Red's first ski

It started to snow in town on Friday night, and in the morning there was a mix of snow and rain.  But up at the pass it was all snow.  And we got a lot of new snow.  By mid afternoon there was already a foot at the pass and over a foot and half of snow in the jibber bowl half way up the mountain.  

Last year we had early skiing but it was mostly ocean effect snow.  It was cold and we'd basically get flurries all the time and it slowly built up.  Then just after Christmas it rained and we lost everything in one day.  Yesterday's storm left behind 1 1/2 inches of precipitation - that's stuff that should stick around even if it rains.  Basically we got a ski base with just one storm.

I took Bodi and Red up to the pass to check it out, and then XC skied around the parking lot with Red following.  I did not want to do too much because Red is just a puppy.  Then I took the dogs back to the house and came back with downhill gear.  It was a blizzard up there!

Patrick

Seals and sand

 

I took the doggies to Buskin Beach - I've been doing that a lot lately. And it was dead high tide.  The river mouth was flooded and I was amazed to see a herd of seals in there chasing fish.  What do you call a group of seals anyway?  I kind of thought the salmon run is over but there must still be silver salmon making there way up stream.  Why else would the seals be there and in such numbers?

Anyway, it is a good place to take the dogs and especially Red.  I am trying not to take him on walks that are too long, and if he gets tired I carry him.  The beach is good because Bodi gets all the exercise he needs running this way and that, and yet, we do not walk all that far.  So good for Red too.

Patrick

Postscript: I just googled 'herd of seals' and learned that 'herd' is an accepted word for a group of seals.  Other words for a herd included, a 'pod' for a group of young seals, a 'rookery' or a 'harem' for what I assume are seals at the mating grounds, and my favorite a 'bob' of seals.  Wow, what a word - a 'bob' of seals.  I got to remember that one and try and use it in a conversation.  It is up there with a 'murder' of crows.

Best Buds

 

Bodi and Red have really hit it off together.  Red follows Bodi everywhere and seems to be learning stuff like how to chew on a bone or sniff a bush.  Bodi even puts up with Red wanting to play a whole lot more than he does.  They play chase, roughhouse, and even tug of war.  They also spend long periods of time just hanging out in the fenced in back yard.

Patrick

Living on the Landscape

 

My final elk hunt post, and this one is all about the landscape.  One of my favorite aspects of the elk hunt is that we get to explore and see so much of Afognak.  On this past trip we explored a ridge we had never climbed in the past. 

If we had done the normal thing and flown in and set up a base camp at a lake or bay we would have been limited to exploring a small area.  But we go by boat and then utilize a mobile camp while on shore.  We go ashore where we want, camp where we want, and get picked up where we want.  It is all about mobility and finding the elk.  This year we went ashore with 4-5 days of food - we could have hiked across Afognak and got picked up on the other side.  Indeed that had been the plan.

I really like the self sufficient feeling of having my camp on my back.  Where ever we go there we are, and if we find a spectacular place to camp - we camp. 

It's a great way to hunt.

Patrick

Our best accommodations - nothing like beer on the boat

Teepee time

Enjoying the sunset from inside the semi-transparent teepee

First tracks of the season

 Saturday night it snowed on the tops of the mountains around town, and by sunrise Sunday it was sunny and clear.  All the mountains glowed with the new snow.  So I climbed up and went skiing.  It was terrible skiing. There is no base and really not enough snow yet.  But it was good to be back on the snow after almost 4 months of no skiing.

Earlier I took Red and Bodi for a walk in Abercrombie (bottom 2 photos).  I noticed that it is even winter now under the trees.  Only a few yellow blueberry bush leaves remain.

Patrick

Dale snowboard tracks - he got in the first first tracks

Ptarmigan tracks

Sharatin Mountain

Buskin Beach

 

I took Red to Buskin Beach for the first time.  I think she was a little miffed by the salt water - no it is not good to drink Red! There were flocks of seagulls on the beach eating the last of the salmon carcasses.

I've been going to Buskin beach for walks a lot recently and these photos actually represent the past few trips.  I've been trying to get good flying seagull pictures.  Back home I looked them up in my bird book - the most common and distinctive ones seem to be black legged kittiwakes and glaucous winged gulls.

Patrick

bear paw print