Paddling to 40

So, it seems like my 39th year evaporated!  There certainly isn't any evidence of it here on this blog.  However, I checked the rule book and evidence or not ... I will still be entering my 4th decade in just a tad over a week.  Surreal.

What better excuse to revive this old blog than turning 40.  I have this inexplicable feeling that 40 is going to rock.  It's also a good excuse to get together with good people and enjoy the beauty of this place we live in.  Come Saturday 9 of us should have a base camp set up somewhere in Blackstone Bay, ready for some kayaking day trip adventures. 

40 ... here I come ... immaturity intact.

Bit by a Wolverine

This is usually where I would posts some action shots - but I discovered while dip netting last week that my camera was not exactly waterproof. Even as I slid it into the top pocket of my chest waders I considered stuffing it in a ziplock. But, no, I thought. It-will-be-just-fine. JUST -FINE. Thanks a lot Murphy. Anyhow, Scout took some pics and I'll post them when I get them. In the meantime - check out this artistic rendering of our trip: [turn the speed control on the left up to fast so it doesn't take so long!] sketch of the trip (update: photos added 8/16 - thx Scout!)

(pic looking down the other side of the peak)

Saturday Ally and Scout conned me and a few fellow unsuspecting saps (Salty and Tidy Whitey) into climbing Wolverine Peak. Wolverine sits innocently between Near Point and Flattop in the Chugach Range. Apparently we used up our Sun quota the day before on our ride up powerline pass, because our nearest star didn't show it's face all day. Here are a few pics from the Powerline trip:

Still, several sets of sunless Alaskan legs gave us ample reason to keep the shades on.

No shades required for our favorite brown pooch and her sun lovin best buddy!


Bear activity in these parts has been ridiculous. It seems like there's a new mauling every time you turn on the news. The approach to Wolverine is prime bear country, with crowding alders and rushing creeks. Salty came armed with bear spray, but our main defense was loud, mindless blabbering. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a pause in the conversation for the first 2 hours.

Then, the rain started.

And it didn't really stop, except to catch it's breath every now and then. Still, we forged on keeping tally of the moose we spotted across the valley - something like 6 in all.



I don't know how much one needs to eat on an 11 mile mountain hike, but I'm sure the 5000 calories or so we consumed on the ridge was plenty. We had a pile of food that would make a marine squad proud.


Then we were up and going again, dragging our cold, wet (but full) bodies up the steepest, rocky section. Jamie the pace dog did her best to make sure our rests stops weren't too long unless they involved more food.


By the time we reached the peak it was totally engulfed in clouds. Several of us were cold and shaking, taking just enough time at the top to snap a few obligatory victory pics and shove off back down the hill.






Then the snow came. Sideways.

And we thought we were cold and wet before. Ha! The wind was blowing hard out of the south, pounding us on one side with a snowcone like slurry that trickled down our collars, traveled the length of our arms and pooled in the soggy excuse for gloves. My left butt cheek was entirely numb, but perhaps that is too much information.

Alas, we made it down the mountain with our smiles intact. We stopped for another snack break, because you know, 7000 calories is better than 5000. We slogged our way through the muddy creek that our trail had evolved into, with only a few slip-and-slide acrobatics.


Back in the parking lot, the clouds parted, and the sun rewarded us with it's presence. Beer never tasted so good. There we sat on the tailgate, basking in it's warmth, grinning over our accomplishment, completely unaware that we would not be able to walk for the next two days. Good times.

Jott is a girl

So, in a herculean effort to avoid doing anything too productive, I have been trying out this cool new technology called Jott. Jott is a free tool that lets you make a toll free call from your cell phone (or any phone) and have it automatically translated into text. It's a way cool idea. Today I added an appointment to my google calendar, sent an email, and posted to my blog - all without touching my computer. Pretty sweet.

As you can see in the last post, I need to get better at enunciating my words. Jott isn't the only one who has trouble understanding me. So, I'll work on that and all should be cool. It even allows you to spell out a word if you think the software may stumble on it. Like say, the word Twerp .... as it translated Turp.

Sometimes however, Jott may translate your speach in new and improved ways. For example when I said "Instead of cleaning my house...." Jott interpreted it as "He's gonna clean my house". You gotta love that. Jott is totally a chick.

Cellphone blogging....

Cellphone blogging. Hi, this is Turp(?) and I'm blogging from my cellphone. Yeah, that's right. He's gonna clean my house so you're getting ready for the upcoming school year. I'm figuring out how to write a blog without actually writing a blog. So I'm testing out this new technology called Jott to let me makes free phone call and it's suppose to share it or save it from my blog. So, we'll see if it will works. Bye. listen

Powered by Jott

Summer 2008

Ride 4 Life

In May, riding a euphoric wave from our Clean Air Challenge ride, Team Aurora Bikealis signed up for the 120 mile Ride for Life charity ride benefiting colorectal cancer. The R4L is a 2 day ride from Anchorage to Seward.

It sounded good at the time, and we figured we'd all train hard and be in killer shape for the grueling first day climb over Turnagain pass.

But life, and in my case laziness, happens and our training didn't quite work out as planned. Only 3 team members were ultimately able to make this ride: Piper, Jeff and myself. Ally and Scout were both out of state and unable to join us (congrats Scout on making Captain!!!), but were in frequent cell phone contact cheering us on. Mama Lama had her hands full with our favorite monkey, and wasn't able to run support this time - but she was in our thoughts the whole way. My loverboy Rocky drove Jeff and Terri's RV - I thought camping would be just fine....but it was SOOOOO nice to have a warm, dry rig to sleep in.


The weather in Anchorage has been lousy this summer. Little to no sun and cold temperatures have become the norm around here, and the forecast for this trip looked pretty bleak. We packed for rain and I for one just assumed we would be cold, wet and miserable the entire weekend, but we'd get through it. Miraculously, a drop never fell while we were cycling, and the second day was downright sunny. Yes, it was hilly (they don't call it a mountain pass for nothing) and yes it was windy (should you really have to pedal going downhill to keep from stopping?), but it was a drop dead gorgeous ride - possibly one of the best I have ever been on.

Jeff at Turnagain pass - smiling hard after cruising up that 6 mile climb.

Piper stretching out for the next leg from Turnagain Pass to Ingram Creek

Twerp's one handed rolling self portrait - kiddies, don't try this at home

A little Video blogging along the way

This video is proves 4 things: Jeff doesn't really need handlebars, Twerp should keep her day job, Piper's helmet doesn't fit when it is on straight, and Alaska is one beautiful place.

Day 2 - Sunshine!


A quick clip as we pass the turn off for Kenai.

Victory! Bikes raised in celebration on the lawn outside of the SeaLife Center in Seward.

Artistically ADD

I've often joked that I am ADD. Rocky and our neighbor Kelly simply roll their eyes patiently when I plunge myself into yet another project that will likely go unfinished. They know if they wait a few days, the phase will likely pass. I'm not sure if I really have an Attention Deficit Disorder. In reality, my attention can be quite focused ... for brief periods of time. An entire day can easily come and go when I am working on something without my noticing. Still, they have a point ... I do seem to move from interest to interest in short order. I get bored quickly. If anything, I'd say I pay too much attention to things. Thats the problem. Everything that I see gets me excited about trying something new and BAM, out goes the current project. I'm a photographer, no a writer, no a painter, no a woodworker, no a master teacher .... no, scrap all that I'm a (fill in the blank). This week, I'm sketching. Next week, who knows. Maybe underwater basket weaving. Let's just hope there aren't any engrossing Shark Hunting documentaries on PBS tonight.



New this week:

Eliy David

With Child

Bubbles

Foto Fiddlin

Rainbow Fish

My nephew David took me fishing at DeLong Lake earlier this summer and I'm just getting around to posting this video. Check out that HUGE fish and incredibly pristine water.

Lunch in the park, with our insect friends.

Just hanging out ....

David and I took this photo together lying on our backs looking up into the canopy. About two seconds later I dropped the camera on his head. Thank God kids are tough!

Misty Mountain March

I finally convinced Jamie to take me for a walk today. She's really been slacking in this department as of late. I mean, seriously. All she does is lay around all day and wait for us to fill her food bowl. You'd think she could at least take me down to the creek a few times a week. Dogs these days. Lazy I tell you.

Anyway, we headed up to Glen Alps this morning. Walking down to the Campbell would have been much quicker. But I needed the mountains. I needed the open tundra, and the quiet. I needed to flush the concrete, blaring horns and crowds of New York City from my soul. It was a good trip. A surprisingly good trip actually. I never would have guessed that my mom and sister could ever survive under the same roof for seven days. Babies are miracles. Eliy is a particularly special miracle. Still, I was more than ready to return to the mountains.

So we headed to Glen Alps, in spite of the weather. Let it rain. Bring it on.

What I hadn't considered was that those clouds concealing the Chugach range were going to look much different when we immersed ourselves in them. As we drove up Toilsome Road, I suddenly realized that at times I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us. Visibility came and went with the wind, but overall, the world had vanished. I considered turning back - and had there been any bear warnings at the trail head, I certainly would have. But the lack of signage, and Jamie's sad eyes were enough to push me onward. I'm so glad that we did.