Category Archives: Aki

Still A Tough Little Pouch

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We hadn’t intended to do a sub-zero walk this morning. But no wind discouraged us by stirring the country near the glacier. The minus 3 degree temperature (minus 19 C) seemed quite comfortable. Aki dashed onto the Mendenhall Lake and started on the trail to the glacier. We had heard others had posted pictures of a new hollow in the glacier formed from clear, blue ice. I guess the little poodle mix wanted to go check it out.

            I told Aki that we didn’t have enough time to reach the glacier and return home before a scheduled meeting. Instead, we shifted over to little-used trail that wound around the glacier moraine. It offered lots of views of the little pocket lakes the glacier left behind as it retreated up the mountains. 

            On cold winter days, when ice covered lakes allow us a chance to explore new territory, I usually lead Aki off the usual trails. She starts after me when I walk onto Crystal Lake. Then she stops, bogged down in snow. The old puppy starts shivering. It’s like she will freeze if she can’t keep moving. 

I dash over to Aki and carry her back to the solid trail. I expect her to ask me to haul her back to car. But she drops out of my arms and trots over to a little alder for a smell of scent left by another pup. She is still a tough little dog.

A Quiet, Magic Place

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The temperature of Upper Fish Creek Valley has been dropping for the past few days. Since Aki and I haven’t used the trail in months, I picked it for today’s hike. In the past, the creek has been swollen with water. Other times, the smell of dead, spawned out salmon hangs in the air. I’ve seen sparkling ice cycles lit up by the morning sun. But, until today, I’ve never seen the creak so enslaved by ice.

            We can barely hear small holes in the ice mumble as the little dog and I pass a deep-water section of the creek. In minutes ice covers the water. Normally it is hard to let yourself think over the noise of the rushing creek waters. Today, for the first time that I can remember, it is profoundly quiet. We are passing through a old growth forest with trees still growing strong after hundreds of years in the little creek valley. Every other old growth creek on the island is pockmarked with downed hemlock or spruce. But here, in a forest that seems impervious to high winds or floods, time seems to have stopped.

Just Before the Temp Drops

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This was a day for walking in shadows while having views of sun-flooded mountains. For some reason it is more pleasant than the bright days we enjoyed the last few days. It might be the last day for not wearing my heavy winter gear. Tomorrow it will drop to less than seven degrees Fahrenheit, by the time I post this piece.

            We will have to dress Aki in her warmest clothes for tomorrow’s hike. She won’t mind. I won’t either. We will both enjoy the slight sting on our noises delivered by the cold. Today, I can leave my parka unzipped as we head down the trail. Even though it is a good weather weekend Sunday, we have the trail almost to ourselves. Most folks are getting ready for the Superbowl. 

            We hike down to the beach as the temperature begins to fall. Mallards, gulls, and harlequin ducks are gathered together on the shore. While the gulls stay put, the ducks drop into the ocean and swim just offshore, keeping pace as Aki and I move over the snow covered ground. In a few minutes they do reverse turns and head back to their beach hangouts. I guess the birds now consider us trustworthy neighbors.

Hog Haven

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Cold but no wind—that is what we hoped to find when we visited a trail system 30 miles away. We dressed Aki in warm gear, filled up the car, and drove out to Eagle Beach. The campground parking lot was full of other cars so we drove a little further to an almost-empty trail head. From there we took a little used path into an old growth spruce forest.

 The skiing was almost perfect as were the shafts of sunlight that powered around the trunks of the huge spruce. We had the trail to ourselves. Every once in awhile a huge and heavy load of new snow tumbled in a thick shower on the forest floor. I loved skiing through the trail, hoping to pass through without being hammered from loads of falling snow. 

            It was also dark in the forest. At the edge, the trail led to a sunlit trail where the full sin made the snow covered alders almost too painful to view. From there we powered through another sunny meadow to the river, where Aki ran into a collection of other dogs. For the first time on the ski, she acted like a hog heaven. 

She Always Falls For It

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Aki and I have been cross country skiing all week. It’s time for a break. So, we suit up at the front door and walk down the hill to the Douglas Island Bridge. I am glad that I attached some cleats onto my boots. No one has been able to clear the streets and sidewalks of this week’s snowfall.

            I figured that we would spot a lot of ravens on our walk down to Gastineau Channel. A nesting pair have been gathering nest-building stuff in our neighborhood all week. But we don’t spot any of the smart birds until we reach a state office building down near the water. We see only one, which lands a few feet away from Aki. The little dog falls for an trick. She shoots out to the end of her lead and vibrates as the raven stares her down. Then raven lifts off the ground and circles my little dog.

            We move onto the trail that parallels the channel, surprised not to see a single crow or raven. We will find two dozen of them blocking the road in front of the local grocery store. Someone inside the bus passenger stand is feeding then chunks of day old bread. 

Keeping it Simple

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A new snow storm moved over Juneau last night. This morning, it blocked our view of mountains, islands, and clouds. But I was ready to accept what we could see—clouds of snow flakes clinging to the neighborhood spruce or fluttering to the ground. 

            It took an hour to shovel out a path for our car to reach the street. From there, with care, we were able to creep down the steep downtown streets and work our way out to Montana Lake. We normally head out there on sunny days when we can see the glacier and its surrounding mountains sparkling with sunshine. 

            We push ahead though the forest on a newly laid ski trail. It’s a time for enjoying the simplified view. Any thoughts or concerns I carried as I stepped into my skis disappeared a-half-mile down the trail. From there I just enjoyed the ski’s rhythms, stopping for time to time to look at surprising designs in the trail-side alders that were almost over-burdened by the fresh snow.  

Cold Beauty

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I am writing this after walking a very cold beach on Groundhog’s Day. It’s a meaningless pocket holiday designed down south to distract folks in the middle of long U.S. Winters. Before heading over to Sheep Creek, I heard the radio announce that a Pennsylvanian groundhog was caught standing in early morning sun. This, the local expert said with a smirk, meant six more week of winter. 

            We have ground hogs in Alaska. But none will be seen until the spring, after they end their winter hibernation. For us, this February is a time for birds to splash in the stream shallows and fish. This morning, mallards and golden eye ducks are hard at it when we arrive at low tide. 

Rather than drying on the gravel, the little rocks and shells on the Sheep Creek beach are each covered by clear ocean ice. The ice is thicker in low spots on the beach. Because we are so close to the Sheep Mountain Ridge, it dominates our view. The ridge starts to disappear after a city snow plow flies down the road, filling the air with the pure-white snow we drove through to reach the trail head.

Cruising Downtown

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We could have gone cross country skiing this morning. It seemed an even better idea after the sun rose in a cloud-free sky. Then I thought about all the new legislative aides who brought their skis to town. They will soon be driving to a ski trail from their downtown apartments. After breakfast the little dog and I should have the capital city to ourselves.

            The sun was centered over Gastineau Channel when we left the house. Lines of clouds were drifting up channel, framing the blue sky. Every few hundred feet, we passed a car warming up. I walked out in the street most of the time to avoid slipping on the ice-covered sidewalks or passing too closely to a purring car. 

            There was a surprising number of empty parking places at the tail end of Gastineau Avenue. Some of the parking places were covered with piles of the kind of gear that homeless people tend to keep in their cars. The city must have hauled many of them away.

            We dropped down to South Franklin Street where the clouds were started to obscure the southern sky. The sun still shone to the north and no wind ruffled the channel surface. I tested Aki’s mood by leading her down a trail leading over the cruise ship docks. The little dog put on her brakes. I was about to return to the street when I spotted a bald eagle perched on a dock railing. I had to carry Aki to a spot there I could photograph the eagle. She whined and seemed to shiver. I thought to eagle would fly off but it didn’t. Probably enjoyed watching the little dog’s little whinny sideshow. It must have realized that I would not get close enough to photograph it.

Sticky for a Minute

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Aki’s other care keeper and I took our time leaving the house this morning. It was Saturday morning, our day for pancakes. It takes a long time to make, cook, and enjoy pancakes. It takes almost more time recovering from the big breakfast feast. Aki was squealing when we finally loaded her and our skis into the car and headed out to Eagle Beach.

            Snow fell for most of the drive, covering the road with a thin, slippery jacket. Even more snow fell onto the ski track.  Aki shot out of the car right after we parked it next to the river. In a minute snow started building up on her fury front legs. Snow also built up on our skis, making them stick to the trail. 

            I was about to head back to the car when I noticed that snow no longer clung to Aki’s legs. I rapped my skis against a small spruce tree. When done, the skis suddenly slid comfortable on the trail. Aki charged down the trail as heavy snow continued to fall. We had no problem making it to a hard-find-find river shore where newly acquired snow pulled the shoreside spruce trees toward the water.

Eagles or Ducks

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            Aki and are standing on the edge of a shrinking beach. An hour ago, we could have walked far out onto the Sheep Creek delta, passing mallards and crows feeding in the shadows. In another few minutes, the trail we are on will disappear under the incoming tide. The pup and need to move now or have to deal with soaked feet and boots.

            The remaining beach lands are still frozen, even sections covered by water during the high tide. We can fly across it. Down the beach two bald eagles seem to pout onboard a floating gold dredge.

            They ignore us as we approach the edge of the beach. I secure telephoto lens on a battered peer post. While his friend sits hunched on the tiny dredge, the eagle turns to stare at me. A few hundred years from him, a small collect of mallards float together in a tight, and tiny island. I wonder if the eagles were about to divebomb the ducks when we showed up.