May 23, 2013, Thursday
All we needed today were cypress trees to make this place seem like a bayou. We have dark, tannic water running everywhere, plus a few ducks looking to nest and raise ducklings that will winter in Arkansas. The rivers have lost most of their ice and half the valley floor snow is gone in just a few days.
Training was Wilderness First Aid. Two of our lady rangers live in Wiseman over six hours from the nearest doctor. They don’t casually make the trip to town for sniffles or a sprain. They and their children have become very self-sufficient when it comes to good self-care.
I’m thinking about purchasing a “Spot” which is a GPS beacon for the possibility of serious injury when I’m out hiking alone. Out here, one good stumble on a rock slide and I’d be toast grizzly bait if no one knew where to look.
May 24, 2013, Friday. Warmer outside than inside the Visitor Center which was out of propane. AIVC opened for the season. With the day off I slept until 10 and read and lounged about until 1:00. I enjoyed being lazy today much more than I have during the months I didn’t work. 
May 25, 2013, Saturday. Another day off so Annie and I drove the thirty miles up the Dalton to Sukakpak Mountain. We balanced on the tussocks crossing the valley marshy areas and managed to keep our feet dry as we climbed up the southeastern slope to a high ridge where we had lunch. The hike included willow whacking, mud, lynx tracks, wolf scat, somewhat steep slopes, permafrost slumps sliding downhill. We had a lovely time and this half day hike was the perfect ‘real’ start to the summer.
Annie had trouble keeping up with me on the way up. This is the usual pattern. The youngsters are out of shape and not used to the climb. I’m in my usual stalwart trudge mode which is the best I can do. At the end of the summer I haven’t improved because of my age and because I was already doing my best but the younger folks are now three times faster than me because they have been getting in shape and have gotten their mountain legs. So I get to feel in shape now and less so as they surpass me. Oh, well!
May 26th , Sunday, Kubaya and I took off in her BLM Ford Explorer and swooped over Atigan Pass to explore the coastal plain. She prefers coastal plain and Arctic Refuge to the terms North Slope and ANWR because those are oil industry terms. There were birds galore and Arctic ground squirrels, too. I had to laugh at the Red-necked phalarope which looks like the bird equivalent of an energizer bunny, turning and zigzagging through the water. Hence their collective names are “a swirl, twirl or whirligig of phalaropes”. These ADHD birds migrate down both coast to winter in Peru. Others winter in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The short-eared owls look very serious on their teeny-tiny bumps of earth (remember, no trees) as they scan for prey but when they fly, they look like grey angels. In Denali we would get hepped up by the Long-tailed Jaeger, a beautiful bird which I’ve tried to draw here for you. On the coastal plains they appear as common as robins in Helena. They are known as a “shishkab of skuas”. They spend winter over the southern seas, never landing. We also saw the usual tundra swans, Lapland Longspurs, plus the caribou.
May 27. Monday
This is the view from the front porch of our cabin. It is a dry cabin which means, not that the roof doesn't leak, but that there is no running water. It's much nicer than the one I shared with Andrew last year at Toklat but I do miss having a functioning faucet. I take showers just before work at the Visitors' Center five miles down the road. At night to go to the bathroom I use a milk jug with a big cut out opening. I had to explain because once when I explained the evening toilet facilities someone assumed I had great aim. During days at home I take the path to the outhouse, a nice one with a tank that gets pumped out once a year. Annie and I each have our own room. We only need to run the generator every two to four days to provide enough electricity for our fridge and appliances.
Coldfoot proper, i.e, the truck stop across the street from the Arctic Interagency Visitors Center, is not particularly lovely but the food at the restaurant is good and generous. The hotel is just a bunch of trailer units stuck together, a common style from the middle of BC north, but it still costs $200 a night. The post office is open three afternoons a week. I was hoping that there would be a convenience store as part of the gas station but that was wishful thinking. Other than restaurant food one can buy pop, chips and t-shirts.
May 26th , Sunday, Kubaya and I took off in her BLM Ford Explorer and swooped over Atigan Pass to explore the coastal plain. She prefers coastal plain and Arctic Refuge to the terms North Slope and ANWR because those are oil industry terms. There were birds galore and Arctic ground squirrels, too. I had to laugh at the Red-necked phalarope which looks like the bird equivalent of an energizer bunny, turning and zigzagging through the water. Hence their collective names are “a swirl, twirl or whirligig of phalaropes”. These ADHD birds migrate down both coast to winter in Peru. Others winter in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The short-eared owls look very serious on their teeny-tiny bumps of earth (remember, no trees) as they scan for prey but when they fly, they look like grey angels. In Denali we would get hepped up by the Long-tailed Jaeger, a beautiful bird which I’ve tried to draw here for you. On the coastal plains they appear as common as robins in Helena. They are known as a “shishkab of skuas”. They spend winter over the southern seas, never landing. We also saw the usual tundra swans, Lapland Longspurs, plus the caribou.
On the way back we had to wait 3 1/2 hours at the pass for them to clear it of avalanches. A truck had gotten smacked by a small one but only slightly damaged but not shoved off the road which sometimes happens at this time of the year.
The high point of the day.....or maybe it was the next day by then?.....was a wolf sighting on our way home. The middle of the night is the best time to see animals. Even though it is light all the time, many maintain their same work hours.
This is the view from the front porch of our cabin. It is a dry cabin which means, not that the roof doesn't leak, but that there is no running water. It's much nicer than the one I shared with Andrew last year at Toklat but I do miss having a functioning faucet. I take showers just before work at the Visitors' Center five miles down the road. At night to go to the bathroom I use a milk jug with a big cut out opening. I had to explain because once when I explained the evening toilet facilities someone assumed I had great aim. During days at home I take the path to the outhouse, a nice one with a tank that gets pumped out once a year. Annie and I each have our own room. We only need to run the generator every two to four days to provide enough electricity for our fridge and appliances.
May 28, Tuesday
Coldfoot proper, i.e, the truck stop across the street from the Arctic Interagency Visitors Center, is not particularly lovely but the food at the restaurant is good and generous. The hotel is just a bunch of trailer units stuck together, a common style from the middle of BC north, but it still costs $200 a night. The post office is open three afternoons a week. I was hoping that there would be a convenience store as part of the gas station but that was wishful thinking. Other than restaurant food one can buy pop, chips and t-shirts.
May 29, Wednesday, K. and I went out to Sukakpack to climb up to a waterfall. We found that the early wildflowers are now out. Because nothing else is blooming yet, these grab my heart with the contrast they display to the rest of the brown, grey world.
Lovely, Charlotte. Thanks for sharing. We have had a few campers at Savage saying they were coming your way. We were really warm last week, but cold front cooled things back down to normal. Looking forward to hearing more from you. Liz
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