Settling into Southeast Alaska

Kirsten and I are now engaged! We had been talking about this for a few months and solidified it last Saturday the 25th, with a small ceremony on Eagle Beach. It's been 10 days since we arrived in Juneau. The weather was rainy and cold when we got here. It felt like summer was over and we were right back in the Portland winter. I don't mind rain but it made me a little depressed. Now that has changed and the past few days have been in the 80's without a cloud in the sky. The mountain tops, no longer hidden behind the low fog, watch over all the little humans down in the town. The smell of rotting salmon pervades the stream sides here as they make the journey up every possible river and creek to spawn. I walked off a main road today along a creek no more than 50 yards and found chum salmon splashing about in the shallow water. At least 20 lay there dead on the banks among the skunk cabbage and fresh bear tracks in the mud. We have yet to go fishing but is definitely on the to do list. Below are some photos.



I gathered some bark from a beaver downed poplar tree while hiking one day. The inner bark was retted from soaking in the rain and was amazingly pliable. Kirsten and I began making baskets from it which we have yet to finish.

A bog or "muskeg" below Mt. Jumbo. There are all sorts of interesting little plants that thrive in this wet acidic soil such as, Labrador tea, Sundew, Crowberry, Alaska Cotton and Trailing Cranberry. The Sundew is a carnivorous little plant that eats insects.


I visited the Alaska State Museum twice to see a show about Yup’ik culture called "The Way we Genuinely Live". Pictured is a traditional kayak(minus the skin covering) with all the acoutrements of the native hunter. The waterproof rain parkas made from walrus gut are amazing!


Eagle Beach looking out on the Chilkat Mt. Range at sunset. We held a little ceremony here for our engagement. In the foreground is our campfire adorned with eagle feathers we found on the beach.


We hiked to the top of Mt. Jumbo 4,000' on a beautiful sunny day. The trail went basically straight up 3,300' in 2.6 miles. Our legs felt like they were going to buckle under us on the way back down this washed out vertical trail.

On top of the world! Yehhh!