Friday, June 27, 2014

paddle to Punchbowl-Misty Fiords National Monument

 was on call again last night.  not sure if it's really that slow or if they have too many travelers staffed on same nights on me in the float pool and are just struggling to find places for them all. it's been rainy and my back/hip have been sore since i returned from Ketchikan.  not horrible sore just irritating.  it was nice to just crawl in bed early and watch movies/big bang episodes and read. i napped off and on as i never sleep great when i'm on call.  afraid i'll miss that call.  i'm good at sleeping through stuff.
 it is funny that when i have a headache i take an excedrin but with these gen aches i rarely take anything.  this morning at 6 i took some ibuprofen.  feeling much better...so drugs or rest, who knows.
these are from our transit from Walker Cove to Rudyerd Bay.  it was a long paddle on the bigger open Behm Canal and we were all a bit nervous that we would be in for a rough paddle.
 Mother Nature was on our side though.  we had blue skies and rather calm water.  these are from a snack/bathroom break along the way.
 Janet stretches out and does a bit of yoga with Amanda our guide/pt/yoga instructor.
 chatted with my brother yesterday i think it was...i have 5 brothers so i chat with one of the 5 every so often.  spoke with Joel as i am filling out this 1023 form to get out 501(3)(c) status.  i'm working my way through it but texted him a question.  he's a lawyer and accountant.  nice to have extended family with solid educations.  he is clearly never on facebook and we don't talk often. he had no idea i was in this process so i explained a bit about WARIS to him.
 it is always strange to me how little my large family really knows about what is going on in each others lives.  everyone lives in different places and i know i get most of my news about them through facebook and a few phone calls that are generally made by me.  i try to just pick up the phone from time to time and call someone.  some have improved with age as far as calling me, kids have grown up i suspect and they have time more.
 really should have worked on the by laws last night.  will try to do that tonight.  today i have some stuff to do.  walk the dogs, pick up swag bag for the colour run.  change the cat litter, swim perhaps...yes, i have the ultimate exciting life!!
 gotta stop by work and put in pto for these days i have been on call so  i get paid and also pick up some salmon...thanks Nelly!!
 worked ER the one night i worked.  that place always seems to wear me out.  it just never stops.  always interesting i guess and it is nice to see those cute EMS/firemen come through in uniforms.  one never gets too old to enjoy a guy in uniform i say.
 i guess the word Eskimo is offensive to some natives in Canada.  an article today seemed to say that most of the Alaskan Natives don't seem offended by it though more and more the younger ones avoid it.  who knew it meant something about eating raw meat?  i just thought it was a more general term for natives from further north/west in Alaska.  overall i think everyone just gets a wee bit too sensitive as time goes on and you find yourself censoring yourself more and more. can everyone just chill out!
 our spring/summer started out very dry and as i suspected the rain is now coming down all over to make up for it.  i'm fine with it.  i'm actually enjoying the slow down.  i found myself longing for winter to come the other day as i picked up soggy dog poops in the yard and tried to battle the chickweed. i do enjoy that in the winters i just have frozen poops and shoveling to do.
 had no idea i was such a failed gardener.
 above is Eddystone Rock.  it's just one of those sights in the Behm Canal that you come to know.  apparently it is a volcanic plug of some sort?  anyway...there it is, this was really as close as we got.
 we have arrived in Rudyerd Bay at Punchbowl and have set up camp.  our quarters were a bit closer than at hut point but with the possibility of bear activity we were all happy to settle in close.
 saw some bear tracks but no actual bears here
 in the distance you can see the mountains of Punchbowl.  beautiful
 especially with the kayaks and their bright colours.
 Janet and i joined Amanda and Cj for a walk up to Punchbowl lake.  most of my photos here were taken with the camera on it's side and of course, blogger hasn't found a way for you to turn pictures so i won't be posting those. the trail was a bit sketchy in places but i'm really happy we went up.  nice to hike with Janet, who hiked so often with me when i lived in Ketchikan.
 we were blessed with a grand waterfall for our hiking troubles.
 they have never found that Malaysia jet that went missing so many months ago nor have they found the girls kidnapped in Nigeria.  life seems to go on despite these large losses. people just seem to stop asking...i'm sure the families of those missing will never stop asking.
 you can see the mist coming off that waterfall below.
 interactions with our large mammals up here have been frequent this week.  a guy was mauled by a grizzly near Slana outside of Tok.  he was sent south and i haven't heard much about his injuries. a black bear apparently was climbing on a roof in Juneau while a family was setting up for a childs birthday party. he fell through the sky light and ate some cupcakes i guess.  in another story closer to home a guy was hiking with a few smaller dogs off leash up out of prospect heights.  one of the dogs went missing and soon the guy was having close encounters with 3 wolves.  he was unharmed but returned to find his dogs carcass the next day.  very sad.  i do tend to keep my pups on leash more and more during the summers.  there is a black bear and 2 cubs roaming around near the hospitals and universities by university lake.  many sightings.
 oh...the toddlers party went on despite the bear intruder.
 just was reading a letter to the editor..explains some of our issues with bikers.  one believes that everyone on the multiuse trails should stay on their side of the trail and that a biker should never have to call out "on your left" in order to clear the trail.  this writer felt we should all be imagining a line in the middle of the trail and that we and our dogs should never cross it.  sounds like one crazy type A personality to me.  really?  i am constantly annoyed by quiet bikers that never make a peep and then seem annoyed that they have to slam on their brakes to get around you.  now i know what is going on in their brains.  idiots.  how hard is it to make a noise and give other trail folks a warning that you are en route behind them rather than scare the shit out of them by surprising them from behind.
 liked an article about Don Young who has been in office for years.  his office in Washington DC is full of stuffed animals he has killed over the years.  sadly most of these animals were not killed in the wilds of Alaska but instead were from those cheesy game parks where the animals are enclosed in fenced in areas and then chased down and killed point blank.  trophy hunting is always something i oppose. i mean if you want to eat meat and shoot a moose, then i'm totally fine with that.
 i also don't really like that so many people spend their summers catching way more fish than they'll ever eat and just stock up their multiple freezers with fish that they will then turn around and toss.  at least donate it to the zoo.
 it was a beautiful hike that day.  i was a wee bit scared as one part there had been a slide and i wasn't keen on trying to walk up the slide area.  there was  a big log that turned out to be blocking the real trail. once past that i did fine.  Janet was calming and i'm sure thinks i'm a nut case.  never had those issues before.  i got height wimpy after my trek to the don sheldon cabin.

 loved the old boardwalk trail out there.  it was sketchy in places as well.  loose and slippery.
 these sketchy boards often were over large open areas that falling into could be harmful. we survived though.
 was surprised that nobody else wanted to walk.  Tanya got right back in her kayak though and just sat out there on the water enjoying the views and writing letters to friends.  others chilled at camp.  i think everyone was happy and relaxed and enjoyed that afternoon how they wanted to.

 i really should get moving and get some stuff done today.
 figure i'll swing by on the way to Kincaid and pick up my colour run stuff. not looking forward to getting up early for this thing but it should be fun anyway.

 will have to take a little bag for stuff, but something i won't mind getting coated in the color powders.  probably should toss in an inhaler, right
 beautiful scenery that day.

 late night fire...well it doesn't look that late from this but it was getting closer to solstice.  the bugs were a bit thicker at this site and you can see many of the crew are wearing head nets.  i got mine out but never felt they bugs were thick enough for it.  it takes a lot for me to use those nets...they are as obnoxious as the bugs.
 scott was braving it without as well
 our guides.
 always love a good campfire when out...it also helps keep the bugs at bay.
 thinking after this post i'll start mixing the newer pics with those from Misty just to keep it interesting.

better get moving...the days are starting to get shorter, the fireweed is blooming...!

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