Dark Summer Soltice

This was the view out of our house. The sun was a dull orange from a 20,000 acre fire south of us.

This is not a cloud bank, but smoke. Incredible.

We went to a music festival for the Solstice, but it ended up being really dark!

I think the smoke got to us! What all was burning?!!!

Resurrection Pass Trail

We headed up on Friday "night" up Resurrection Trail, a 36 mile long trek from Cooper Landing to Hope. We didn't do the whole thing!! This was a view from the first part of the trail.

It had rained for an hour before we began, thus the vegetation was all wet! Wearing the rain gear made me VERY HOT! Nylon doesn't breathe well.

This is a shot from Trout Lake, a half-mile jaunt away from the main trail. There's a cabin and a boat for public use, but it was taken, so we just relaxed, got a drink, and enjoyed the view.

The little white spot on the top of the cliff is our tent! Pat is taking this picture from a bit closer to Juneau Falls, and the mist ended up being too much for this camp site!

Saturday, we hiked up to Juneau Lake, found this Forest Service Cabin (public use), and liked the security measures!

Here's a view of the front of the cabin. This was rebuilt in the last year, and still smells like fresh varnish! I think it's been in use since December, as the cabin register dates to that time!

Behind another cabin further up the lake, I was surprised by this critter in the woodshed! I'm glad porcupines aren't bears!

Pat thought I looked like I was on Safari! I had to switch clothes with him, as I packed for too cool weather and got very toasty! I'm sure that clothes-swap would've been a cute sight for others to come upon on the trail! We had planned to go to another lake a few miles up from Juneau Lake, but the clouds were foreboding, and we turned back. It was a good sight-see, but not too difficult of a trail. This is one that a lot of mountain-bikers use. Pat's planning a long day-hike to do the entire 36 miles. I'll forgo that one, and let him go with our friend Dan!

1st Backpacking Trip!

We are on our way up Fuller Lakes Trail!
Isn't a tripod and timed shots great!
Below, we are at our campsite at the lower lake, just before we retire for the night.

We fished the lower lake and Pat got the grayling! Again, I came up empty, and decided to get the fire going instead. Pat cooked them up and we had a great dinner. Oh, I'm using the spotting scope to watch one of the 3 different black bears we saw!

It was a beautiful day, and though it got a bit chilly in the evenings, the days were quite warm!
We had a great time and rediscovered some muscles!

Canoe-Camping!

Here's our "home" for the night! I can't believe Pat has gotten me to this point in camping! That alone is a great feat!

Here we are in our canoe, ready for bed!

We had our heads in the middle and our feet towards the ends. A 16' canoe has plenty of room! I was even able to bend my knees and sleep on my sides & tummy!

This was what a lot of the upper Swanson River looks like - this is "sledding" the canoe.

This was a section we portaged around!!!

Time to warm up for lunch on a boulder. We finished this trip in 24 hours where most take at least 3-4 days! Of course, we were trying to go light and fast, which means we didn't take time to fish or dawdle.

5 Years, and Counting!

Last weekend Melissa and I celebrated our fifth year of marriage. I've never been able to understand how life can get better and better until now!
To celebrate, we went on a 20 mile canoe trip. The trip is a giant loop in the Swanson River canoe system, it is comprised of twenty five lakes and many miles of trails. As we get better gear, more stamina and more grit, we are able to get by on less and less, which means we no longer have to make two trips to get our canoe and all our gear from one lake to the next. Instead, I carry the canoe and Melissa carries ALL the camping gear.

Every trip we make is a training run for our big hunting trip this fall. This means that we are continually testing new gear (most of which is camouflauge) and deciding what we are willing to trust our lives to and what needs to be replaced of upgraded.

A favorite quick meal while in the woods is fresh trout. We catch small trout and cook them in foil on a small fire. I put together what I call foil packs containing spices folded into pre-cut aluminum foil. I also include matches, napkins and a plastic fork. These items fit neatly into a zip-lock bag. When things go right, we can be eating fish within 20 minutes of when they are caught.

All the camping in the system is "primitive" which means that we can camp wherever we want to. Some places have established camp sites and sometimes we have to make do with a semi-flat spot without too many bumps. This camp is on Lost lake and it is a very nice spot. Melissa is in charge of setting up the tent and getting the bedding ready, I gather fire wood and usually get dinner going. We have found that this arangement works well for us.

Last year we purchased this Old Town canoe. It weighs 20 pound less than the Coleman that we started with last year. It is also much more efficient and very fast.

This spot is on Camper's lake. We saw a black bear that allowed us to paddle to within pistol range, but was too small to warrant packing all the way out.
Next week we will tackle the upper Swanson River. This 17 mile stretch will require us to paddle/portage the first 13 lakes in the system before even getting to the creek. Then it's 17 miles of difficult passage to the point where we usually put in. We are working on a way to eliminate the tent and just sleep in the canoe covered by a tarp. More on that after our next adventure.

Afternoon on Scout Lake

He's a REAL Man!

I'm working my way through the treacherous 8" seas on Scout Lake!

We went with our Pastor & his family. Here is Keith with his son Toby & their new dog, Annie!

Lil' Smokies make great campfire food!

An afternoon well spent!

Weekend Out!

Our first overnight camping/canoeing trip! We went to a lake called Waterfowl Lake, and only had to portage a short distance to get there. The weather was a bit dreary, but not bad!

We stayed the night on an island in the lake, which makes one feel a bit more safe, considering all the bears in the area! We only saw one black bear on the road as it scampered off into the woods. We also saw a couple of moose cows on the way home, but nothing while we were camping!

The nights still get a bit chilly, so I was happy with the mummy bag! We tested out our new self-inflating bed rolls and we both had a lovely nights' rest!

This is what Pat has to stop for almost daily when he goes to work. Since this is on a restricted road that is accessed by oil-field workers only, they are required to give plenty of space to the Caribou that are there. They have to stop and wait until the 'bou are all out of the way of the road before they are allowed to continue. They are NOT allowed to creep up to them or honk!

Cali, part 2!

Our trip, continued! I thought I'd include a couple more tree pics, and this is a branch that fell from the largest tree in the world, General Sherman!

Then we got to see the Best little niece in the world!! I'm sure she'll get sick of the "best" stuff, but, we may as well get her started early!! She was a cutie-pie! She sure liked to smile! That made us feel good! Pat got out without changing any diapers or having anything spit up on him! He did seem to have a good time, especially posing at the Gardens of the World! Kaylee has the greatest smiles, and even laughed for us! I did get her to fall asleep while we "bounced" on the ball! Very Sweet!!

California, part 1!

Our California Trip was full of fun times! We had the opportunity to witness Adam graduate from seminary with huge honors given to his wife, Becky! I'm pretty proud of my brother! His two kids are also pretty darn cute! Can't wait to see that next little niece! We have Toby, the Builder & Mia, the diva!


The Sequoia's were also a pretty incredible sight! I wanted to show Pat that there are a few beautiful sights in California!! The trees were incredible, and well worth the $20 we had to pay to leave the park!! Coming up will be the last half of our trip when we got to see Josh, Jana & Kaylee!