My Day 26 – Juneau and Auke Alaska

 Tongass National Forest - Mendenhall Glacier

Ice on Lake

 Glacier & Ice

Spawning Salmon

Subject:  My Day 26 – Juneau and Auke Alaska 

This morning while walking in the rain to the Visitors Center at Tongass National Forest - Mendenhall Glacier I spot a sign for the Nugget Creek trail saying it’s “Off the Beaten Path” and at 3.5 miles and just what I need.  I know those words extremely well - “off the beaten path” to me they generally say - the location is secluded and not frequently visited and also not widely known.  At first I thought, it just a stretch of the imagination for the forest service; to call the nugget trail “off the beaten path” but then - I run into several landmarks indicating where Mendanhall glacier used to be back in say 1916, 1925, etc.  Yes, maybe today the glacier did recede some more and I am truly walking off the beaten path. 

This hike, like all my hikes since I started this journey will be remembered by me – any time I look at any of the pictures I’ve taken.  Lots of broken glacial ice is scattered about the entire lake.  Russell who arrived on his Jeep Cherokee by ferry ahead of me called to tell me about the lake jam breaking loose and flooding the entire place. 

Just down the stream I spot salmon making their last ditch effort run upstream to reproduce and die.  The nugget trail was extremely wet.  If someone told me that I was hiking in the Pacific Northwest possibly the Olympic peninsula – I would’ve believed them – except for the large glacier that kept showing up from time to time.       

The other explanation for “off the beaten path” by my forest service ranger person Linda is because the trail is not maintained and overgrown with devil’s club, alders and nettles.  At the time she was talking I made a mental note to acquaint myself with devil’s club, as I kept hearing about it from the locals?  So here it is – a large shrub native to these moist cool forests noted for its large palmate leaves and erect, woody stems covered in brittle spines.  Find a picture and don’t touch the plant.    

Last night I arrived at Juneau by ferry and prior to the ferry docking and before my droid died I made hotel reservations.  Note to self – when you see a one star by a hotel do not stop.  The price seemed right at $70.00 so, how bad could it possibly be?   The Alaska Hotel & Bar is dead in the middle of downtown Juneau and also smells that way.  This place is possibly on the historic register since it opened back in 1913.  The original owners were three miners who struck it rich in the nearby Coast Range.  To signify that their hotel would never closed they took the original keys, tied them to a helium balloon and released them.  Apparently this is also a true story but another true story is that the place was condemned in the 70’s until supposedly rehabbed by its current owners.  Any of the local drink ‘em up and shoot ‘em up folks or as we call them in LA – “tweakers” would love this hotel.    

My assigned room faced the not in the day time seedy street side of downtown Juneau with two beds, a sink and Wi-Fi, who could want more?  How about sanitary conditions and sleep?  Shower, tub and bathroom down somewhere down the hall.  Could the ambiance be the stink of former beer binging gold seekers; and could that be why the original carpet laid down when the place was condemned still is on the floor?    

To show you how two different people can look at the same thing and both come up with totally different opinions here is Ken’s review of the Alaska Hotel & Bar!  “Adequate with old time charm.  Pros:  Location, high Victorian ceilings, Wi-Fi, great beach/bath towels and lots of hot water, lots of TV channels, flat screen, and great large remote and across from popular bars.  On the negative side he did bring up the fact that drunken homeless wandering souls on the street level at night did become a little loud.”  Truly an understatement!  Several times during the late and wee hours of the night I woke up to the outside noise by the young and the alcoholic and wondered if I had somehow screwed up and was now part of an insane asylum complete with the shock therapy noise and the lobotomies. 

Runner Girl wrote on the other hand wrote - don’t stay here:  “We had to stay one night at this awful place. The room had a private bathroom but it was filthy and smelled like stale Tijuana Pine Sol. The window was wide open and could be accessed from the hill outside. The shower had no hot water, the carpet had stains, hair, who knows what else. The drunks from the bar downstairs kept trying to open our door and brawls could be heard all night long. In the morning, a cockroach was spotted crawling on the bed. Totally gross!!

I now have exactly eleven hours to kill and so I’m starting at the Auke Alaska, Waffle Shop – because it’s raining outside.  Auke is between downtown Juneau and the Haines ferry to Bellingham, Washington.  It is a small community that contains Auke Lake, the U. of Alaska Southeast, and a branch office of NOAA, an elementary school, a church, a post office, a bar, a Thai restaurant and the waffle shop.  The Thai place was my first choice but, no Wi-Fi.  So far I’ve organized all my photos; started two PowerPoint presentations on my over 10,000 mile traveled trip; by foot, jeep, Ferrari, jet boat and now marine highway ferry.  If you add it up it comes up to 702 miles by foot on the Pacific Crest Trail before I jumped on the jeep and traveled approximately 7,000 miles by jeep; then I met my friend Petr in Anchorage and we traveled 500 miles by Ferrari; then 300 miles by jet boat and now about 1200 miles by Marine Ferry from Haines, Alaska to Bellingham, Washington. 

This 10,000+ mile journey is almost over and no one will be happier than my wife Patti; who told me a long time ago to go take a hike.  She is my closes confidant and without her this journey would truly not have been possible.  Thank you baby!  I am the one who wants things NOW and thankfully I got what I wanted on this journey.  It exposed me to some of the hardships of hiking, weather, time alone to think and truly some amazing people who are just living life.  

Driving the jeep after hiking any distance is truly a luxury.  When you've hiked alone it is usually hard to keep from wanting to break out from any organized group; for you  know what they say – the view never changes, unless you’re the lead dog!    

See you on the marine highway!

Trawlercat           

Subject: My Day 23 – Zero Day at Haines, Alaska

Haines, Alaska on the way to the ferry terminal

 Looking out over Haines, Alaska from the ferry

Juneau, Alaska - two days in Juneau then I catch the ferry to Bellingham, WA

Subject:  My Day 23 – Zero Day at Haines, Alaska 

Two zero day at Haines, Alaska.  A zero day is when you do not do that which you are now doing on a repeated basis like driving hundreds and hundreds of miles daily – today tomorrow and the next day I am not!  Zero day yesterday today and tomorrow! 

Before this arctic jeep expedition trip started I hiked up to 22 miles daily on the Pacific Crest trail and took zero days on a regular basis; say once every three or four days depending on the distance between trail towns.  Four of the other drivers on the jeep expedition (Mike, John, Woody, Russ) did not know anything about zero days. 

Unfortunately for them they just kept driving hundreds and hundreds of miles daily till the stress of the road started to build.  Mike wrote the expedition plan but forgot to include rest days as part of the plan except for one day in Fairbanks to do jeep maintenance.  Mike was riding with Tony from Boston.  Both fit the odd couple better than any other couple encountered on the road.  Tony, a very picky eater, whose style of ordering food resembled more of an interrogation than of ordering food.  Let’s just call it road stress.  Tony jumped ship or rather jeep Cherokee somewhere at Fairbanks, AK because he just couldn’t take it anymore.  Multiple zero days off from hiking, driving or any other event will eventually turn into “off the trail or jeep expedition”, and like all good things everything eventually comes to an end.    

Today the mood struck following a nap to go shop for “the girls” (Patti, Alice & Clover) in my life.  My Logistician Patti; aka Trawler Kitty aka Finance Manager now has pajamas from Anchorage but today she now also has the GoGirl.  This is perfect for her since she is the only woman I know that can hold it for 48 hours if there is no civilized toilet in range.  This way she can take her GoGirl to that upcoming girls only Yosemite hiking trip.  So what is a GoGirl.  It’s a little tube that sports a medical-grade silicon piece that allows her to stand while she goes the next time you come upon a disgusting public bathroom or heavens no – a porta potti.   www.go-girl.com  You go girl!  

Mike – aka Steel Pony driving the white Jeep Cherokee has a full size toilet lid on the back of his trailer hitch mount.  That little feature had us wondering for a while why all the pointing at his jeep instead of the rest of ours.  We thought people liked his jeep the best.  Two Canadian women actually lined up to use it at Whitehorse – no lie.    

Today is my last night at the B&B in Haines, Alaska before boarding the 9:00 AM ferry to Juneau, Alaska.  This morning a Harley Davidson motorcycle rider and I were the only guests.  He is from Ohio and has ridden his bike all over the country and is now covering the “Inside Passage”.  He says he’s retired so he has no timeframe as to how long his ride will take.  The host, his wife and four children under the age of seven at the B&B are our caretakers since the owners are down at Skagway resupplying at Costco. 

No other story told this morning can probably match the one we just heard.  The host says a few years ago he was a police officer in the town of Haines when he pulls over a car for speeding – 70 in a 35 mph zone.  The car was a green GT500 Shelby driven by non other than Edzel Ferrari.  He says he asked if there is any relation to the car manufacturer and the guy in broken English says yes, that’s my father.  He told Edzel that he would not turn the ticket in so he was o.k.  They both parted ways and still today he has that signed ticket stored in a box back home.  I told him my friend Petr would probably be interested in acquiring it from him if he was interested in selling it.  Petr call me!  This couple and their four children live just 35 miles from the Canadian border. 

We also share stories about our travels and about seeing the antique motorcycles on the road to Haines.  A group of seven on two side cars and older road bikes came down the road wearing correct era motorcycle wear.  Aviator type helmet and goggles with black or brown leather jackets and cowboy boots.  These guys were carrying every possible spare part they would need including a rather large full exhaust system strapped to the top of the sidecar.  I passed all of them up and am sure ended up in their movie as all looked like they were filming the entire trip down. 

What to call this adventure now?  10,000 miles traveled; by foot; by jeep; by Ferrari; by jet boat; and now by ferry.  Not really a bad way to start a retirement, eh!  This morning I started walking but, before long the road seemed boring so, I quickly detoured onto the boulder strewn beach.  Stepping on large boulders was easy; propelling oneself from one boulder to the next without falling now became the challenge.  Before long I said to myself now, I’m “bouldering” – that’s what I began calling it.  Hey, I thought I just created a new sport – sort of like paddle boarding but way more fun and with less equipment.  You can boulder with or without shoes but make sure the rocks are dry first.  This reminded me of my earlier days on the rock jetties of the Miami Beach causeway.  My friends and I often carried a spear gun, mask, snorkel and fins onto the jetties.  First one in the water usually speared the most fish.  Now I’m doing this for exercise wearing size 13 Merrell hiking shoes.  I love these shoes as they are the last pair that I wore while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.  Three pairs of Keen shoes self destructed while on my feet. 

After bouldering I realized I was now hungry once again.  The B&B (bed & breakfast) was great but the just up the road someone was selling smoked salmon; so, by the time I bought the salmon, crackers, a coke and a little cream cheese I could've eaten at a fancy restaurant - anywhere but Haines.         

See you on the marine highway!

Trawlercat           

My Day 22 - Haines, Alaska

Subject: My Day 22 – Anchorage to Haines, Alaska

Today I meet Lisa on the road to Haines, Alaska. She tells me that she bought a two bedroom home on an acre of land on the Big Island of Hawaii for $60,000 at auction. She can’t wait to spend time working on it and using it. According to her, the 90 year old former resident keeled over one day in one of the rooms, the property wouldn’t sell, so it went to auction. Her furniture is coming from several other Hawaii foreclosed homes.

Lisa was dressed in her bright neon green work jumpsuit, stylish arctic boots and a helmet with a turtle sticker on it. Her bug like dark sunglasses completed the road safety package. The only pale wind burnt skin that showed was above her chin and below her eyebrows. Lisa held me at bay with her large STOP sign on a pole. This time my delay on this double wide broken gravel up and down dust road was for only fifteen minutes. Road crews are everywhere today fixing up what man built while nature keeps flexing the original trail that Dalton built. This morning I was the only vehicle on the road to Tok, Alaska so, it gave Lisa a chance to talk to someone other than the hungry Arctic mosquitoes.

The scenery is mostly of a glacier as the road winds along the scenic highway. I stop to take pictures but, once again forgot that I was wearing shorts. A short time later I’m scratching the quarter size seven bites that I can clearly see while driving and scratching. I’m seen perfected the drive jeep, turn on the camera, ready, aim, shoot, swoop back on the lane and keep moving photo shot. All my shots are mostly instinctive shooting.

I clear customs again – this time it’s back to the good old USA. A single customs agent steps out of his working home and into a booth between all hours except 11 PM and 7 AM. Another forty or so miles to go and I’m at Haines, Alaska and the ferry roadway of the inside passage. Haines is also known as the valley of Eagles. Before the day is over I photograph all the eagles I want including one lone one on the beach.

I quickly find great lodging at a B&B that Laura and her husband built around 1993-94. The original garage housed some sort of power plant for Fort Seward. The fort was built due to a border land dispute with Canada. Send your Army soldiers to keep the peace and let them know you mean business. This part of the old fort now has a bed and breakfast over it with one of the most scenic views of a busy but rather noisy seaport. Cost is $85.00 per night with a farmer’s breakfast at your chosen times between 7 AM and 9 AM. I choose 7:30 AM. The Yukon was "larger than life" as they say on their travel brochures but I tend to like the sea or coastal towns the best. Driving through the Yukon is sort of like driving through Texas as it is big. Its larger than all the New England states put together and more than twice the size of Great Britain. The Yukon portion of the Alaska highway that I just traveled wound its way through river valleys and dozens of streams and rivers that are what is known as the Mackenzie watershed. This is where it all drains to the Arctic Ocean and the Bering Sea.

This morning I stopped at the State Ferry building to pick up boarding passes for the Jeep and I for the Sunday Haines to Juneau, Alaska portion of the trip. I then drove towards Chilkoot Lake; parked at a beach access spot and cleaned out and organized the jeep. Next I drove a little more and was at the end of the road; where I started my hike of several miles trying to reach a waterfall that I could clearly see but, the entanglement and overgrowth made it impossible to reach and photograph its falls. Slipping and sliding on mounds of kelp, hopping glacier deposited boulders and only falling twice was quite an achievement.

While I was dirty and sweaty I felt that washing off the bug encrusted jeep at the local car wash was a good thing but first I needed to break a $50.00 bill. The Tesoro mini-mart lady and I had quite a discussion as to why their ATM’s only spit out $50.00’s. I said it was because of Haines high cost prices; like what I was now paying; $6.41 for a bottle of water and a gas anti-freeze additive. She said no – that was normal; they all spit out $50.00’s must be a Haines thing.

I'm at the Haines, Alaska library now - gotta go before they close! 

See you on the road!

Trawlercat

My Day 22 – A shrimp catching we shall go!

Subject:  My Day 22 – A shrimp catching we shall go!

Like the saying; “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.  But man is not only content with food alone so, where’s the Alaskan beer; the wine, the women, and song to go alone with all the adventure and all that shrimp that’s still not yet caught?  Are we on the chase because of what our primal brains told us to do because it feels good to hunt shrimp or drive a jeep to Alaska?  Maybe I’m on to something.  We are simply on - the Chase.  The Chase; the Pursuit; the Hunt for that fish, shrimp, and earlier on for me it was the search for something rather tame like “hot springs”. 

Our little Arctic Jeep Expedition trip did get some of us in our jeeps to the furthest most northern part road of North America.  It will never be the same to just hop on that plane, get there, or visit your local Supermarket seafood section or that wild variety of fresh or frozen shrimp; albeit for hundreds and hundreds of dollars less per pound or gallon of gas. 

Thanks to the virtual world and all the free time I am now enjoying – NOT driving hundreds and hundreds of miles per day I now see that maybe (we) have suppressed that primal instinct of ours, maybe just a wee bit too much. 

Today we haul up shrimp; not just any shrimp but the (Whittier, Alaska) ones; the ones in the waters of Prince William sound.  Hey, wait a minute, now didn’t a certain vessel by the name of Exxon Valdez spill its oil crude somewhere around these parts?  I think maybe I’m not supposed to talk about that so as not to open up old wounds – so I won’t, because that type of thing just won’t happen again – right?    

Several days ago the crew of the now christened little ship Aquaholic (Petr’s boat) layed out about 1,000 feet of line and five shrimp pots affixed somewhere on that same line; each one fitted out with its very own container of cat food, dead fish guts and some other secret smelly shrimp liking and catching concoction.  The longer they get to sit at the bottom of the 1,000 foot bottom the better says Petr. So, we let them sit for say three days!  Pulling these pots up can be some serious physical labor so, to aid with that Petr has installed a four cycle lawnmower type engine with a pulley on the end to pull them shrimp pots up. 

This entire process sort of pleased our chase, pursuit, hunter necessary element of life for a while – and then we went after halibut. Is the chase really unnecessary you might add.  I clearly think not.  Men must feel that need to believe that they have truly worked hard to get what they go after like for example crossing wind swept wave oceans like Prince William Sound to drop those shrimp pots.  Now that my flash frozen and vacuum packed halibut sits in that freezer a few dozen feet from where I am now staying will it really be all that different from that seafood supermarket variety I wonder. 

Remember that today is the last day of some of your life.  ~Author Unknown ... so go out and have a great day and I will soon see you on the marine highway! 

Trawlercat

My Day 21 – The Alaska Marine Highway

Subject:  My Day 21 – Monday in Anchorage

Just got done booking my ticket on the Alaska Marine Highway!  From Anchorage I drive to Haines, Alaska so that my jeep and I will board the ferry and begin our travels by boat.  According to the brochure Haines is on the shores of the longest, deepest fjord in North America.  What is a fjord you may ask; well, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.  Haines is supposed to be beautiful with its framed snow capped White Mountains year round. 

From Haines I then head to Juneau, also on the inside passage route of the marine highway. The schedule says that my departure date is Sunday, Jul 24^th at 0900 and jeep and I arrive Juneau, Alaska at 1:30 p.m.  I stay

in Juneau until Tuesday (Jul 26) where we then board another ferry at 01:15 AM and depart to Bellingham, WA arriving at 0800 AM on Friday

July 29^th, 2011. 

My Arctic Alaska Jeep adventure is now sort of winding down except for my visits to Washington, Oregon and the California trip home.  I did miss some great country in both Canada and Alaska as well as all the hot springs this side of the world that I would’ve loved to have also visited.  However, the highlight of my visit is having gotten reacquainted with my “Wet Dog Race” friends.  Thank you Petr for all the great hospitality – the place to stay, halibut fishing, shrimping and crabbing, Ferrari road trip tour down to Homer.   

I’ll hit my SPOT on Face book so you can track my progress but, for planning purposes Haines is 80 air miles northwest of Juneau, just south of the Canadian border at British Columbia and 600 air miles southeast of Anchorage and Fairbanks.

I travel by road for 775 miles from Anchorage just to get there.  The town encompasses 13.5 sq. miles of land and 8.0 sq. miles of water. Haines has a maritime climate characterized by cool summers and mild winters. Summer temperatures range from 46 to 66 °F; winter temperatures range from 10 to 36 °F. Total precipitation averages 52 inches a year, with 133 inches of snowfall. The Haines area was called "Dei Shu" by the Tlingit, meaning "end of the trail." The Chilkat Tlingit tightly controlled the trading routes between the coast and the Interior.

During the Klondike gold rush in the late 1890s, Haines grew as a mining supply center, since the Dalton Trail from Chilkat Inlet to Whitehorse offered an easier route to the Yukon for prospectors. Gold was also discovered 36 miles from Haines in 1899 at the Porcupine District. Four canneries were constructed in the area by the turn of the century and the first U.S. military installation in Alaska, Fort William H. Seward (1904).   

In 1922, the fort was renamed Chilkoot Barracks. Until World War II, it was the only U.S. Army post in Alaska. It was deactivated in 1946 and sold as surplus property to a group of veterans who established it as Port Chilkoot. In 1970, the City of Port Chilkoot (formed in 1956) merged with Haines into one municipality. In 1972, the post was designated a national historic site, and the name, Fort William Seward, was restored. The last of the early canneries closed in 1972 due to declining fish stocks. Expansion of the timber industry in the early 1970s fueled growth. The sawmills closed in 1976

Haines is now predominantly a non-Native community. There are two Chilkat Indian Villages in the area, the Chilkoot in Haines and the Chilkat in Klukwan.

Haines is also home to the world's largest congregation of bald eagles, who feed from the hot spring-fed rivers. The Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, located 18 miles from Haines, is a major attraction in Southeast Alaska.

Haines is a major trans-shipment point because of its ice-free, deep-water port and dock and year-round road access to Canada and Interior Alaska on the Haines and Alaska highways. It is a northern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System, a cruise ship port-of-call, and a hub for transportation to and from Southeast Alaska.

Have a great day and see you on the marine highway!

Trawlercat

My Day 22 - Jeep Expedition - Homer Fishing

Ferrari on dirt roads; millionaires with outhouses; hundred pound fish; nets the size of cars (drift netting); clothing any kind works so long as you are comfortable and four guys that came up from Seattle on their personal watercrafts.  Yes folks, you read the last line correctly - our lives are boring by comparison. 

Yesterday while visiting Ron at a camp site we heard about four guys that started on their road trip via Seadoo PWC'S and should be in Kodiak by tonight with the goal of making Nome and crossing over to Russia before the trip is said and done.  Guess what - us three guys did or rather attempted to do the same thing - 3 years ago (google PWC and Trawlercat or Wet Dog and Trawlercat) and you'll get our stories.  We called John the expedition leader of our group and told him about our discovery.  These guys are doing it with the support we believe of NBC or some other television sponsorship.  They have planned about a dozen episodes; so, in addition to your Deadliest Catch or Ice Road Truckers you may be seeing Dangerous Waters or whatever name they stay with. 

Today is definitely laundry time as I've been either recycling, doing without or mismatching garments since arriving in Anchorage - I'm down to a pair of shorts and a recycled t-shirt.  I packed for this trip like I packed for my Pacific crest trail - extremely light.  My friend Petr runs a tight schedule so with all the fishing, visiting friends and just plain old road tripping (Alaska style) from the comforts of a Ferrari I just don't have the time.  Yesterday we put about 480 miles on the Ferrari zipping down to Homer first for some halibut fishing.  The Ferrari ended up on occasions on some dirt roads, farm fields, fish camps, Homer spit but, everywhere we went it stirred up quite a bit of pointing, picture taking and some more conversations.  This may be the only Ferrari to ever have done a road trip like this - but then again, this is Alaska where people use their stuff and max it out to fit the situation. 

The three of us, Petr, Ron and I limited out on our halibuts and so did everyone else on board.  Sorry to say they weren't of the huge jurrasic park size expected.  Today, we wine and dine on Alaska king crab (from a previous trip); tomorrow we make it out to Whittier again to pull up the shrimp pots (five) that will hopefully be full of the prawn variety.  Last night we assembly line style vacuumed packed all the fish and in time flat then met up with Ivan and Anna for some late night drinks (Czech style). 

My work seems all done here.  Time to inquire about throwing the jeep on a ferry and getting my butt home to Patti.

See you on the road!

Trawlercat

My Sunday

Subject:  My Day 20 – Sunday in Anchorage on the way to Homer, Alaska today

“Today is the first day of the rest of my life”.  Not my quote but one I fully embrace and did use in my working world past sometimes I thought I needed it just to get through the day. Words now seem to me to have more a sense of purpose.  Together they can easily propel (me) onto an adventure like the one I seem to be now living.  The virtual world makes it so that now before the real adventure begins we can go on a virtual one.  Thanks internet.  Is half the magic the journey itself?

Great quote goes here!   There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.  - Albert Einstein

Second great quote for the ladies goes here!  "I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."   — Marilyn Monroe

My final quote to you:  Life is too short to wake up in the mornings with regrets. So love the ones who treat you right, forget the ones who don’t. Remember that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance take it, if it changes your life, then let it.

No one said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. (Jessie’s quote) 

Have a great Sunday and see you on the trail!

Trawlercat

Updated Photos - Jeep Expedition Tour (Anchorage, Whittier)

http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff128/TRAWLERCAT/Arctic%20jeep%20expedition%20tour/

Arctic Jeep Expedition - Pictures to View

http://s243.photobucket.com/albums/ff128/TRAWLERCAT/Arctic%20jeep%20expedition%20tour/


I originally forgot that I had PhotoBucket and FlickR accounts to upload my photos.  This morning I'm playing around with uploading some of those 1,000's of pictures that I've taken since starting this little expedition.  Here are some.  Enjoy.

Trawlercat

May Day 11 - Wet Dog - Jeep Expedition & Going Fishing

Subject:  My Day 19 – Wet Dog Race and Going Fishing

I’ve heard it said a dozen different ways before since the age of fifteen; and throughout my life from people of all walks in life – even some of the homeless I’ve talked to while working in downtown Los Angeles.  The original quote about classifying peoples of the world based on the way that they live their lives goes something like this: 
There are those people that 1) make things happen; the second group are those that - have things happen to them; and finally the third are the ones that sit there and wonder what happened?  

NOW – WHICH ONE ARE YOU?   And can you change the way you are if you want to or do you always remain the same?     

Then for those that want it said from someone self made comes a similar quote:  The late Walt Disney said that there are three kinds of people in the world:  1) The “well-poisoners”, who discourage you and stomp your creativity and tell you what can’t do. 2) The “lawn-movers,” people who are well-intentioned but self-absorbed; they tend to their own by mowing their own lawns and never leaving their yard to help others;
3) Finally, the “life-enhancers”, people who reach out to enrich the lives of others, to lift them up and inspire them.

I am now in Anchorage and recall the first real life adventure that brought me to Alaska three years ago known as the Wet Dog Race.  (This race is a 2,000 mile personal watercraft race) I wrote a few words then on the subject and even encouraged others to try to join us once I became committed in the cause.  Picture this: 

Have you ever wondered how any popular race ever gets started?  And how it manages to grow into an annual event.  Well, it usually starts off with two friends who challenge each other.  Then more people get involved and thus the tradition is born, which continues on and on into an annual event; so successful, in fact, that the town or officials will want to support it, like they do now. 

Most of my friends are not into watching professional sports but, do participate in and also follow events like the Alaskan 1,000 mile sled dog race by the name of “The Iditarod” or the 2,000 mile snowmobile race by the name of “The Iron Dog”.

Back home we only have one popular west coast PWC (personal watercraft) Race known as the 300 mile Mark Hahn Endurance Race in Lake Havasu, Arizona.  Feb 26, 2011, I participated in this race with my friend Jim Walker – we placed 10^th overall.    

My friend John Lang is still working on turning his dream into reality.  The first race is set to go off hopefully next year (May 2012).  When this happens he will likely end up with the most ultra race of them all, the one that will make it into the World Book Records, the 2,000 mile PWC race known as “The Alaskan Wet Dog Race”.   And that my friends are how race history is born. 

Now which one of the three do you suppose that he is?  For me – he already turned his adventure into reality and the rest of us followed and participated.  My friend Petr who I am now visiting) Ron, Gina and yours truly already went out on our adventure that John created. 

Before the trip was over we rode our personal watercrafts over 1,000 miles in Alaskan waters from the start in the Port of Anchorage all the way down to Kodiak Island.    

This trip started on May 19, 2009 and was called by John Lang “Paving the Way”.   I wrote the first story and if you want to read it it is still out there in the cyber world – Google Trawlercat and PWC

Who would’ve thought that many years ago, for a slim chance of finding gold, men from all walks of life would give up their respectable careers, for the adventure of a life time.   

The original native Alaskans themselves did much the same thing, they were only equipped with an inflated seal skin kayak (baidarka) to go hunt large whales, armed only with the magic protection from their ancestor-whalers and their harpoons. 

My friend John Lang is one of those men that would’ve set off to find gold or hunt a whale if he was born sooner however, like the rest of us he lives in the 21st century so, he is using the tools at hand. 

The Arctic Jeep Expedition that I am now on was created by Mike, AKA: Steel Pony.  The expedition is now at its halfway mark.  Fortunately, for me I hopped off because I wanted to stop and smell the roses.  For the next three days I will be on my friend Petr’s expedition.  It goes something like this:   Take a twin engine jet drive Yamaha 50 mph (basically a ski boat) equip it with five shrimp pots that will be dropped down into Whittier Straits, Alaska; fish for ? and then retrace, regroup and then make our way back down to Anchor Point, Alaska in his Ferrari.  From there we’ll go out with a professional guide. 

The rest of the Arctic Jeep expedition is now starting their day 17 going on into Denail/McKinley, AK to Tok Alaska via Denali Hwy. Camp at the famous Sourdough Campground in Tok, AK; Day 18 Tok to Chicken, AK, a side trip to Eagle, AK with final destination Dawson City, YT, Canada Gold Rush Campground; Day 19 Dawson to the Dempster Hwy past the Arctic Circle to River Rock Campground 304 miles; Day 20 River Rock Campground YT to Inuvik NWT the northern most point of any road in Canada. Back to Ft McPherson for the night 293 miles Camp or Hotel (hotels approx $200 per night); Day 21 Leave Ft McPherson for Hwy 2 and the end of the Dempster. 344 miles Camp in the vicinity of of Hwy 5 & 2;

Day 22 Dempster to Haines Jct Yukon Territory - Camp at Nugget City Campground, Watson Lake - 566 miles; Day 23 Haines Junction Yukon Territory to Telkwa, British Columbia 529 miles Camp at Ft Telkwa Campground; Day 24 Ft Telkwa British Columbia to Lac La Hache British Columbia 411 miles Camp at Big Country Campground; Day 25 Lac La Hache, British Columbia to Ft Langley, British Columbia 275 easy miles Camp at Ft Langley Campground; Day 26 Ft Langley, BC to Mt Hood National Forest via Vancouver & Mt St Helens 329 miles; Day 27 Mt Hood to Crater Lake National Monument via Redmond, Bend & Newberry Volcanic National Monument. 293 Miles; Day 28 Crater Lake to Red Bluff, CA via Lava Beds National Monument, Mt Shasta, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Volcanic Scenic Byway 380 miles.

Do you think that these three guys (John, Mike and Petr) are cut from the same stock?  And what draws guys like me to come join them on their expeditions similar to the men seeking gold in the Alaskan fields – men who left careers, family and comfort for the chance to seek life, live a little and cherish that form of adventure for the rest of their living days. 

See you on the Water!

Trawlercat 

 

The Healing Trail

The Healing Trail

So what have I learned in six months since setting off on my own in an effort to expand my mind, body and soul on what I have often called the “healing trail of life”?  This trail can and does heal from everything that ails you (mentally).  My Plan B retirement plan started out in a quest to hike from the Mexican border to the Canadian border on a trail known as the Pacific Crest Trail – 2,655 miles from point A to point B.  This plan was supported, encouraged and possibly sponsored by the Los Angeles Adventurers Club.   My two PCT personal trainers are CornNut (Rick) and Globe Trekker (Shane).  These two guys helped me out in more ways than only I know possible.  At this point in time I now feel like I’ve let them down – perhaps that too will pass in time.   

The original Plan A; though it never fully materialized started out for me at about the age of fifteen; going far back as I can remember.  Perhaps I am borrowing or have within me a sailing Captains soul and don’t yet realize it; at other times I thought it was a Spanish Conquistador. 

This plan called for (me) and then with (someone of the opposite sex) to sail down to Mexico and not stop till possibly finally one day reaching Fiji Island.  Don’t ask me why Fiji I can’t now seem to remember.  Possibly my x-wife Kathleen knows about those sailing dreams as she shared in them prior to our starting a family of three boys.  The heaviest of snow years stopped me and countless others short at the 702 mile mark of that trail; the location is known as Kennedy Meadows.  Imagine that I hiked to get to this point with my last day on the trail hiking over 22 miles.  WooHoo!!!

Only some of the hikers were patient and waited; others moved around the piled up snow obstacles and others like me didn’t want to wait long; somehow the stimulation just wasn’t there unless of course we kept moving. 

Not long after being home I hit the trail again.  Only this time it was a very different type of trail.  This trail started as a result of my association with of all things an on-line Jeep four-wheeling club that I happened to come upon two years earlier when (we) first bought our 2002 Jeep Wrangler X to be used for rock crawling – a somewhat new sport at the time.  The Jeep Expedition club just happened to be leaving on an Arctic Expedition; with Gilligan (Russ), the Skipper (Mike) too; the millionaire (Woody) and his wife (Carol); the Professor (Tony) and Mary Ann (sorry, no Mary Ann for this episode; at least not yet – and now Trawlercat!   (Sorry John & Tommy – you don’t show up till a later episode) God I used to love that show – Gilligan’s Island; I’d watch every episode and then get so pissed off at Gilligan for once again screwing up their way off that island.  And to think I was once a trained investigator.  Perhaps this is the point of origin to my original Plan A. 

Since then I’ve driven thousands of miles to arrive to where I am waking up this morning - Anchorage, Alaska?  For anyone wanting to do the same thing – don’t.  The hiking part took way more serious thought and planning.  Plus it entertains the mind, body and soul before during and as I suspect long after the journey is done.  (Do this – but, don’t think it’s cheaper than the driving part cause it is not) 

Something like thirteen months of total preparation time for the hike; compared to about a week to get me and the jeep ready for the driving part.  The hike is both a mental and physical thing taking me something like nine months to put it all into action.  The driving part – since I’ve been driving most of my adult life it only took about a week to put that part together since the hiking already got me there.  The initial itinerary was already down on paper before I joined the group so until about two days ago I just went with their itinerary.    

The trail and the road taught me life lessons suitable for my remaining years in the same way that when we start out our working years we begin to acquire life work skills.  By the time I got off the trail (not hiking any more) I hiked over twenty mile days.   Imagine walking twenty miles today; then do the same thing tomorrow; the next day and so on.  About four days later stop at a trail town; take a zero day (non-hiking day) truly gorge down on things in life that average people take for granted like, food, hot and cold faucet water, still more food, a bug free climate controlled environment and you will still not get  the true picture.   Your body is now sculpting itself into this muscular sexy looking walking self.  Eat all you want; you won’t gain any weight.  Laugh, cry, play, talk to others like you with such deep emotion and passion you begin to see the child in you once again.  Life stresses, responsibilities all vaporize like the fog and the mist that ever so slowly rises every day when the sun’s rays strike and begin to wake you up to a new day. 

 Life is good!

See you on the trail!

Trawlercat

My Day 16 - Jeep Expedition Arctic tour - Denali & Anchorage

 What all the well traveled women are now wearing. 

Visited Denali today and I am now in Anchorage.  Too tired to write more so will catch up tomorrow. 

My Day 15? - Jeep Expedition Arctic tour - Jeep Maintenance

I'm sitting at Barnes & Noble (with wifi) while the jeep is at Walmart getting an oil change and tire rotation.  I washed it twice before dropping it off and it is still dirty.  My windshield glass is cracked and thanks to duct tape i managed to hold it together.  I packed two rolls for the trip.  Spoke to Patti this morning and got caught up on her trip.  Also, spoke to Petr of Petr's Violin Shop in Anchorage.  His shop is the only violin shop in Anchorage originally started by his father.  Anyway, aftter talking this morning with Petr he invited me over to do some fishing and crabbing this weekend on his boat.  I plan on making it to Anchorage by Friday so between now and then I will check my schedule but, since I am also on a  HOT SPRINGS tour - I found one about 60 miles away.  Will let you know how that one looks when I get my jeep back from Walmart and hit the road. 

The wi fi at Barnes is just amazing - every thing flys right off the internet.  Let's see if I can get some more pictures and/or video posted. 

See you on the trail!

Trawlercat

People make it up here in any type of vehicle imaginable.  Now this one is made for this type of travel with or without roads.  Totally self contained but extremely expensive.  If you notice behind him there are a few other vehicles and all are camped out at the Walmart. 

This camp site provided all the wood you can burn.  At least the smoke and little rain kept the mosquitoes at bay.  My head felt like a soccer ball from all the bites I got. Mango juice and Bacaradi, a little music and two cans of OFF spray plus a tiki candle.  Only thing missing in this part of the country is a blindfold so one can sleep.  It never gets dark anymore. 

Subject:  My Day 14 – Jeep Expedition Tour – My Zero Day

Yesterday turned out to be an amazing calm, peaceful day truly deserving of the title Zero Day; meaning I did not do any serious driving.  The campground that I stayed at last night also supplied all the firewood that I wished to burn and burn I did; even through the rain in the evening time.  This morning the fire was still going as I sat and ate breakfast by a roaring fire.  

The jeep's windshield is now duct taped due to a large rock hitting it - the split is all the way from top to bottom. My engine light is on and my oil change is over do.  I also plan tomorrow on rotating all four tires plus washing the jeep.  Today I arrived at Fairbanks after flying past the North Pole.  I saw a moose wtih two baby mooses crossing the road.  The two BMW touring motorcycles ahead of me also stopped and then we continued on me tailing them for the remainder of the way at about 80 mph.  Still some amazing country but, its great to be back in the USA. 

More to follow.

Trawlercat

Pictures

Subject:  My Day 13 – Jeep Expedition Tour – Planning My Next Move

Hopefully in the future pictures that one wishes to post to blogs would post at a faster than a snails pace and laptop batteries would last longer.  After waiting what seemed like an hour to upload a dozen pictures I finally gave up; started over and am now uploading just 3 pictures. 

Last night at about midnight I called the front desk to complain about the loud talking in the adjoining room with the locked dividing door.  Two couples in Canadian slang just talked the night away.  Since nothing was done by the front desk I took it upon myself to pay the adjoining room a visit where I encountered a young Mr. Chang who quickly apologized for the loud noise but then - nothing much changed until about two a.m.  Since payback is a mother*@=0er; this Sunday morning (0515) Mr. Chang got a healthy dose of the same compliments of the television aimed at the wall and left on.   If I would’ve thought of it last night I should’ve given them two $20’s to go out for beers; it might’ve been a more mutually agreeable night – for the both of us. 

    

My Day 13 - Jeep Expedition Arctic

My Day 12 – Jeep Expedition Tour

This morning the expedition left the town of Watson Lake and slowly made our way towards the town of Whitehorse, Yukon territories. I say slowly because at every bear sighting, national or otherwise historic spot we stopped.  I sighted a moose out in the middle of a lake from quite a distance and called it out on the ham radio that I borrowed this morning from Woody.  We all stopped to take pictures of the moose that must've been a good mile away and about 2,000 feet below us.   

Watson Lake is what is called Yukon's Gateway.  This is the place where Frank Watson; after not making it big in the prospecting department found his way here and then settled down by marrying a local woman.  Watson lake also had their gold discovery at nearby Dease Lake in the 1870's however, it was more known for the gold-rush stampeders heading ot the Kondike. 

Watson Lake will forever be known to me as the place where I lost my jeeps gas cap after filling up.  I somehow became entangled with the 20 feet or so of fill hose on this pump while at the same time multi-tasking as I handled a truck sized two foot squeezee that I was using to clean my dusty, dirty mosquito encrusted windows.  

Yes, dear, I did drive off without placing the gas cap back on but, in less than twenty minutes I had a another one.  Miles later when I realized oh crap - no CAP!  I recalled seeing a trucking outfit - I said, what the hell.  I stopped and immediately saw this blonde woman with a nose piercing slouching on a chair, feet spread all apart.  She spotted me and gave me a rather who the hell is this guy in a red jeep type of look.  I immediately broke her down with witty charm as I told her I did a very, very, very stupid thing.  She then smiled and said wait right here.  She then came out with a rather large cardboard box full of gas caps.  She said see if one fits.  I did and found the exact one made for the Jeep Wrangler.  I asked how much?  She said, nothing.  I thanked her and then parked my jeep almost on the middle of the street so that the approaching expedition could see it and stop at my location.

Locals are great in that they tell you local stuff like for example.  This family located in Watson Lake the nose piece of a US B-26 Maurader bomber airplane that was believed to have been lost in 1942.  It was in 70 feet of water so the family reported what they found to the government (everyone including the Air Force).  After receiving what they thought were mixed messages about recovering the nose piece they decided to do the salvage themselves.  Apparently what they recovered was the WWII Bomber known as the Flying Prostitute.  The wreckage has since been confiscated back by the government.

Another local told me about how back in 1966 how he first started visiting the Liard Hot springs that the expedition visited yesterday.  He said that when a military piece of equipment became bogged down they just drove over it and then used it as fill.  He said that a local found a D-9 tractor buried in the bog and that it took him a little while to remove the fuel, change the plugs and add a battery.  He said that this thing that was left in the bog for all those years (1942) was able to fire up after a few tries.  The guy then drove it right out.  Sounds a little fishy but hey, or I should say 'eh who the hell am I to question any locals historic lore.

I am now doing my laundry at 9 PM and as I look out it is still totally day light like it should be around 5 PM.  The expedition had dinner earlier and then departed.  I stayed back and tomorrow will continue on my own journey towards Dawson City.  We may or may not hook up at a later date - stay tuned.

Just now I also learned that I am only 112 road miles to Skagway.  This is the place that is really a backpackers delight.  From Skagway goldminers embarked on a trail known as the Chilkoot trail.  This 17 mile trail very much doable and a good place to improve upon my gold-rush history.   Will let you know tomorrow if I start making my way down there or truly end up with a zero (NO DRIVING) day like I want to and need to.  

I now also just came across a DVD that John gave me earlier.  This DVD is titled Alone in the Wilderness.  I have the book at home and remember reading it from cover to cover because it was so easy to day dream about also getting dropped off in the wilderness, building your own cabin and living out an adventure.  

Laundry took quite a bit to get done.  Step 1 - Get change.  Here they call they $1.00 loonies because that is what is on one side of the coin.  Next step assemble the clothes.  Step 2 - find change.  Step 3 - Go back down to get the soap.  Step 4 - Wash clothes.  Step 5 - Move clothes to dryer however, dryer takes different coins.  Step 6 - Is it dry yet?  

That is all for now.  

Trawlercat

(PS:  Thank you John for that graciously paying for everyones dinner tonight - and for that DVD that I am about to enjoy)  See you on the trail.    

Enjoy the pictures.  

Trawlercat - Out! 

May Day 11 - Jeep Expedition Tour 7/8/2011

This is the start of Mile 0 for the Alaska Highway. 

This is where we all ate lunch today.  Pulled in just as the downpour started. 

We decided to get our jeeps muddy.  Woody is showing up an a-ok sign.  John is staring at his dirty muddy tires and Tommy is on the otherside wishing he had his Gold Wing motorcycle with him. 

Cockshutt - can you say cockshutt! 

Notice a resemblance?  This truck was on a lawn just off the road so I thought it fitting to take a picture for future reference. 

Beard is fast growing.  On the drive to Watson lake - Day 11 without shaving. 

The frenchman on his way to a peace park.  Sorry I forgot to get his picture before he took off.  Also we both stopped in the middle of the road to talk.  I forgot all about any possible traffic as I hadn't seen any in so long. 

Two big semi's had to stop to let these guys make it across.  when they want to cross - they cross.  They were everywhere but looked rather solitary. 

Same

This is the sign forest I was talking about - you post your own sign and it is like a jungle. 

Subject:  My Day 11 - Jeep expedition - Liard Hot Springs

Everyone is now at Watson Lake, Yukon Territories.  Early this morning I made a run for Liard Hot Springs while most of the troops were just getting up or possibly on their last few hours of their beauty sleep (all except for John & Tommy) the other early risers. 

On my run to Liard I saw several signs announcing hot cinnamon rolls.  The temptation was too great - in I swerved directly for the hot cinnamon rolls.  The only one that beat me in was Don, a now retired trucker towing a fifth wheel up from Oklahoma on his way to Wasilla - just outside of Anchorage.  Don and I talked for exactly 35 minutes until the buns came out of the oven.  Let me tell you folks this was the finest baked good anyone could consume.  Besides coffee I took a sourdough freshly made loaf with me.  All of this cost me $10.00 because he did not want to make change on a US $20.00 bill. 

Don is a 3rd generation Alaskan and while we waited he told me about his grandparents and how one day the old man told his wife that they were moving to Alaska.  They had to depart in the dead of winter because it took something like 7 months to make it to Alaska in a Ford Model A.  He paid something like $167.00 for 160 acres of land and then built a cabin from the wood on the land.  In addition to coaling and two other jobs he supplied potatoes to the Army. When the Army wanted them in crates he built himself a sawmill to make the crates. 

On todays drive what didn't I see - bison, bears, lynx, caribou and a frenchman pulling what looked like an outside.  See picture above.  I stopped and offered up some snacks and he took the cornnuts and Tiger Bar but nothing else.  The guy says he is on his way to a peace park in Jasper.  Man is he tough.  I've seen guys riding bicycles in all kinds of wet weather but this guy takes the cake.

When I started this blog it was 1:48 p.m. and lunch.  My lunch today consisted of Canadian (Canada Dry Gingerale) and a Mountain House beef stew heated up on a whisperlight backpacking stove.  Earlier I soaked in the Liard Hot springs.  Honestly folks, this is the best and by far the cheapest hot springs ($5.00) anywhere.  I've been to four others on this trip.  

I sat on a picnic table just outside the entrance to the board walk that leads you to the hot springs.    The original boardwalk consisted of planks leading to the hot springs according to a long time Canadian visitor who has been coming here since 1966.  He said that the US Army dug out the hot springs to make it accommodating for the soldiers that needed hot baths.  The boardwalk now leads you through a beautiful meadow forest that now make it possible for a variety of plants to grow year round.  If you’re interested in coming here it is located at Mile 497 of the Alaska Highway, just over 300 kms (190 miles) northwest of the Town of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, and 140 kms (85 miles) from the BC-Yukon border.

“This location is just north of the intersection of the Alaska Highway with the Liard River which winds its way from Canada’s Yukon Territory through northern British Columbia before merging with the MacKenzie River at Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories. The word “Liard” comes from the French word for the poplar trees that grow in abundance along sections of the river.”

They call the area not yet traveled by me the Serengeti of North America. Deer, moose, bears, and elk are supposed to be seen along the highway and roads as they forage for food.  So far I’ve seen two black bears and a young elk, moose, or caribou I don’t know what it was as it was on the opposite side of the river. 

I’ve also seen bison signs as they are supposed to be roaming freely as well.  In addition to the bison and moose, there are sheep, mountain goats, elk, caribou, and deer.  The animals that kep them in check are the wolves, coyotes, foxes, grizzly bears, black bears, lynx and wolverines. I thought this morning I saw a lynx cross the road but am also not sure as it resembled more a monkey crossing the road. 

Watson Lake is where the original wood signposts are located.  Take a look at the picture.   

Trawlercat