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Assault on Wolverine

woke-up, packed my gear, kitted-up in the Lifa, and then read, and cooked lunch. At lunch I was informed the hiking wolverine takes 3h in the summer, and will take me 5h today. So with 4h to hike, I was told to wait for tomorrow, so I left. But of course forgot ‘my’ trekking poles, since I didn’t put spikes in my shoes, I figured poles would be smart.

The ascent starts off predictably, lots of people have been through here, and the trail is ‘boiler plate’. After 20 minutes I’m on the less used ‘Wolverine Peak’, and 10 minutes later I am at the tree line.

The tree line is really low here, I assume because of cold, wind, and long dark winters. All the tracks save one have turned around save one set of snowshoe prints heading up at this point. When I reach the ridge, which is the rock/ heather mix which Anchorgorians call tundra I consult my topo map, and start running. Like the winners of a reality TV show, I have a half-cooked theory. Stick to the dirt on the way up, and run really fast on the snowy parts on the way down. To speed both these trips I have left most of my food, and extra clothing in the car, where I dumped half my water on the ground, again. 5h ha. I can see the top. Oh wait, it’s over there. 1h 32 minutes. I stop to drink my cup of water, take a few photos. Chomping an apple, I begin my eagerly anticipated descent. I essentially I run at a snow chute, and slide, one boot before me, one boot up front ’steering’ as I did in the schoolyard. A few running steps across some protruding rocks ‘I should have brought a crazy-carpet’, jump, and I’m sliding again.

Two weekends ago some of my friends here were caught on an icy hillside. A third of them slipped off sustaining injuries. Charlotte will be in a sling for 6 more weeks.

I am now on ice, sliding fast, I am completely out-of-control, scared, picking up speed **MOM stop Reading NOW** heading towards rocks, more ice, more rocks. I star-fish out to gain resistance, and flail ‘my’ poles, hoping to slow down before my pants and behind break speed on the rapidly approaching sharp and pointy rocks.

Somehow I stopped, and slunk over to the heather for more descending. Pretty soon I deem the near-by snow, ’safe’ and I’m running pell-mell down the mountain again, completing in 4 minutes what took me 30 to climb.

52 minutes later, 2 face plants, and no partridge later I’m back at the car (and my legs are ‘urting from running down hill, and one knee hurts. The later must be from the cold, or maybe falling, or sliding into rocks, or…

Here’s the video from the top

Alaska Theories

Sleep Theory
I don’t think that I have slept so much since I was 4 as I have here in Alaska. The first week of sleeping 10 to 11h a night was catching up, but the last 3 weeks, I just don’t know. I’m curious to find out this summer if I sleep 2h a night on my bike tour up here.

The newspaper tells me that today is 5min 42 longer than yesterday was.

There are dazzling sunsets, and rises. Not just because of the jagged mountain peaks that surround the city, but because the actual sunset of sweeping orange through purple light rays takes 45minutes or more. Not like last year this time in the tropics, when I had to keep an eye on my watch because we only had minutes between afternoon and night.

Moose Theory, Schmoose Theory

I am not a moose expert. Well, as you know, I am not really an expert at anything, save seat-pant-flying, but even that may be stretching it. Anyhoo. My take on Moose is that they’re pretty safe, in the dead of winter, near an urban setting. Though I didn’t, I think you could have walked up to with-in arms reach and fed ‘em a corn husk. Though they grow antlers (horns) and can run over 60km/h, and are un-neutered, in wintertime they seem to go into ‘docile mode’. Even the one I annoyed last week, which took (maybe eight) steps towards me, didn’t top 10 km/h. In conclusion, during winter, in an urban setting you can treat a moose like a rottweiler leashed to an empty baby jogger.

Moose Speak Theory

Moose don’t seem to talk, but apparently if they have their ears flat (back against their head) they are grumpy, and should be treated like a rottweiler not attached to anything.

Moose Tally

I was never more than 30 miles from downtown, and saw a total of 37 moose in 30 days. I’d say that’s Schmoostastic urban moosing.

Alaska Theory
People ask me what I think about Alaska.
I think it’s dangerous. Big mountains, and avalanches, freezing temperatures, big mooses, bears and mosquitoes in the summer. The unscripted-ness of of the place is asking for trouble. Every time I leave the trails something hurts when I get back.
You have to learn to moderate yourself, to not be so reckless.
Mom, I’ll let you answer this one, but until she gets back to me, essentially, if it hasn’t happened yet, I would sit around waiting for sense to find me.

OK well I’m
a) going skiing with my friends the moose.
b) off to the dog sled races
c) flying to so-Cal so that I can defrost and buy a bicycle