Twelve straight sunny days in September was a welcome surprise and delight!
My love of the Juneau area blossomed during this time as I hit some local trails and trekked up some gorgeous peaks.
And all the while, I consciously absorbed the intense beauty, vitamin D, and warmth of the sun on my skin… knowing that
I would later draw strength from these glorious days.

Awesome view at the top of Eaglecrest – our local ski mountain that will be opening soon!

Looking the other way on the ridge, with a great view of Stephen’s Passage.

On another lovely day I headed up the Mt. Jumbo trail…

And was greeted by breath-taking summit beauty
and pools of water scattered through out.

My awesome and adorable hiking buddy, Stickeen.
 We had a great day exploring the astounding scenery.

You may have heard the name Stickeen before through the words and wisdom of John Muir,
as Stickeen was the name of a dog he came to know well.
Here’s a link to Muir’s own words: Stickeen.

An adventure nap was much appreciated, layin’ on top of the world.

Onward and upward… to Thunder Mountain on yet another majestical sunny day!
Stickeen joined me on this hike as well, as we explored the Thunder Mountain ridgeline.

Sweet view of the Mendenhall Glacier from way up high.

This is the north side of the valley view from atop Thunder Mountain.
If you ever fly into Juneau, you’ll land on the airstrip located
beyond the tips of the trees in this photo.

Other side of the valley, with a view of Twin Lakes.
Downtown Juneau is on the other side of the ridge where
there’s more water in Gastineau Channel.

Another sweet view of the glacier.

This is on the way to Mt. Roberts, overlooking Gastineau Channel.

My friend Aaron checks out a map while Caitlin catches a serious sun ray!
This was the last big hike Caitlin, Aaron and I did together as AmeriCorps members.

Happy, healthy and grateful.

Luscious fall colors that soothe my soul.

Where oh where to start again?

How about the end of Bill’s visit… back in early September.
(Yikes! Has it really already been over 2 months??!!)

Wrapping up our adventures together, Bill and I hiked the Perseverance Trail.
 

Although we never saw a bear during Bill’s stay, we were aware of their presence!

Magnificent Silverbow Basin, where much gold was found in the 1880′s.

This famous basin once “boasted a hospital, machine shop, blacksmith shop, several bunkhouses,
a mess hall that could seat 500 men, staff houses, cottages, apartments and a post office.”
(According to Willette Janes, author of The Miners Footsteps)

Thanks for sharing such awesome adventures  Bill…
I look forward to our next journey together!

Another lovely sunny day greeted us as Bill and I packed up and hit the water for our kayaking trip on Sunday, August 29th. We launched at the Eagle Valley Center beach close to Amalga Harbor and headed north along Lynn Canal. I love the amazing, gargantuan mushroom cloud behind Bill in this photo!

Spectacular Southeast Alaska backdrop!
Our destination was Blue Mussel cabin at Point Bridget State Park, located about 14 miles north along the shoreline.

We camped the first night at Benjamin Island, enjoying a beautiful sunset.

The next day we paddled to a small island just north of Benjamin Island and stopped in the sun to take an adventure nap on the round rocky beach.

Beautiful magnificence.

Paddling along shore to North Bridget Cove where we camped for another evening.

Bill in the open ocean!

The following day we paddled on northward, just a mere hour to reach our destination at the southern edge of Berner’s Bay.

Home sweet home for two nights… Blue Mussel cabin.
I love the grass carpeting the rock wall.

There’s no shortage of remarkable fungi in Southeast Alaska.

Cooking dinner in front of the cabin.

Peaceful sunset at Point Bridget.

We spent the second day at the cabin reading books as the rain poured down. Bill read Lynn Schooler’s Blue Bear downstairs and while I read A Long Trek Home: 4,000 miles by Boot, Raft and Ski by Erin McKittrick. Both books are astounding true adventures in Alaska’s risk and raw wild beauty.

And it really poured down… all night long. Neither of us slept very well, thinking about packing kayaks in the rain and paddling back south in conditions that probably wouldn’t be favorable. The next morning, however, it stopped pouring rain right as we got ready to load the kayaks. It was amazing!

The grey mass of enclosing sky showered and sprinkled us as we paddled south with the wind luckily behind us. The water was beautifully and eerily calm in the haze of fog that settled. We paddled on, the whole 14 miles, and made it back to Amalga Harbor in about 5 hours… glimpsing humpbacks surfacing nearby.

It was a fantastic 4 night, 5 day trip and an epic first time sea kayaking for Bill!

After unloading and cleaning gear, we headed back to Auke Bay to post up at our favorite camp site. The following evening we enjoyed checking out First Friday art shows around Juneau and shared a tasty meal with our friends John and Sheri.

A little over an hour later we entered Tracy Arm, located approximately 45 miles south of Juneau. Tracy Arm is a majestic fjord over 30 miles long, formed by glacial erosion that’s created dramatic steep cliffs.
The artwork of glaciers along this enchanted waterway is truly spectacular!

Myriad waterfalls surge down the steep cliffs, some well over a mile high.

The boat inches closer and closer as brave passengers at the bow get sprayed by the frigid water.

Treacherously close to the wall! That’s some incredible steering!

Deeper into the arm, the brisk air bites at one’s nose and ears, overwhelming the senses with beauty beyond time and space.  As our boat approached South Sawyer glacier we rode into more ice from bite size specks floating in the beautifully murky glacier water to chunks the size of buildings, with only their tips afloat for us to see.

The ice became more constricting and our captain wasn’t sure we’d make it all the way to the face of the glacier. Winding and willing the boat through chunks of ice, we wove our way closer and closer. The deep squealing whine of ice scraping the boat like fingers on a chalk board was piercing to the ears and could be felt underneath one’s feet.

Bill happy to be at South Sawyer glacier.

Earth enveloped in ice along the edges of the glacier creates a dirty ice look.

Bill and Cori excited to be on another adventure!

Hundreds of harbor seals swim through the waters near the glacier and rest on ice chunks like the one pictured above.

Tracy Arm is an ideal habitat for harbor seals to have their pups in the summer months. The ice in the arm interferes with the sonar of whales and provides a safe home for the seals.

Sawyer Glacier is an active tidewater glacier, which means it “calves” or breaks off.  Pieces of ice anywhere from the size of a small car to a cruise ship fall off the face of the glacier and hit the water with a thunderous roar.   The water at the end of the fjord is nearly 600 feet deep and when an underwater calving takes place, the ice remains intact, giving us Alaska’s largest icebergs.  In other glacier areas, the calved ice generally crumbles.  Underwater calvings surface like giant submarines that rise over 250 feet and then settle into the water like large, blue ships.
(This last paragraph was copied directly from the Adventure Bound Alaska website)

*Notice the small darker shade of blue cave just to the left of my head in the picture.*

As we got close to the glacier, the captain cut the engine. Floating in the icy water, all was still and quiet. Thundering booms and creaks of ice shattered the silence, erupting with the power of gravity beyond my comprehension.

And then a huge calving occurred, so close we could feel it and see the waves rolling at us like a tsunami wave! It was massively powerful and awing in a sense of the word I’ve never experienced before. And like its described above, a gigantic chunk of bright blue ice surged from underwater, soaring into the sky like a building shooting out of the water, sinking slowly back into the water and flowing towards us at rapid pace.

*Notice how the blue cave has collapsed in the picture above.*

Here you can see the tip of the blue iceberg after it settled back into the water and began swimming towards us. Soon after the captain started the engines and we began to retreat from the glorious glacier. The boat was aghast in wonder and delight at the massive calving we’d just witnessed. And then the captain spoke on the speaker and told us it was the most impressive calving he’d seen in 17 years of tours!
Whether that’s true or not, it was  a magnificent treat to witness with our own eyes.

We slinked through more of Tracy Arm and were just in time to see another beautiful calving at North Sawyer glacier, along with many humpback whales in Stephen’s Passage on our way back to Juneau. What a day!

Dancing on the boat full of elation and smiles; so glad, so grateful to be living in Southeast Alaska…
and so excited to share it with my dad!

~~And what, you may wonder (or not), am I listening to on the back of the boat? A variety of favorite tunes, of course, but two in particular kept getting played over and over in that enchanted space. That cheesy smile is jamming out to two of my favorite songs from Railroad Earth…. Seven Story Mountain and Black Bear. Here’s the lyrics as close as I know them to be:

Seven Story Mountain by Railroad Earth

Oh lord, to see a light, but fail in strength to follow,
Sometimes it’s hard to let it go.
Oh lord, to fail in heart, and each day grow more hollow,
Sometimes I just don’t wanna know.
But the road that led me here, is begun to disappear.
Sometimes I wonder where I am.

Oh lord, to hear a voice, but let it fade and wallow,
Sometimes it’s hard to let it go.
Oh lord, to find the words, but keep them in swallow,
One day the top is gonna blow.
But the road that left me here, is begun to disappear.
Sometimes I wonder who I am.

Oh lord, to stumble blind, for years without knowing,
Sunrise has burned my eyes again.
Oh lord, to crumble quiet, watching from the silence,
Sunrise has burned my eyes again.

It’s a seven story mountain. It’s a long, long life we live.
Gonna find a light and fill my heart again.
It’s a seven story moutnain. It’s a long, long life ahead.
Gotta find a voice and fill my throat again.

Black Bear by Railroad Earth

Come into my cavern for a spell
Outside the ice has come again to dwell
What am I like? An image strong & dark
Where has it gone . . the warmth now from my heart?

Black bear
Black bear

I ponder the power in the paw
Shiver at the strength built in the jaw
What is it like to pulse at winter sleep?
Fall in a dream a million miles deep?

Black bear
Black bear

I wake again with all I need to know
The honey trail tells me where to go
And when I arrive I close my eyes to see
What’s stirring in the hollow of the tree

Black bear
Black bear

My dad, Bill, arrived on August 23rd for a two week stay. It was his first time to Alaska, so I was very excited about planning out our adventure! On the day he arrived we hiked Outer Point on North Douglas, ate some yummy pizza at the Island Pub and set up our campsite at Auke Village. We were extremely lucky with all the sunshine and beautiful weather and ended up camping out almost every night of his stay!

One of our morning rituals became going out for coffee…. which worked wonderfully well for us on just his second day here. We ran into my friend Corey who runs halibut fishing charters and we were invited to join him and some guests on the boat for the day! We didn’t catch any halibut, but it sure was a fun to hang out on the boat!

After wards we headed to Sandy Beach for some barefoot walking.

The next day we hiked up the Eaglecrest trail with some friends. Eaglecrest is Juneau’s awesome ski area on Douglas Island. There were lots of tasty blueberries up there and we enjoying some berry picking!

Yummy!

Bill in front of the Mendenhall Glacier.

Stay tuned for more Bill & Cori adventures… coming up soon is our grand tour of Tracy Arm!

Forests aglow, strikingly illuminating hues of green, sun casting rays of light creating shadow pools of depth and wonder…

…Pristine beauty in the smallest of details…

…And views of majesty that fuel the soul in wondrous ways.

A back lit anemone illuminates through aquarium glass.

Amazing creatures abound.

My friend Kenneth invited me on one of his whale watching photography tours which coincided with a ridiculously gorgeous sunny day!

And indeed we saw whales – humpbacks and orcas frolicking in waters of Lynn Canal. I figured out pretty quickly that good whale photos are hard to come by with a little digital point and shoot.

A little blurry, but hopefully you get a small taste of the grandeur of witnessing the graceful beauty
of a whale diving down deep.

Sea lions rest on a buoy with a view.

Kenneth in action on the tour bus as we travel from our whale watching adventure to a hike at the Mendenhall Glacier.

The old Pump House on Sandy Beach.

I love wandering barefoot along Sandy Beach, often with music streaming through my brain and hoop twirling at my hips. And protective eye wear on sunny days, of course!

Stuff, stuff and more stuff.
Another backpacking trip through the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and another opportunity to be in awe of the trek that so many stampeders journeyed 100+ years ago.

Check out the list of what gear was suggested to carry… and just think, if you got to the Chilkoot Pass summit and the Mounted Police didn’t think you had enough to survive the 500+ mile journey to Dawson, then you weren’t allowed to pass!

AND…

AND…

Its almost incomprehensible!

Shelters similar to this one at Sheep Camp are spread out along the trail
for use as warming and cooking huts.

Our group’s summit day was a lot foggier than the first summit back in June.

In fact, so much snow had melted between June and August that it was like hiking a completely different trail at times. Rocks that were buried in the snow became great walking challenges as the trail floor dropped 10 feet from the previous snow level in places.

Welcome to Canada ~ August 2010.

As you can see, the picture above is a stark difference from the previous summit pictured below.

This was the summit pass into Canada back in June 2010.

The fog on the second trip added a unique element of beauty, although the sun is probably more unique on this route than the fog. Through patches of shades of gray we could see blue sky in the distance.

Trekkin’ on

Beautiful, beautiful Canada.

Thank goodness the weather was good, because our brand new Mountain Hardware tents sure weren’t! I’ve always had good experience with Mountain Hardware gear, but watch out for their new tent poles. We were using newly purchased Hammerhead 4 tents and over the course of the summer we had about 8-10 tent poles break like the ones above. The metal at the connection completely snapped – same place, same snap each time. It was absolutely ridiculous.

What an incredible summer of outdoor adventuring!

I’m extremely grateful for this awesome experience I am living. As I write this, my AmeriCorps term of service is coming to a close… I’ve got about three weeks left to serve with SAGA’s Eagle Valley Center. I hope the young ladies I shared these amazing adventures with are as enamored by the experience as I am… hopefully even more so!  Like so many of the past 15 years of contributing to youth development, I hope they are inspired, I hope they learned, I hope they are healthier, I hope they have gratitude for how fortunate they are, I hope these Alaskan adventures contribute to their personal development and positive sense of self, to their awe and wonder and appreciation of this magnificent world we live amongst.

As caring educators, we hope a lot. And much of the time we never really know the effects of our educational interactions beyond our scope. We hope and keep going on faith that what we’re doing, what we dedicate much of our lives to makes a positive impact… that we’re truly helping and inspiring and making a difference in the world.

And then, every once in a while, we get the feedback that we never expect because we’re not giving with expectation; we’re giving and sharing and loving because it is our hope.

About two weeks ago I received this letter from one of the young ladies who was on the second expedition. I’m not sharing it here to boast or brag, but because it made me truly happy to know.

Dear Cori,

Hello, how are you? How are things in Alaska?

Well this is really just a thank you letter. I felt that it was very necessary to send you something saying how grateful I was to have such a great leader. Before I got on the plane I imagined our guide outgoing and great but I didn’t see or think that she would have a strong connection with some “random” campers, but you really did. You were everything I thought of and more. I just really appreciate how well you do your job and how awesome you made my trip to Alaska. I admire how outgoing, strong, funny, nurturing, crazy and just awesome you really are. I’ve seen so many good qualities in you that I want to carry on with me in life and I will. But thank you for being so open with us and thank you for teaching me a lot not just about camping in bear country but in life. I miss you.

With the stroke of a pen, a stamp and an open and honest heart, that young adventurer just
made this incredible summer even better.

For more details about the Chilkoot Trail you can check out this posting about the first expedition:
Chilkoot Trail ~ Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

I suppose the great weather, luscious earth, a bit of writer’s block, a 2 week visit from my dad, a lot of community involvement, some computer avoidance and a bit of blogging laziness has all contributed to my little drop out. This is really just a quick post to let you know I’m alive, happy and well… and I’m working on a lot of great photos and adventures to share with you soon!

Who did this to us and why?
It is now their turn to die
Who is they, I ask, do we really know?
Does it matter who deadly bombs bestow?
Innocent bystanders like those in the states, a deadly ending of life awaits
Guilty assassins with blood on hands
As we point targets to Middle East Sands
Considered one as the enemy, there is no difference as we can see
Good and evil, one in the same
Doesn’t matter if we can’t distinguish face or name

Revenge we pledge, punishment we seek
For shattering America’s invulnerable streak
What’s right? What’s wrong? How can we tell?
Filling the Earth with sanctions of hell
How do we overcome such tragedy
Changing the way we  live and perceive?
Will slaughter redeem the downtrodden spirits
Those of the dead and the living who fear it?
Will not deadly answering this reign of terror
Mean we will live in haunting fear forever?
The evils concoctions of souls long lost
Is worth how many innocent lives at cost?
History in the making… what does it tell?
Can America truly rise after the day the buildings fell?

Written by Cori Stennett
September 12, 2001

Can you believe its been nine years?

Now that the 3-week expeditions are over I feel relieved and a little sad. Relieved that all the girls have returned home safely and there were no major injuries or emergencies. Relieved that we received such amazing weather for our adventures, seemingly on an Alaskan weather lucky streak. And sad that its over.

The second Hoonah to Tenakee Springs paddle trip was awe inspiring and wondrous. We paddled on sunny days, even stopping at a beach one day for lunch and a long group adventure nap in the sun. We hit some wind and wavy seas on two different occasions, but the young ladies handled themselves well. We saw no bears or whales this time, which was a bit of a bummer, but the pod of seals in Long Bay put on quite a show.

One thing I truly miss is drinking water from such amazing sources on a daily basis. We used a water purifier for most of the trip, until the handle on the pump broke during the backpacking section… then we had to switch to Aquamira chlorine drops. The switch wasn’t so bad, but its just not the same. The black bag in the photo is a dromedary – basically a flexible water sack container we use to store water while kayaking.

Paddling in paradise.

I found a dragonfly floating in the ocean and rescued it, which was exciting. It may sound strange, but I’d had my eye out for one during the paddle trip. When I saw it floating in the water I thought, “Oh, there you are.”

The dragonfly survived for another day, but never regained the strength to fly away. Its sad to watch such beautiful creatures die, but caring for dragonflies is something I’ve done on at least six different occasions when I’ve encountered them in near-death states.

The massive bull kelp floating and bobbing in the sea is quite impressive. So were the thousands of mini jellyfish pulsating around our boats.

And yet on this second journey with youth through Port Frederick and Tenakee Inlet, (third time for me), the most impressive aspect was the incredible Alaskan hospitality our group received. Near the end of the ferry ride over to Hoonah a kind man came up to me and asked if I was the leader of the group. With some quizzical hesitation I said “Yes.”  ‘Uh-oh,’ I was thinking.

The man said he and his wife would love to treat us to dinner upon our arrival in Tenakee Springs. “I assume you know what you’re getting yourself into? We’re going to be 8 stinky girls coming out of the backcountry.”

“Yes, yes,” he replied. So a week later we pulled up to the beach in front of his house to applause and congratulations from this kind Alaskan man. Juan and Cathy Munoz welcomed us graciously, and even let us use the flushing toilet in the guest house, which means more than these typed words can express at the moment!  We were then invited over to the main house for a spectacular dinner of dungeness crab, coho salmon, rice, salad, and ice cream! What a marvelous treat after kayak-camping in the back country for a week! The girls in the group were ecstatic and in awe over the remarkable Alaskan hospitality we received… as was I.

I enjoyed visiting with this gracious family, including the couple’s mother who low-and-behold turned out to be Rie Munoz, a famous Alaskan artist. I have since bought one of Rie’s books and learned about some of her interesting life in Alaska and her beautiful expressionism art. You can check out her work at:  www.riemunoz.com

In retrospect, I’m glad I had no idea who she was when I sat and chatted at the table with her… as I wasn’t awestruck by some idea of who she is and all she’s accomplished. Rather, I was just visiting with a cool, inspirational lady and her family in the kindness of their care for my group of girls and myself after a long, beautiful paddle through Chichagof Island.

For a refresher on the paddle route you can check out the previous post:
Hoonah to Tenakee Springs Paddle Trip

More on the second Chilkoot hike to come soon…