Alaska 2022
It wasn’t until I was on the plane to Fairbanks that I heard about the forest fires…a clue might have been the 30 firefighters that boarded in Seattle….huge pyrocumulus clouds…smoky skies….massive silt filled rivers meandering across the landscape. The airport reminded me of Bozeman airport 20 years ago…I met my ride to the hotel…4 minutes away…on the side of a small river…gold rush themed with an extensive collection of art work…some very good…some at the opposite end of the spectrum….met the group of 16 fellow travelers and the very enthusiastic but perhaps a bit scatterbrained tour leader, Marsha…got a brief overview of the next few days….people from Florida..SLC…Maryland CO and AZ…short bus ride to the restaurant for dinner…pretty spot along the river.
***Happened to run into a fellow (Mark ) that I knew from the Sedona bridge at Seattle airport…he was off to do a 10 day hiking trip in Denali.
***Observation on travelers and how they pack….I think there are 3 types of folks
First ….the person who always has a freshly pressed outfit…changes clothes 3 times a day…always perfectly attired…you never see the same outfit…even if the trip is 3 weeks long
Second…. the person that manages to have most of the correct gear…doesn’t mind wearing the same thing 4-5 times
Third….the Patagonia/Columbia zip the legs off group….arrives with only a carry-on that is the size of an Oxford dictionary….has a vest bristling with binoculars…guide books…first aid kit…their idea of a dressy event is to wear the clean outfit
After breakfast…jump into the coach…..do a quick stop at a section of the oil pipeline…next the cultural center….extensive collection of Indian artifacts…then a short walk along the river….some nice public art and lovely gardens…back on the coach heading towards the airport….several small planes are arranged to take us to the air strip at Coldfoot…sadly the smoke is worse today…so for the majority of the flight we were in a smoky fog…..loud ….noisy ….exhausting…..finally we arrive…air somewhat better….Coldfoot is the location of the gas station on Ice Road Truckers…jump in vans….the driver hands out lunch….which we had ordered in Fairbanks….lunch ingredients were all in zip lock bags….so as we are bouncing along the Dalton Highway (think frost heaves every 10 ft)…..everyone trying to assemble the sandwiches…tomatoes flying…. lettuce flopping ….apples rolling on the floor….you didn’t dare take a drink for fear of chipping a tooth or dousing yourself….we drive about 30 minutes north across the Arctic Circle to the tiny gathering of building that is home to 12 full time residents called Wiseman.
The “headman” (Jack) is a true character …native Alaskan and THE REAL DEAL….tells stories of shooting a 1600 lb Moose and gutting it and butchering it in one hour and 2 mins…totally off the grid…generators humming everywhere…turned down some kind of Artic reality show….dozens of wolf skulls hanging on the walls…lower part of numerous caribou legs leaning against a tree…Dall sheep horns hanging from the rafters……on wife number 2…he wears a bear claw around his neck from the bear she shot….absolutely sure some of our group were nervous and queasy after looking at all the pictures of animals that he had killed…this community is completely self subsistence ….never ever seen anything quite like it…not a survivalist…but definitely a survivor…has a lot of side gigs with FWP…state of Alaska…a frontier man if ever I met one
Tomorrow early 6:30 call…board a train and head to Talkeetna….a little rainy…saw several moose from the train…exciting to be outside on the platform when train crosses the river …..clouds clinging to the tops of the mountains…meadows filled with wildflowers …ponds and tiny creeks ….picture perfect landscapes…nine hours in the train was a bit much….some people grumpy that they didn’t have internet….seriously…look out the window….other trains called flag trains will stop and pick up residents…only way for these folks to get in and out…no roads so everything is fairly close to the tracks
Lodge at Talkeenta has wonderful views of the river valley…took a quick hike on the trail that is near the hotel…in an attempt to make room for the next meal….could not stop for even a quick picture …mosquitoes would swarm you…saw some moose tracks so picked up the pace a bit…not looking to make close contact with any large mammals ….great dinner…next morning a little leary of taking the walking trail alone…I am talking to one of the shuttle drivers….look over the lawn and here is a mother moose and her twins…weather very low visibility…so flight to Denali glacier canceled….several of us decide to walk into town (pop 300 full time)…charming…lots of flower boxes…begonias the size of saucers….huge river…have a nature walk mid afternoon with a naturalist…ate all kinds of berries…mostly tasty except for one called a skunk berry…name says it all
Another early start….this hotel is the only game in town so everyone…whether they are on a bus tour or a land section of a cruise stop here….EVERYONE a has to leave early to continue their trip…so breakfast buffet is utter chaos….grumpy people demanding coffee…one person holding up the entire line trying to decide between a muffin or French toast….honestly I don’t think the staff gets paid enough to work here for the morning rush…..4.7 earthquake last night about 70 miles south.
Stopped at the home of a 5 time winner of the Iditarod ….80 dogs confined to big red boxes in a field on the rocks…sounds a little harsh but apparently there are several reasons why this is a good idea….we played with a litter of pups…met a few of the winning dogs….then we all got a crash coarse in dog sledding…in the summer they use sleds with wheels (the size of a bike wheel) to train the dogs…we split in teams of two…one to drive the sled …one to ride in front…we are introduced to our team of dogs…hope we know where the brakes are and off we go…heading pell mell down a Jeep trail…bouncing over rocks. …..careening around corners….midway we stop to change seats..…why this had to be in the middle of a giant mud puddle I don’t know….Swatting mosquito’s…MUSH…continue down the trail…..mud flying….it was a blast. Quick lunch in Talkeetna…..en route drove through Anchorage…then back on the bus heading towards Girdwood.
** A quick aside…tour guide shared that her father had been murdered…one of the women in the group said that her ex-husband was in jail for embezzlement…NOT a your usual travel group chat LOL
Alyeska Resort is one of those fabulous massive hotels that you see in the Canadian Rockies… built by a Japanese company….acres of cherry wood paneling…rooms well appointed….reminds me of Lake Louise…sits proudly at the base of the ski area….drive here from Anchorage..stunning…follows Turnagain inlet….saw several moose and a Dall sheep….on several tours I have taken with this company……you are pretty much eating 3 meals a day with the group…often because you are in remote locations…on this trip…we have had several nights to decide with whom and where we eat….sort of nice not to have to be with the group 24/7…..so tonight…happy to be out of the coach…having a glass of wine at the Japanese Fusion restaurant…all the sushi chefs have man buns…gotta love it
7:30 am back in the coach…off for a 8am tunnel time…tunnel is shared by a highway and the train…2 1/2 miles long….by some miracle we are first…plunge into the darkness…pop out on Whittier side…cloudy foggy….mists hanging heavy in the air….board our boat…..waterfalls that are tiny rivulets through the forest….some that are huge cascading rivers…so amazing to see that they start at the base of a glacier ….and glaciers are everywhere…several reach down to the waters edge…others are high up on the mountain and you can only see a tiny section of the lower edge…towering mountains that we never quite see the tops of…..glimpses of ice fields up high….water calm… rafts of otters……big groups of eagles..several immature ones learning the ropes…..sea lions…..seals…puffins…a mother black bear and her 2 cubs…several humpback whales…a magical day on the water…got within a quarter mile of Surprise Glacier…big chunks falling into the water….felt like touching the THE WALL from Game of Thrones….such perfect blues…apparently glaciers are like large fires and create their own weather…...we NEVER saw blue sky but approaching the glaciers…the sky was brighter…so peaceful and wonderful……you can see why people escape to this beautiful wild country….after almost 8 hours in the boat…we are back on the coach…I ask the driver to drop me off on the road back to resort so I can walk to a local restaurant….too much talking…..loud boat noise…just wanted a quiet dinner….what I did not expect was a CRAZY BUSY scene…finally grabbed a small table in the bar….this establishment was like walking into the house of a flea market hoarder of the bizarre…keys..masks..silver dollars..stickers…mirrors..metal serving trays…mardi gras beads..fake snakes and rats…buttons…you name it ....it was on the wall…sat next to some folks from Big Sky…small world…food was good…staggered out into the parking lot …head spinning from too much noice and too many people….happily boarded shuttle back to hotel
Took a great 7 mile hike this am….trying to counteract all day on the boat yesterday….took the tram to the top to have lunch….so foggy you couldn’t see a thing….but thankfully by the end of the day…clouds were lifting and could FINALLY see the mountains…at least most of them….decided to skip the animal conservation center this afternoon…went to the spa to enjoy some hot pools….COLD pools ….which you were supposed to jump into after the sauna….I did a quick dip..…only 30 degrees…dry sauna had walls made of blocks of Himalayan salt blocks..…then had a salt scrub….finally the massage….beaten with birch twigs….think the guy enjoyed perhaps a little too much …
Quick hike this morning then off to the airport….it’s been a great trip!!
