Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
38 miles over a 60 hour period
The Resurrection Trail and the Swanson River is why I came to Alaska, to experience the true wilderness. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time at the Gone Fishin Lodge (GFL), but to be honest a campout at Larry's is more rustic than it was. We were being pampered, and it was time for an outdoor experience. Of course we did start this leg of the adventure with even more pampering. When our original charter company could not fly for us due to high winds, our good friend Dick at GFL, was able to hook us up with the Talon Air Charter Service. They had a bigger plane (a DeHaviland Otter) that could not only handle the weather, but they also got all of us and our gear to Lake Juneau in only two trips and saved us about $20.00! That Otter gave us all one sweet ride.
We could have not asked for better accommodations than the Romig Lake cabin. Great view of the lake, wood burning stove....and complete isolation. There were times (mostly when the boys were asleep) that it was possible not to hear a single man-made sound. Just the wind through the trees, the water gently lapping against the shore, the call of a bird, or the occasional slap of a beaver's tail. We spent two nights at this idyllic site. Fishing occasionally (to no avail), hiking along the trails, eating well..and sometimes doing nothing but relishing the moment.
We awoke on what would be our last morning at Romig Cabin, and began the chores of breaking camp. Tents and sleeping bags had to be rolled, backpacks had to be stuffed. Every member of the party was given a ziplock baggie that contained six cheese crackers, 3 pieces of beef jerky, a cup of trail mix, a box of raisins, a fruit bar, a granola bar, and 4 drink mixes. I gave them all these simple instructions that bright morning...."this is your lunch, I do not care when you eat your lunch, feel free to trade with your neighbor if you do not like something, this is the only lunch you will be given today, so plan accordingly." I am happy to report that these instructions, and this meal plan work smoothly. We finally started down the trail at 0950 that morning. We were 9 miles from where our cars would be awaiting us and were hopeful that we could do at least half of that this first day. At 1100 we had made it to the trailhead for Trout Lake and stopped for a long break. Some of our party took the 1/2 mile trail over to the actual Lake, while some of us knew we still had a lot of trail to cover and sat back and relaxed. While we were waiting a group of bicyclists came down the trail and stopped and chatted with us. They reported that news was that someone had killed a bear (yeah, right) at Bear Creek trailhead so reportedly there was heightened bear activity in that area. Once our party returned from Trout Lake we loaded the packs on our back and resumed our march down the trail. By the time we stumbled upon our campsite at Juneau Falls it was around 1500 and we had covered a total of 4.79 miles. The boys were in good spirits, but I personally was dog tired. Our home for the night did help to revive my lagging spirit. This campsite was on a canyon that dropped about 50-70 feet into the Juneau Falls, and like most of what we saw on the Resurrection Trail it was absolutely gorgeous! We feasted this night on beef noodles with diced Spam, mashed potatoes, and gravy...a meal for wilderness kings.
The next morning we awoke knowing we had to reach the end of the trail by 1130 so that Griff could fly out on a business trip. We had a quick breakfast of granola bars and nutri-grain bars, packed our things and hit the trail. We saw more people this day then any other...both bikers and day hikers...but no one loaded down with the burdens we were carrying. It being a Sunday, during one of our trail breaks we were even able to celebrate a religious service. There is really nothing like praising God than when one is in one of His natural temples....looking across a valley at a snow-covered mountain...awe-inspiring. Most of this days hike was generally downhill and we reached our destination 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Judy was waiting for Griff, and our nice friends from Talon were waiting with our vans. Judy wanted to take pictures of us, however, for once the mosquitoes were so bad that we just threw the packs in the vans and hit the road.
It was our understanding that we were starting the canoe trek the next day, however, the CANOE LADY WITH AN ATTITUDE had us down as starting that day. We had decided that we should go by and check in just to make sure we were all set up, and to put it kindly, she spoke rather directly. No big deal, we dashed to Fred Mayer (note to parents: each of your kids love this mega-store...pray that one never comes to Greater KC), replenished supplies, repacked our packs in the parking lot, and were back at the Outfitter by 1530. We made it on the Swanson River to start this leg of our trek and begin paddling at 1700. All went well that first day as I believe Gary & Steve were the only ones to sink their boat. We had made 5 miles by 2000 and found one of those rare camp sites on this river. Dinner this night was grilled steak, baked onions, grilled corn on the cob, and cinnamon baked apples...it was a night of feasting. After dinner, while we were waiting the dish water to heat, we were blessed with a truly amazing show. We heard what sounded like splashing down stream from us. When we looked that way we saw a moose cow and calf crossing the river about 75 yards away. They reached the far bank and then grazed across the field opposite of us. Then they recrossed the river about 50 yards up stream from us and vanished into the woods. Amazing that such a huge animal moves about so effortlessly.
We awoke the next morning knowing we had 22 miles of river left to contend with. Our new plan was to paddle all the way into Cook's Inlet and camp at Captain Cook State Park. Due to the use of GPS we knew we had averaged 2.2 miles per hour the previous day and would need to pick up our pace. Of course we were slowed down when Ed & Kevin sank their canoe, but fortunately, that was the only spill of the day. Alex and Bradley had problems of their own as the canoe they were in had a slow leak that required continual bailing. I have to commend these two young men as they never complained and never asked for a different boat. They just dealt with the hand they had received. After a long and tiring day we finally entered Cooks Inlet around 1500. As we did, I told my bowman Logan that this event is something that should be forever ingrained in his lifetime memory book. Canoeing down a river and into an ocean is an experience that not many people from Kansas ever get in their lifetime. I will use a word I probably use too often, but it was awesome.
There you have it. That's how we moved ourselves and our gear 38 miles in a 60 hour period. The canoe outfitter picked us up at 1000 this morning, we got in our vans and went to a laundry mat for some needed cleaning. Then off to Seward and hiked the Exit Glacier....then north to Anchorage and the Lake Jewell Nazarene Church. It is now 0045 and I am way past ready for bed. Sorry no pics tonight but those have not been downloaded yet. I will try to get some of those on here tomorrow plus some comments from the boys.
Sleep well, oh, and by the way....there are NO BEARS in Alaska!
We could have not asked for better accommodations than the Romig Lake cabin. Great view of the lake, wood burning stove....and complete isolation. There were times (mostly when the boys were asleep) that it was possible not to hear a single man-made sound. Just the wind through the trees, the water gently lapping against the shore, the call of a bird, or the occasional slap of a beaver's tail. We spent two nights at this idyllic site. Fishing occasionally (to no avail), hiking along the trails, eating well..and sometimes doing nothing but relishing the moment.
We awoke on what would be our last morning at Romig Cabin, and began the chores of breaking camp. Tents and sleeping bags had to be rolled, backpacks had to be stuffed. Every member of the party was given a ziplock baggie that contained six cheese crackers, 3 pieces of beef jerky, a cup of trail mix, a box of raisins, a fruit bar, a granola bar, and 4 drink mixes. I gave them all these simple instructions that bright morning...."this is your lunch, I do not care when you eat your lunch, feel free to trade with your neighbor if you do not like something, this is the only lunch you will be given today, so plan accordingly." I am happy to report that these instructions, and this meal plan work smoothly. We finally started down the trail at 0950 that morning. We were 9 miles from where our cars would be awaiting us and were hopeful that we could do at least half of that this first day. At 1100 we had made it to the trailhead for Trout Lake and stopped for a long break. Some of our party took the 1/2 mile trail over to the actual Lake, while some of us knew we still had a lot of trail to cover and sat back and relaxed. While we were waiting a group of bicyclists came down the trail and stopped and chatted with us. They reported that news was that someone had killed a bear (yeah, right) at Bear Creek trailhead so reportedly there was heightened bear activity in that area. Once our party returned from Trout Lake we loaded the packs on our back and resumed our march down the trail. By the time we stumbled upon our campsite at Juneau Falls it was around 1500 and we had covered a total of 4.79 miles. The boys were in good spirits, but I personally was dog tired. Our home for the night did help to revive my lagging spirit. This campsite was on a canyon that dropped about 50-70 feet into the Juneau Falls, and like most of what we saw on the Resurrection Trail it was absolutely gorgeous! We feasted this night on beef noodles with diced Spam, mashed potatoes, and gravy...a meal for wilderness kings.
The next morning we awoke knowing we had to reach the end of the trail by 1130 so that Griff could fly out on a business trip. We had a quick breakfast of granola bars and nutri-grain bars, packed our things and hit the trail. We saw more people this day then any other...both bikers and day hikers...but no one loaded down with the burdens we were carrying. It being a Sunday, during one of our trail breaks we were even able to celebrate a religious service. There is really nothing like praising God than when one is in one of His natural temples....looking across a valley at a snow-covered mountain...awe-inspiring. Most of this days hike was generally downhill and we reached our destination 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Judy was waiting for Griff, and our nice friends from Talon were waiting with our vans. Judy wanted to take pictures of us, however, for once the mosquitoes were so bad that we just threw the packs in the vans and hit the road.
It was our understanding that we were starting the canoe trek the next day, however, the CANOE LADY WITH AN ATTITUDE had us down as starting that day. We had decided that we should go by and check in just to make sure we were all set up, and to put it kindly, she spoke rather directly. No big deal, we dashed to Fred Mayer (note to parents: each of your kids love this mega-store...pray that one never comes to Greater KC), replenished supplies, repacked our packs in the parking lot, and were back at the Outfitter by 1530. We made it on the Swanson River to start this leg of our trek and begin paddling at 1700. All went well that first day as I believe Gary & Steve were the only ones to sink their boat. We had made 5 miles by 2000 and found one of those rare camp sites on this river. Dinner this night was grilled steak, baked onions, grilled corn on the cob, and cinnamon baked apples...it was a night of feasting. After dinner, while we were waiting the dish water to heat, we were blessed with a truly amazing show. We heard what sounded like splashing down stream from us. When we looked that way we saw a moose cow and calf crossing the river about 75 yards away. They reached the far bank and then grazed across the field opposite of us. Then they recrossed the river about 50 yards up stream from us and vanished into the woods. Amazing that such a huge animal moves about so effortlessly.
We awoke the next morning knowing we had 22 miles of river left to contend with. Our new plan was to paddle all the way into Cook's Inlet and camp at Captain Cook State Park. Due to the use of GPS we knew we had averaged 2.2 miles per hour the previous day and would need to pick up our pace. Of course we were slowed down when Ed & Kevin sank their canoe, but fortunately, that was the only spill of the day. Alex and Bradley had problems of their own as the canoe they were in had a slow leak that required continual bailing. I have to commend these two young men as they never complained and never asked for a different boat. They just dealt with the hand they had received. After a long and tiring day we finally entered Cooks Inlet around 1500. As we did, I told my bowman Logan that this event is something that should be forever ingrained in his lifetime memory book. Canoeing down a river and into an ocean is an experience that not many people from Kansas ever get in their lifetime. I will use a word I probably use too often, but it was awesome.
There you have it. That's how we moved ourselves and our gear 38 miles in a 60 hour period. The canoe outfitter picked us up at 1000 this morning, we got in our vans and went to a laundry mat for some needed cleaning. Then off to Seward and hiked the Exit Glacier....then north to Anchorage and the Lake Jewell Nazarene Church. It is now 0045 and I am way past ready for bed. Sorry no pics tonight but those have not been downloaded yet. I will try to get some of those on here tomorrow plus some comments from the boys.
Sleep well, oh, and by the way....there are NO BEARS in Alaska!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Road trip to Homer
Pirate Ed!
I do not know if this is a MAIL bee or a feMAIL bee...
Angler Steve
These are not real bears...the conspiracy continues...
We saw many strange and wonderful sights on the way to, in, and around Homer today. Strange animals, a rogue pirate, and a famous ship...but of course, NO BEARS! This will be the last post for several days as we begin the backpacking element of the trek in the morning. Pray for us all (especially the leaders), and look forward to all the tales you will hear of our exploits.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Cody & Aaron looking for clams...Bradly reeling in a leviathan
Alex trying to open a Clam the hard way, and Kevin with a new friend.
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Logan getting psyched up to catch halibut.
Matt & Aaron, both in search of the wiley halibut.
Devan by the Kasilloff River
Our rafting trip was cancelled today due to high water. Thought I would post a picture of all of the boys to document that they are still healthy and have not suffered any bear attacks. We are all having a great time. It is still under discussion as to what we will do today, but I think we are leaning towards a trip to Homer, and just spending the day as tourists. maybe some window shopping, maybe a museum, maybe hike a few trails. Some days it's good to not be too structured.
Matt & Aaron, both in search of the wiley halibut.
Devan by the Kasilloff River
Our rafting trip was cancelled today due to high water. Thought I would post a picture of all of the boys to document that they are still healthy and have not suffered any bear attacks. We are all having a great time. It is still under discussion as to what we will do today, but I think we are leaning towards a trip to Homer, and just spending the day as tourists. maybe some window shopping, maybe a museum, maybe hike a few trails. Some days it's good to not be too structured.
As you look at the pictures above, I think it is obvious that these guys are enjoying themselves. However, there is something missing in these pictures....can anyone guess what it is? That's right, no bears! Put a dollar figure on it. Our little group purchased four cans of bear mace at $30.....
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Today the 31st of May a few of us went on a wildlife/glacier cruise. We saw whales loke the humpback and the orca (which is actually a dolphin). We saw a black bear (I saw it first, no joke). The glaciers were pretty cool, especially when pieces started falling off. I was the only person to get sick, but sitting in the back of the boat I was able to see the hump back breach (which is when it jumps completely out of the water). We all saw so many birds, the best was the puffins, they were awesome. For now this is Matt signing off...
Today we went on a wilderness cruise. We saw a lot of animals. First we saw some sea otters. After that we saw a bald eagle. Then there were some puffins. Later we saw a lot of sea lions. The sea lions fought a lot. After that there were a whole bunch of orca whales and I learned that they were actually dolphins. Then we saw a glacier. It was huge and looked blue. Some ice fell off a few times and it sounded like thunder. After that we went to Fox Island to eat dinner before the cruise was over. We hiked to Exit Glacier and we could hear the rushing water below the glacier where the water melted....Logan
The boys are correct...it was an awesome cruise. I do want to comment on this suppossed bear. It is the only thing approaching the appearance of a bear that we have seen. It was on the shoreline about 300 yards away. It did move and act like a bear....however, knowing the strength of the Bear Mace Lobby, and the incredible work that Disney has done with animatronics. Let's just say I need more documentation that bears really exist in Alaska...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Clam Digging
What a fantastic day (again). We spent most of the day digging for clams, and then getting them cleaned. We enjoyed them fried and also in clam chowder, along with Beef Tenderloin and Smoked Salmon. But that's enough information from me....let's see what a couple of boys have to say about today!
We arrived at Clam Gulch. We put on our hip waders and got our gear. Then we walked towards the water. We had no idea what we were doing. We asked many people what to do, and we still didn't know how to do it. We thought we would never get anything. Then we found a person that knew what they were doing. We looked for very small hole where the clams dug into the sand. After we found what we were looking for we started to catch a lot of them. At the end of the day we caught a total of 80 clams! We got back to the lodge and we cleaned and ate the clams. They were very tasty!.....Cody
Today all 13 of us went clam digging at clam gulch. We had a rough time at the beginning finding out how to find the clams. We asked around at the more familiar natives on how to find the clams. Once we got the hang of it, we got our first clam of the day. It was all easy from there on. We dug for about 2 and a 1/2 hours. By the time we were done we had about 70 clams. Later that day we cleaned the clams and made some scrumptious clam chowder and fried clams...Bradley
Saturday, May 29, 2010
and now a word from some of the boys...
Today in halibut fishing, we fished in the cook inlet. We ended up getting our limit for the day with a total of 14 halibut. The biggest fish that we caught in the day was 40 pounds and had to get beat with a club to stop flopping. We had almost no luck early in the day, but as the tides shifted, and we found a new spot, we got our limit really quick. After we were done for the day, our guide got the meat prepared and we ate it for our supper.------Aaron
A group of 3 boys (Cody, Alex, & Kevin) and 1 adult (Steve) went salmon fishing. While driving to the boat we saw 2 moose. Finally we started fishing. We caught a couple of dollys (small fish/trout). Finally I got a strike from a King salmon. It took a good 7 minutes to get it to the boat. But as we tried to net it the hook came undone. It got away and that was the only salmon bite we had all day. The guide said it was about 25 pounds…a good fish. So concluded the first salmon fishing day.-----Kevin
We drove towards KCI at an average rate of 65 MPH. The trees of Kansas that we would soon miss were rushing past us. We drove into a fast food restaurant they called “McDonalds”. “Ehh, I’ll take a #2 with just cheese and catsup”, said a boy named Alex. We gulped our drinks and scarved down our food, for this would be the last Kansas food we would have.
Later on, we arrived at our plane. It was a CRJ9000, Super Small. I sat down next to Bradley and across from Steve. We landed at the great city of Salt Lake City, Utah. We ate at the BL Lounge. Then we ran to our Anchorage flight like a speeding bullet. The plane boarded when we got there. We set our weary feet upon the aeroplane. Our eyes flurried with the sight of a gigantor flying dragon amongst our midst. BZ7-2570. It had an LED flatscreen TV on every chair. We watched Dear John, Hurt Locker, and Legion. We played Galagor, Poker, and Legion. It was fun.-----Alex
Today Me, my dad, and Mr. Knott were the only people not fishing. We decided to go and drive around look for a moose. We looked around and saw 3 moose. We then went to the town of Kenai and visited the flea market. There were many vendors and we looked at a lot of them. The one I liked the most was a fur vendor and they had all types of hats and things but the best thing was a black and white fur and tube like thing. It was about the size of a small pillow and it was the best thing ever. Later that day we walked along a rocky beach on the Cook’s Inlet and we found some really cool rocks. After all the driving around we sat along the side of a river and waited for the salmon fishermen and then went back to the cabin.----Devan
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