A Frosty Week (December 12-13, 2009)

Today's sunrise- 10:07, sunset- 3:53, total daylight- 5 hours 46 minutes

As the sun rose each day this week, it revealed a landscape of white frosted trees. The spruce, birch, and aspen were covered in frost and the sun never came out long enough to melt it off the branches. We took in this beautiful landscape on Saturday as we skied the trails of the National Wildlife Refuge. The trails were not the best, being a ski/snowshoe trail, but the trip was well worth it when we spotted a porcupine about 20 yards away chewing on a down aspen tree. The animal was not concerned with our presence and continued to nibble away at his snack. We also spotted about four eagles at the end of our ski. On Sunday, we went skiing on the Tsalteshi Trails, which are very well managed and once again got to take in the beauty of the white trees.

On Thursday night we head back to Minnesota to spend time with our families for Christmas. We are very anxious to get back! It’s about a 5 hour flight and we will land in Minnesota around 5:30 Friday morning. Merry Christmas to everyone and safe travels, wherever you may be going!

Shooting Snowshoe Hares! (December 5-6)

We took in a beautiful weekend with a lot of outdoor exploring, mild weather, and fluffy snow on the ground. The sun has been rising at about 9:30 AM and setting around 4PM. The days have definitely been getting shorter but not for long. On Saturday we put on our snowshoes for the first time this winter season. We headed out on a short trail, 0.3 miles, to Egumen Lake. The lake was emitting a gurgling sound in which we have never heard a lake do before. We’re not sure what was causing this noise. Any thoughts from our friends? We followed the lake’s perimeter for awhile and came upon some tracks in the snow that were not canine but feline. We came to our own conclusion that they were tracks from a lynx.

Following the discovery of the mysterious tracks, we made the decision to bushwhack back to the car by following the noise of the highway. Jon saw movement within the base of a tree and quickly caught a glimpse of a snowshoe hare. We tried to flush it out of hiding but were unsuccessful. Continuing on with our bushwhacking we spotted yet another snowshoe hare, this time seen by both of us. A few minutes later another was flushed out. This one eventually stopped but then took off again. At this point we met up with the trail. While heading back to our car we saw a hare sitting behind a spruce tree. It was difficult to see, its ears, the only part we could see, were barely visible. We tried to flush it out and it raced ahead of us. At this point we made the decision to take off our snowshoes, allowing us to walk more quietly through the snow. The hare had stopped just ahead where it anxiously awaited a photo op. We were about 12 feet away face to face with a nervous but composed snowshoe hare! We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had this opportunity.

Sunday brought yet another gorgeous day with highs around 30 degrees. We tucked the snowshoes away and brought out the cross country skis. The Tsalteshi Trails in the nearby town of Soldotna are finally groomed. The conditions were perfect. Jon was greeted on the trail by his second ermine sighting of the season. The trails are all named after Alaskan animals and today we found out why the Mountain Goat Trail is named as such. We were fortunate that not only did we survive the climb up but also the descent. Hoping all are well as we eagerly await our trip back to Minnesota for Christmas. Or as they say in Alaska, eagerly awaiting to go outside! (a.k.a. going to the lower 48)

Happy Thanksgiving!

North Peninsula Trail

A Snowy Day on the Kenai Beach

Kenai Beach

We hope that all you Minnesotans, Coloridians, Connecticisans (or is in nutmeggers?), or wherever you may be, had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend! Although away from family, we were able to enjoy are Thanksgiving day with co-workers/friends.

This weekend finally snowed enough where we could ski, but not enough for groomed trails. Despite the lack of groomed trails, we skied anyway. We skied the North Peninsula Trails on Friday and the Tsalteshi Trails on Saturday. Both will eventually be groomed, but for the time being we'll take what we can get.

Kenai had an electric lights show, bonfire, and fireworks on Friday night. We went to the fireworks. Supposedly they are suppose to be beautiful when the snow is falling, unfortunately we were not graced with that. But it was kind of fun watching fireworks with snow on the ground, something new for both of us.

Saturday evening we met up with some friends from MN, Mary and Tom Doig. Their son plays junior hockey for Fairbanks and they happened to be playing the Kenai River Brown Bears in Soldotna (our local team). They were in town to watch him play so we joined them. It was nice to see familiar faces from home!

A Frosty Weekend on the Lakes (November 21-22, 2009)

Another weekend of winter hiking. On Saturday we conquered the Seven Lakes Trail, hiking 8 miles from Kelly Lake to Engineer Lake and back again. The lakes were practically untouched except for some occasionally snowshoe hare prints near the shoreline. The trees were frosted over and the sun never really came out long enough to melt the frost off their branches. With the snow, frosted trees, and cloudy sky, the landscape was an array of whites and grays. Moose tracks and snowshoe hare tracks were of plenty along the trail, however neither were sighted. A few spruce grouse gave us quite a scare as they flew from nearby trees with their thumping loud wings. Boreal chickadees were also heard and seen along trail. The trail took us past two other lakes as well, Hikers Lake and Hidden Lake, which we did not have a chance to explore. The lakes very much reminder us of what you might see in the BWCA or along the Gunflint Trail.

Sunday brought us to a new lake in the area, Peterson Lake. We were hopig to snowshoe, but unfortunately there was not quite enough snow for it to be worthwhile. Rather than hiking a trail, we opted to hike the perimeter of the lake. The lake was well frozen. Early this morning or late last night, the lake had a couple other visitors. Wolf tracks, at least two sets of them, followed much of the shoreline. You can see just how big their paws are in the picture above. As we continued along we kept our eyes open for snowshoe hare, suddenly we spotted a small white creature, but not a snowshoe hare. An ermine was along the shore and bounded up into the forest as we approach. Something that neither of us have ever seen before!

A Plethera of Eagles!

On Monday morning (November 9) we finally received snow that stayed on the ground! This is unusual for the Kenai Peninsula, typically snow is on the ground in October. We are of course thrilled because this means opportunities for cross country skiing and snowshoing are coming soon!

We spent the weekend doing leisurely hikes through the snow. On Saturday we headed back to the North Peninsula Trail in Nikiski, a hike we did this fall (Which will soon be a ski trail! We just need a bit more snow.)The bog and lake are completely frozen over and bits of labordor tea can be seen peeking up through the snow cover. It was a brisk day, about 15 degrees, but no wind, which really makes the difference.

On Sunday we popped on over to the recycling center and on our way out we spotted 17 bald eagles perched side by side in about 4 or 5 neighboring trees. Never have we ever seen so many baldies together in one spot. There were about 5 juvenile birds out of the lot. We spent the afternoon hiking the Tsalteshi Ski Trail (yay, more ski trails!) were we continued to seen many bald eagles flying overhead and perching in nearby trees. If this is what the winter brings to the Kenai Peninsula then bring it on!

Backyard Birds

Magpie

Stellar Jay

Red breasted Nuthatch

Boreal Chickadee

Recently we have also had a Tree Creeper visiting our birch trees just outside our kitchen window.

Rochelle's Birthday Weekend

On Saturday afternoon we hiked up about 750 ft. to SKilak Lookout, which gives a panoramic view of Skilak Lake and mountains to the east and the volcanic mountain ranges to the west. We were the only humans on the trail that day since there were no other footprints in the inch of new snow. But, we were not alone. About half way up the trail were a fresh set of moose tracks walking along the trail, and just past those were some small squirrel tracks jumping along the trail. The trail was 4 miles round trip and we ended up finishing in about 2 hours. On Sunday we made a return trip to Captin Cook State Park at the end of the Kenai Spur Highway. It was low tide in the bay which allowed us to see the very dangerous mud flats which act as sink holes. Also, low tide allowed us to find some pretty cool rocks. Another cool sight we saw was a river eroding away the mud as it flowed toward the ocean. I assume that the eroded river path is mostly filled in when high tide comes in and the river re-erodes the path as the tide goes out. Never the less the bay was very visible from one side to the other(which we haven't seen before) and we could see the mountains and a lot of oil rigs off-shore. Then on Monday Rochelle turned 27 (I think).

Skyline Trail (October 31, 2009)

Today we hiked the infamous Skyline Trail. Infamous to the Kenai Peninsula anyways. Skyline Trail is a 1 mile hike to the top of a mountain. Although 1 mile may not sound so bad, we had a 1,800 feet gain within that 1 mile. Let's just say it was more of a climb than a hike. In the first picture, you can see the mountain we hiked to in the background, it is the one in the middle. Once above tree line, we were hiking in snow. Although there was snow on the beginning half of the trail, the top half was definitely more abundant. The next three pictures are at the top of the trail. Once you reach the top, there is an orange tool box with a journal inside for those who make it to sign. Not only did we get to sign, but we took in a stunning view which is not visible by road.

Official Alaskan Drivers

Noon Visitor (October 25, 2009)

While standing in the doorway of our house today, a cow moose trotted across our driveway about 25 yards from where we stood. We spotted it a few seconds later on the road near our house.

Kenai River Trail (October 24, 2009)

The Kenai River Trail provided us with many opportunities to view smaller wildlife. There were many birds. We observed two types of chickadees, black-capped and chestnut backed, common mergansers, pine grosbeaks,spruce grouse, bald eagle, and scaups (a water bird that we have never seen or heard of before). We also got a very close look at a red squirrel, who seemed more curious about our presence then concerned. A few people out fishing the river, but otherwise very quiet and peaceful!

Hidden Creek Trail to Skilak Lake (October 17, 2009)

Saturday afternoon we went on a non-strenous hike after both of us continue to recover from our illnesses. It felt great to be out hiking again, especially after both of us missed some school within the past two weeks and spent days laying inside trying to get well. Hidden Creek Trail was a great choice for getting back into the swing of things. The trail is 2.6 miles round trip with a small decline down to Skilak Lake. Skilak Lake is a large lake for the area and is well know for having many hiking trails surrounding its perimeter. Many areas around Skilak are popping up with new vegetation after unplanned burns over the years. We hiked through such an area. There was a lot of bear scat, but no bears. The weather was beautiful. Temperature in the 40s with a lot of sun! Very atypical for an Alaskan fall.

Geocaching in AK! (October 17, 2009)

We sought and found 2 geocaches today, both walking distance from our house. These were our first geocaches in Alaska! For those who are unfamiliar with geocaching, it is basically a treasure hunt. Coordinates can be obtained from the official geocaching website which are then plugged into a GPS device. Geocaches take you to places that you may never go to otherwise. Our second geocache took us to a wooded area with a old Oldsmobile car, which appeared to have been sitting there for many years.

Salmon Egg Take at Bear Creek Near Seward

I (Jon) took my 5th and 6th graders to the Bear Creek Weir on Wed. October 14th. At the Weir, Alaska Fish and Game catch male and female salmon to take eggs and fertilize them so they can hatch safely in a hatchery and so they can show the process to educate the public. One Silver Salmon can produce between 3,000 and 3,500 eggs. Some Salmon do not come back to where they were hatched for 4-5 years. Once a salmon lays or fertilizes the eggs they die and feed many living organisms that rely on the food of the river. Here are some pictures from my classes' field trip.

Fresh Mountain Birthday Snow! (October 3, 2009)

Saturday was Jon's Birthday! To celebrate we went back to Exit Glacier to do a more extensive hike. We recently meet a young couple from South Dakota (they now live in AK too) who joined us on Jon's birthday hike. Our goal for the day was to hike on a trail that traverses up the mountain along side the glacier up to the top which looks over the Harding Ice Field. The name really does explain what it is, a field of ice as far as the eye can see. The weather, unfortunately was not the best. Jon and I were able to hike to the top of the glacier where you should start to see the beginning of the ice field. When we reached that point we meet heavy fog and snow! The mountains looked absolutely beautiful covered in fresh, white snow, but unfortunately the fog covered much of the landscape, making the ice field impossible to see. After debating over what to do, we agreed to turn around, leaving the last 1.6 miles for a hike in the spring when hopefully the weather will grant us a clear day. Despite this set back, we enjoy our rainy (and snowy) hike. We spotted a couple of pine grosbeaks, collecting seeds from some nearby shrubs and a black bear getting its fill of berries for the upcoming winter. The bear went about its business, occasionally looking at us as if curious. The bear in the area should going into hibernation later on this month.

After our hike to the top, the four of us spent some time exploring the bottom of the glacier. It was fun watching the water flow out of the glacier into the valley below. The sand at the bottom is very black, like silt. There were also many interesting colored rocks below the glacier, some that were so white that they looked like ice.

In honor of the Twins, Jon wore his baseball hat all day, his way of cheering them on. It seemed to have worked. Go Twinkies! Good luck on Tuesday!

Running with Moose (October 2, 2009)

Out running tonight we experienced two moose encounters, both a block or two away from our house. We have never been so close to moose before. Both moose were females. The first one didn't not seem to mind the fact that we were out for our run, she watched us for awhile then continued on with her eating. The second cow we encountered was much more skiddish, watching us for a short period of time before running into the woods. Although we have both seen moose going to and coming from work, this is the first time we've seen them in our neighborhood, literally on residential streets. While Jon was eager to get closer, I was looking for the largest tree!

Peninsula Beaches (September 26-27, 2009)

We spent the weekend exploring the beaches of the peninsula. The Kenai Beach, near the Cook Inlet, is a very sandy beach full of many shorebirds and raptors. The Nikiski Beach in the Captain Cook State Rec Area is quite the opposite, full of rocks both large and small. From the beach you can see many oil rigs. We also discovered some small, pink clam shells washed up on shore that look very much like tiny lungs.