WHAT LIES BETWEEN [and] ENDURING REMINDERS

 WHAT LIES BETWEEN

When your lead author moved to Juneau, back in 1998, I flew up, and my household goods were barged in. Since that time, on all my trips to the lower 48 to see friends and family, I flew over what lies between. I decided it was time to actually see what lies between on the ground, spend some time in it, and get to know it. What lies between Alaska and the lower 48? Well, for us westerners, that is the Canadian province of British Columbia, which is almost as large as Alaska, and contains many amazing natural features.

Our great friend of the Alaska Progressive Review, Erik Hursh, decided to accompany me on this exploration, whilst Mattie and Homer would stay home at the Chugach Front Research Centre, keeping an eye on things.

The plan was to drive south along the Cassiar highway, in western B.C., to Vancouver, then north, back up through the Canadian Rockies, including Banff and Jasper, taking the Alaska Highway further north, back to the Yukon. We were anticipating 12-14 days. With stops for running, hiking, and biking, and whatever else grooved us. The A.P.R. cruiser, a Honda Element, has a nifty feature. Namely, that the front and rear seats fold flat, into two sleeping areas. So, that was to be our shelter.

After driving to Erik's bluff cabin above the Copper River, near Copper Center on a nice cool, sunny fall day, this past 25 September, the next day dawned cool and cloudy. By the time we left that day around 1100, it was snowing hard, and around -2C (29F). As we approached the Canadian border near Tok, the roads were getting icy, and several cm of snow were accumulating on the ground. Rounding a curve just a few km from the border, Erik had to jam the breaks. A bad accident had just occurred. A small car and large U-Haul truck had collided and were in the ditch on our side. We were barely able to stop in time. As we crept past, I observed a man on the ground, with people looking at him. A sheet was pulled over him. I had Erik stop and asked a man who approached if there was anyone there with medical training. I used to be an EMT in one of the Fairbanks V.F.D.'s some years back. He said yes, he did. I said "he's dead, isn't he". And the man nodded. There was nothing we could do, though we did move back the safety reflector in the road behind the accident, to allow others more time to slow down, around that dangerous curve. This definitely put us in a down mood for awhile, and certainly made us be very cautious about driving in the winter conditions.

When we stopped for the night at a campground near Kluane Lake in the Yukon, it was brutal. -4C and 90 kph winds (25F and 50 mph)! Quite an introduction to winter so early, on 26 September! The APR cruiser, seen above, was crusted with a thick coating of slush/ice on the lower parts. But ensconced in our -20F down sleeping bags, in the Element, Erik and I were quite comfortable.

Our second day of driving dawned just as cold/windy. As we got further south toward Haines Junction, the snow was even deeper, 10 cm or more. But then, as we turned east and got into Whitehorse, one of our favourite spots, it warmed to slightly above freezing. We decided to break for a bit, run, and clean up after. There is an awesome public sports centre just outside town, containing an ice rink, water slides, pools, steamroom, sauna, and fitness equipment. We did a nice 12K run on the nordic ski trails outside this, in the cool 0C snow, then warmed up and cleaned up in the pools and sauna, followed by a shower. Worth every bit of the 7.00 Canadian we paid. Why don't Anchorage and Fairbanks have facilities like these?

The next couple days took us through the rest of the Yukon, then south down the Cassiar Highway, through Western BC, but still inland from the coastal range. As we got further south, it warmed up to well above freezing, and the trees also began getting bigger.

By the time we were south of Dease Lake, approaching 57N, and then 56N latititude, the boreal forest species of white/black spruce, aspen, birch, and cottonwood, began mixing with, and then being replaced by the warmer Rocky Mountain species types. Englemann Spruce, Lodgepole Pine, Subalpine Fir, Western Hemlock, and Western Red Cedar. Beautiful to see, as above, especially in areas where old growth was still present. Our third night's camp in this area, above, was at around 57N, a few hours south of Dease Lake, and very beautiful. The snow line was higher on the mountains here, than near Dease Lake.

As we dropped further south the next day (day 4), we cut inland, heading toward Smithers. Here, a little further inland, at only 55N latitude, it was even warmer, around 12C (54F), and sunny, very beautiful. These awesome 2000-2500 metre peaks to the south of the highway made a beautiful vertical wall.

I had heard good things about Smithers, BC over the years, and as we approached, Erik and I could see why.

It is backed by 2500-2800 metre glaciated peaks, and yet has open space with farms, ranches, and lakes all around. A very beautiful, lush, pastoral place, with a climate similar to, but slightly cooler and wetter, than western Montana. We did a nice 90 min. run around a lake there, followed by a hot shower in a campground. During our run, we ran right past a black bear in a field, just enjoying the fall sunshine.We kept driving after this for a few more hours though, sleeping in a nice wooded pull-out, on the highway heading toward Prince George.

By the end of day 5, after pushing through Prince George, a pretty, large Fairbanks-sized town (60,000 or so) on the Fraser River, and then down through the progressively drier and warmer southern interior, we came to a very interesting place in the canyon of the Fraser River, just north of 50N.

As you can see here, the Fraser River flows through a deep canyon, and the mountains to the west put this area in a strong rain shadow. It is almost as warm and dry here as in parts of Eastern Washington, much further south. We spent the night in the little native town of Llilouet, sleeping under the stars in the cool, dry, bugless (!) air. Falling asleep watching shooting stars and satellites. Something not often done in buggy, wet, Alaskan summers!

The next day, we pushed over the steep coastal mountains, past upscale Whistler, with all its ski-resort amenities, and dropped down to the coastal area north of BC. In gorgeous 21C (70F) sunshine! This is about 50 km north of Vancouver, looking across the Strait of Georgia. Reminds me of the time I spent in Juneau, I miss those beautiful beach areas, and driftwood fires. But not that coastal weather!

The descent into Vancouver on BC highway 99 (which is an extension of US Interstate 5), became increasingly

clogged with cars. By the time we actually got into the city, it was urban madness. We weren't sure how much actual time we would spend there, but quickly decided a very short stay would occur. We navigated through the busy city to Stanley Park, a beautiful old growth forest preserve on the north edge of downtown, with gardens and museums in it as well. We did a nice 90 min. run through the majestic old growth of douglas fir and western hemlock. I was almost overheating, it was 23C (75F!), on 01 October!  Some of these trees were easily 75 metres (250 ft) tall.

In spite of the busy city, there were some interesting things. Someone took the time and energy to raise a nice pine tree on their rooftop area. It must be 15 metres tall, and 30 or more years old.

OK, this is why Erik and I are not all that much into cities, and why we'll never live in big ones. This is heading east out of Vancouver, that same day, on Trans-Canada Highway 1. There are only two real freeways serving the Vancouver metro area, which has at least 4 million people! Traffic was like this for about 50 km east of the city and through the eastern suburbs.

We made great time that day, going north all the way to dry, dusty, Yakima-like Kamloops (yearly precip. only 27 cm, or 10.5 in.!), then east another 80 km or so. We spent the night on a pull-off above the Yellowhead Highway, which heads into the Canadian Rockies.

The next day, day 6, saw us push through Revelstoke, and into Glacier National Park, BC version. This is much more beautiful and majestic than the Montana one. Namely because the mountains are higher, and actually have real glaciers.

We did a nice two hour hike up a trail just past Rogers Pass in the morning, enjoying the beautiful views, such as this, of this razor-sharp peak in the late-morning sun. We probably ascended 700 metres (2000 feet) on this one, it was quite steep, but well worth the effort.

We were making good time that day though, and headed for the Canadian Rockies. Specifically, we intended to stay in the upscale resort town of Banff, here, then drive north on the Icefields Parkway the next day, heading north back to Alaska.

We got to Banff in late afternoon. It is pretty big, at least 10,000 or so, and full of upscale shops and restaurants. They have a world-famous film festival there every February, and of course, rich and famous people the World over come there to ski and vacation. We found a nice campground, got a good hour run in, cleaned up, and hit the town! Time for a fancy meal and to check things out. It was fun, but so different, being around all those fancy shops and places, clogged with people from all over the World. Not really our scene, too hectic and gentrified. But a beautiful area, to be sure.

The next day, it was time to head north, on the icefields parkway, toward Jasper. This amazing road has two passes over 2000 metres, which at these latitudes, 51-53N, is quite high. The road passes along the eastern side of the higher mountains in the range, which are extensively glaciated.

One of our favourite views was the mirrored gem of Bow Lake, which lies at nearly 2000 metres (6560 ft). We lucked out to have a windless day here, so that the full effect was visible.

Further north, about 40 KM or so from Bow Lake, lies the Columbia Icefield, a large glacial area fed by the snows from the higher peaks. We parked at the visitors centre for the Athabasca Glacier, and walked and biked up to it. Erik decided to actually bike on it! My shoes didn't have very good traction on the wet, slippery ice, so I stayed further back.

This large glacier has been in fast retreat for the past 80 years, and will be almost gone in 70 or so more years.

The Icefields Parkway traverses the eastern side of the crest of the Canadian Rockies, and is a must-see for anyone able. We got to the beautiful smaller resort town of Jasper in late afternoon. It is much more low-key and quieter than Banff, and was much more to our liking. After a lunch there, another hour's drive west on the Yellowhead highway, back toward Prince George, we found a real gem of a place.

Little Mt. Robson Provincial Park. 3955 metre (12,972 ft) Mt. Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. We couldn't even see it until we pulled off the highway and drove into the park. Then we were stunned. On this mild sunny, 16C day (61F), there it was, looming 3300 vertical metres (10,800 ft) above the trail, through the beautiful old-growth forest of Western Hemlocks, Red-Cedars, Englemann Spruce, and Lodgepole Pine. This immense wall creates strong upslope precipitation enhancement here in west and southwest flow patterns, allowing this beautiful forest to grow. A truly magical and sacred spot. The more so because fast ice-blue un-navigable Robson River rushes past the main trail, adding to the beauty.

The main trail goes about 40 km in around Mt. Robson, to it's north side. We only hiked about 8 km up in the early evening, and found another mirror lake, Kinney Lake. Here I am showing off a nice purple rock I found near there.

This little gem of a park is my favourite place of the whole trip, and one that I want to return to. I'd love to come back in a feb. or march, some year, and ski all around there, or in summer, summit Robson, which is easier from it's north side.

The next few days saw us heading back north, back to Prince George, then north along the Alaska Highway through northeastern BC. Here it's progressively colder and drier, more Alaska interior-like, and so not all that special, for us, since we're used to that.

One nice area though is Liard Hot Springs, almost to the Yukon border, at 59N. We hit this in early afternoon. We had originally thought of spending the night here. Because I'd heard many stories over the years involving fun and interesting encounters between people I knew, and wild European tourists. But, when we got there, there were none to be had! Still the hot springs there are beautiful. A nice 1 km walk in on planks, brings you to a large outdoor hot pool, which is the perfect temperature to lounge in. On our day, it was cool out, near freezing, so the water felt great. But after an hour or so, we got out and went for a run down the highway, and up a side road.

On our way, we saw our first wood bison. These beautiful creatures, smaller cousins of the plains bison, mysteriously died out in Alaska and the Yukon 200 years ago, but still live in northern Alberta. A herd of 200 or so were reintroduced to northern BC 60 years ago, and now they roam around the Alaska highway corridor. We ran past a large one, and afterward, I came back and got a few photos. A few hours later, we hit the road, since there were no fun European tourists, and came across a whole herd, around the highway. They are fairly placid, and Erik got close to this one, but they can charge if they feel threatened.

We got all the way north to Watson Lake, Yukon that day, camping in the dark near it. There was still a little snow on the ground, from ten days ago, when that cold storm had come through.

The next day, day 10, saw us get back to Whitehorse, where we had another nice clean-up and run around their amazing sports centre. By early afternoon though, we pressed on, and came to Kluane Lake by evening.

And what should we see crossing the highway there, but this huge grizzly. With all his winter fat laid on from a summer of gorging, getting ready for his long sleep. He waddled across the highway, ending up on the lake shore, to forage for dead fish. He was so big, he probably couldn't even run. He was just 10 metres below us on the lake shore, while we just parked on the edge of the road and snapped pictures of him from the safety of the APR cruiser.

A few minutes later, we had to pull off the highway, just south of the Congdon Creek Campground, near Destruction Bay. To see our friend Buddy, whom you've seen before here.

http://akprogressive.blogspot.com/2009/08/chilkoot-trail-experience-and-incident.html This is our fourth visit. As usual, we parked by the heavy equipment, whistled, and a few minutes later, he came running out. As large as Homer, and a few kg heavier (we think he has a good home!), he is always happy to see us. And of course, we always reward him handsomely with salmon, or some kind of tasty treat. A mandatory stop for all of our Yukon travels! If you are headed that way, be sure and stop in, he loves visitors!

We spent the last night out of our 12 day trip in Burwash Landing, on the shores of beautiful blue Kluane Lake. There is a little pull-out, just past the lodge, that is secluded, and right on the lake. A perfect place to car or tent camp. We got back to Copper Center, and Erik's bluff cabin in the afternoon the next day. Tired, from 11+ days of driving, but so glad we got to see and experience, what lies between. I hope to see more of it in the years ahead.

                  ENDURING REMINDERS

After Erik and I finished our BC road trip, I flew down to Oregon and California, to see family from 10/14 to 10/23. Beautiful places which I always enjoy visiting. So glad my family doesn't live in a place like Bakersfield, or Dallas! 

My Mom, who lives near Portland, and I drove out to the coast so see more relatives and enjoy the area. Strong high pressure ridging was bringing warm, sunny, offshore flow weather to the coast. Near Lincoln City, where these beautiful waves were crashing, it was 22C (71F)! Naturally, I had to go in the 11C (52F) water, at least for a few minutes. Though the coast here is treacherous with strong currents and "sneaker" waves, that crash suddenly, because of the rapidly dropping beachfront. These crash quickly with great force and can sweep you off your feet and into a maelstrom of cold, churning water. One of these hit me and nearly did that, and almost took my shorts! Fortunately, I was able to collect myself and make it back in quickly.

After we had lunch and a visit with our relatives in Lincoln City, and I warmed up and dried off, we drove south to Newport. 

When I saw the beautiful bridge across Yaquina Bay on US-101, that leads into Newport, I had to get a picture. And it came to me. 

This beautiful bridge, and all the others like it up and down the west coast of the lower 48, as well as many other important facilities nation-wide, are ENDURING REMINDERS, of what can and should be done with public funding, to provide meaningful employment and to improve the quality of life for all our citizens. This bridge, and all the others like it, was built by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1935-36. The WPA was created and promoted by FDR's administration from 1933 until World War II, to provide employment for some of the millions thrown out of work by the Great Depression, and build up the infrastructure in the US. These incredibly beautiful and durable works of art, are still in use today, 75 years later!

Here's another one of those bridges, along the Big Sur coast of Central California, along California Highway 1. 

All of these were built between 1933-1940.

Other examples of important projects built during this time are many of the dams in the western states (especially along the Columbia and Colorado Rivers) and southeast, that provide electricity and water to these areas. 

Quite possibly one of the most beautiful examples of the WPA projects is Timberline Lodge, on majestic Mt. Hood, near Portland, Oregon. A very special place to me, since I learned to alpine ski there, and have many fond memories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timberline_Lodge

Finished in 1937, it has withstood nearly 75 years of some of the harshest weather in the US. It's impressive and durable construction of local timber and rock, with considerable artistry and great craftsmanship continues to support an alpine ski area and resort, with a large hotel and four-star restaurant.

At 2000 metres elevation (6560) feet, the lodge probably receives about 1270 cm of snow (500 in.) a year, often combined with strong winds.

Inside the lodge, the beautiful craftsmanship and artistry are visible at every turn. It's worth a visit up there just to see that. To remind ourselves what can be done when people are given the opportunity to create something they know will be great, and enduring.

But, since 1980, and the Ray-gun administration, there has been a concerted effort by them, their conservative successors, and the corporate media to demonise governmental efforts and projects (except for the military, of course) as wasteful and un-necessary. Today's politicians, democrat, and republican, will never sponsor programmes like the WPA, that produced such enduring and important structures and infrastructure.

So instead, what we get are un-necessary, illegal, and immoral wars killing hundreds of thousands of people, out of control defense/offense spending (more than the rest of the World combined), and increasingly greedy and predatory financial and corporate sectors. 

This article sums it all up quite well:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/10/19-1

This concerted effort to demonise government, with the exception of the military, and shift the prevailing discourse far to the right over the past 30 years has worked incredibly well. During republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration, from 1953-1960, the top tax rates on the highest incomes reached 90 percent. Today, for the same income levels (adjusted for inflation), it is only 15 percent! And many corporations pay almost no tax. With all the tax loopholes, billionaires like Warren Buffett, have actually admitted that they pay less of a percentage of their income in taxes, than their secretaries! And over the last several months, even the democrats are resisting re-instating an estate tax on multi-millionaires that was suspended by the Bush Administration.

Folks, we've told you before, but we have to keep telling you, because it is the truth. Both the democrats and republicans are only working for the top one percent of the income bracket. All their policies are benefiting only the ultra-rich, and will continue to do so. Because that is where they are getting their campaign contributions from, and armies of lobbyists continue the pressure. 

If we are ever are  to  reform our increasingly corporate-controlled, fascist, militaristic system, in the US, other parties are going to have to gain more support.  We must have a political and economic system that is based on compassion for, and recognition of human needs. Rather than one based on sociopathic greed, which is what we have now. 

http://akprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/01/legitimised-sociopathy.html

One of the ABSOLUTE WORST of the new breed of fascist "tea-party" republican candidates running for the US Senate this year, is Alaska's own Joe Miller, a Fairbanks Attorney. His campaign positions are very extreme, and level of hypocrisy, so blatant, that it defies the imagination. Fortunately, his campaign took a bad turn a few weeks ago, when his blatant fascism reared it's ugly head, and his security goons assaulted a reporter. 

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/10/18-0

This resulted in some serious questioning of Mr. Miller's actual sanity. Why does a senatorial candidate require a security team as large as the President's (no other candidates to our knowledge have this)? With all his posturing about Constitutional Rights, why did his team violate the rights of a reporter daring to exercise his in questioning him?  This did actually get considerable media attention, was posted on You-Tube, and now his chances of winning are considerably reduced. Thank the Goddess for small favours. Cheers.

OUR FAVOURITE SEASON(S) and JUST SO YOU KNOW,

                        OUR FAVOURITE SEASON(S)

The time around the Equinoxes, both fall and spring, are our favourite here in Alaska. In March, we have longer days, warmer temperatures, but not too warm, and the full depth of our winter snowpack, to enjoy on our back-country ski outings, or for just nordic skiing on our local trail systems.

In September, the fast-waning sun, when it shines, shines in a clear, dark blue sky, framed by the beauty of our flaming aspen, birch, balsam poplar, cottonwood, and willow deciduous trees. This month has been particularly spectacular, because strong high pressure ridging has brought the entire mainland of Alaska clear, dry weather for over two weeks! After a very gloomy, cloudy, wet summer in most areas, certainly here around Anchorage. 

This weekend past, we decided to head east to our good friend Erik Hursh's little cabin on the bluff, 200 metres above the Copper River. This beautiful yellow aspen frames the runway on his property, which he scratched in the dirt for his little Piper PA-18 Super-Cub airplane. Which is the main airframe for Nunatak Air Service, Erik's flightseeing, and instructing business. 

http://www.nunatak-air.com/

We were going to do some hiking, running, and flightseeing over the beautiful Wrangell Mountains, the 3700 to 5050 metre high volcanoes, one still active (4318 metre Mt. Wrangell), that rear up inland from the coast ranges in far southeastern Alaska. In fact, the view from Erik's cabin on the bluff, of 3700 metre Mt. Drum, is almost as good as being in an airplane!

We did a beautiful 90 minute run from the cabin, along the bluff, with these views, down to the Copper River, then back up, on Sunday, after our flight tour of the Wrangells. What a spectacular place this would be for a marathon! Much more scenic than the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, or the Yukon Trail Marathon, in Whitehorse, which Erik and I have both done many times. 

The original plan had been that Mattie, Homer, and I would drive up to the road to Nabesna, in Wrangell/St.Elias National Park, Saturday, after our arrival the day before, and do a short pack trip north of the road, at about mile 30, into this portion of the Alaska Range. However, when we got near Trail Creek, which was our planned route, our A.P.R. cruiser hit a deep hole in the rough gravel road, and must have landed on a sharp rock. The rear left tire blew out, and we had to put on the little spare. We decided to take no chances now, having no spare, and to back out and get to Glenallen, to see if the tire was fixable. It was dicey returning the 30 miles back on the rough road to the Tok Cutoff highway, without a spare, we went very slowly. We got to Glenallen and the tire was beyond repair, so we had to get a temporary old tire to hold us over until our return to the big city. 

So Erik decided to take us up flightseeing in the PA-18 Super-cub the next day. He has been flying for many years now and is instrument rated, and has his commercial flight instructor license. With his years of flying around interior Alaska, down to Valdez, and all points between, he has amassed great skill and experience, in the worst of conditions. So we had complete confidence in this endeavour, and were greatly anticipating it.

This was our route, for the day. We took off from the 300 metre long dirt strip around 0900. For those not in the know, these little two-seat PA-18 Super-Cubs have amazing properties. They only burn as much gas as an average car, can take off and land in only 100 metres, and can be outfitted with either tundra tires, enabling landing on just about any area with fist-sized or smaller rocks, sand bars, or grass/shrubs. With wheeled skis, they can land on glaciers and any ice surface. Even with the tundra tires, they are good to land on snow/ice, as long as it's relatively hard-packed. After a short jaunt at 1-5 metre height (!) skimming the Copper River (after a steep dip and bank down and right from the bluff, which was a little hard on my coffee-full stomach), we stopped at the Gulkana airport in Glenallen to fuel up. It was a beautiful sunny day, with unlimited visibility, the Alaska Range was visible 100+ km to the north,  the Chugach Range 100+ km to the southwest, and the Wrangells right in front of us to the east.

We were back up in the air by 1000, with full tanks, and made hard for the Wrangells. Erik has scouted out a few actual landing sites in different areas, and wanted to see if one potential spot could work. We first made for 3700 metre Mt. Drum, the lowest of the big volcanoes. It looks much like Mt. Rainier, to my eyes. On the way, heading up it's north slope, there were these beautiful little blue lakes below, above treeline, inset in the fall-coloured tundra, very nice. We could even see our shadow, skimming over the surface features.

As we flew further up Drum's north face, we hit the lower glaciers which are dirt/rock covered around 1500 metres elevation, and these had some melt-water lakes on them as well.

Erik took us right up the face of Drum, and we flew all around it's sheer glaciated rocks. The PA-18 has plexiglass overhead, as well as the side windows, so we had beautiful views through these.

One of my favourite views though were these big glacial chunks at around 2200 metres elevation, interesting patterns are formed as these masses of downslope-flowing ice are stretched and deformed by the underlying rocks. Looks like an image from a different planet!

Our first stop after fueling up was a flat area at around 1435 metres on the east face of Drum, in a saddle area between it, and the much taller, 5050 metre, Mt. Sanford. He found it earlier this year and had already landed there a few times. We dropped down quickly in the perfectly calm, clear conditions, and got out to explore. It was probably around +2 or 3C, with not even a puff of a breeze. Truly amazing, when you consider that August and September are the wettest months in this area, and at these elevations, are often socked-in for days with fog, rain, and snow.

Imposing Drum, just 10 km to our east was spectacular, as we walked around for about a half-hour, enjoying the views and amazing weather. You can see there are fist-sized and smaller rocks, all around, with some large ones. Erik was able to judge, when he first saw the area, that it was suitable, then would take several passes, dropping the wheels a little longer each time, before finally feeling comfortable, that it would make a suitable landing area, with a good safety margin, in case of wind changes.

It was hazy looking east to imposing 5050 metre Mt. Sanford (16,500 feet), the tallest of the Wrangell volcanoes. Both it, and Mt. Drum appear to have blown out their south halves in a vast explosion, similarly to St. Helens did (though it blew out it's north half). 

Our takeoff was amazingly brief, as always, the PA-18 is almost like a helicopter in that respect, we are only cruising at 50-60 knots when we lift off after only 100 metres. We headed to the massive ice mass of 4318 metre (14,163 ft.) Mt. Wrangell, which is still active. In fact, I have seen it puff on occasion on our satellite imagery, in the 1 KM high-resolution GOES visible loops. Wrangell is a shield volcano, similar to Mauna Loa in Hawaii, a broad, gently sloping mass of lava floes. But in this case, topped with an incredible mass of ice, probably 1-2 km thick in places. It lies to the south, between Drum and Sanford. This is its highest point, right in front of us, with that massive volume of ice-cover. Erik had seen a small ice-covered shelf at 2264 metres on previous flights, on the north face of Wrangell, and wanted to see if we could land on it today, since we had such good weather. Even as high as nearly 3000 metres, we only had very light northeasterly winds, under the strong high pressure ridge. 

Erik saw that there was snow cover on the shelf, that wasn't there when he last was in the area a few weeks previous. So we had to skim it three times, each time putting the wheels down a little longer, to make sure the snow was hard-packed, and wouldn't grab the tires and cause the plane to flip. The second of our three passes was a little un-nerving to me, since we went down the drop-off on the east side of the shelf. If you look real closely, at the edge of the snow, where the rocks begin, our tracks are visible, with one set dropping off. 

But after three passes, Erik determined it was safe and hard-packed, and we dropped right down, at 2264 metres, his highest landing ever! We got out and explored, here it was still only about -1C, and with only a very light northeast breeze. Unbelievable, for the 18th of September!

We had to take a picture of the altimeter, to document this fact, 7425 feet (2264 metres). 

Walking around at this elevation was beautiful in every direction. Off to our south, this volcanic feature called a dike, with its multi-coloured lava rocks attracted our interest. We walked a little up its lower flank, and behind us, on the snowfield. I stopped us though after a little bit, because it was a glacial surface, and had crevasse potential, and we were not equipped for safe travel on it, roped with crampons and ice axes. 

We both have that equipment and training, but glacial traversing was not on our agenda this day, we didn't have the time. 

Our takeoff from this little ice shelf went perfectly, as expected, and then we headed south and west, back to the bluff, and the Nunatak Air Service base. On the way though, there was still more to see.

Every so often when traveling around in fall, we see one or two more orange or even red, clumps of aspen, which give us our most vibrant fall colour. These clumps of orange and red ones caught my eye very quickly. 

We were even fortunate enough to pass over a ridge where some wood bison were congregating. These fairly elusive animals are few in number in the Alaska interior and are somewhat protected. Only limited numbers are allowed to be hunted, and a tag for one, which is drawn by lottery, is highly sought-after.

This is the first time I had ever actually seen any. 

Our flightseeing trip ended after five hours with our smooth, quick drop to the dirt strip, five hours after our start, in the clear, blue 15C weather. A September to remember, no doubt about it! 

If you ever want to take a flight tour around this area, north into the Alaska Range, or south to Valdez and the wonders of Prince William Sound with its massive glaciers, be sure and check out Nunatak Air Service. You'll be glad you did!

http://www.nunatak-air.com/

                                     JUST SO YOU KNOW,

It seems like we are often two to three weeks ahead, here at the Alaska Progressive Review, in presenting you important information. Case in point: this article, from today's Common Dreams website. So stick with us, you'll be glad you did.

Published on Monday, September 20, 2010 by Inter Press Service

Arctic Ice in Death Spiral

by Stephen Leahy

UXBRIDGE, Canada - The carbon dioxide emissions from burning such fossil fuels have now melted the Arctic sea ice to its lowest volume since before the rise of human civilisation and dangerously upsetting the energy balance of the entire planet, climate scientists are reporting.

The carbon dioxide emissions from burning such fossil fuels have now melted the Arctic sea ice to its lowest volume since before the rise of human civilisation and dangerously upsetting the energy balance of the entire planet, climate scientists are reporting. (AFP/File/Martin Bureau)

"The Arctic sea ice has reached its four lowest summer extents (area covered) in the last four years," said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in the U.S. city of Boulder, Colorado.The volume - extent and thickness - of ice left in the Arctic likely reached the lowest ever level this month, Serreze told IPS.

"I stand by my previous statements that the Arctic summer sea ice cover is in a death spiral. It's not going to recover," he said.

There can be no recovery because tremendous amounts of extra heat are added every summer to the region as more than 2.5 million square kilometres of the Arctic Ocean have been opened up to the heat of the 24-hour summer sun. A warmer Arctic Ocean not only takes much longer to re-freeze, it emits huge volumes of additional heat energy into the atmosphere, disrupting the weather patterns of the northern hemisphere, scientists have now confirmed.

"The exceptional cold and snowy winter of 2009-2010 in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America is connected to unique physical processes in the Arctic," James Overland of the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in the United States told IPS in Oslo, Norway last June in an exclusive interview. ' Paradoxically, a warmer Arctic means "future cold and snowy winters will be the rule rather than the exception" in these regions, Overland told IPS.

There is growing evidence of widespread impacts from a warmer Arctic, agreed Serreze. "Trapping all that additional heat has to have impacts and those will grow in the future," he said.

One local impact underway is a rapid warming of the coastal regions of the Arctic, where average temperatures are now three to five degrees C warmer than they were 30 years ago. If the global average temperature increases from the present 0.8 C to two degrees C, as seems likely, the entire Arctic region will warm at least four to six degrees and possibly eight degrees due to a series of processes and feedbacks called Arctic amplification.

A similar feverish rise in our body temperatures would put us in hospital if it didn't kill us outright.

"I hate to say it but I think we are committed to a four- to six-degree warmer Arctic," Serreze said.

If the Arctic becomes six degrees warmer, then half of the world's permafrost will likely thaw, probably to a depth of a few metres, releasing most of the carbon and methane accumulated there over thousands of years, said Vladimir Romanovsky of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and a world expert on permafrost.

Methane is a global warming gas approximately 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).

That would be catastrophic for human civilisation, experts agree. The permafrost region spans 13 million square kilometres of the land in Alaska, Canada, Siberia and parts of Europe and contains at least twice as much carbon as is currently present in the atmosphere - 1,672 gigatonnes of carbon, according a paper published in Nature in 2009. That's three times more carbon than all of the worlds' forests contain.

"Permafrost thawing has been observed consistently across the entire region since the 1980s," Romanovsky said in an interview.

A Canadian study in 2009 documented that the southernmost permafrost limit had retreated 130 kilometres over the past 50 years in Quebec's James Bay region. At the northern edge, for the first time in a decade, the heat from the Arctic Ocean pushed far inland this summer, Romanovsky said.

There are no good estimates of how much CO2 and methane is being released by the thawing permafrost or by the undersea permafrost that acts as a cap over unknown quantities of methane hydrates (a type of frozen methane) along the Arctic Ocean shelf, he said.

"Methane is always there anywhere you drill through the permafrost," Romanovsky noted.

Last spring , Romanovsky's colleagues reported that an estimated eight million tonnes of methane emissions are bubbling to the surface from the shallow East Siberian Arctic shelf every year in what were the first-ever measurements taken there. If just one percent of the Arctic undersea methane reaches the atmosphere, it could quadruple the amount of methane currently in the atmosphere.

Abrupt releases of large amounts of CO2 and methane are certainly possible on a scale of decades, he said. The present relatively slow thaw of the permafrost could rapidly accelerate in a few decades, releasing huge amounts of global warming gases.

Another permafrost expert, Ted Schuur of the University of Florida, has come to the same conclusion. "In a matter of decades we could lose much of the permafrost," Shuur told IPS.

Those losses are more likely to come rapidly and upfront, he says. In other words, much of the permafrost thaw would happen at the beginning of a massive 50-year meltdown because of rapid feedbacks.

Emissions of CO2 and methane from thawing permafrost are not yet factored into the global climate models and it will be several years before this can be done reasonably well, Shuur said.

"Current mitigation targets are only based on anthropogenic (human) emissions," he explained.

Present pledges by governments to reduce emissions will still result in a global average temperature increase of 3.5 to 3.9 C by 2100, according to the latest analysis. That would result in an Arctic that's 10 to 16 degrees C warmer, releasing most of the permafrost carbon and methane and unknown quantities of methane hydrates.

This why some climate scientists are calling for a rapid phaseout of fossil fuels, recommending that fossil fuel emissions peak by 2015 and decline three per cent per year. But even then there's still a 50-percent probability of exceeding two degrees C current studies show. If the emissions peak is delayed until 2025, then global temperatures will rise to three degrees C, the Arctic will be eight to 10 degrees warmer and the world will lose most its permafrost. [in other words, we're screwed, because a corporate-controlled World is not going to phase out fossil fuels until it is far too late, eds].

Meanwhile, a new generation of low-cost, thin-film solar roof and outside wall coverings being made today has the potential to eliminate burning coal and oil to generate electricity, energy experts believe - if governments have the political will to fully embrace green technologies.

Copyright © 2010 IPS-Inter Press Service

So there you have it folks. Important, but depressing news. We'll try and bring you more uplifting information, when we can. Your lead editor will be traveling for the next month, but still staying abreast of current affairs. We'll try and keep you updated with our unique Alaskan commentary, when we can. Cheers.   

((CROW PASS)**2) [and] CRYOSPHERE TOMORROW?

                                       ((CROW PASS)**2)

Saturday last, we decided to run up Crow Pass, near Girdwood, then down the other side, to the Eagle River, then turn around about 21 km out, and return to the trailhead. This is a beautiful area in the Chugach Range, just about 60 KM east of Anchorage, with a little higher mountains, up to 2000-2500 metres, than the ones nearer to the Chugach Front Research Centre.

It is also part of the route for a really tough, almost-marathon length race every July, the Crow Pass Crossing. Which starts at the trailhead near Girdwood, crosses the pass, runs down the trail to the Eagle River ford, which is a challenge, crossing the fast-flowing, cold river, ending up at the Eagle River Nature Center, 40 km from the start. But since Homer, like most sled dogs, doesn't like crossing streams much deeper than his knees, and it would likely have been too high in the afternoon anyway, from glacial melt, we decided to just do the out and back. The double summitting of the pass we felt, more than makes up for the lack of the challenge of fording the Eagle River.

So we made it to the trailhead around 1100 and started up. It was the second day of a wonderful break in our long, gloomy, summer weather we had this year, which is still going on, thanks to a persistent high pressure ridge. Which had this strong of one been in place last June or July, would have given us record high temperatures and wildfires. But this late in the season, what we are getting instead, are clear, cool days and nights, with fog around the Cook inlet, which is playing havoc with Anchorage's busy airport.

Heading up the trail, we were awestruck by the verticality of the terrain here. Tree line is only around 600 metres here, and we quickly got above that and enjoyed the scenery. Ragged Top mountain here rises to 1591 metres (5218'), 1220 metres above the trailhead. And the mountains rise even higher as the trail ascends.

The trail splits about 4 km in, one section goes up gradually, into some gold mining ruins abandoned in 1940, before a rapid ascent to the pass, while the other ascends at a steady, moderate rate up to the pass, above the ruins. After approaching the ruins, we went off-trail to go up to the upper route, as we liked it's more steady ascent up to the pass. And this is the route that the Crow Pass Crossing race uses.

We reached the pass, 6 km in, in 50 minutes (it's slow running uphill!). Homer was running strong, and we were hoping that would continue, since at 14, he is an older dog, especially considering his size.

The top of the pass was just as, or even more beautiful, with small lakes, and high peaks all round. We kept running, wanting to get up and over, but it was tempting to slow down and savour this incredible scenery.

There is a small USFS cabin that rents out, and another under construction that will be ready next year. We will definitely be renting one then, to use as a base to explore and climb the surrounding peaks and high country.

Mattie of course was in heaven, I think she was wet continually, the whole time we were on this outing. Because there are so many streams and ponds, for her to get into. Which she wasted no time in doing.

When we got to the top of the pass, we could look down, and see our objective, in the far distance. The Eagle River crossing, behind which rear the higher 2000-2500 metre peaks in the heart of the Chugach range, which are extensively glaciated.

As we dropped down from the pass, it got quite steep, and in some sections, quite precarious, with sheer drops of 30-50 metres, while the trail was only 15-20 cm wide. We definitely had to watch our step!

But the scenery continued to be stunning on all sides. Raven glacier was on our left (east) side, shining beautifully in the sun. It was clear though, that it has receded quite a bit, judging from the newly exposed unvegetated rocks at its base (more on this later).

As we dropped further and got down to a little less steep and precarious sections, the view was a little different. Instead of a glacier on our left side, the mountainsides had these beautiful little cascades flowing down, of clean, clear water. One of which we drank from later, when our water ran out.

At the end of the steepest section on the north side of the pass, was our only unbridged major stream crossing. Clear Creek, which emanates from Clear Glacier. I took off my shoes and socks, and strolled across, after having an energy break. On the way back, I drank heavily from it's beautiful blue, clear water, and it was great!

A few km north of this crossing, the trail crosses Raven Creek, which has cut a sheer 30-40 metre deep cleft through solid rock. Truly amazing to contemplate, as the little bridge crosses over it, and pictures just cannot do it justice. To see this large, boiling stream straight down through this narrow gorge is an amazing sight. Something not possible to see in the Interior!

I had to get after Mattie and Homer though, they were getting out to the edge of this sheer drop-off, harvesting tasty ripe blueberries. But I was afraid they would lose their footing, which would have been fatal, so called them back.

After this amazing gorge, the trail then took on a much different character. As we descended more slowly down the valley of Raven Creek toward the Eagle River, it got muddier, and went through dense thickets of alder and willows, and tall grass. Roots and slippery muddy rocks were always a problem, and hard to see, with the dense, overgrown vegetation around the trail. As we got closer to the Eagle River, some beautiful mountain ash trees made an appearance, backed by the higher mountains. We got tired of this overgrown, muddy, rocky trail though, and decided to turn back, shortly before reaching the Eagle River. We wanted to be in the sun, in the higher terrain, with the beautiful mountains surrounding us, not in the alder/willow thickets. This was about 19 km and 2 1/2 hours in.

The way back was much harder, as it was steeper going up the north side of the pass, than the south side had been. I decided to just walk the rest of the way back, it was so steep, and, it was so beautiful out, I wanted to spend more time in this beautiful area. Fast-packing for me is always a spur-of-the-moment decision, as far as how it will be done. If the trail or route is not too steep, I'll run the majority of the 40-65km, otherwise, I'll run some, and walk a good percentage, as well. In this case, I probably ran 14-16 of the 39 km of this outing.

I was sweating hard coming back up the steepest part of this route, it was fairly mild, 15-17C or so, and in the bright sun, I was quite warm. I had to stop a couple times and hydrate, it's amazing how thirsty I get, and how much water weight I can lose on these kind of outings.

We stopped at the top of the pass, and rested a bit, and I drank almost all the water I had filled my bottles with in Clear Creek earlier, after having my lunch there. 

I also went in the little lake up to my thighs there, I was already getting sore, from the double pass ascent of 1524 metres (5000'), and that cold water felt good. After that, we just walked the rest of the way down, enjoying the inspiring scenery and warm early fall sunshine. We reached the trailhead around 1730, about 6 1/2 hours after our start. My legs were quite sore from the double ascent/descent, so I wasted no time in getting my legs into this beautiful, fast-flowing, COLD, glacial-fed Milk Creek. Which comes off of Milk glacier, and flows right next to the parking area near the trailhead. In addition to the beautiful scenery, the other thing which made the day a resounding success, was that 14 year old Homer was just as fresh at the end, as when we started! I sure am proud of him! Mattie of course, ran at least double our distances, with all her side excursions, often at her full speed. We long ago realised that she is incapable of tiring, at least in all that we do!

This was easily one of the most beautiful fast-packs/hikes I've ever been on. And just an hour from Anchorage! We'll surely be spending alot more time to come over the years in there. Skiing could be pretty dicey in there though, the steep slopes all round  might be dangerous for avalanches. I'm going to ask around about that before venturing in there in winter, for sure.

                     CRYOSPHERE TOMORROW?

The Cryosphere Today is a website maintained by the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana, which provides current images of sea ice and snow cover around the globe, as well as archived images from the periods of record of them. A very interesting and informative site.  This university is a major centre for glacial and cryospheric research, and global climate change.

http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/index.noshade.html

The period of record for satellite-measured Arctic Ocean sea-ice concentrations only extends back to 1979. Yet serious and troubling changes have occurred in those 31 years, which we have alluded to in previous articles. Which deserve another look, and now that you have the link, we encourage you to go to the site, and check things out for yourselves. 

First though, after seeing what we were sure was rapid recession of Raven Glacier, on our fast-pack last saturday, we needed to find an older picture for reference to compare. And what luck, we found one from another blogger who had hiked through there in 2006, in exactly the same spot! And so here, for your inspection, we present to you our comparison, and forecast for the Raven Glacier. 

Here is an image I downloaded today from The Cryosphere Today, which I found particularly compelling. In the image from 1979, note how the majority of the ice-cover in the Arctic basin is measured at 80-100 percent coverage, and how large it is. Most the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska is covered, as well as that north of Eastern Siberia. 31 years later, most of that is gone, and less than half of what is left, is at 80-100 percent coverage. The rest is 50 percent or less, meaning, there is open water throughout those areas, including extending across the North Pole, from Alaska, to Siberia! 

We don't think it takes a glaciologist or climatologist to figure out this trend! We would therefore expect open water throughout the Arctic, including over the pole, within five summers. This of course, is a tipping point, in the global climate system, as we have mentioned before. 

http://akprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/08/how-close-are-we-now.html

Since global CO2 and methane emissions are going to accelerate in the coming years, as countries like China and India "develop" further, and the US does nothing to curb it's emissions, the effects we expect we'll see will test the capacity of all humanity to adapt to, and cooperate in surviving, in the coming two to three decades. Cheers.