Northern Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P

So I am kind of stuck in this awkward middle ground of being a tourist and being a local. On the weekends I am a tourist but Mon-Thurs I need to be a local.

 That truck is my best friend.

So on Saturday I decided to head to Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve and do a little adventuring. From what I have read (and eventually learned) this is one of the most rugged National Parks there is… no paved trails or roads for that matter like the Grand Canyon. I drove down to the northern end of the park that borders Tetlin NWR. I stopped at the Slana Ranger station (this park is so big they have 2 visitors centers and 3 or more ranger stations). My original plan was to do the northern end on Saturday, camp out, then drive down south and do that area on Sunday and check out the mines and glaciers, I soon found out that would be too much driving in one day and not enough site seeing… so that is going to be saved for next weekend!

 That is officially my favorite picture I have ever taken! I love the reflection. I really abuse the panorama option...

 Some big juju mountain on my way to the park.

 

A big rule- always stop at the Ranger Station. They will help out a lot- i.e. road conditions and bear sightings (thanks to the Forest Service (got sued), federal employees are now obligated to tell a person about any bear sightings on their land recently). I stopped there mainly to find out about road conditions since there are 3 streams crossings on this road and my truck is only 2WD so if the water was high I couldn’t get through… well the water was low. But as you can see by the below video, water being low… is still a lot of water.

 

This park is absolutely beautiful. The road totally sucks and I had to apologize to the truck every other second but the mountains are amazing. I got to where I wanted to go which was about 40 miles in over an hour and a half… yeah had to drive that slow.

 "Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean." --John Muir

"The mountains are calling and I must go." --John Muir

 Don't worry. I am still alive.

I decided to hike the Skookum Volcano Trail, which takes you around a non-active volcano.  I would love to say that everything went as planned but it didn’t and I didn’t get to finish the hike which would have been really rewarding. Needless to say when I entered the woods it was about 78 degrees and sunny… hot but perfect. When I got about 45 minutes into the trail a few things happened 1.) my stomach was growling so loud I couldn’t differentiate between me and a bear and 2.) the wind picked up and it started getting overcast very quickly. I have learned weather here changes VERY fast especially the closer you are to the mountains. The Indians have told me to take a lot of caution to the weather changing and follow your instinct. My instinct said it was time to get back to the truck. Quickly in my head I thought about pressing on and ignoring it but then I quickly remembered we are currently in EXTREME fire danger right now to the point that burning is prohibited in Northway, Tok and beyond. Also, I was going up about 2,500 ft in a short amount of time, above the tree line even, exposing me to lightening. It didn’t take to long for my mind and my gut to convince me that it just wasn’t going to happen today. I need to show up to work on Monday anyways. So I went back to the truck instead.

 All geared out. Knife and all.

 Moose poop. You are suppose to talk to yourself, sing or act like you are talking to the animals when you walk in the woods alone (Indians told me) so I kind of look crazy but a lot of times I say "Hey beaaaar!" just in case... but whenever I see moose poop I like to change it up and say "Heyyyyyy mooooose!" Basically it is so you don't surprise any animals.

 A true, glacier fed stream. So pretty.

Wouldn’t you know it I hit storms on my way out! I decided to save my hunger for some REAL food in Tok at Fast Eddies. Another bad idea- I haven’t eat rich, greasy food in a while and that California burger did not let me sleep at all. I stayed at the Headquarter cabins last night in Tok and I am pretty sure it was also the first night I have ever had an issue with it being daylight till midnight- or it was just that stupid burger.

 Found those this morning behind the Tok cabins!!

This morning when I woke up it looked weird out. I know it was suppose to rain but something didn’t seem right. I walked outside of the cabin and it was hazy/overcast/blurry. I couldn’t see the mountains which are always very prominent and it smelled like smoke. Forest fires. I do not know exactly where they are or if it is just the smoke from the fires up in Fairbanks (there are 3 separate fires) blowing down but this was the most smoke I have ever seen. I decided to call off the 12 mile hike I was thinking of doing mainly because I couldn’t tell if it was sunny or overcast. So here I am. Back in Northway- doing laundry, cleaning and perhaps showering… or not.

 

VC/Eagle Trail SP

1. Visitor Center

2. Eagle Trail State Park

So I worked all week in the VC finally. I worked the first 2 days with a native elder (Cora- worked her 20+ years), the 3^rd day on my own and then my last day with another native lady (Sylvia). I have learned a ton just from these two in the last week. Something interesting I learned about has to do with their health. Native Athabaskan’s have fish camps in the summer and it is normally away from their village and they go there all summer long, live there and catch fish that they then clean and eat or dry for the winter. All the Indians living in Northway had fish camps along the local rivers (there are 2 of them that feed into 1 huge one). Now, unlike most native villages, Northway has an airport. The reason for this, it was built during WWII as a way to transport supplies as well as build the Alcan Highway. When the military left, they did as they always do (I have learned this from working for Illinois DNR as well) and dumped everything out so they didn’t have to remove it (IDNR found an active landmine on their land MANY years after the site had been abandoned). Well since these people live off the land i.e. eat the fish, drink the water and eat the large game as well they, unknowingly were affected by this… badly. Every person from that generation who went to fish camps along these rivers has/had cancer. Breast, stomach and intestinal cancer are the main cancers but I have also heard of a few with other types. The two women I have worked with have had breast cancer, undergone chemo and beat it, but a lot of people from the village have not and passed on. A woman studying with UA-Anchorage received her Doctorate from doing research down in the village of Northway and found a direct correlation between all this. The sad part is a lot of it was also passed down to their children who are showing cancer as well. It is actually really sad to hear about. The Greyling and White Fish that they test now show either low or no signs of these chemicals from WWII but the damage has already been done.

Well now that I threw that sadness out there let me show you the cooooooool displays we have at work. Seriously this place is one of THE BEST VC I have ever been to… and I have been to a lot.

Starting in the back we have a “theater” where you can watch some sweet VHS tapes about Alaska, Birds, FWS and Denali/National Parks. Personally we could do some updating to DVD, but hey I love remembering how to use a VCR. Brings me back to my Little Mermaid days.

Trumpeter Swan display. I hate swans of all sort personally but a lot of people comment on this display. Those are the real size, with real sized eggs, with real feathers. Tundra Swans and Trumpeter make their way through here and as I have explained a lot, Trumpeter Swan’s are technically one of the largest waterfowls there is. It is hard for people to tell which is which and they all get mixed up a lot, even with a Snow Goose. But a Trumpeter is larger with a black beak. Tundra swans are smaller and have more coloring on their beak, they can also have more variation in color with their feathers. There is a muskrat in that display too that everyone thinks is a beaver… and some moose poop.

That is a display of a native Athabaskan just doing what he does. The clothing was all hand made by Cora and some of the other women in the office who sew. He is skinning a Caribou leg. Freaks me out… not because of the skinning but I am convinced he moves and will probably come alive one night.

Food tree. This basically explains the different ways the tribes survived during different seasons as well as ceremonial meals. The one that blows me away is Indian Ice Cream… berries, fish fat and fish eggs all mashed together. Every person who has had it loves it… I am a little leery but curious at the same time.

Beading table with some skins. I sit there and bead with the ladies or read when it is slow. We also try to teach people coming in how to bead. People love those skins too… if you ever have the opportunity to feel a skin that is on display, do it properly, use the back of your hand… otherwise all that nasty stuff you touch and oil gets on them and they fall apart. Drives me nuts when people don’t do it right.

Some of the beadwork on display. I am learning how to make the gloves next.

A diorama (kind of) of a fish camp! Really cool.

One of our wall displays of migration season, granted you will not see all those animals at once but it is pretty busy during those times of the year.

A few of our displays about Indians, Fires, Birds, Research and Recreation opportunities throughout the refuge.

Everyone loves this thing. Make your own animal prints! Probably really helpful to people who do not know the difference between these animal prints, especially since some people have never seen these animals. Sad part is… grizzly bear’s print isn’t labeled… they spelt grizzly wrong.

Our INTENSE bookstore. All our stuff goes through Alaska Geographic/Natural History Society. Every federal land in AK is supported by this society so they supply us with all our books, clothing and other goodies. They donate their money back to us to use for environmental education opportunities! They have an amazing selection of reading material! I already read a few short kids books about dog racing, Athabaskan’s, fish camps and what not and a longer book called Two Old Women, an Athabaskan legend, and I just started Shopping for Porcupine.

Birch Basket made by a native who actually lives down the street… hands down best birch baskets I have seen yet. They are beautiful.

So that is the tour of the inside. A little while later in the day I got this:

 

Now, I have Friday-Sunday off so I need to keep myself entertained as well as explore. I think it is really important that I hike all the trails in the area so that when people ask I know what to recommend… my coworkers do not (refuse to) hike.

So today, one of the Rusty Blackbird biologists that lives in the cabins with me and I decided to head to Eagle Trail State Park/Recreation area off Highway 1 **while on our way there a bee decided to hit the edge of my window and land in my lap. I am wearing spandex pants and trying to see if this bee is dead or alive while going 70mph on the highway. Finally pulled over since it kept getting closer and closer to the important parts... it was an experience**. They have three trails here (I read up a lot before I hike so I know where to go/what to expect… this helps with safety as well as planning my pack i.e. extra food, clothes and all that jazz), 1^st is a short 1 mile roundtrip nature trail, 2^nd is a 3 miles round trip trail to an overlook and the 3^rd is a 12 mile (cant remember if it is round trip or not) trail into the beginning of the Alaska Range… Dall’s Sheep and all. So Tara and I headed over there and decided to dip our toes in the short trails first… the nature trail kind of sucked, it was pretty but boring. The signs explaining everything were so worn you couldn’t read them and once again they ran out of the brochures to explain the trail (I hate when people have a nature trail/drive and do not keep good stock of brochures to explain it… way to waste your money developing that trail… and state/federal employees wonder why everyone thinks we are lazy and do not do anything). Then we went on the overlook trail… another pet peeve of mine is not supplying trail maps, everyone preaches left and right about being safe and having maps and knowing how to use a compass and read a topo but no one ever supplies them so I will be thanking you DNR for if I ever get lost… we walked the not adequately marked trail, very common in AK, and realized this sucker was uphill and felt way longer than they explained it too. Tara is 18 and I am getting old at 22 (haha) and let me tell you… we were both dying. Not only was it hot as heck (yes Alaska gets hot, it is 77 degrees today) but also we were starting to get above the tree line so no shade. Ugh by the time we got to the top of that thing… well I will just apologize for my nasty looking self in the picture. But hey it was seriously beautiful up there. The mountains without the snow are the Alaska Range and the mountains with snow still are the Wrangell- St. Elias range (where I am going tomorrow).

So, other than working all week I have been running and eating. I feel like that is all I do! If you have not heard I have not been making friends with a Mew Gull (Sea Gull but we aren’t by the sea) who lives down the road. Twice he has now attacked me. So to my running arsenal I have added rocks that I have to chuck at him once I cross the bridge (um, yes I run OVER a bridge almost every day… and run back over it and I haven’t even cried about it yet). So one hand is bear spray and the other are Gull rocks. He hit me in the head he got so close two days ago… he is an ass.

But, yup, that is my update and I am stickin’ to it.

5/21/2011

Two posts in one day. Woah.

Did some hiking most of the day today- went towards the Canada border and did the hiking on refuge land just so I know what we have to offer. Stopped at the visitors center where I will be working so I can show you that too! Check it outttttt.

That is the visitors center building- it resembles a trappers cabin. Way nicer than the cabin I will show you in a few pictures.

Pretty cool little food cache next to it. Probably good we have it since we do actually have bear problems haha

View from the deck. How gorgeous!!

Now the first hike I did was by the visitor center. It is less than a mile round trip I feel like but it is to some old trapper cabins...

 They look like they were ransacked by a bear or a tornado. I didn't like them too much!

Seriously they creeped me out. I had the heebee jeebees the entire time.

 

haha I just thought it was cool how the moss eats your foot. I wouldn't mind sleeping on that.

This is actually the trail I will be developing this year as an interpretive trail and put some signs up on it! Kind of cool, eh?

The next trail I did was the Hidden Lake Trail which is 2 miles round trip mostly on a boardwalk.

 Those mountains are seriously calling my name...

And that is the hidden lake... taken over by beavers.

Below is from one of the road outlook things.

 Just so everyone knows I am still alive I guess I will take self timed pictures. Sorry about my looks... no water.

 Ugh those mountains... so pretty to look at but I swear I am going to need to get closer soon.

 Playing with the settings on my camera!

These are some of the only flowers in bloom right now and they are gorgeous. part of the crocus family and from what I hear they love areas that are newly burned- just like fireweed. (A lot of people burn their yards here to start growth and get rid of the dead grass and right now is the perfect timing for that). I cannot wait till the wildflowers start blooming here because the fields of lupine and fireweed are amazing... just a few more weeks. Within the week I have been here the trees have already started turning green so we are on the right track!