Pillar Ridge and the Pass

Last week I did a couple of evening hikes with Nora.  Nora suggested the hikes, and if Nora suggests how can I refuse?  So we left Stuey at home with the house guests (he likes house guests) and off we went.

The first hike was totally Nora's idea.  She directed me to drive my car to the last windmill on Pillar Mountain and park the car there.  We then hiked the ridge for a couple of miles.  The next evening we went up to the Pass and hiked about a mile up to the top of the hill behind the ski chalet.

Nora likes hikes.  So do the doggies, and so do I!

Patrick

Keeping Score

Stuey and I played A LOT of cards out on Afognak.  We'd been playing some games with house guests at home and he was excited to play more on Afognak.  He even brought along a book of rules for various card games, and insisted that I bring cards, backgammon and the cribbage board.  On Afognak we were ready to go.

The first evening I was super impressed with how quickly he picked up gin.  I had told him that it was too complicated of a game for us to begin with, and then he promptly caught me twice with gins.  The next day we migrated up to rummy 500.  The game where you can take the pile if you use the bottom card.  He quickly learned about 'salting the pile' or what he termed as 'bait'.  As in 'awww dad you stole my bait' - this when I unexpectedly took the whole pile.

On the second day of the trip I think we played for 7 hours.  We played by the wood stove in the teepee, on the beach and even out on the rocks by the point.  Good times.  Cards in the sunshine with glorious vistas in all directions!
Patrick

By the time we finished this sheet was half filled up

Our cave by the tide pool out on the point - guess who also had the 4 and 6 of spades

Hedgehogs on the woodstove

It's been almost a week since we returned from Afognak, and I'm still enjoying the bounty of mushrooms I found out there.  I've been eating them with everything and today I plan to sauté and freeze the last couple pounds that I have on hand.

I collected a variety known as 'hedgehogs' and they are quite distinctive because rather than gills underneath they have these tiny quills.  Hence their name 'hedgehogs'.  They are amazing and their texture reminds me of portobello mushrooms.   Very meaty.  I put them in a stew that cooked all day and they remained meaty and firm when the stew was done.

On Afognak I sautéed them up on the wood stove in the cast iron skillet with garlic from the garden.  Pepper and salt, and then at the end I added shredded up beach lovage that I found growing near the beach.   The hedgehogs exuded a lot of water and basically I had to cook them long enough to remove all the water.  I also had to add a fair amount of oil.  

They were sublime.

Patrick

Messing about in Boats

One evening just as I was getting ready to soak in the hot tub and get dinner ready, Stuey and I heard a big boat approaching our beach.  I thought, 'uh oh, strangers coming to camp'.  Stuey ran down to check out the boat, and then I heard, 'Dad!  It's Thor!' Stuey's friend, their dad, new dog, and 2 sisters had come to subsistence fish off of the point and pay us a visit.

Stuey helped them set their net and then they all played on the beach.  They made rafts out of logs and even tied a few together using kelp whips.  Of course they all got soaking wet and had to warm up by the wood stove in the teepee.  They cooked s'mores and even dried off their dog.

Later that night Stuey and I put on a show for the boat, and lit off the last of the Pfeffer fireworks.  The next morning Stuey showed Thor the big blue canoe and helped Thor pick the net.  Patrick

Bonfires and Fireworks

While out at Afognak we got a visit from the Pfeffers.  They came out in their boat after attending the Kodiak State Fair and Rodeo.  And they brought Nora and Piper the dog.  Stuey and I knew the approximate time that they were supposed to arrive, and we went out to the point and scanned the ocean with binoculars and spotting scope.  I saw a blur way out near Ouzinkie Narrows, and slowly but surely it turned into a boat.  And finally into a boat that we recognized.  The Pfeffers were on their way!

While waiting we also noticed that there were about 200 sea otters sleeping on the surface of the ocean off of the point.  One was so close we could hear it snoring.  Later on after the boat arrived I noticed that most of the otters disappeared.

When the Pfeffers were about to arrive I lit a bonfire on the beach.  Later on we cooked hotdogs and S'mores and lit off fireworks.  It was just like the 4rth of July except it got dark.  Then in the morning we all ate breakfast cooked on the wood stove in the teepee and then played on the beach.  Roxanne played cards with the kids.  Piper and Brewster ran every which away playing chase.  The weather was flat calm and gorgeous.

The Pfeffers left with Nora around midday and Stuey helped ferry everyone out to the boat.  Then it was back to just Stuey and I.  We said goodbye from the big blue canoe and continued on our way paddling up the bay.  On to our next adventure.  Patrick

S'mores on the bonfire

Adding a Pfeffer house to the Nora and Stuey City

Cards on the beach

Time to leave - Stuey helps ferry people to the boat

Breakfast in the teepee

Stuey and Brewster Time

Over Labor Day Weekend on Afognak it was a lot of Stuey, Brewster and Patrick time.  Mostly we played cards (more on this in a later post), but we also did some exploring and hiking.  Most of exploration took place with Brewster in the big blue canoe. We visited the Old Believers and got to try gooseberries and black currents.  Our 'city in the sand' from the 4rth of July Weekend was still standing and we checked that out (click here).  We also did some beach combing and found a HUGE buoy.  Stuey plans to sell it on eBay and make a lot of money that he will 'split with me'.

Another much encouraged new theme from the trip was that Stuey wanted to help out and do things.  He helped gather wood and set up camp.  And while I sawed wood he split it and put it in the tent.  He got good at splitting wood.  He even did dishes on the beach.  WOW!  Camping in the future is looking up!  Patrick

Afognak Hot Tub

Ruins of our City in the Sand - an archaeological site!

Figuring out what card games to play next

Devils Club 

On our way home - vacation and summer over

Labor Day Weekend

Stuey and Thor build a driftwood raft tied together with kelp rope

Labor Day weekend is now done and Summer officially over.  I spent the weekend on Afognak with Stuey and Brewster.  Nora came out for part of the time, and we also had visits from the Pfeffers (Nora travelled out with the Pfeffers) and Berestoffs.  The weather was spectacular - it sure does not feel like summer is over.  But yes at the end of the trip as I packed up camp I did catch that melancholy 'this is it' feeling.  I felt like I was going back to school or something.  It really was hard to say goodbye to Lipsett Point and Summer. And this from a guy who LOVES winter.

In between the visits it was just Stuey, Brewster and I in camp.  It was very good to get in some one-on-one time with Stuey, and we mostly spent it playing cards.  We played cards for hours and kept score.  We played in the teepee by the wood stove, on the beach out of the wind behind a huge log, and, my favorite place, in a little cave out on the point right above the water.

I had thought gin rummy would be too complicated for Stuey, but he picked it up very quickly.  We rapidly moved on to playing rummy 500.  The game where you can 'salt' the pile.  I'd take all the cards in the discard pile and Stuey would groan, 'Oh man you took my bait'.  Patrick

Rummy 500 - game of the trip

Dinner steaming and ready to serve

Fireworks on the beach with the Pfeffers

Dragonfly still life

Cooking wild mushrooms and garden garlic on the wood stove