Transfixed by Wonder Light. Icy Strait, Alaska.

Icy Strait Sunset-Southeast Alaska
Icy Strait Sunset-Southeast Alaska

Transfixed by Wonder Light. Icy Strait, Alaska.

If I had been driving in a city, I might have abandoned my car to gaze at the light of gold in Icy Strait.

Fortunately, I simply walked to the stern of the Wilderness Explorer where I remained until my return to earth.

Far into the brilliance, a fishing boat slipped across between the black edges of the terrestrial world.

On an @UnCruise.

Kate Troll shares peace & beauty in wilderness of icebergs

Kate Troll rafting Alsek Lake
Kate Troll shares a moment of peace and beauty among the icebergs of Alsek Lake, Southeast Alaska, near Dry Bay on the Lost Coast

Kate Troll (@katetroll) shares a moment of peace and beauty among the icebergs of Alsek Lake, Southeast Alaska, near Dry Bay on the Lost Coast. Kate & I have been living in & exploring Alaska for 40 years. She combines her adventures here and around the world with her long career as a leader in environmental conservation, and her thoughts about hope in the face of climate change, in her book: “The Great Unconformity: Reflections on Hope in an Imperiled World”.

Just one more magnificent highlight on our float trip down the Tatshenshini River to the Alsek River, which runs through Alsek Lake before emptying into the Gulf of Alaska at Dry Bay. 11-day trip with 10 friends through 3 Canadian and USA national parks that combine into largest designated wilderness in world.

The powerful Alsek River flows under the mile-wide ice berg jam from huge glaciers that calve into the lake, and exits around a large island. The ice can completely block the exit, forcing rafters to get picked up here by bush plane. We hiked in to scout a route, and were able to find an open channel between the shoreline the ice jam, the eerie growl of river going under the ice off to our port side, forcing us to row far out into Alsek lake.

Skiing Mendenhall Lake to Mendenhall River

Bill Hanson with Mendenhall River & Mt. Bullard in background
Mendenhall River & Mount Bullard (1,288 meters; 4,225 ft.) behind Bill Hanson. I’m standing about 6 meters (20 feet) above sea level.

Kate Troll, Nellie the Sheltie, and I skied around the shoreline of Mendenhall Lake a few days ago to the outlet where the Mendenhall River originates.

A little over a century ago, we would have been under the ice of the Mendenhall Glacier in this spot. Today, the glacier is 3.5 Km (2.2 miles) away and receding rapidly. Sometime in the next few years, it will no longer touch Mendenhall Lake, and icebergs will disappear.

Snow was beautiful, but has now given way to light rain. I’m thankful that I skied when the skiing was wonderful. Like many other places in Juneau, we treasure the beauty of our landscape—a new, magical view with nearly every kick of the skis.

We tried skiing on the lake and ran into slushy overflow beneath pristine fluffy snow. First job – scraping ice caked on our skis. Second—adjusting plan to ski the shoreline. Kate and I both have waxing skis. Mine are about 45 years old (!)—Fisher Europa 77’s—sort of like driving a steam-powered car—heavy and long, but still have camber and metal edges, so I like them fine.

Nellie the Sheltie-Dog of the North Woods

Nelly the Sheltie - Dog of the North (northern
Nelly the Sheltie – Dog of the North (northern Southeast Alaska)

Nellie the Sheltie, Dog of the North Woods (northern Southeast Alaska coastal temperate rainforest). Thanksgiving: I’m so very thankful that Nellie the Sheltie is still our effervescent companion at home and in the woods… Thanks to Lindsay and Andre, she added kayaking credentials this summer!

 

Kate Troll and Nellie with Wild Flag (Iris)
Kate Troll and Nellie with Wild Flag (Iris)

Last spring, we learned Nellie had an aggressive tumor in her bladder. Thought we’d lose her, but medication and diet (and no doubt love and exercise) have reduced it by half. Still zipping along, barking in circles, and giving us happiness every day at age 10.

Southeast Alaska Sunrise-Mt. Juneau towers over Douglas Bridge

Sunrise over Douglas Bridge – Mt Juneau

Sunrise as Mt. Juneau (3,576 ft.; 1,090) m rises straight up from sea level to towers over Douglas Bridge.

The Mt. Juneau trail is a stiff climb, with option to follow the alpine ridgeline and descend using the Perseverance Trail (13-mile round trip).

Juneau & Douglas, Alaska were originally separate competing cities. Treadwell gold mine on Douglas Island, and the Alaska Juneau and Perseverance mines on the Juneau “mainland” (North American continent) were the largest hard rock gold mines in the world from the late 1880’s thru the first several decades of the 20th century.

The Douglas Bridge opened in 1980, replacing the first bridge (built in 1935. Juneau became Alaska’s state capitol in 1906. Juneau-Douglas unified into a single municipality in 1970.

Winter Sunrise: Gossamer cobwebs of fog rise from Gastineau Channel

Sunrise Fog-Gastineau Channel: CLICK PHOTO TO SEE VIDEO
Sunrise Fog-Gastineau Channel, Juneau, Alaska: CLICK PHOTO TO SEE VIDEO

Winter Sunrise:  Gossamer cobwebs of mist rise from Gastineau Channel, floating south in the early morning air flow. View from the Douglas Bridge, that connects downtown Juneau to Douglas Island (see previous post for more about the bridge and cities).

The sun will rise another few degrees above the horizon, then drift west to disappear behind the Douglas Island mountains to the right by noon. A cloudless winter day, minus 5 C (23 F). Froze my fingers taking this vid.

Exposed tideflats provide food for Gulls and Shorebirds, Douglas Island, Alaska

It’s low tide: along the right side of the view, Douglas Island’s exposed tideflats show as a black shadow between the sunlit water and the snow above the high tideline. Gulls and shorebirds will be feeding here among the blue mussel-kelp beds, just as they do below the Douglas Bridge.

Dark, weighty clouds in the distance nearly hide the mountains of Admiralty Island. Although the wind is light here, the thinly banded clouds between the dark bank and the blue sky look like they could be shaped by higher winds, probably coming down Taku Inlet.

Southeast Alaska’s Gastineau Channel: Can you see the cruise ship?

Can you see a cruise ship, sandbar, navigational aid, and a research vessel?
Can you see a cruise ship, sandbar, navigational aid, and a research vessel? Juneau, Alaska

In the photo above, I stood on the left shoreline, the edge of the North American continent. The shore and mountains of Douglas Island form the right shoreline. Gray mountains at the far end are on Admiralty Island, 12-14 miles away.

Good eyesight? Can you see a cruise ship, sandbar, navigational aid, and a research vessel in in the saltwater of Gastineau Channel? Try it and then zoom in (if using phone). When boating, I constantly search the water ahead for other vessels, navigation markers, and hazards like logs or rocks. I scan the water for any shapes, spots, or projections from the water’s surface, starting closest to me, and gradually sliding my view look down channel until I reach the horizon.

Searching the water along the left shoreline, look for rocks, sand bars, and a navigational marker on pilings. In the channel, you’ll the small research vessel operated by NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) heading away from us. You’ll also see a cruise ship coming toward us that must pass between the navigation aid and Douglas Island to avoid the sand bar the extends from the left shore.

Bonaparte's Gull & Fly fisher check each other out
Bonaparte’s Gull & Fly fisher check each other out. Fishing alone is communion. Click to go to Instagram.

Today’s reflections of a September sky, near Juneau, Alaska show an amazingly different view from my previous Instagram Post of a fly fisher in fog, taken 2 days ago a few miles down the left shoreline.