Aki and I join a line of dogs and owners on the trail from Downtown Juneau to the old Perseverance mining district. At the upper end of craftsmen homes on Basin Road, we passed under a light standard occupied by two ravens. The poodle-mix and I must walk in rain but the ravens could fly in less than a minute to the snow line. Instead they hang out on their light standard, commenting in raven speak on we earthbound travelers. The sleek, black birds turn their back when I stop to listen and croak out something that sounds like, “the nerve of that guy and his little overdressed dog.”
This morning, Aki and her two humans cruised the semi-frozen wetlands. At the grassland’s edge, the ebbing tide revealed great expanses of sand over which the poodle-mix chased her Frisbee. A great gathering of Canada geese cackled together near Sunny Point, a name made ironic by the flat gray light and clouds that distributed snow pellets on Aki’s gray curls. Eagles, chased from the dump by cracker shells flew over the geese, set some to flight. Most of the Canadians stayed on the ground as did a single swan, its white-feathered body drawing my attention like a candle flame would on a dark night. The geese are local boys, commonly seen on this broad stretch of grassland. But a swan alone in mid-winter is a weather omen, sign of climate change, or just a confused bird.
Rain and slick-ice trails must be keeping everyone else out of the Gold Creek valley. Aki doesn’t appear to notice the solitude. For a dog with sensitive nose and an inquisitive nature like her, this mid-winter thaw is magic—as stimulating as Disneyland or an overturned meat truck. Nose impaired and cocooned in waterproofs against the rain, I look inward, rather than out today.
We cross a young forest growing over the rubble of hydraulic mining. A century ago, I couldn’t walk over the wasteland created here by men moiling for gold. The old growth forest they destroyed fed hunters and gathers and offered a peaceful place for the rest. But the gold extraction efforts that destroyed it provided jobs for the people in the nescient Juneau town. Without them, there would be no Juneau. Without them, I might still be living in California. I guess I owe them a debt but refuse to share responsibility for their destructive acts.
Walking with Aki 