Karluk Lake Recon

Motoring around the lake

On my trip to Karluk Lake last week I was checking on the condition of the archaeological sites around the lake and helping the land owner come up with a plan on how best to study and protect them. We motored around the lake and stopped at all the area I had surveyed back in the day.  Then I would show my companions the sites and check on their condition.  It was very interesting to see how things had changed or not.

The weather was brilliant sunshine.  Not a cloud in the sky and no wind type weather.  Sun blasted days.  I was amazed by the green and lush vegetation.  We always did our surveys earlier in the year so that the sites are not obscured by the growing plants.  So I have never been to the lake when it was so green - wearing her summer clothes.  Patrick

Documenting site damage

Caught taking a nap by a drone!

Thumb Creek

Homeward Bound

More Wildlife

I took a lot of good wildlife photos during my trip to Karluk Lake - too many to put on just one post (or even 2 for that matter).  I posted the best ones a couple of days ago, and these are the 'B roll'.  I kind of like the fox pictures the best and that is why I included so many of them.  What kills me is that the fox was playing with the cubs and I had a bear cub doing a 'downward dog' nose to nose with the fox - and it was out of focus.  Picture of the year (for me anyway) ruined.  Patrick

Swimming Dogs

Recently I got all three dogs to swim for sticks.  Until a couple of weeks ago only Tank would willingly go into the water and swim.  Sheba and Brewster would wade out and stop once the water touched their bellies and wait for Tank to return with a stick.  Then Brewster would generally take it away from him.  I figured that was just the way it was - I had sort of given up on teaching Sheba and Brewster how to swim.  After all, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

All that changed a couple of weeks ago when all three dogs started to swim for sticks.  There was someone else at the lake throwing a stick for her puppy and maybe my dogs wanted to show off or something.  Because suddenly not just Brewster (who as a pretty pure breed lab SHOULD like to swim), but also Sheba both started to swim out for sticks.  All three dogs were swimming at once.  I went back the next day and they did it again!

Whooo hooo I got swimmers!

Afternoon hikes, Christmas Cards, and Wild flowers

Last week before I went to Karluk Lake, the kids continued what I hope will become the summer pattern of afternoon hikes.  I'd work in the morning and then we would walk the dogs, or, on one day, go canoeing.

On Tuesday our hike was on Near Island and the wildflowers were in full bloom.  The dogs zipped here and there, and I decided we should try and do Christmas Card pictures.  We would prop the camera on a rock and set the timer.  Inevitably the dogs would run at us and get into the picture.  We ended up with lots of dog butts.  By the end, Stuey was calling the dogs just as we sat down for the photos.  It was pretty funny - and we did not get any useable Christmas card pictures.
Patrick

Karluk Lake Wildlife

I spent the last 2 days at Karluk Lake checking on the archaeological sites I surveyed between 2009 and 2012.  It was pretty cool to go back to sites I last visited 10 years ago, and I even carried the original field note book so I could compare how they looked then versus today.

I also saw a lot of wildlife.  One of the highlights was a sow and 2 cubs who showed up on the lawn of the lodge where I was staying and proceeded to play in front of us for an hour.  The fox would chase the bears and the bears would chase the fox.

Another cool phenomena was the arrival of the salmon.  There were only a few in the lake when we arrived, but by the time we left they had arrived en masse.  As we flew out we could see big black balls of fish off of the mouths of all the tributaries into the lake.  The early run red salmon spawn in the tributaries.  The fish that arrive later in the fall spawn along the lake shore.

What's cool is that most of the archaeological sites are situated near where the late run fish spawn.  This is a good indication that the Alutiiq did most of their lake fishing in the fall.  Patrick

This fawn is safe from me when it hides in a pushki plant

The salmon literally arrived en masse in the 2 days I was there

The fox played with the bears for a 1/2 hour or so

Nora and Stuey?

Sharatin with Stuey and Dale

A short but HOT hike up to the snow

On Sunday it was Stuey's turn to go skiing.  And rather than go the long way up through the spruce forest we opted for the quick and steeper hike up through the meadows and brush to the alpine.  It was much hotter!  But it was also a lot more quick.

On this trip my friend Dale N accompanied us.  I used to ski with him and his daughter when she was 12.  So there was a reciprocal element to the day.  Both dale and I agree that on these sorts of trips it helps a lot to have a third adult who is not family.

We got up on the snow and into a big bowl and Stuey decided to take a nap and watch Dale and I as we made multiple runs on the steep slopes above.  Then Stuey decided he wanted to go higher too.  He wanted to get as high as Nora did the day before.  So we skinned on up, and got to the same elevation as we did the day before with Nora.  Then Stuey ran on a little higher so that he could say he got even a little higher than Nora (but still the same within the margin of error - sorry Stuey!).

Then came the ski down.  It was not as long a run out as the day before, but it was a lot steeper.  and even a little scary in places.  Before we knew it we were at the bottom of the snow and filling our water bottles with the sweet tasting snow melt - better tasting than any other water.  And then down into the bugs and the green -  back to the car and home.  Patrick

Look Goats!

It's a steep skin up the mountain

Dale and Stuey

On the Summit ridge

Stuey begins his descent

It gets pretty steep!

It's green down there

Sharatin with Nora and Andy

Finally on snow!  It took over an hour and a half just to reach the snow

We just finished an incredibly busy and sun-blasted weekend.  We started with a backyard fire pit barbecue on Friday night.  Adults sat by the fire while a pack of kids roamed the neighborhood.  Then on Saturday and Sunday I took the kids skiing.  First Nora on Saturday and then to make it fair - Stuey on Sunday.  Phewwww but I am tired, and so are the kids.

Both ski trips were epic and I was lucky to have a friend accompany me on each one.  Kids just seem to do better and go further when there is a non-family member along.  On Saturday my friend Andy S came along.  We hiked up Sharatin Mountain from the trail at the end of the road at Small Creek.  It has a fairly gentle incline and is shaded by spruce forest.  But low incline also means LONG - we had to hike more than 2 miles before we even got to the snow.

Nora was in Heaven and had a smile on her face the whole.  She just loved all the snow, and tells me that after the ski, when she was trying to get to sleep, she was sad thinking about all the snow melting and going away.  A daughter after my own heart!

The sun was so bright on the snow it was like a radar dish.  Nora was very good about the sunglasses and used copious amounts of sunscreen.  We toured over and checked out Shelly Lake.  This is the usual destination for the trail we used.  But we kept on going and toured around the big bowl until we got up onto the summit ridge - just 300 feet or so below the summit but still a 1/3 of a mile away.  We ate lunch and Nora had a nap.

Then it was time to go home.  Whoooo wheeeee - we got to ski for 2 miles.  Just coasting along in the sunshine with very little work.  And then all the gear went into the packs and we were back a foot - wending our way through the spruce forest down to the car.  Long Day!
Patrick

Look where we are!

Andy and Nora above Shelly Lake

Shelly Lake - Whoooo Hoooo

Climbing up the big bowl at such a low incline that Nora and I did not even need to use climbing skins - the fish scales worked fine

On the summit ridge

Andy rips it

Nora ripping part of a 2 mile long ski

We started up there!

Still not done!

End of the snow - at the end of the tongue of white it was time to start hiking

Finally back at the car after a 5 hour tour!