Day of Decision

Downtown St. Ignace, MI
August, 2010

This was the first time I've been home for a real visit in the summer time since I moved to Alaska. I forgot how beautiful it is when you don't have to shovel snow.

It was a day just like this, in 2005, that I decided to go to Juneau, AK. This was a decision that would set the course for me to find myself where I am today.

I got a call in that June morning from a testing lab in Grand Rapids. At this time I had graduated with my Mechanical Engineering degree and was looking for a job in that field. Countless resumes had been sent out since my graduation in December with no sign of a job anywhere.

They were very interested in me but couldn't promise enough work for me to even pay rent. After thinking for a while I decided the job wasn't for me. I thought "What have I done? I just turned down work!"

To clear my head I decided to take the canoe for paddle and put in down by the marina. I paddled East, past town, all the way down to the airport and back. I saw some pretty big rocks in the bay and a few white fish swimming along. The water was calm and a cool breeze kept the sun from making the day uncomfortably warm.

Less than a half hour after I got home the phone rang. It was my good friend Josh asking if I had found a job yet. When I answered no, he asked if I wanted to come to Juneau and work on his survey crew for the summer. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. A couple days later my stuff was packed and I was on the road.

The relationships I made in the past would give the me opportunity to make new relationships that would help me find my way to Anchorage 2 years later.

I'm glad I turned down those guys in Grand Rapids.

Flat Top

Flat Top Mountain

Last week I took my first hike of the year up Flat Top Mountain. Because it was late and still very snowy I didn't venture all the way to the top, though there were people who did. Those same people slide down the steep slope on their rears which was a much faster, but possible more tragic, way to descend.

I will admit I gave the butt slide a try on my way down a much smaller slope, and it was pretty fun. The waste deep snow at the bottom wasn't super fun but I had it better then the guy following me wearing shorts!

I'll be hiking Flat Top a lot this summer, getting in shape for my caribou hunt this fall. You'll be able to see the pictures from this trip and throughout the summer here;

My Smug Mug :D Flat Top

Spring Hunting in AK

Spring Hunting in Alaska

Snowshoeing up from Seward

This weekend Rich, Skip, and myself visited Laura in Seward. Our plan for Saturday was to hike a trail to above tree line and maybe see some early spring bears. Little did we know that it was going to snow as much as it did. Well... Laura probably knew that it snowed that much since she lives there but the rest of us didn't.

Here we are on our way up the trail. You can see all the new snow that had fallen within the day or so before. Our estimate were between 18 and 24 inches of new stuff. There were still places along the trail that were more than 6' deep.


We got to the top, rested, and ate a snack in a NFS cabin for a while and headed back down. Below is Rich shortly after we left the cabin. There was a lot more snow at the top then down at the bottom.


No bears up there, but the scenery was worth the effort. It was about 2 miles up and 2 miles down.

We hit up another trail and flats along another river looking for hares but didn't have any luck there either.

No worries, We'll get em next time.
Take a look at the rest of the pictures here;

Brian's SmugMug

Beef Jerky

Gustafson's Gas Station
Brevort, MI

One the stops I looked the most forward to on my way back to Alaska was at Gustofson's Gas Station for some of the most awesome beef jerky and slim jims ever. I think I loaded up with 2 pounds of jerky and 12 slim jims. Its easy to say they didn't last far into Canada.

Shaky

Across the river from Tetlin, Yukon
(I think)

Somehow, someone from the Yukon Highway Department took a picture of me as I was crossing this bridge, quickly made a sign, and installed it before I got to the other side.

Weird...

I need to blog more...

Its true. I need to blog more.
Maybe I got lazy, maybe I was just too busy, maybe my computer was making it irritating. Mostly I'm lazy though.

Anyway, blogging more is on the list of New Years resolutions.

Enjoy the beautiful outcome of Ice Fog in Anchorage.

Just across the parking lot for the office.

20th Street on my way back to work after lunch one day.

Have those mountains been there the whole time?

Walk

Walking
11/01/09

For lots of reasons, some more grandiose than others, I have started walking after work. Since today was such a beautiful day I decided to get out and enjoy the sunshine while I could.

Due to the time change sunset is fairly early, around 5:00pm.

The picture below is from almost the top of a slope off Spenard Ave. near where I access the Chester Creek Trail system. Its facing east looking at the Chugach Mountains with Valley of the Moon Park at the bottom.

Even though temperatures have been below freezing for several days I was surprised to find Westchester Lagoon frozen, probably 1.5 to 2 inches. I stomped on it a couple times and got one good crack to form but couldn't break through.

Westchester Lagoon, in past years, has had a large trail plowed in the snow snaking around the lake. I've read that its the longest maintained trail in the US. Hopefully they will plow and maintain the trail again this year. I'd like to give skating another try.

Below is Westchester Lagoon looking west-ish. (Guess I should start bringing my compass on my walks)



I walked around the lagoon, through a pretty nice neighbourhood (I bet they wondered what I was doing there) and since it was still relatively light I decided to investigate what I suspected was a trail on the east end. After making my way down a steep hill and finding a trail made of wood chips I decided to find out what was at its end. Trudging through the woods, making tons of racket as I went, I looked up and saw a man standing about 75 yards from me. He had a bicycle, not the mountain bike you'd think he should have on the trail, was smoking a cigarette, and looking right back at me. It didn't take long for me to decide that it would be better to just turn around and leave the way I had come. I found the first hill up to the road and continued on.

Sadly, there are a lot of homeless people in Anchorage. There has been a so called crack down on homeless camps the last couple weeks and I kind of wonder if this guy was homeless looking for a place to spend the night. Maybe he was a creepy guy lurking in the woods. Or maybe he sneaked out for a smoke and ducked into the woods so his wife and neighbours couldn't see. Who knows. I decided it was better for me not to find out.

Another strange thing happend closer to home. A young man, at least 16, stumbled down a hill and out of the woods onto the trail. As his pants fell down he dropped his cell phone. After picking it up he had a really hard time with his pants. His belt had gone missing and his rear was well exposed. He was either high or drunk. Again, who knows what was going on. He got in a truck with some people who had been disk golfing and that was the last I saw of him.

I also saw a lot of people running, skate skiing on those fancy pavement ski deals, and people walking there dogs. I even witnessed some kids trying to break through the ice by pounding it with large rocks. All pretty normal if you ask me.

Anchorage is a nice place but its still the largest city in the state. All cities have their problems but I guess Anchorage isn't too bad. Where else, with such a large population, can you be stepped on by a moose or mauled by a bear?