Lakes and rock formations of the Tormented Valley in Yukon Territory, Canada.
The road from Skagway, AK to Carcross, YT runs through many landscapes.
But none stranger or more potent than Tormented Valley with its brilliant green lakes.
Bedrock here is encrusted with lichens or many colors and textures.
Add a cold wind, and this can be a forbidding place.
Tormented Valley-Yukon Terr
But today the shining gold aspen trees against dark green spruce and pine made Tormented Valley seem more like open-air vault for landscape riches. See tomorrow’s post for golden hillsides.Wild autumn colors: Quaking Aspen trees. Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Quaking Aspen-Whitehorse BC
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) leaves flutter in the wind, an adaptation that helps them withstand strong winds—giving in rather than fighting against the breeze.
These thickets of trees are colonies that all sprout from the same roots.
The individual trees don’t live much more than 100 years, but some aspen root colonies are believed to live many thousands of years, perhaps as much as 80,000 years.
Also may be the largest organism on earth, spreading over many miles, although not verified.
For now, I’m thrilled to see their golden quaking leaves on every mountain and roadside as we travel through the Yukon Territory.
On the road with brother in law, Tim Troll, my adventure pal.
Apricot Sunrise Reflections – Keku Islands. Kake, Alaska.
Serene, yet expectant, a sunrise of high promise.
The sea remains calm, but seen from above, the rocky Keku Islands streak across the surface of Keku Strait as if racing in blurred speed.
I want to return to this landscape rich with seals, humpback whales, marbled murrelets, and salmon.
Bright Silver Salmon. Juneau, Alaska. August brings Coho Salmon, aka Silver Salmon, flooding back to the streams of Southeast Alaska. Glistening, powerful fish, I love wading out to fly fish or spin fish in the saltwater channels.
Follow the lives and deaths of salmon if you want to trace the paths of nutrients & energy in Alaska ecosystems. Salmon feed everyone-humans, bears, gulls, eagles, shorebirds, other fish, insects, crabs. EVERYTHING.
And salmon die in the streams after spawning, bringing nutrients to forests and other streamside plant communities.
I thank the salmon when they give their lives to me. Eating these salmon unites me with their lives and the endless circle of my generations and theirs. The salmon and I are one with the landscape.
Willow and Ice-Walker Glacier. Alsek-Tatshenshini Raft Trip in Wilderness.
Willow reflection with ice of retreating Walker Glacier. Alsek River watershed, Alaska. As wild and pristine a place as I’ve found.
Glaciers are strange beasts—grinding rock from the landscape to create the black streak of rubble-covered ice in the background. Yet the white ice & green water reflect colors of purity, heavy with fine flour from the glacier mill, but with almost no organic carbon yet.
Willows are one of the earliest plants to grow on bare silty gravel uncovered after thousands of years under ice. They add nitrogen to the soil, favoring other plants.
Climate change is accelerating changes in this pristine landscape. This lake didn’t exist in 1984. Walker Glacier was a few meters from the Alsek River. By 2013, the glacier had retreated 800 meters. The new lake was 750m wide and 1800 m long.
11-day rafting trip on the Tatshenshini & Alsek Rivers with 10 friends through 3 Canadian and USA national parks that combine into largest designated wilderness in world.
Cross Sound seen from the cliffs of George Island.
What a surprise to discover George Island hiding at the intersection between Icy Strait and Cross Sound!
I had never heard of George Island, even though I’d passed it a number of times on the M/V Curlew, the USFWS research vessel that hauled people and equipment to Icy Bay farther west along the Gulf of Alaska.
Icy Strait: Glacier Bay is in top right corner. Cross Sound is bottom left.
Cross Sound funnels the Pacific Ocean into Icy Strait. Icy Strait provides passage to the northern end of Southeast Alaska.
It’s only 118 km (73 miles) as the raven flies from Juneau. Of course, it’s much farther by boat: 194 km (119 miles), following the saltwater jigsaw puzzle of SE Alaska islands & channels.
I’ll cover various cool SE AK (Southeast Alaska) destinations and adventures in future posts. For now, it’s enough to know that George Island was one of the stops as Guest Hosts on our second 1-week cruise, UnCruise’s Northern Passages & Glacier Bay itinerary.
On the evening before we headed to George Island, I thanked Capt. Don Johnson for showing me yet another new place in Southeast Alaska.
“We’ll see how the weather is in the morning,” he answered.
He didn’t say this lightly. In December 1943, Lt. Schwamm of the U.S. Navy requested a seaworthy vessel to supply his base on George Island because his boats couldn’t handle the seas that were “so violent and the water so rough in Cross Sound, South Inian Pass, and Icy Straights”.
The tides are predictable. Winds, waves, rain, often change rapidly in this high energy ecosystem. The currents in Inian Pass are faster than any other place in Southeast Alaska. This energy mixes the saltwater, bringing food into the water column, a rich feeding “ground” for marine organisms ranging from the barnacles on the rocks to the 40-ton humpback whales feeding on krill and herring. Sea birds are everywhere. Sea otters float on their backs like slightly potbellied very hairy youngsters floating on inflatable matresses with their toes in the air and constantly grooming to be sure that their hair is mussed up perfectly. I feel like sea otters with money could be one of the biggest markets for mirrors worldwide… and for selfie sticks.
We had a rare, very calm-water day at this point where the Pacific Ocean funnels down to the narrow Inian Passage & Icy Strait. If you draw a line straight west across the curving surface of the Earth along George Island’s latitude of 58 degrees 13 minutes North, it will cross Kodiak Island & Bristol Bay in Alaska, then see nothing but open ocean until it reaches the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia.
This is pretty close to the same track on which storms born in the Aleutian Islands travel as they spin their way across the Gulf of Alaska to make landfall on the west coast of North America, including Southeast Alaska.
My thanks to Capt. Don Johnson & the excellent folks of @UnCruise Adventures vessel, M/V Wilderness Explorer, for teaching me a new lost place.
A great joy for me.
Stay tuned for more posts of the brilliantly colored tidepools, rocky pillars & white-foam waves from this nearly-impossible-to-get-to-place, along with its fascinating history as a Naval gun emplacement to protect the U.S. from attacks in World War II.
Don’t confuse this George Island with famous St. George Island in the Pribilofs of the Bering Sea.
Steller’s Jay – 4 Hatchlings just out of their eggs
4 Steller’s Jay Chicks hatched from eggs outside our window yesterday (May 4)!
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri). Juneau, Alaska.
Quick photo taken while female was away from nest to get food.
These are “hatchlings”. They do not have feathers or down, just bare skin.
Their eyes are still closed.
When they grow fine down and open their eyes in a few days, they will be called “nestlings”.
Steller’s Jay perches on our porch, guarding nest. Mount Jumbo (Mount Bradley) in background. Juneau, Alaska.
The male & female built their nest just 60 cm (24 inches) from our window on April 14.
Since then, the female has sat on the nest. She left sometimes to find food, but the male also helped feed her.
We can’t see into the dark nest, and it is highly backlit, so photography is difficult.
I bought a Selfie Stick (my first) that lets me extend my phone to the nest through our window.
I’m using my iphone & a Bluetooth remote trigger.
Uncle Bill and Aunt Kate have new family members!
Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri): Cyanocitta is a genus in the same family as crows and ravens.refers tor the deep blue color.
“Stelleri” is for Georg Wilhelm Steller, a German botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer, who sailed with Vitus Bering on his 2nd voyage in 1741, pioneer of Alaskan natural history.
Steller’s name is attached to species as diverse as sea lions & this lovely jay.
The male & female built their nest just 60 cm (24 inches) from our window on April 14.
Since then, the female has sat on the nest. She left sometimes to find food, but the male also helped feed her.
We can’t see into the dark nest, and it is highly backlit, so photography is difficult.
I bought a Selfie Stick (my first) that lets me extend my phone to the nest through our window.
I’m using my iphone & a Bluetooth remote trigger.
Kate and I are excited to joinUncruise (click the image to go to the Uncruise website) tours for a couple of weeks in May as guest hosts. We’ll provide inside looks into life in Southeast Alaska, this place we love where we’ve raised our family.
Our home sits on a steep hill above the saltwater, so we don’t have a back yard. I grow a few veggies in 0.9 x 2.4 m (3 x 8 ft.) box beds in our driveway.
2017 Bill Hanson with Carrots and Golden Beets from Box Beds
To make room for snowplowing, I move them back from the road. They’re around 1,000 kg (2,200 lbs.) each so it takes a bit of finagling with a floor jack, pvc pipe, a couple of heavy pry bars, maul, and heavy rope.
Moving Garden beds away from snow plowsTools for moving 1-ton garden boxes. Floor jack, heavy pry bars, maul, and heavy rope. PVC pipe-see other photos.
2017 Box Bed with Beets and Carrots
Fortunately, @katetroll is very strong. The two of us can hand push, coax, pry, and torture the beds into safety adjacent to our flower garden. With lots of travel this year, we moved beds during the first snowfall of the year.
People walk on carpet to protect feet from hot flagstones, Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi
With only a single day in Delhi, Prabhu took us into the streets of Old Delhi to visit the Jama Masjid mosque. The first day in a new place often overwhelms me. Cities like Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam or Athens, Greece or Delhi overload my senses and thoughts with dizzy swirling colors, smells, activities, and people.
But even on a first day, if I focus on a few small details, watch one person for a few minutes, or study a building, I begin to sense the rhythm of life, the order within the chaos.
Delhi Street Food Vendor
Prabhu helped us enjoy this first day. We sampled street food from a vendor he knew was safe, took a short bicycle rickshaw ride through narrow allies, and then walked to the Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi, one of the oldest and largest mosques in India.
Shah Jajan, the 5th Mughul Emperor, began construction of the Jama Masjid mosque in 1644, the same year that he completed construction of the Taj Majal (although work would continue on both for 10 more years).
Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi
He was one of the richest kings on Earth, presiding over an empire that included what is now India, Pakistan, and much of Afghanistan, with a 1-million-man army. These beautiful structures were built not by slaves, but by paid workers at tremendous expense.
Today, the Jama Masjid mosque is one of the most important landmarks of Old Delhi.
Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi
We visited it on Eid (pronounced “eed”), the last day of Ramadan. Crowd of people from surrounding villages and cities were also visiting. The outdoor courtyard can hold 25,000 worshipers during the call to prayer. However, we visited between prayers, walking through the corridors and arches at each of the gates with hundreds of other people.
Jan, Fiona, Mary, Stephanie, and Deb in Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi
Before entering, our six women were given long tunics to cover their shoulders and below their knees. Although general photography is not allowed without a permit, I was able to purchase a permit at the entrance.
Why do ancient and holy places weigh so heavily upon me? The feeling is not oppressive. Rather, I think it is the atmosphere of long history and my desire to be respectful to the people and religions that continue to seek spiritual fulfillment there. It is a weight of feeling that I seek rather than avoid.
Gate of the Jama Masjid mosque of Delhi (8)
The smiles from worshipers, the flowing colors of people dressed in lovely clothing as they streamed across the central square on narrow carpets to protect their feet from blazing hot flagstones in the Delhi sun, a short conversation with a young boy who approached, and delicious street food: these were the highlights of my one day in Delhi, my first day in India.
Billy Hanson’s Straight Razor with case. Plastic handle. Still sharp.
Today with our electric shavers, disposable razors, and depilating creams, “the razor’s edge” might seem like nothing more than an idiom attached to an antique shaving tool, the straight-razor (aka open razor or cutthroat-razor!). Surprisingly, however, the straight razor is making a big come-back thanks to a scene in the James Bond movie, Skyfall. (Read more about this: The Straight-Razor Start-up Package: How to get into the boutique, nearly lost art of the wet shave, Outside Magazine 9/29/2016). More about Eve, James, and Skyfall below.
What the Hell do I Know About Shaving?
Of course, my friends would probably say: “Who the hell are you to talk about shaving?” A good point. Take one look at any photo of me on this website (or in my entire photo collection going back to 1977), and you’ll be hard-pressed to find me without a beard. Without clothes, maybe, but not without my self-defining beard. I once shaved it off without warning Kate and my kids (who were probably about 6 and 8-years-old). Kate told me she wanted divorce, and refused to talk to me until I grew it back (or at least for the first three days). I have to admit my face looked very short in the mirror. Erin said, “You don’t look like an Alaskan anymore.” That really hurt. As for survival of our marriage, it was a close shave (Yeah, I know, stupid. But irresistible).
Billy Hanson’s leather strops for sharpening straight-razor. Top: Torrey’s Best- patented 1901 2-sided; Bottom: Sheffield’s Magic Strop- 4 sided.
For most of Billy Hanson’s life, shaving meant using a straight razor. Later, he adopted the “safety” razor (first patented in 1901). How do I know? It turns out that Billy seems to have had an affection for his razors, perhaps unable to let such a personal tool go. In his trunk, I find several straight razors and worn-out strops for sharpening them, safety razors, and a supply of razor blades. Perhaps “affection” is unfair. Living far from town, where even groceries required a 40-60 mile drive, and ordering from the “Monkey Ward” (Montgomery Ward) catalog was a staple, I think I’d save these potentially useful tools as back-ups as well.
Billy Hanson’s Gillette safety razor in leather case. Metal container with blades and spares.
The straight razor had the advantages that it was durable, could be resharpened, gave better control, shaved closer, and didn’t need electricity. The safety razor had the new advantages that it greatly reduced the chance of bloodshed, had extra sharp disposable blades, and still didn’t require electricity.
Several brands of razor blades in Billy’s safety razor box.
The electric shaver advantages are obvious – easy, no shaving cream. But for my minimal shaving, I still use the safety razor and shaving cream, perhaps because it takes me back to Billy.
Hollywood Loves Razors (and I love movies with cool shaving scenes)
Straight razor from Billy Hanson’s trunk. Devon Mfg. Co., Germany
If you haven’t ever seen a straight razor, watch Eve (Naomi Harris) shave James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Sam Mendes’ Skyfall: “Keep still. This is the tricky part.” The straight razor has been a favored murder weapon in the movies, but I think imagination is sufficient to give us the picture, so won’t include a clip here.
Billy Hanson, however, never seems to have retained more than a neatly trimmed mustache, and that was in the early days. In 99% of his photos, he is neatly clean-shaven.
Billy Hanson (50-60 years old) always looks clean-shaven.
I remember him as always very particular about shaving, a daily routine that I occasionally caught sight of. More than that, the shaving cream had a distinct fragrance, sharp and masculine. When I was 14, my grandfather gave me two suede leather coats that he had worn for many years, mostly for work in spring and fall. I loved those coats and wore them every day. And even more than the feel of the well-worn leather, I loved the smell of his shaving cream, still distinct and wonderful, that somehow transferred his persona to my brain.
Fragrance of Billy’s shaving lotion takes me back to being near him. Betty & Billy Hanson, Betty Sue (age 3) & Bill Hanson (age 4) 1957.
With all this, I’m completely surprised, and happy to discover that the shaving mug in the chest STILL, even after at least 60 years of disuse, has that same aroma of his shaving cream! Suddenly, I’m no longer looking at his photo. I see his eyes, feel his hand on my shoulder, hear him say, “Hello, Bill,” with that thin dry smile as I arrive for another adventure.
