Back from the Refugium

 

I just got back from a trip to Kodiak's South End. The part of the island known as the Refugium because it was not covered in ice during the last episode of glaciation. It acted as a 'refuge' for the hardy plants and animals that later repopulated the rest of the archipelago after the glaciers retreated.  This part of the archipelago is characterized by more rounded mountains and flat marshy plains that were once lakes. It might not have been covered in ice but the nearby glaciers flooded it in water. Many of the river channels and canyons were carved by the enormous quantities of water pouring off of the glaciers, and the glaciers flowing down past the island also dammed up the rivers and created vast lakes. It is a beautiful place and one my favorite places in the whole archipelago to visit.

I went with my friends Jonathan and Ray. We floated down a river and camped along the way. We did a little hunting and a lot of hiking. We did not bring back as much deer meat as we wanted (more on this later), and the weather was not all that great. But the rafting, adventure and scenery was totally worth it. More to come on this in later posts.

Patrick