Spring trip...

Every spring my friend Bill and I try to find a new place to visit, but that didn't happen this year. After a day trip into the Chena River Rec. Area earlier this winter, we wound up going back to a cabin there for an over night trip.

We had heard some horror stories about how bad the overflow ice was on the trail in previous years, but there wasn't so much this time. Dogs ran great and we made it in and out without any problems. I only dumped the sled once on a particularly elusive curve.

All things considered, it was a pretty good trip to end the season on.

Ides of March (again)…

Unless you remember that rock band from the early '70’s whose lead singer, Jim Peterik, came from my hometown, most would think of the Ides of March from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, set during the Roman new year’s celebration (Ides of March, 3/16/13). In Alaska, the Ides come during the best part of winter, when the sun is high enough to warm things up, but not so warm as to ruin the snow pack for outdoor activities.

What makes this photo of the dogs the other day a little unusual, is it was snowing.  March actually has the lowest precipitation of any month up here, so it’s rare to get much snowfall. It was snowing lightly when I took the photo, but really started coming down on the way back. The tracks coming out of the dog yard were pretty much covered when we returned. Great weather so far this March, it almost doesn’t get any better than this. Party on.

Busy trails...

Years ago when there were half a dozen dog teams training in the valley behind our place, there wasn't a day gone by that I didn't pass another team out there. Now there's only one other musher who runs his dogs regularly and I seldom see him, since we apparently run on different schedules. So you can imagine my surprise when I ran into four teams and a snow machine yesterday after not seeing anyone out there all winter.

Had a tangle with the first team, so had a brief conversation with the musher. Sounds like teams from the Two Rivers area have discovered the trails in this valley. That's alright I guess, but it'd sure be nice if they helped out on trail maintenance once in a while. The dogs made clean passes on the other three teams and the ski doo, so maybe the younger dogs have finally learned how to pass. While it's nice to meet new people, it's a lot nicer when the dogs don't get tangled up, they just trot on by.

Morning visitors...

Had visitors yesterday morning. Dogs were barking, but couldn't see anything until I looked out the kitchen window and saw this moose walking down the path from the back door to the driveway. So got the camera out and took some photos of the moose in the driveway.

Assumed it was the cow and that the calf was still behind the house. So opened the back door to look out and there, not 20 ft. away from me, was this huge cow moose. The calf was the one in the driveway. Don't know who was more surprised, but fortunately she bolted away from the house and ran behind the wood piles.  After reuniting with her calf, they both slowly wandered off. Later on I heard the dogs barking again and figured the moose came back, or likely had never really left. So got some photos of the cow this time.

After a while, I got tired of listening to the dogs bark at them, so finally got the moose heading up the driveway by yelling and acting like the boogey man. Just a little excitement to start the day.

Ground Hog Day...

Ground Hog Day's come and gone, and like last year (Global Warming...2/3/13), the hoary marmot's not saying much. But at least the weather's cooled off enough now to run dogs after the second warm, rainy spell this winter. So here's a few photos of todays dog run:

Heading out on the trail across the valley.

Taking a break on the way back home.

Here's a plot of the temperatures so far this winter. There's several -40 cold spells, which are typical, but also a couple of of +40 spells when it rained. Go figure, you'd almost think there was some kind of climate change going on.

Sunshine...

Been trying to get out and go for walks every day, since I can't do much else for exercise until the flipper gets better. While there's only about four hours of sunlight most days in December, the brief time when the sun is at it's apogee, about three degrees above the horizon, can make for some interesting photos. So here's some shots of the high noon sun in Fairbanks...

Across the road in the flats.

Overlooking the old outhouse and sauna.

Mt. Deborah looking down our road.

Alpenglow in the trees behind the workshop.

Back on the runners...

Last fall I had surgery on my elbow to relocate a pinched nerve that was causing numbness and muscle atrophy in my hand (Making the grade 9/3/12). So this fall I went back to the Dr. for a checkup and found out that the effected nerve, like some malevolent worm, had wiggled back into the joint. So they wound up doing surgery again.
Since I had just started running the dogs on the sled (after switching over from the 4-wheeler), I hoped to get some help training while I healed up. Andy, ever the sweetheart, volunteered. While she'd run dogs before, it'd been awhile (Last dog run 5/12/12). But she started taking them out this past weekend and is planning to go out again tomorrow, to the chagrin of our neighbor who was looking forward to finally have the trails to himself for a while. So here's a few photos of Andy from the way back time:

On the runners and flying, with Barney in lead.

Out in the White Mountains, running with two teams.

A triumphant return home, a few years ago.

And finally a run this new year.

Trail Hazards…

The usual trail hazards were in abundance this past week when I got the old Ski Doo running and broke out the sled trail in the valley behind our cabin. There were several spruce trees down across the trail that had to be chain sawed and the usual rough spots required shoveling extra snow to smooth it out. But all things considered, it went surprisingly well and only took an hour or so to cover the three miles to the main trail.

What was unexpected was the dead moose lying there. Whether it just happened to die there or someone dumped it from the main trail (that part of the valley is well traveled by snow machines), it could certainly be a distraction to the dogs. As often happens, the carcass gets scavenged, a magnet for ravens, wolves, foxes, or feral dogs. In time, it likely will be dismembered and it's bones scattered along the trail (White Mtns. 3/4/10).

After it warmed up a bit (It was down to -30 earlier in the week), I took the dogs out on the sled for the first time this winter. I was a little concerned about passing the moose carcass. I could just imagine a pack of wolves hanging around there, snarling as we approached. But as we came around the turn to the main trail, there weren't any scavengers there. The dogs barely noticed it, they just trotted right on by. It turned out to be just another day, training the dogs in Alaska.

The best bar in...

There's a new movie out called the " The best bar in America". It's about a motorcycle trip through the west, apparently to write a book, but it's really about finding enlightenment.

Anyway, it reminded me of a trip I took with my buddy John back in the 70's when we rode our bikes from the midwest out to the Rocky Mtns.

We spent a month or so just cruising around the Colorado Rockies, riding our old British motorcycles from one small town to the next. We met a lot of interesting people and faced some adversities. But in hindsight, it was pretty much fun.
Check out the movie at:  http://www.bestbarinamerica.com/

Autumn leaves...

Most years, the autumn leaves are long gone by the end of September. This year, while some of the trees have shed their leaves, others are still green or are in some shade of yellow/orange in early October.

It's hard to tell if this is really unusual (a sure sign of global warming?) or I'm just noticing something that doesn't mean much (like always). While they do keep records on when the leaves first appear in the spring; it's referred to as green-up and usually occurs in mid-May when the hills around town turn green, there's no record for fall.

I think they should note the date when the leaves finally lose their color and are mostly gone. Call it brown-down, the day in autumn when enough leaves have fallen that the hills turn brown.

River magic...

As I posted earlier (Busted 6/13/10), several close calls on the Delta River at Black Rapids prompted Mike and I to find a better way to survey the river.

This year we finally got Richard (the doppler wizard) to bring down an acoustical doppler meter. These meters use a sonar-like application for depth and velocity, and GPS for position.

We had hoped to get a high flow measurement this summer. These are the most useful for determining flood discharge, but are the most difficult and dangerous to survey. Scheduling didn't work out any earlier, so we settled for surveying the comparatively lower flows that occur in the fall. The doppler worked great and we we able to survey multiple cross sections in less than half the time it previously took. Since we didn't have to stretch a cable across the river, it was also a lot safer.

The next day we surveyed the upper Delta River. Unfortunately, the doppler's control module failed, so we had to survey the traditional way (attaching the boat to a cable stretched across the river and using a mechanical meter to measure flow). Hopefully by next year, we'll be able to use the doppler at both sites.

In addition...

Been planning to put an addition on the workshop for awhile, but something always seemed to get in the way. Finally got started on it this summer.

  

Figured it would only take a few weeks but it took a month just to frame it in and get the roof on.

Good thing, cause it snowed a couple of inches right after the roof was done. Timings everything I suppose.

Tomorrow I'll pick up the doors and then it'll be closed in before the snow sticks around for the rest of winter.

9/23/13. Got the doors on just before the second snow storm of the year. Hopefully this will soon melt off, as there's always lot's to do before winter settles in for good.