Hiking in Oregon

This year I've spent the holidays in central Oregon, and it is WAY too gorgeous here to keep it all to myself so I wanted to share a few pictures. Yesterday I went on a hike with Peter and his sister up to Black Butte, a mountain that peaks at 6,400'. I've never seen such vivid colors in my whole life! Here are a few of the highlights:

Summer 2014 Film Montage

I've had terrible writer's block lately. I mean seriously, I've started and stopped about half a dozen posts since my last one, and just can't seem to find the words to say what I want to say. So instead, I ventured into my other creative outlet, and finished editing together my film montage of footage from this summer. I hope you like it.

Huge shout-out to Charlie Jones for letting me use her music in the background!

My last week, mostly in photos

Caution: This post is mostly going to be a HUGE dump of photos from the last week and a half, so if you're looking for deep reflective writings, give me a few days. Otherwise, if you're content with pictures, carry on. You have been forewarned.

Small wins

This week has been SO good, for once! On Wednesday, I finished my last night working at the pub, which was a huge relief mainly because it's been getting VERY dark at night and I hated the walk home. It's so dark on my street that even a flashlight barely cuts through the blackness, and because it's almost always raining, the dripping noises in the woods always made me think there was a bear lurking nearby. That, and the fact that I would be so exhausted from working two jobs, I'd collapse into bed at midnight with my body sore from running around for so long, and then wake up again at 6:30 or 7 to do it all over again. It was a great learning experience, though. It toughened me up, kicked my butt, and helped me earn a little extra cash this summer that I wouldn't  have had otherwise. :-)

Life from death

I want to say there is nothing serene or comforting about the Sitka woods right now. The air reeks of dead salmon, seagull feces, fungus, mushrooms, and the rotting substrate of the forest floor. The soundscape is not the usual quiet whispers of the woods, but now a cacophony of screeching, whining gulls and eagles piercing the air with their bombastic cries. Every sense is filled with the rawness and harshness of nature's less-romantic side, the side we don't want to see, the side we often choose to pretend doesn't exist.

The DSLR Saga

When I first took this job in Sitka back in mid-April, my goal was to buy a DSLR camera with my second paycheck. My savings had dwindled to a frightening level after 3 months of winter travel. But I had my mind set on purchasing my first professional quality camera after having fallen so deeply in love with photography from my last job in Nome. It was like learning to paint with oils, and then moving away and only having crayons to use.

Well, my second paycheck came. Then my third. Then my fourth. Unexpected expenses arose, student loans nagged to be paid, the cost of living out here was more than I anticipated. I realized I couldn't just spare an entire paycheck to throw to my frivolous dream of owning a nice camera. So I got a second job.

Picturing Sitka

It's been a long 3 weeks. We had something like 6 inches of rain in one weekend and it rained almost nonstop for 2 weeks straight. And I hate to think that something as simple as the weather can affect my mood, but I have to be completely honest and admit that that much rain definitely put a damper on my attitude for a while. That's part of the reason I haven't felt like blogging, but I am so far behind I thought I would throw these pictures up anyhow from our last sunny day, whenever that was.

The sea walk, with Mt. Verstovia in the distance

Living Alaska

I forgot how much I love late summer in Alaska. There is so much to do; the scenery is ever-changing; salmon are schooling at the mouth of the river; and the rainforest has exploded with a buffet of wild edibles. Salmonberries, blueberries, and huckleberries weigh down the bushes and color the landscape with dots of blue, red, orange, and yellow.

Playing catch-up... again

It rains all the time here now. I always heard that it rains a lot in Sitka, but for real: IT RAINS A LOT IN SITKA. Like, every day, all day. I seriously need to get some rain gear, because I've pretty much spent the last few days wearing pants ranging from annoyingly-damp to outright-soaked. And that's just from everyday activities, like walking out of my house. It's becoming a problem.

With that rant aside, I have come to love the rain, despite my lack of proper attire. I continue to take every opportunity to explore Sitka's many trails and islands and waterways, taking lots of videos and a few photos. The videos you'll see at the end of the summer; the latest photos you can enjoy below:

Herring Cove bridge

My previous favorite trail (Indian River) has now been bumped down to second-favorite after I hiked the Herring Cove/Beaver Lake trail the other day. This one is a bit shorter, and offers incredible views of some of the biggest waterfalls I have ever seen! It goes through a huge variety of ecosystems as well, from Dr. Seuss-like muskegs to riparian habitats, to old growth rainforest.

250 foot waterfall

I still can't believe I live here.

On a rare sunny day last weekend, I hit the Cross Trail early in the morning for a short solo hike before the weather turned. I took my time, enjoying the ripening salmonberries and blueberries, taking photos and GoPro videos, and just feeling completely in the moment, letting my thoughts wander wherever they'd go.

Not quite ripe salmonberries

Delicious blueberries!

The sunset-watchers

By evening, the clouds and rain were back, but regardless, a small group of us decided to defy the odds of the weather and drive up to Harbor Mountain to watch the sunset. Well, the weather was not to be defied, so our sunset-watching just turned into a lot of cloud-watching. It was fun anyway, and I got a cool cloud timelapse that you will also see later this summer.

Sunset...

Last weekend was also, of course, 4th of July, a huge event for Sitka and the national park. There was a local food fair for 3 days with vendors selling fry bread, meat kabobs, Indian tacos, Philipino food, and Alaskan King Crab cakes. We played historical children's games on the lawn of the Russian Bishop's House, which attracted a small crowd. And a Russian tea service was offered as well, where we baked over 300 Russian tea cakes and shared strongly spiced Russian tea with visitors. It was actually super fun -- I wish we did events like that more often!

Our anachronistic park service family

The parade was pretty entertaining as well. Decked out in 19th century garb, we joined the ranks of Sitkans gathered for the festivities. I've never seen so many people here before! Where did they all come from?? 

Marching in the parade downtown

During the parade, I mounted my GoPro to the top of our electric park vehicle (lovingly dubbed "The Bubble Car," because it feels like you're riding in a bubble). I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but the result was surprisingly fun, and gives you a mini-tour of the main street through downtown. 

I think I'll conclude today's post here for now. There are still so many stories to tell, but those will have to wait for another day. Enjoy the video, and check back soon for more updates!

Puffins.

Puffins. Need I say more?

My boss certainly didn't have to, when I received a text from him one Saturday morning in May, not long after I had woken up late and just enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, staring absent-mindedly out the window.

The surprise text informed me that there was a free birding cruise for local nature guides, leaving in exactly 15 minutes.

Stuffing my binoculars and camera in my bag, I jogged down to Crescent Harbor. These cruises are usually upwards of $90, so knowing that it was not only full of ornithology experts, but also prime nesting season for seabirds on St. Lazaria, made it a no-brainer to at least try to make it before the boat took off.

We Are Mountain Women!

"In case we get eaten by a bear, we went out hiking the Indian River Trail. Left at noon, should be back no later than 7. We have bear spray and a small amount of food."

It's Saturday, and my roommate Christina and I leave this note, along with our phone numbers, on the whiteboard in the kitchen as we head out to hike the Indian River Trail. I've gotten in the habit of leaving these notes whenever I go hiking, partially in good humor, partially in all seriousness.

changes

I've been through a lot of changes lately, all for the better I think. I was talking to someone about change yesterday and remembered something Mom always used to tell me: "Change is the only thing you can rely on." In effect, it's the one constant in life -- ironically, since the word itself suggests anything but consistency. But at long last, whether things are going well not, you can count on them to change.

My new digs

Springtime reflections

Deer Heart and moss

It feels as if spring has finally gotten a firm hold on Sitka. When I first arrived 2 months ago, the forest floor was still barren beneath the high canopy of the evergreens, but within the last few weeks, lush foliage has burst forth from dormant flora that I hadn’t even noticed before. The woods have become ten times denser with the bright green yawn of deciduous trees awakening from their winter slumber, and the soft understory is completely obscured by thousands of Deer Heart leaves that have sleepily unfurled from their spear-like shoots. Ruby-crowned kinglets and pacific wrens warble their odes to the season, fervently trying to find mates amid the cacophony of nature stirring to life again.

And we're back!

After my long hiatus, the thought of catching up on my travelogue seems overly daunting. A lot can happen in a month, a lot more than can possibly be summed up in words, so I will substitute mostly pictures for now, in lieu of spending my entire evening trying to remember what happened three weeks ago, much less a few days ago.

In light of this, we will begin with a photo:

The muskeg

Be back soon!

I fully realize it has been a month since my last post, and it's not for lack of things to post about. Truth be told, my laptop decided to kick the bucket about a month ago and it has taken this long to get it repaired.

 Surprise surprise! There is only one computer store on Baranof Island and they referred me to a company in Illinois to fix the broken part of my laptop. Three weeks and roughly $150 later, my laptop should be back and in working order early this coming week, so prepare yourself for a backlog of stories and adventures.

That's all for now, because MY GOD it is annoying to type on the touch screen of a mobile device! Hang tight, my friends. I miss you all, and will be back soon to catch up fully with everyone.

Adventures on duty

Last Sunday was my first official day on duty at Sitka National Historical Park. The schedule varies every day each week, but for the most part I work Sunday-Thursday, usually spending half the day at the Russian Bishop’s House and half at the Visitor Center a down the road.

First thing in the morning, I did the inventory rounds, which literally consists of taking a checklist and visually accounting for each and every artifact on display in the building. There are hundreds of artifacts. This is done morning and night with opening and closing procedures to make sure nothing has been stolen or moved. It wasn’t as tedious as you might expect though, and was actually really instrumental in helping me learn all the displays. The checklists are so detailed, they mention every tiny piece, every pendant, every fork and spoon, every plate, every candlestick, and even every book in the house. If anything were to go missing, I sure hope we’d notice!

Inside the chapel / NPS Photo

a photo finish to training week 2

View down the Indian River

Sitka has been blessed with another impeccable week of sunshine to augment the final push in training. Temperatures soared into the upper-60s, which made for some perfect outdoor sessions to learn about the rainforest, salmon runs, and the Battle of 1804 among other topics. The schedule was jam packed with workshops, but I still feel fairly unequipped to face the impending dump of cruise ship tourists we're about to receive on Tuesday.

End of week one

Alaska: home of epic rainbows

As week one of training comes to an end, so too does the beautiful sunny weather we had all week. Gone are the crisp, blue skies and glimmering sunlight that bathed the snowcapped mountains in luminous warmth. For the next week it looks like it will be all cloudy and drizzly, though as I sit at the library to type this, the cloud ceiling is still high enough to see the distant peaks. So maybe it won't be so bad.

Training begins

I still can't believe how beautiful it is here. Even from where I'm sitting in the library to write this, a huge bank of windows overlooking the ocean provides a postcard view of the golden sunlit, forested mountains and islands capped by some low clouds. It's unreal. And I'm getting paid to live here!

It does come at a price though. And that price is that I spend 40 hours a week working my tail off. This week has kicked off with a full schedule of training to prepare the 7 of us interpretive seasonal rangers ("interps," informally) for a summer of cruise ship tourists and other visitors.

It's a new day!

Sunny Easter Sunday on the harbor

After an impossibly delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and gouda this morning, I took a leisurely walk  across town. I stopped at the library, hoping it might be open, but it turned out to be closed. By the way, it’s Easter Sunday! Surprise! On my way there, I passed a tall, lanky Jamaican man on the sidewalk. He greeted me with a big grin and said, “Happy Easter!” “You too,” I responded, to which he replied “And 420!” I tell you, this town is a hoot. Well, the library wasn’t open, but I found I could get wifi outside. Surprisingly though, I couldn’t find it in me to use the internet for long though, as I was too excited to hit the trails on this sunny day. After running back to the house to change and grab my hiking gear, I found my way to the trailhead of the Gavan Hill Trail just down the street.

My god it was gorgeous! The trail consisted mainly of single-file or double planks elevated a few inches from the soggy ground. The understory of the heavily wooded forest was covered in soft, vibrantly green moss. Even though it was mostly sunny out, the trees were so dense that the trail was fairly dark. It meandered for about .8 miles until it came to cross with another trail. I continued following it up the mountain, a mile to the lookout.

Plank trail up the mountain

Let me tell you: longest mile of my life! I could swear it was longer. It was fun and gorgeous and exciting for sure, but the higher I got, the more my knees and ankles protested, reminding me of how embarrassingly out of shape I am. Thank goodness I was hiking alone. I took as many breaks as I wanted and huffed and puffed and groaned my way up. I also took a lot of time to film some shots with the GoPro, in the hopes of making another film this summer.

There were only a couple other people I passed along the way. Coincidentally, two of them happened to be people I met at brunch this morning! I think they only half-recognized me, but I asked how far it was to the top. “Only another 20-30 minutes to the lookout,” they replied. I can do that, I thought confidently.

Well, 20 minutes turned into something more like 40. Even more humiliating, I was passed by a fit, grey-haired man running up the steep, slippery, narrow trail with his dog. I know they were judging me, both of them!

I wanted so desperately to turn around after 20 minutes had passed and I still saw no sign of the lookout. But when I glanced behind me, I saw faintly through the trees a grand vista of the ocean and islands out behind me. I’ve got to make it now. In fact, I couldn’t even imagine turning back at this point, though a year ago it would have seemed just as good a choice as any.

Up and up and up the steep wooden steps and sloppy muddy trail I hiked, my thighs burning, knees aching, and shirt soaked through with sweat.

View from the lookout

Finally I saw it: the lookout, a plain, small platform jutting out towards a clearing of trees. The mountain rose still further behind me but I staggered gratefully onto the platform and leaned against the railing. The view took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. I can’t believe I live here! The clouds were starting to come in, and a chilly breeze had picked up, but still I could see out for miles. Little islands dotted the ocean, and bigger islands jutted out with snowcapped mountains. I could see the town, the harbor, little boats cruising from island to island. I wanted to see a whale, but even with my binoculars I couldn’t find any wildlife stirring in the sea.

Looking down on downtown

I took in the view for as long as I could, taking pictures, trying to gather up my strength for the downhill hike back. I still wanted to get to the top of the mountain, but judging by how tired I was by now, I decided to save that for another day.

The hike back didn’t seem quite as long, but my ankles hated all the stairs. Down, down, down. My ears popped as I descended another 1,000 feet in elevation on a small, steep stretch of trail. When I finally made it back to the trailhead, the 3.6 mile total hike had taken me about 3 hours, ridiculously slow for my usual speed! But I made it, and felt completely satisfied and content with my Easter hike for the day.

Tomorrow training begins. Hurray!

The first day

Saturday, 19 April 2014

This morning I awoke ready to go play outside. I don’t remember waking up this motivated in a long time, but after a quick breakfast and some coffee during which I inspected a map of town, I took off down the road. Although I didn’t end up walking where I intended to go, I found myself on a back residential road lined with cute little houses. While these houses are old and weathered, unlike Nome, they don’t appear to be rundown shacks. Sitka is quite a bit wealthier and has a much “whiter” demographic, which unfortunately translates to a slightly more upscale community. But I do feel safer here.

I eventually find my way to a lake full of quacking mallards, and then remember which way to go for the town center. I wander down the sidewalk and it seems everyone I pass greets me with a smile or a nod. I walk through what must be the main tourist drag in the summer and stop in a couple shops, but everything seems mostly dead, even on a Saturday. When I get to the harbor, it’s a bit more active, and the sounds of gulls laughing and the ding-dinging of boat sails carries over the wind. I climb to the top of a historic site known as Baranof’s Castle, which offers great views of town and the surrounding mountains.

View from Baranof's Castle

View from Baranof's Castle

It becomes increasingly windier the closer I get to the harbor. I walk along its edge until I reach Sitka National Historical Site, the visitor center where I’ll be working this summer. I wander through its exhibits and the totem hall, and then meet the other interp rangers with whom I’ll be working. They’re all very friendly and give me a cup of hot chocolate and a bunch of brochures. I think I’m going to like it here.  With my hot cocoa in hand, I wander down the nature trail, which is scattered with totem poles that almost blend into the forest. I walk out onto the tidal flats where several people are also strolling, collecting shells, gumboots, and other various ocean treasures.

The tidal flats

I hike about 2 miles through the spruce rain forests of the park. There are remnants of the Tlingit fort that was occupied during the Battle of 1804 when the Russians and Aleuts attacked the Tlingits, and then across the mouth of the Indian River is the Russian memorial. I am somewhat amazed by the serenity of this place; I feel like I’m out in the middle of nowhere, and yet when I come to a less dense part of the forest, I can see houses and boats and harbors through the trees, not even a quarter mile away. I’m really right in the middle of town.

Mt. Edgecumbe, the local volcano

I can't believe I live here

Even this time of year, the park is moderately busy. I pass at least 4 people walking their dogs on the trail, and others hiking with cameras or binoculars. Migration season is just beginning and the tidal flats are teeming with gulls, shorebirds, ravens, and bald eagles. The eagles are as common as pigeons around here! As I’m hiking, I keep hearing crashing in the trees above me, only to look up and see an eagle taking off. When I stop at an overlook to see across the cove, I see pairs of eagles courting high in the sky against a backdrop of snowcapped mountains.

The distant building on the right is my office

Indian River

The totem trail

On day 1, Sitka is a dream. I don’t know how it will be later in the summer, but right now I feel like I could enjoy this place for a long time to come. Tomorrow I think I will try to hike some of the trails, and then Monday work and training begins. So much to look forward to!

Welcome to Sitka!

Friday, 18 April 2014, 17:41.

When I arrive in Sitka, the late afternoon sun is beaming golden and bright on a town I was told would be cloudy and rainy all summer. Perhaps it will be, but on this night the sun shines as if it will shine forever, casting Sitka in a friendly light that beckons me into its charming hold.

On my way...

My life reduced to backpacks again.

Tomorrow I leave for Alaska for the 3rd time in my life. God I'm a lucky girl! I've spent the past two days consolidating my belongings to fit in 4 bags, this time with no place to store anything that I can't take with me. I'm moving out of my apartment in Spokane for good, heading to Sitka, and seeing what happens from there.

This is also the last day I will have home internet access, so periodic blog updates should be fairly comprehensive this summer to keep everyone updated on my adventures.  Hopefully before I leave tomorrow, or en route, I will be putting up one more post on Sitkan history. Last night I delved pretty heavily into Russian Tsars and colonial battles, so I'll try to type that up before I forget.

I love you all, and will do my best to stay in touch this summer!

Summer in Alaska 2013: memories on film

I just realized I never posted this film I created of my last summer in Northwest Alaska. It seems rather fitting now, as I prepare to begin a new chapter on the Last Frontier, to look back and see everything I've done and anticipate all the wonderful things to come.

Back to Alaska!

Time to dust off the old blog, shake it out, and open it up to a fresh new page, because I'm headed back to Alaska. Just as I'd hoped for this summer, I have been hired to work as a park ranger again, this time for Sitka National Historic Site.

Located on Baranof Island in southeast Alaska, Sitka is a fishing town of about 9,000 people steeped in a rich background of Tlingit culture and historical Russian rule. This history is precisely what my new national park unit commemorates, so I can't wait to start learning more and teaching others about this area.

As for my new job, I will have many of the same duties I had in Bering Land Bridge, such as leading ranger walks, developing programs, contributing media work, and running the visitor center, but this time with a focus on the Tlingit and Russian history of Alaska. I'm especially looking forward to doing all this in a brand new place with new people and new (epic) environments to explore.

So, in the next month or so, keep an eye out for regular updates on my new adventures in Alaska!