After a couple false starts, spring is in full swing. With light until midnight and temperatures hitting 40 degrees, the snow is rapidly disappearing. I took the opportunity to hike a nearby hill with my friend Wes. The hike is pretty straightforward: walk uphill and try to avoid the deep snowfields. That said, we were batting .500 on those criteria.
My hiking boots were filled several times with crusty snow, but it was close to 30 degrees and very sunny, so it didn’t really slow us too much. Those boots are no longer waterproof in any sense. The leather has also turned rock hard after getting wet too many times. But you’re not reading this to hear about my footwear, are you?
The hike up took an hour and a half or so with several stops to look at the scenery. You can see at least 40 miles in most directions. The sea ice is breaking up and showing dark blue spots where there is open water. The tundra is wet in a few spots, but not as wet as midsummer. Solid footing made for a quick hike.
- Monument Rock
Alpine tundra before greening up
- Snake River
- Alaska Airlines 153 on approach.
- a few musk oxen on Banner hill.
- Glacier Creek road
