Dog walks, sunrises, and even foxes

It's July and everything is very green and the evenings extend until almost midnight.  But the fireweed is starting to bloom and I noticed that the pushki plants have bloomed and are starting to die back.  Tonight I'll be climbing up a mountain to camp in anticipation of the first day of deer hunting season tomorrow.  So fall is coming.  It'll brown before too long and the pesky lawn will stop growing.

These are some pictures from recent dog walks, and the morning sunrise view as seen from my kitchen.  The fox is one I saw most days in the same spot by the side of the side of the road when I was driving back and forth from Chiniak.  I told Stuey about him and he was never there when I drove by with Stuey.  But last weekend when ferrying cars for our Heitman Mountain hike Nora and I saw him, and I showed this photo to Stuey to prove that he actually did exist.  

Patrick

Stuey's Challenge Complete!

Yesterday Stuey and I climbed Barometer Mountain and completed the Adjust Your Altitude Challenge.  Before the hike Stuey had the opportunity to go to Long Island on a boat ride and I was encouraging him to take it.  It was hot and I had memories of Nora and I climbing up Barometer last year when the temperature hit 86 degrees (click here for post).  But Stuey had his heart set on finishing the challenge and so off we went.  

Looking up at the mountain as we drove by the airport makes for a daunting site.  It looks so steep and we were headed for the top!

At first the trail meandered through the trees and it was shady and cool.  But all too soon we left the old gravel WWII road and headed up the steep, brushy trail directly up the mountain.  And I did get flashbacks to last year's climb.  It was hot and there was no wind in the brush.  Stuey was not happy and even opined, 'I should have gone on the boat'.

Then we left the brush and there was a breeze! As we climbed the breeze got more and more brisk until I was worried I'd lose my ball cap.  Climbing with a cool breeze is not bad at all, and we made good time to the summit.  Near the top the trail is a little sketchy and there are scary drop offs on all sides, and I was feeling a touch of Acrophobia.  But not Stuey he was chipper and excited to be almost at the top.

And at the top it was glorious, or, as Stuey put it, 'it's so beautiful up here'.

On the way down Stuey discovered the ripe salmonberries and, as a consequence, did not even mind the brushy lower section.  He was busy picking berries on the fly.  I gave him a ripe 'Russian' berry (a yellow salmonberry variant that prefers the shade), and he exclaimed, 'that's not ripe!' I realized he had never had a Russian berry.  Once he tried one he agreed that they are way better than the 'normal' bright red variant of the salmonberry.

All too soon we were on the old military road in the shade winding our way down the last bit of the trail.  We could hear the cars on the highway.  Stuey gave me a high five.  He had completed the challenge.  

On the drive back he asked if we could do it again this summer.  So today when I turn in our scorecards I'll get him a new one.  The AYA continues!  Patrick

Low tide in the Bull kelp bed

Yesterday afternoon Nora and I explored the kelp beds by Miller Point at low tide.  Nora used the inflatable kayak while I went on a stand up paddle board (SUP).  It was flat calm, and the kelp was all spread out on the surface.  Looking down into the water you could see all the fronds, and bull kelp bulbs reaching for the surface.  In places there were rocks with huge barnacles on them.  We tried to avoid grounding on those rocks!

We mostly did our own thing and paddled around exploring with very little talk.  A quiet moment of time out on the cool water on a hot afternoon.

Patrick

Kashevaroff in the heat of the afternoon

Yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks I did not have to drive out to Chiniak for work and I got off work at 1 PM - whooooo hoooooo!  So the kids and I climbed Kashevaroff Mountain.

This is another of the Adjust your Altitude challenge peaks so the 3 of us got to check it off our lists.  For Nora it is 2 down and 5 to go while for Stuey is 6 out of 7 and only has Barometer Mountain to climb to finish the challenge.

It was a hot and sunny afternoon and there was some turmoil on the brushy and windless lower sections of the trail.  Stuey declared it the worst trail ever and asked, 'why can't it be cloudy like yesterday?'  

Of course once we got to the alpine he changed his tune and declared, 'this is beautiful!'  And so it was and he even agreed that it was worth the long, hot and windless lower section.  Another perfect day in the alpine.  Patrick

Adjust Your Altitude Challenge - Heitman Lake and Mountain

Yesterday the kids and I joined the cousins on a hike to the top of Heitman Mountain.  We dropped a car at the Heitman Lake trailhead and made a loop out of the hike.  Heitman Mountain is one of the Adjust your Altitude challenge peaks and the lake is part of the 'foothills' challenge - so the 3 of us got to check them both off our AYA scorecards.  For Stuey it is 5 down and just Barometer and Kashevaroff to go.  This is the first summit on Nora's list, but we got a lot of time to finish.  Last year Nora and I did not even start the challenge until July 29th.  So we are ahead in the game.

It was a perfect day for a hike.  Not too hot or too sunny and there was a breeze. Only disappointment was that there were so many people at Heitman Lake that swimming was not really an option.  Stuey and Nora did have some fractious moments, but overall it was a very good time.  Summertime green with lots of flowers.  A great time of year to be in the alpine!  We love hiking with the cousins.

Patrick

Rain Day

Sunday was my one day off for the week and it rained hard.  Perfect downtime weather!  I got to rest and hangout, and the rain made it cozy in the house.  There is nothing worse than needing a day of rest when it is sunny outside.

In the afternoon I took the dogs for a slow walk in the rain.  I noticed that the blueberries are getting ripe.  However, this year there are also so few blueberries that I am not sure it is worth picking them.  I may stick to salmonberries and mix them with last year's blueberries to make jam.  Also it looks like there will be a bumper crop of raspberries.

Then in the evening we went to White Sands beach.  Stuey played in the surf and got soaked.

A good day.
Patrick

Salad Days

Right now my garden is at its peak and looks pretty good.  From experience I know that mid July is generally the tipping point when 'lush' turns to 'jungle'.  Today the weeds are at bay and everything is upright and healthy.  It looks like a garden from a magazine.  Pretty soon the weeds start to take over, slugs slime the lettuce, and the potatoes get blown over by wind etc.  It'll start to look more like a 'working' garden.

But right now all is good. It is the 'salad days' before the corruption takes over. I am eating garlic scapes, kale and lettuce, and just starting to eat carrots.  I think I will have potatoes and beets in a couple of weeks.

This year I also planted nettles in an old raised bed.  So far they are doing great.  I am not harvesting them this year because I want them to take over the bed.  They are one of my favorite vegetables and hard to find in the wild close to town here in Kodiak.  Pretty soon I'll have my own supply!

Patrick