September 10, 2011
Patrick's Wild Alaska- Part III
This is the last of the Adventures Patrick and I had on his visit to Alaska. After I finished up my classes for the week we packed up my new car and hit the road, looking to see more of Wild Alaska. I have been spoiled over the years having a garage full of top of the line camping equipment ready to throw in the trunk. Without that at my disposal up here, we had to get a bit creative and do a little more traditional car camping. Luckily, I bought a car just big enough for the two of us to sleep in the back, which is great in Alaska because 1. It rains A LOT here and 2. while bears do break into cars, it is far less likely than a bear getting into a tent. When we started driving, it was of course, raining in Anchorage. Hoping for the best, we headed south on the Kenai Peninsula to Seward (home of Mt. Marathon and 4th of July festivities). Our first stop was the Exit Glacier and Harding Icefiend in Kenai National Park. My friend and former teammate Eric Packer took me here over the 4th so if you are an avid reader, you have read about this place before. The National park is interesting because the Exit Glacier is about the only part of it that is accessible by road. It basically encompasses all of the Harding Icefield (500 square miles of ice) and its associated glaciers, which cover most of the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula. The sun actually came out for a bit during our hike up to the icefield so we were able to get some good views and pick up a little much needed vitamin D!
On the way up, looking over the Exit Glacier
A couple of marmots were getting fat for winter and completely unfazed by humans.
At the top! Looking over all 500 square miles of ice, about 3000ft deep! The cloud did arrive by the time we got to the top so the light for a picture was less than ideal....
On our way back down, we had some excitement! A group on their way up stopped to tell us that there was bear down there so we should keep our eyes open. Typical to hiking in Alaska, this group was not scared of a bear as they were all packing some heat. With the number of cars in the parking lot when we arrived, I didn't even consider bringing my bear bell or bear spray so I began to get a little worried as all I had was my own 2 feet, 2 feet that are much slower than Patrick's. We continued down the trail making noise and being loud. As we rounded a switchback, the bushes started to shake, we had found bear. The bushes are dense in Alaska and big enough that you can't see what direction the bear is going, what color it is, how big it is, if it looks angry, nothing. Which is what makes it so frightening. Scared, we started making more noise and backed up a switchback hoping the bear would show itself. A couple from the Netherlands caught us so we decided that a pack of 4 was better than 2 and surely I could out run them if it came down to that. We slowly walked back down, whooping and calling. The bushes started moving again so we paused and made some calls. Finally, this little black bear walks out of the bushes. He was a cute little guy, minding his own business, munching berries on the side of the trail. He could have cared less that we were trying to pass or scared of him, he was just standing in the trail munching away. Eventually, he continued on his way up the mountain, following the berry bushes and we were able to pass. Unsure if he was just a small bear or a cub with a protective mama nearby, we continued to chatter loudly as descended the mountain. Luckily, we made it down without any trouble. We stopped in at the visitors center and viewed some of their good documentation of the glacial retreat that is ocurring. they have signs along the entrance road marking the year the glacier once extended to that point. It is amazing and shocking the amount the glacier had shrunk. Being geography and Environmental studies majors, we were both pleased about the information they had available as I figure most people come to Alaska and think, "wow, its cold here and there is 500 square miles of ice, certainly global climate change is a joke."
Our Friend!
Alaska is interesting because there are so few roads so camping is a little more urban than you would expect for a place as big and wild as Alaska. We camped on the beach in Seward below the infamous Mt. Marathon, but we were basically in someone's backyard.....During the night a bigger than big cruise ship pulled into port. When this happens, I think the population of the town about quadruples as hoards of tourists rush to all the attractions. We met some interesting people from North Carolina that when hearing about our areas of study in school asked us if we were doing that "Al Gore thing, that global warming stuff." They were also very critical of our life choices post-college and of Patrick's "long" hair. Must have been Palin followers, checking out her homeland.
I love sea animals and always have thanks to my frequent visits to Cape Cod so the two us set out to the Sea Life Center. This is an aquarium and research center that appeared to do quite a bit in the area. When my dad traveled for work when Charlie and I were little, he often brought us back a present from where ever he was. I got a book and stuffed animal puffin, Polly Puffin, that I loved and still remember quite well. As a result, I really wanted to see a Puffin in real life. In order to see them in their natural habitat you have to get away from the town via boat which was much too expensive for us so I had to settled for the Puffin exhibit they had at the center. They are really neat bird with distinct markings and can dive down into the water up to about 600 ft to catch fish. We could watch them doing this at the exhibit so that was really neat. 
