Highway. The Blue Loon is a large barn-like structure with multiple levels and a pretty good sized stage. We negotiated them down on the price of the cover because we had missed the first half of the show. Sometimes it's good to travel as a pack of lawyers (with assorted doctors, reporters, engineers and mathematicians thrown in).

The headliner (guitar and vocals) was brought in from Chicago and he was pretty good. Apparently his luggage was lost, so he was wearing borrowed clothes. But the show was fun. Once our whole group was in we took over the dance floor. During the finale, the lead performer came down off the stage and danced in the crowd while playing his guitar. He singled out Liz for some serious dancing.

Our drive home was slow and safe. Everyone slept well.

-----------

Sunday

Our goal was to get to Chena Hotsprings for some soaking with some skiing thrown in. We made a slow start and stopped at the Fairbanks Fred Meyer's to pick up food, beer and some snow toys. That store was HUGE. It looked about the size of two regular Costcos. The Clash's "Lost in the Supermarket" could have been written about this store.

We met up with our friends at a trailhead on the road out to Chena. Some headed off to cross country ski the trails. I teamed up with Brendan, Justin and Lila to try our luck with some sledding. We picked a likely looking spot and jumped on the inflated tubes that Justin had bought. We chose poorly. Our sledding location was actually a rock quarry with not quite enough snow cover to make it worthwhile. The tubes were punctured. We had a bit more luck with the board that Justin had bought. It was like a snowboard with no bindings. You just held onto a leash and hoped you didn't hit any rocks. We hit rocks. Lots. It made for some comical and (often) not too painful falls. All of us ended up with some good bruises though. Callie stopped by to say hi and ended up taking, what we all agreed to be, the most spectacular fall of the afternoon.

The sledding was given up as a bad job and we headed for the trails for a hike in the snow. We met up with our skiing friends and set off along the Chena river. It was beautiful. The river was partially frozen and the skies were clear. Lea and I pushed on a bit further when others turned back and found some really beautiful spots to check out.

After the hike we headed for the hotsprings. Chena Hotsprings (http://www.chenahotsprings.com/) is a resort with a nice set of hotsprings. It's a bit built up, but a fun place to head with friends. We checked into our rooms. Some headed for the restaurant for a quick bite, but I headed straight for the water with Lea, Callie, Brendan and Ron. The outside pool was the highlight. It's surrounded by large, snow covered boulders. The pool itself is about 50 yards long by 20 yards wide. Temperature varies from pleasantly warm to downright hot. By contrast, the air was well below freezing. Our hair all froze in interesting shapes.

Our initial soak was wonderful. We repaired to the hotel room for a quick change and headed to the restaurant for food. The meal was passable, the service was unique (our waitress seemed to lack a sense of humor, which clashed with our silly mood -- although Brendan did eventually get her to crack a smile), and the people around us seemed to be less than appreciative of our boisterous mood. Eventually our whole party ended up in the restaurant and we admired Lila's ability to dangle a spoon from her nose and Brendan and Lara amazed us with their dish washing skills.

After dinner entertainment consisted of a game of celebrity in our hotel room (12 or so folks in a hotel room for a game - don't worry, we had more rooms for sleeping). After we were good and relaxed we headed back to the pool for a late-night soak.

The pool was lit by several colored lights, but it was still pretty dark. We were able to enjoy the stars and sit in first the large pool and then a tub on the deck. At the end, most of the group gravitated to a large rock in the middle of the pool. They looked like beached sea lions all pressed up against the cool rock. Lea's efforts to organize a handstand contest went unappreciated. I'm not sure what the lure of the rock was, but it's siren song held our friends in its thrall.

On the way back to the hotel room, it was really cold. We later found out that it was -13. Brendan's shorts froze solid on the short walk.

----------

Monday

Monday morning was the start of our drive back to Anchorage. We hit the main building for coffee and ran into a group of lobbyists entertaining some AK legislators. Our drive out to Fairbanks was fueld by a leftover cinnamon roll from The Roadhouse in Talkeetna The roll was frozen solid and we had to use the car's heater to defrost it. But it still tasted fantastic.

Breakfast was at a small diner in F-banks and it was... passable. Nothing special. Although the booth we sat in, with fake red leather, a tippy table and the sort of tacky brick-a-brack on the walls that places like Applebees try to emulate was pretty awesome.

The day was pretty bleak with low clouds and swirling winds. Our first stop was at "Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn." (http://www.skinnydicksak.com/) This bar and gift shop is a riot of dirty jokes (see the title) and shocking games. Literally, many of the games would shock you. Like the game where you and a friend each hold paddles that give you escalating electric shocks and the first to let go wins. I lost, Lea won. Oh well. Maybe I'm just smarter and don't want to put up with the pain (rationalization complete).

The drive itself was uneventful for many hours.

The monatony was broken when we stopped at a pullout near Denali State Park. A sand pile had been left there that was at least 35 feet high and covered with a foot and a half of fresh powder. At Lea's urging, we climbed to the top and sledded down on the snow board. We spent about 15 minutes taking runs down the pile.

We stopped for dinner in Wasilla at a burrito place. It was surprisingly good food.

All in all we had a long and fun weekend. For the number of people we had along on the trip, it seemed like people got along well and the organization seemed to come off with little to no hitches.

Hatcher Pass and Cabin Building in Chickaloon

Hatcher Pass is in the Talkeetna Mountains about an hour and a half north of Anchorage. It's further into the mountains from the Gold-Mint Trail that we hiked back in early September (see earlier post). About 12-15 of us headed out there Saturday morning to get in some backcountry skiing, skate skiing and snowboarding (I was the sole boarder - it felt like 15 years ago).

The snow was gorgeous and fresh. The weather was fantastic: blue and clear. We rented a cabin, stashed our gear, and headed for the mountains. One group strapped on their skate and classic cross country skis and headed up to the abandoned mine. I went with the other group that made its way up the road into the pass for downhill action. Everyone else (Ron, Callie, Ryan, Liz and Lea) was on backcountry skis and skinned their way up. I, however, had my board strapped to my back and (no so) simply walked up. It wasn't too bad, but I did post hole semi-regularly. Skinning seemed to be a lot faster. (n.b. Skinning is when you cover the bottom of your skis with a sticky fabric so that you can walk uphill without sliding. Also, the heel on backcountry bindings can lift while going uphill and then you strap your heel down when you want to go downhill.)

Once we got up into the pass, Callie, Lea and I made an early turn around. I didn't fancy post holing up the steeper ridge. The ride down was awesome with fresh pow on both sides of the road. At the bottom Lea decided to try to catch up with the skaters and Callie and I hiked back up for another run. After that I was completely worn out.

The cabin was great. We piled 10 of us and 2 dogs (2 more in cars) in. We also had enough food and beer for a small army. After some good cheer, we headed to the sauna. It wasn't quite hot when we got there, but we went in anyway. Once it heated up we made trips to jump in the stream or snow outside.

After our time in the sauna (poor us) we headed back for a huge potluck feast. Everyone brought their A-game (standouts: Lea's Curry, MK's lentils, Jeff's Chili, Liz's Bread, My Aunt Charlene's Cookies!, and Ron's fish).

Just as food coma was setting in, MK worked her magic and got everyone outside for some sledding. I can't believe that no one complained about the noise we made, but we were allowed to hoot and holler and make a whole ton of noise running around. Mostly it evolved =) into a snow fight.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/HatcherSPassSkiingAndCabin

_________
Chickaloon
_________

The next day Callie and I headed to Chickaloon, a town about an hour north of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway. Ryan, a friend of ours, is building a cabin out there and we headed over to lend a hand.

The cabin will quite nice when done. Ryan and his friend John were in the process of putting the main roof beam on when we got there. Ryan was using climbing gear to hoist the log. Apparently a grigri works fine.

Liz joined us and we made progress putting up the rafters. During a break Ryan and I grabbed some downed logs for Callie and I to take home for firewood. After using a chainsaw to make rounds, I split the logs and loaded them in the truck.

Ryan's friend Skinny stopped by to enlist some help in lifting a log to be used a roof for an outdoor, wood-fired bathtub he was constructing. He had constructed quite a beautiful tub with a nifty roof. We lifted the log into place and the mortis/tenon that he had cut fit snugly.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/ChickaloonCabinBuilding

Krista's Visit

Krista came up to visit from Friday the 26th of October until Sunday the 28th. She flew in Friday afternoon. I greeted her with hot chocolate. Friday started off overcast and rainy, but once again the Anchorage weather decided to treat a visiting guest to suddenly clear skies.
We spent Friday afternoon and early evening walking out to Westchester Lagoon and along the Coastal Trail. My earlier claims that it's impossible to go out and about in this town without running into someone were proved to be true when we saw Kate and Jeff out for a run. After the sun went down we were treated to a full moon lit walk back with downtown Anchorage's lights reflected in the lagoon.

After dinner at the Bear Tooth Grill we met up with some of my friends at Mad Myrna's to watch a local production of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. It was awkwardly horrible but very entertaining (in parts). After the show ended Krista was understandably exhausted after a long day of flying so we skipped the dancing and headed home.

Saturday we slept in and then drove out to Eagle River to go for a hike. It was a partly cloudy day and the local hillsides were barren as the leaves had finally all fallen. The hike up the Eagle River from the nature center was still and peaceful. We saw a loan salmon still hanging out in the spawning area. We also spotted a Downy Woodpecker, a Spruce Grouse, and a juvenile Bald Eagle.

Back in Anchorage we met up with Lila, Mike and Kaity for a dinner at the house. We cooked chicken, a bunch of veggies and enjoyed some quality wine. Hard to think of a better evening. We finished it off watching MASH (the movie - go watch it if you haven't because it is fantastic).

Sunday we had breakfast at Snow City Cafe and walked around downtown. I showed Krista my office and we poked around until it was time to take her to the airport. Krista's visit went way too quickly. A weekend was just not enough.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/KristaSVisit

Excuse me, there's a moose in your yard

Last weekend a moose and her two calves moved into the woods across the street. They spend their time wandering around, munching on leaves and staring at joggers. The Chester Creek trail runs right across the street and the woods on either side of it provide a nice resting place for the moose family.

We've spotted these moose the last few days as they cross from one side of the creek to the other.

Hillel and I spent some time taking pictures of them. They really don't care that people are around. They are quite habituated.

My dad suggested that the mother moose seek out human areas because there are fewer bears around.

Last night they were in our neighbor's backyard. One of the calves munched on some leaves on the tree while the mother stood around. Then the two calves started playing with a tent the neighbors had set up. They took turns nudging and watching it spring back up. Then they wandered off.

Trial

We watched the jury return their verdict today in the, so called, "Stripper Trial". Mechele Linehan was found guilty of first-degree murder. The prosecution's theory was that she conspired with one fiance to kill another fiance for the life-insurance money while she was out of town with another ex-fiance. Yes, this woman was involved with a lot of men.

For the full back story, read this article from the Anchorage Daily News:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/stripper/story/9398965p-9312346c.html

It was very affecting to watch her family's reaction to the announcement. As much as this trial has been an utter media-spectacle (if you read the article above, you know the whole story will end up as, at the least, a TV movie), when you are in the same room as these people it is impossible to escape the fact that these are real people. No matter how this trial could have come out, all of these individuals' lives have been irrevocably changed. And it was impossible to not be moved by her husband's physical reaction to the announcement of the verdict. He was literally shaking.

I am very curious what went on in the jury room when they were deliberating. The prosecution's case was entirely circumstantial. This murder was over ten years ago. So it must have been a convincing barrage of evidence that the state put down in order to convince these people that this woman was guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Yes, she was manipulative and, by most measures, a "bad" person, but that's different from committing murder. Hopefully the jury was correct and she has received justice. The alternative is too depressing to contemplate.

Powerline Pass

Two weekends ago Callie and I found ourselves with little to do on Saturday. Lila and Hillel were out at Eagle River on a hike. So we headed to Chugach State Park to go for a hike. The first real snow in the Chugach had come, so the roadsides on the way up were covered in white.

The road up to the parking lot for Flattop was iced over. Cars were parked along the sides. We were following a group of cars up when the lead car started to spin its tires. The whole line had to stop and that was it. Once we stopped we couldn't get moving uphill again so Callie and I retreated and parked a bit down the hill.

We hiked up to the parking lot, past skiers trying out their new purchases, kids playing on a rail set up on a driveway and a truck that had skidded a bit off the road.

The snow was deep enough around the upper parking lot for cross country and skate skiers to be out and about. The weather was gorgeous. We hiked a bit of the ways into the valley. People were out with their dogs enjoying the sun and snow. It was beautiful to see everything covered in a blanket of white, shining in the sun.

Unfortunately we were a bit paranoid due to the old-man-in-Scooby-doo-style warning we got from a motorist that our car would be towed. So we went back to the car earlier than we would have liked. It was still there.

So we walked over to where the kids had been snowboarding and used frisbees as sleds. They sort of worked, but mostly I ended up with snow down my pants.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/PowerlinePass

Flattop Mountain in Chugach State Park

Last Saturday, Lila, Hillel and I went to Flattop Mountain in Chugach State Park. When you visit Anchorage, everyone tells you that one of the hikes you have to do is Flattop. It's an easy drive, just on the Eastern side of South Anchorage. You head up into the hills past the swells' huge homes to a well-maintained dirt road out to Powerline Pass. The trail is pretty easy up until you get to the base of the actual hill that is called flattop.

The weather was temperamental. At moments we had view all the way out across the Anchorage bowl, past downtown and out to the Alaska Range. Then ten minutes later a cloud would blow through and we couldn't see more than two-hundred yards.

The path started in a small scrub forest with weather gnarled trees. Then we were out on an exposed slope with berry patches all around. Finally we headed up some very well constructed steps to the saddle below flattop.

From there the snow started and we had to carefully pick our way up carefully. We took our time and followed the route up. The view was pretty spectacular.

Up top, it was surprisingly still. Everyone had told us that it was always windy on the summit, but we had a nice calm day. We scarfed some sandwiches and enjoyed the view. After exploring a bit, we carefully descended. As soon as we made it back down to the last saddle, where the good path started, it began to snow in earnest. It was amazing. Us California folks tried to catch snowflakes in our mouthes. It snowed so hard for a bit that we could actually hear the snow fall.

On the way back down we spotted a moose and her calf out in the valley.

Back in town we spent the evening getting ready for our friend Justin's birthday party. He threw a superhero party where you had to come up with your own superhero and power. I went as "Mr. Patriot". My power was a 'decontextualizer ray' that could instantly turn every issue into black and white and us/them. Callie was "Beergoggula" - you can guess her power. Lila was "The Translatrix" and had a bunch of phrases translated into other languages taped all over her. It was a fun party. I think our house won for best set of costumes (not that it was a competition or anything).


PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/Flattop

Exit Glacier and Seward

The Saturday that my parents visited we drove South on the Kenai Peninsula to Exit Glacier and Seward. The drive south was rainy but beautiful. Turnagain pass had a fine layer of snow on the ground. The clouds around the mountains were quite dramatic. Our weather luck held, and it began to clear just as we got to Exit Glacier.

We made the hike out to the foot of the glacier. The NPS has done a nice job of setting up the path with markers showing how far out the glacier came in years past. Its really striking how far it has retreated in the last century. (As I write this, three moose just walked by out on the street in front of our house.) The glacier itself is now a short walk across the flood plain with braided streams coming out from the ice.

The surrounding hills were covered in yellow birch and alder with the evergreens standing out starkly dark green.

Seward itself is a small town on Resurrection Bay. The bay itself is ringed with snow-capped peaks. We ate at a Greek restaurant and then braved the wind to wander the cute downtown. We escaped indoors at the Sea Life Center. The Center was paid for with money from the Exxon Valdez settlement. It's really quite nice, not as large as the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but still very well done. They had a baby walrus that was new, a nice display on spawning salmon, sea lions, and a nice aviary.

We then made the drive back to Anchorage and had dinner at the Moose's Tooth. My dad and I continued our scholarly survey of local brews (his term) and we all shared a pizza. My parents turned in after that.

That night I met up with Lila and Monica at Blues Central to hear the Whipsaws play. They started off with a set of pretty standard rock. Their second set was their best, a collection of alt-country tunes with a guest fiddle player. Lea showed up at that point and we sat through another set of americana rock before dancing to their last set.

Sunday morning my parents and I had breakfast downtown (unfortunately Snow City was too busy, so we had to eat elsewhere). Then we went to Costco and bought a tv for our house here. Thanks parents!!!

The sun came out again, so we went for a walk around Westchester Lagoon. Once again we ran into two other clerks (Lara and Kate) while out and around. It was nice to be able to show my parents just how small Anchorage already feels.

After that I took my parents to New Sagaya to score some sandwiches for their flight. It was sad to see them leave. Having parents visit when you move to a new town is a wonderful feeling. They really made me feel more at home here. I'm glad they had such a fun time and can't wait to have them back again.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/ExitGlacierAndSeward

Parent's visit - Eagle River and Downtown Anchorage

My parents came up to visit last weekend and we had a wonderful time. Having them visit made Anchorage feel more like home.

They came in on Thursday around mid-day and we spent that afternoon looking around Anchorage and going out to dinner. The next morning I showed them my office, introduced them to the judge and turned them loose in downtown Anchorage. They had a great breakfast and spent some time at the museum. I took off work after lunch and we headed for Eagle River, a town north of Anchorage in a gorgeous valley that winds back into the Chugach.

Once again the weather rewarded us. It was clouded over in Anchorage and all the way to Eagle River. The river valley was bunched with clouds that gave us glimpses of the peaks around us. It was still beautiful with all the leaves turning bright yellow. Once we got to the Nature Center it was starting to clear. Patches of blue began to appear and we set off on the trail up the valley.

One portion of the trail system was closed because of bear activity. The trail worked its way down to the plain. The river was dammed in places by beavers and we watched salmon spawn below us. The female would turn sideways and shake to clear a spot in the river bed and then a male would dart into the spot.

The weather continued to clear and the color from the leaves shone. It was a well-documented hike. I snapped pictures while my mom used a video-camera and kept up a running commentary on what we were seeing.

At the end of our hike we were commenting how we hadn't seen any real wildlife when a bull-moose walked right out of the woods towards us. My parents headed up the trail a bit and I stopped to snap a few pictures while the moose munched on some leaves. Then we headed on.

We stopped again to look at the view from the nature center. A family hiked up and we chatted about the moose we'd just spotted. Then we started talking about where we were all from (they were from Florida) and it came out that the woman in the group had just gotten married to a guy that was in my class in high school: Mike Chicas. Small world. They just moved up here because Mike is in the Coast Guard.

We then headed back to Anchorage. The first Friday of each month the galleries around downtown have food and open their doors. So we joined a pretty large group that was wandering from gallery to gallery. My dad took the chance to go get a quick trim - my mom thought he was getting too shaggy.

We didn't have quite enough time to hit every spot because we were meeting my housemates for dinner at 6:30. Dinner was at the Marx Brothers Cafe, a truly fantastic restaurant on 3rd. We went through a few bottles of wine and enjoyed our dinners. Callie, Lila and my parents talked about traveling and all the fun places everyone has been to. It was a great dinner with family and friends. The best kind.

After dropping my parents off at the apartment they were renting (www.downtowngueshouse.com), I met up with some friends who were out having sushi. The group then went out for drinks at a bar downtown and we danced for a while. Unfortunately I couldn't stay out too long as I had to pick up my parents at 8 so we could start our trip to Seward.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/EagleRiver

Tuesday Night Runs

Anchorage is a seriously active town. It seems as if everyone in town is into getting outside. Although someone I met at a potluck told me there is a strong stay at home and play video games contingent. They just don't seem to roll in the same circle as the outdoorsy folks.

Anyhow, one of my favorite activities that shows how active this town can be is the Tuesday Night Races. http://www.muni.org/parks/tuesday.cfm

The Municipality puts on these races every week from early September through the end of October. They are fun runs with two divisions that you can choose from. The Farm League does about a 5k and the Lightning League is usually around 10k. There's also a Munchkin League for the kiddies.

The runs take place at a different location each week, usually on a trail system. There are a number of parks around Anchorage with lighted trail systems that get used for cross-country skiing during the winter.

Two weeks ago we went to our first TNR. It was at a high school up near Elmendorf AFB and I had a great time on the 5k. That's such a fun distance. Although it was the first time I'd run in really cold weather in a while and my chest hurt from the cold air. After the run about 15 of us went for Mexican food at Taco King. Very passable.

This last week I ran the 10k (9.3k) with Jeff Kim. We were trying to decide which distance to go right up until the split. We went long and it was worth it. Although the trails are hillier than I am used to running. Davis is not good training for actual trail runs. I have flat and straight down, though.

The best part of this run was the finish. We were at a trail system in South Anchorage right by the Chugach. We made the last turn towards the finish and came out of the trees. We were facing East and saw the mountains lit up by the setting sun. The flanks of the mountains had turned yellow and red with the changing season and the low sun lit up the mountain with the snow above a brilliant white. With the finish line in sight, it was a beautiful view.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it the rest of the runs in this series.

Catching Up... Byron Glacier

My parents visited this last weekend. It was fantastic to see them. We had a great time together. I'll slowly get the last week blogged, but for now I need to catch up from last weekend and this last week -- things have been busy.

BYRON GLACIER

After a saturday night out on the town, I slept in. I lucked out and got up just in time to jump in the car with Mike and Lila. We drove down to Byron Glacier, which is along the road to Whittier. It takes about 45 minutes to drive out there. The Glacier is just West of Portage Glacier and is a very easy hike in.

We arrived at our trailhead and immediately recognized Callie's car. She'd gone out that morning to learn some ice-climbing skills with Ryan. So we continued our tradition of driving long distances to end up at trails where our friends were already at.

The trail in was well worn and wide. Very friendly to casual hikers. We reached the first of the ice in a short time and spotted Ryan and Callie climbing. They were on the other side of the stream, and none of us had on waterproof boots so we just waved from the opposite shore. Then Mike, Lila and I continued over the first moraine, which was a jumble of large, slick black rocks with moss growing anywhere it could. Fantastic.

We were able to get up close to an outlier from the main glacier and touch the ice. It was covered on top with jet-black rock and then was shockingly white below with streaks of blue. The surrounding valley was covered in clouds that gave us glimpses of the peaks above.

The main glacier hung further back up in the valley. With it beckoning in the background, it was very tempting to keep walking further up the valley to see what each successive ridge hid. Unfortunately the day threatened rain and we all wanted to get back to town. It truly is amazing to live in a city where we can drive 45 minutes (or less!) and be out in a wilderness with glaciers, moose, bears and all the accoutrements.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/ByronGlacier

Next posts: Tuesday Night Runs, Koots! and the Anchorage bar scene, Parent's visiting, culinary reviews, Eagle River, Seward... I need to get to work.

Anybody Want To Get Married?

One of the duties that no one told us about when we signed up for this job was that we would perform civil marriages. Yes, that's right, my job includes putting on a black robe and hitching people. In 1999, by order of then Presiding Judge Elaine Andrews of the Third Judicial District, all law clerks in the district were appointed marriage commissioners. The upshot of that is that I have the legal power (after all forms are signed in triplicate, mailed to Nome, shipped back by moose, and smoked with Alderwood) to officiate marriages up here.

So if any of you good readers want to get married in the next year and want to do the ceremony in a spiffy new courtroom (or anywhere in Alaska for that matter), then head on up and your's truly tie that knot for you. Sean and Darcy, how about it?

Special Post for Glen

By popular demand:

Glen, as well as a number of others, have clamored for pictures of fish. So without further ado:


Also, I want my bonus points, so here's some pictures of a bear eating a salmon:

I do actually work

It's been suggested by several people that I'm not actually clerking for a judge up here and instead spend all my time going on hikes. While that would be fan-tastic, it is unfortunately not true.

My job has actually been quite fun and interesting so far (it is, however, work -- let's not get carried away here). The judge is very easy going, likes to chat and has been giving me a lot of freedom in my assignments. Our judicial assistant is incredibly helpful and very friendly.

I currently have a rather large office to myself. It's an old jury deliberation room, so I have lots of space. It used to be shared by two clerks, but my predecessor's officemate decided that she wanted more privacy and so she moved down the hall to a much smaller room with no windows. I feel kinda bad that I'm benefiting from that, but not too bad.


My windows look North towards Knik Arm (part of Cook Inlet) and Denali. On a clear day, like today, you can clearly see both Denali and Mount Foraker. In the panorama above, the Chugach Mountains are on the right and the Boney Building (where Callie works at the Court of Appeals) is on the left.

I also get a daily airshow courtesy of the US Air Force. F-15s, F-22s and any number of cargo jets land each day at Elmendorf.

There's a pretty good selection of restaurants and cafes around the area that cater to the local office workers and lawyers (of which there are a LOT around).

All in all, it's a pretty nice place to work.

Kesugi Ridge in Denali State Park

This last weekend we went on what was one of the prettiest hikes that I have ever been on. Denali State Park is at the southeast corner of Denali National Park. We hiked from the Ermine Hill trailhead, up over Ermine Hill, down into another smaller valley and then back up onto K'esugi Ridge. From there we headed southwest and down to Byer's Lake where we had rented a public use cabin.

The trip was planned by Lea and some of us clerks were lucky enough to tag along. Friday after work MK and Lea picked Callie and I up at the courthouse and we headed straight out of town to drive the approximately 140 miles north to the park. Once there we unloaded the car and let a very antsy Jackson (MK's dog) out of the back. From the parking lot it was a short half-mile walk to the cabin.

The cabin was fantastic. It was pretty much brand new, had a great view from the porch across Byer's Lake facing K'esugi Ridge, and was very well appointed inside. We had four bunks (two of which were double-wide), a table that sat 6, a prep/cooking table with built in tiles to put stoves on, and a woodburning stove. The cabin was also wired so that people could hike (snowmobile?) in a generator and power lights and a few outlets. Alaska likes their public cabins to be posh. No roughing it for us!

That night we chowed down on tasty-bites and sat around the campfire.

The next morning we met up with Jeff (a doctor who does contract work in various small towns around Alaska), Liz (a clerk), and Megan (a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News). Between Jeff with his MD and Liz, who was a NOLS mountaineering instructor and WFR, we were pretty well set up for outdoor and safety knowledge. Liz had also brought her dog Griz, so we had two canine companions on the trip. Unfortunately Jeff's dog, Kira, had torn her cruciate ligament, so she couldn't join us on the hike.

We caravaned over to Ermine Hill and set out at a bit after 9. The total distance of the hike was about 18 miles or so.
The start of the trail wound along a creek and through some gorgeous forest lit up with fall color. Then we began the switchbacks up Ermine Hill. Each bend gave us a better view out across the Fountain River valley to the snow-topped Alaska Range. The valley was dotted with yellow alder trees interspersed between the evergreen spruce.

We were spoiled with some fantastically sweet blueberries on the hike up. It was definitely a surprise that despite all the berry goodness around us, we spotted no bears the entire hike. Maybe the dogs running around gave warning to the bears (and moose) that people were about.

At the top of the hill we found a lake with a great view and then as we crossed over to the south side of the hill there were some fantastic boulders that got us talking about Joshua Tree.
All the elevation we had gained was quickly lost as we descended back into the forest. The trail crossed a number of creeks and we walked across bogs on bridges made of single 2x8 boards which were floating on three foot lengths of 8x8s.

Again we started to climb and were finally rewarded with our first views of Denali. It's hard to describe the size of this mountain. California has the Sierra, not a mountain range to be sneezed at. The Rockies are spectacular. But a 20,000 foot mountain is something entirely different. In short order we had to ban the use of the word "awesome."

The trail wound its way up the spine of the ridge and some portions that crossed large sections of exposed granite were very reminiscent of the Sierra. Again, we had a pretty much constant vista of Denali in a clear blue sky. I can not stress how lucky we got with the weather.
It was a pretty extended climb to the top of the ridge, past a long lake (the descriptively named "skinny lake") and up a series of false summits. We had decided to have lunch when we reached the top, and each tease of the top seemed to make us that much hungrier.

Finally we decided that we'd reached the point where it was no longer fun to keep walking without a food stop and we crossed some tundra to get a great view of the mountain for our lunch. I was struck by how much the flat tundra on the top looked like the views of the Yorkshire Dales. I half expected to see James Herriot getting out of his car to look at a cow suffering from stagnation at lunch (my parents will get this).

From the real top we started the long, slow descent along the spine of the ridge. Here we were able to make good time and really eat up the miles. The tundra was dotted with lakes and here we could just look right at any time and see Denali.

The trail back down to Byer's Lake split from the ridge trail and several of us remarked that the view from this point was one of the prettiest sights we'd ever seen. The ridges between us and the mountain were covered with bright yellow trees that seemed to glow in the setting sun. The valley was also lit up and the mountain was thrown into sharp relief by the light. Despite the fact that I was at the back of the group and didn't want to fall too far behind, I just had to stop and soak in some grandeur.

The rest of the descent once we got back below the tree-line was a bit of a rush as we tried to beat the dark back to the cabin. We just made it after almost 12 hours of hiking. It was a long, but rewarding day.

That night the seven of us crowded into the cabin with our three dogs and had a sore but merry time with food and beer. Jeff was kind enough to bring us two large jugs from the Haines Brewing Company. I was already a fan of this guy, but that cemented his status as one of the cooler people up here. Dinner was pasta with salmon cooked into the sauce. The salmon was donated by Lea and she had caught when she visited Kodiak earlier this year. She also brought along some salmon that she had smoked. This also cemented her status in the pantheon of bad ass new Alaskan friends. (I'm noticing that beer and food seem to be the way to my heart).

The next morning we awoke a bit sore, but ready to enjoy a little quality time at the lake. A leisurely breakfast and some fetch time with Jackson made for a fun time.

The drive back to Anchorage went by quickly. The wait at the Noisy Goose restaurant did not go by quickly. We ended up squeezing six of us into a booth meant for four. Luckily a larger booth opened before our food arrived and the wait-staff took pity on us and let us move.

All in all, it was a great weekend: great weather, superlative scenery, and fun/fabulous/fascinating new friends.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/KesugiRidge/