After two years away from home, familiar foods and mountains help to re-anchor and refuel my ebbing spirit. I continue to be surprised by how many foods I forgot about until I saw them again. One of those foods that I definitely thought about often during my time away wasContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Three great trails branch off of the main Hiland trail into different side trips. Hanging Valley, Symphony Tarns, and Flute Glacier all offer some great hiking. Hiland Valley isn’t just a trail but rather an epic network of great hikes. SAFETY-A note and disclaimer about safety:Continue Reading
That day provided Mr J interaction with a glacier unlike any before or since. Close enough to reach out and touch it, the ancient ice came alive in new and fascinating ways. Like a giant slumbering beast, it radiated both wonder and potential danger. Both an attractive awe and aContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Ship Pass might just be the most amazing trail close to Anchorage that few seem to know exists. Check out a couple of mountain lakes or push upwards for panoramic scenes of wonder. Excellent half day hike at the edge of Anchorage yet thoroughly in theContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: This Hiland trail provides a fairly level and mostly treeless trek. Mountain views on all sides with especially rocky wonders at the back of the valley. Good clear destination to two very different lakes that act as gateways to two great backcountry valleys and extended options. Continue Reading
A strange set of feelings comes over a person when they realize something they grew up with continues to disappear. A sense of both shock and awe hit me as I surveyed the empty channel of Exit Glacier before me. Just 5 years before, I had stood at this veryContinue Reading
My siblings and I waded in the creek that marked the border of our yard. Large salmon at least half as long as we were tall pushed past us. While we enjoyed the early years of our lives, they faced the end of theirs. As they swam against the current,Continue Reading
Straight ahead of us blue-tinted ice soars hundreds of feet up above the water. Beyond that, it stretches thousands of feet up into rocky mountain terrain. Ice chunks the size of large cars shift and tumble about the scene. Gravity grabs a few and splashes them into the green seaContinue Reading
The boat lightly rocked on Resurrection Bay. Nearly every one of the hundreds of eyes aboard fixed on the water in anticipation of the next breach. Meanwhile, the captain spoke over the sound system in hushed tones sharing info about our newest sighting. Just then, a mother and her babyContinue Reading
Review in 3 sentences: Check out a glacier from toe to source. Along the way, keep an eye out for various critters and wildflowers. Get awesome “destination” views even if you don’t make it to Harding Icefield vistas at the end of the trail. SAFETY-A note and disclaimer about safety:Continue Reading