Saturday in Anchorage

We weren't as ambitious this weekend.  It's dark til nearly 9:30 in the morning, so some of us especially tend to sleep in!  We had coffee at the Fire Island Bakery a couple of blocks away (and great scones and foccacia!) then walked to West High School where they were having a big ski swap, only to find out we were too early -- long, crispy walk anyway!  Went back later by car, but it was more of a downhill swap than Nordic, and the cross-country stuff was pretty picked over by the time we got there.  Next weekend there is a swap with the Nordic ski club.  Went to our first social event -- dinner at Carl and Diane's and met two other couples -- and what a dinner!  Courses started with Salmon Tartare with Sweet Red Onion Creme Fraiche and champagne and went on from there -- way beyond great -- a real treat.

There are more than 100 km of skiing only trails in Anchorage, and 1/4 of those are lit!  This is besides the multi-use trails that you can also ski on.  Four of the Olympic skiers in Vancouver were from Anchorage, and many of the trails are world class for racing. More about that when we start skiing! 

Sunday hike on Turnagain Arm

Tonight (Sunday) we have a lot of peanut butter cups and Snickers bars for trick or treaters, but only 1 group has come to the door -- uh-oh!  Neither one of us needs to eat those, and if you put them in the freezer, I've discovered they only taste better!We went for a milder hike today along the Turnagain Arm Trail -- we'll try to put in a map -- it starts south of Anchorage running along Cook Inlet, and there are four trailheads.  The trail was originally built in 1910 to carry a telegraph line and later provided an access for workers constructing the Alaska railroad.  The tracks run down below, alongside the road.  The Chugach State Park renovated the trail in the 1980s - it's a 9 1/2 mile one-way traverse if you do the whole thing.  Turnagain Arm boast the second largest tidal bores in the world - tidal bores occur in bays and inlets with extreme tidal fluctuations.  The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is the only one larger.  In a tidal bore, according to the guidebook, "the incoming tide builds to a flood that overpowers the outgoing tide.  The resulting tide resembles a wall of water ranging from several inches to several feet high."  We hiked what was said to be the highest part of the trail, though only 950', from Rainbow to Windy Corner, about 4 miles round-trip and mild up and downs after the intial climb up.  It started snowing on the way, and we took a couple of pictures that show the mountains appearing through the fog - we'll see how well it shows up!  The high point of this hike, other than the views across the water and the mountains in clear weather, is the Dall sheep that inhabit these craggy slopes - though we haven't seen them yet!  We ran into a young guy in the Air Force who is on his second stint in Alaska, which he loves, with a big tripod and a tent who was headed up to wait out the sheep, who he said will come down further as it starts to snow.  He intended to set up his tent and spend about 3 hours up on a level grassy spot waiting for them!  A bald eagle flew over as we were talking to him.  He told us in the winter we can come back and they'll be all over the lower trails.  It was a pleasant hike and will be a great place to bring anyone who wants a milder day, beautiful views across the water, and not the more strenuous climbs.

Greetings from Alaska: Flattop to Ptarmigan Pass

Greetings from Alaska: Flattop to Ptarmigan Pass: "Lots of climbing and lots of moose sightings today! A long hike today, seven hours, with a quick elevation gain to Flattop Mt., the most-cl..."

Flattop to Ptarmigan Pass

Lots of climbing and lots of moose sightings today!  A long hike today, seven hours, with a quick elevation gain to Flattop Mt., the most-climbed mountain in Alaska, and then continuing along a ridge to two higher peaks, unnamed, all of the way to Ptarmigan Pass -- then you drop down for "the easy part" to the lake, partially frozen, that you see in one picture, and then to the Powerline Trail, an mostly flat and maintained trail back to the trailhead.  We saw 30 bull moose along the Powerline Trail in an hour and a half walk back!  Some were quite close to the trail, and we shared a picture here -- this is not taken with a telephoto lens!  The bull moose are evidently through womanizing (otherwise known as rutting), and now they're just hanging out together!  This was a spectacular hike, and one that includes some scrambling -- you're almost always exposed and it's always loose footing -- with a long way down!  At least you can pause and catch your breath since every step is a scenic overlook!  The people and the dogs with us are from a MeetUp group. 

Hike from Basher Rd. to "The Dome"

Saturday afternoon we took a hike that started just up the road from the house where we were house-sitting - that finished on Friday.  Basher Rd. dead-ends in a trailhead that was about a 3 hour hike, some of it pretty steep, pretty views from the top out over Anchorage and Cook Inlet or toward other peaks in the Chugach Mts.  We didn't start til 3 and came down at 6 to end up having wine at Carl and Diane's -- Brian's friend -- she had been on a day flight with a friend up to Denali and had a wonderful clear day flying.  Sharing a couple of pictures from that hike -- Brian says we saw more dogs than people - everyone in Alaska has at least one dog, it seems -- and they all go hiking! 

Housesitting (and animal sitting) in "Stuck-Again Heights"

We're up in them thar hills -- house and cat and dog sitting for Brian's friend Carl - the house looks down on the city of Anchorage and the area that he lives in they call Stuck-again Heights for reasons that you can imagine -- no snow yet though!  They did see 3 bears down the road in the park just before they left to go to New York.  The cat, Picasso, and Krishna, doggie, have been keeping us company this week - sometimes very early.  The house is beautiful, and Carl built it himself, also all of the cabinets and shelves.
You drive through a park that has a lot of hiking and skiing trails to get here, and in the winter, also the "mushers" (dogsleds).  The stream that runs through it has salmon so often bears during August, Sept. and sometimes into October.  We'll be going back to our apartment tomorrow and have a full weekend of hiking planned -- Friday night full moon hike, Saturday morning Nordic ski swap then hike up in Eagle River, and Sunday, if we're still moving, a 6-7 hour hike with the Meetup group.  Posting pictures here of our animal friends and the house they shared with us this week -- their parents will be back tomorrow afternoon!

Was it cold on the ferry?

Answering another question with a picture!  Brian was comfortable outside during the day - lights inside went out at 9 pm, and that was pretty much bedtime!  Here is a picture of Judy joining Brian for the last 4 1/2 hours on the trip.  Judy flew to Juneau (1 hr., 20 min) on a Sunday morning and did some hiking (and shopping) in Juneau - took the bus downtown from the hotel where I stayed.  Juneau is a very pretty town, old mines on the hiking trails, very picturesque downtown, steep streets, called little San Francisco.  Met Brian Monday morning at about 5:30 am - we hadn't seen each other in 7 weeks!  The ferry took off about 6:45 am, and it docked up in Haines, where we drove the U-Haul off and began the road trip around noon.  Judy laid on the deck on a deck chair for part of the journey, but you can see both she and other people are a little bundled up!  Brian recommends the ferry trip to anyone coming up -- you could fly to Seattle or even Vancouver - check out the Alaska Marine Highway on the Internet! 

Judy's new job

Several of you have asked about my job.  It's been great, a lot to take in to learn about a new community and a new university - about 16,000 students, compared with 1800 at Hamilton, and most of those commuters as opposed to a residential campus.  Here is a link for a couple of articles that the campus newspaper wrote about me and my job over the last few weeks.  http://kasenna.uaa.alaska.edu/~tnl/?s=Owens-Manley&x=22&y=13&=Go (This didn't post as a direct link, but it works if you copy and paste in your browser).  The university is very committed to community engagement, and some of the faculty have great projects that they've started with community partners - they're great to work with.  There is a Civic Engagement Certificate program that began two years ago that I am Chair of and will teach in - students can register for it along with their major and have it on their transcript when they graduate - a commitment to have done a body of community-engaged work through their time in college.  It is 27 credit hours, but not in addition to what it takes to graduate, just by their choice of classes.  I have a faculty appointment in the School of Social Work. 

I'm still getting to know the community and probably will be for quite a while.  I've been to a Rotary meeting and will probably join again, which is, of course, a great way to get integrated into the community.  Brian and I are sharing one car right now.  We belong to a Meet Up group, and we've been doing some hiking trips with them.  We miss everyone, AND - we are so enjoying being here at the same time!

Hiking Byron Glacier

We met the "Adventurers MeetUp Group"  this morning for a glacier hike about an hour south of Anchorage, near Portage Lake.  Byron Glacier is a hanging glacier.  There is a massive snowfield, which you'll see in the pictures, "a permanent feature built up of the hardened avalanche snow of many previous winters." (Hiking Alaska - A Falcon Guide).  We got to put on our new Kartoolas when we got to the snowfield, and we each took a ski pole, since we didn't have hiking poles.  They came in handy for crossing the snowfield and for the little bit of actual "blue ice" we crossed up higher.  Not everybody went that far, and we were hoping there wasn't something the people from New York didn't know but should have!  There were definitely very deep crevasses you would not want to slide into, and Brian reviewed the self-arrest technique for us.  It was another gorgeous day, unbelievable really.  The blue ice doesn't show as deeply in the picture, and it was quite a sight. You'll see 3 guys climbing with ice axes up the face of the glacier - we only went to the base of that wall.  We were gone about 4 hours hiking by the time we got back to the car.

We (or at least Judy) like to start Sunday with coffee from the Fire Island Bakery at 14th and G St. -- it's hard to walk by the other things they make there, but their coffee is great, and it's the only day that I drink it -- still decaffinated though!  Back to work tomorrow for one of us - Brian gets some more time to settle in -- and read comments on our blog if any of our followers sent us any!  (Hint, hint - we'd love to hear from you!) 

From Rendevous Peak

This is termed an "easy" hike in the Alaska guidebooks but is just over 4,000 feet and a 1500 ft. elevation gain overall.  There is snow in the hills, and the final 600 feet up to the peak of Rendevous was a little slippery - we wound down the south side of the mountain following a trail under a chair lift of the Arctic Valley Ski Club, a privately owned and maintained downhill ski resort.  We found 2 guys and a dog at the top who took our picture for us, and now we're home having a glass of wine and appreciating the pictures from the top.  It was a clear day, and you can see Denali, which is 250 miles distant in the Alaska Range very clearly.  We are in the Chugach Mountains, but on clear days you can see the entire Alaska Range. 

We're wearing hats and gloves now.  It was sunny today, and we didn't wear them part of the way, but it's getting chilly here!  We're looking out at a beautiful sunset over Cook Inlet right now - we took another picture from the top looking out over Anchorage, and you can see the Inlet in the picture.  Water on the western side, mountains in the east (and north!).  It was a great afternoon - the glacier is up for tomorrow.  

Saturday in Anchorage

We're still getting set up for life in Alaska.  After a 8 am yoga class (just getting light now at 8 am), we went to REI and Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking to get "stuff!"  It turns out that you need Kahtoolas in Anchorage for hiking before it gets too late in the fall - they are microspikes, a little like crampons but lighter and lesser for footwear traction - good on ice or icy packed trails or maybe on a glacier, which is where we're going tomorrow for a hike.  Also better wind pants for biking, which some people do year-round here with heavier tires or even "studs" on bike tires!

It's a beautiful afternoon here, and between the blue sky and the mountains, we've got to go and get outside!  We might go do the hike again that we tried to do last week -- the wind was gusting so much when we got up to the pass that we could hardly stay on our feet!  And . . . we still don't have any pictures hung up on the walls, but I'll take the indoor pictures and post when we do.  In the meantime, I'm putting a couple of pictures on that we took on a routine hike that we often do after work from our house to Westchester Lagoon on the multi-use trail.

Brian took several pictures when he was on the ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Haines, Alaska - Judy joined him for the last 4 1/2 hours on the ferry by flying to Juneau.  The drive from Haines to Anchorage is really spectacular -- just when you think you've seen the most stunning vistas, here comes another one.  There's a book written about Haines that Judy just finished reading - "If you live here, you know my name" by Heather Lende.  Very interesting small-town rural Alaska.  So more pictures of the trip that we DIDN'T get entered along the way!  The guy with Brian in the picture is Lino -- originally from Mexico and living in LA -- he was ALSO driving a U-Haul that was on the ferry with him, transporting furniture to a buddy in Fairbanks.  Lino wasn't as impressed by the mountains -- yeah, yeah, yeah -- more mountains, more water!  Peter Molesky kept Brian company on the long drive from Utica to Bellingham, then flew back from Seattle once Brian was on the ferry.

It's beginning to look like home

Judy said that she was going to begin a blog when she got here, but now that Brian is here, it may actually happen.  Brian got here September 21st, after his cross-country trip in a U-Haul, 3 days on the ferry to Haines, AK and then 800 miles to Anchorage over land again.  It's pretty land -- mountains and water all around, and wonderful trails throughout the city for biking, walking, skiing (not yet though!).  It turns out that Brian has a friend here that he was friends with 23 years ago in Whitesboro! We have an apartment in the "downtown" area of Anchorage, which is a city of about 280,000.  People have asked us many things about the weather, the time difference, whether we have stores here . . . Anchorage is a city!  Yes, we have Wal-Mart!  We also have the symphony, museums, REI, great yoga studios, a planetarium, etc.  And, Brian says, yes, and when you're driving back from WalMart here, you're looking at these gorgeous mountains -- and you might hit a moose!  Where else can you say that!  Alaska has it's own time zone - one hour earlier than California.