23 sep 13 summer highlights

The first snows of the season stuck to the ground today, so I'm inspired to edit some of the summer's photos and post up the highlights.



In June we visited family in Colorado for two weeks, and I biked the back roads of Boulder County with my dad.  The September floods wiped out most of the bridges, and he says we couldn't do any of those rides to Hygiene, Berthoud, or Mead now, or even pedal the bike paths of Longmont now.

Our neighborhood is a popular moose nursery.  This moose cow and her days-old twins spent an afternoon nibbling on the flowers at the back steps.

In June and July we enjoyed perfect summer weather.  One evening we hiked in the Glen Alps area of Chugach State Park near our house.

My bike club pedaled 12+ miles past the end of Eklutna Lake in Chugach State Park for a long weekend.  The weather was fantastic.  Here's my bike on the return loaded with empty water containers strapped to the top of my sleeping bag and pad which are bungied to the rack which holds two panniers with my clothes in 1 and group and my food gear (coffee pots etc) in the other.  Bear spray in the bottle cage, snacks and small camera in the handlebar bag, and water and extra clothes in the daypack on my back (not in picture).

Our sailing weekends were too few but highlighted by sunny days and fair breezes.  I plan to post an album about our time in Prince William Sound this year.

Django was a great boat dog!  He looked this cheerful and excited whenever I brought out his life jacket for taking the dinghy to shore (except that one rainy weekend when none of us really wanted to be outside much)

11 aug 12 sun in the sound

Anchored in South Surprise Cove looking north to the glaciers of College Fjord

july clouds in the sound

We were surprised to find a bit of March lingering in a valley while on our July holiday.

A cozy anchorage between Little Mink and Mink Islands in Port Nellie Juan

wing-on-wing down Passage Canal - the end of our July holiday in the Sound

1 jul 12 nearing the first bend

Unbelievably, it's the first of July already, and my last entry reads to me like the taper before the big event. Here are a few photos of the race that is my Alaska Summer 2012.

We attended the Alaska Botanical Gardens' Gala event.  Paul submitted a cedar Japanese Snow Lantern this year. About two dozen artists included works of many media.  I liked this metal spiral that had been carefully centered over a young plant.

We took Blossom to Whittier mid-month.  The weather was unmatched on Solstice Weekend.  Endless sun and wind for sailing. 

I visited Cordova for the first time this past weekend with two former co-workers.  We had sunny weather the first two days and more typical Prince William Sound weather the last two.  South-central Alaska seems blanketed with lupine this year.  Here is a roadside bouquet down the beach from the lodge where we stayed.

9-11 sep 11 bon voyage PWS

Our final weekend in Prince William Sound brought a little sun, a little sailing, a little hiking, a little rain, a little fog, a little fish, and lots of blueberries. We're already planning next summer's voyages.

This album now shows the highlights of our entire summer sailing Blossom in Prince William Sound:

sep 11 golden Alaska

So quickly the sunlight of long summer days is replaced by the golden glow of leaves ...

23 aug 11 north granite bay

A small craft advisory delayed our departure to Whittier and then kept us in the harbor for a day while we waited for the winds to die. The irony of this situation always occurs us – the wind is too strong for our sailboat, yet once the storm passes, we might not see more than a breeze and not sail at all. As always, we hoped that the wind would decrease from 25 mph and settle somewhere between 10 and 15 mph long enough to get us where we wanted to go.

Unfortunately for us, the wind settled at 10 from the East, the direction we have to go to leave Passage Canal and access Prince William Sound. Unless we wanted to spend hours tacking upwind, the motor would be required to get to an anchorage before dark. As we left the Canal, the wind had a northerly component and we raised the sales. The storm remained in the waves, however, and as we moved out into Wells Passage, the chop increased and it was too rough to keep wind in the sails. So we dropped the sails after a while and motored up Port Wells to North Granite Bay.

We hadn’t been to Granite Bay State Marine Park before. The clouds were low but we could appreciate the steep granite walls all around the bay. We’d been mentally prepared for a rainy weekend and thought this anchorage looked as good as any other to hang out, read, play games, and sleep late for a couple of days.

When the skies cleared the next day, we decided that it was also a good place to hike and explore by land and hang out in the sun. We also picked a couple of quarts of blueberries, and I kayaked around the island at the bay’s head. We had a beautiful day-and-a-half exploring the head of North Granite Bay.

The relaxation may have helped us to weather the mechanical storm that battered our return to Whittier. A few minutes after we started motoring away from our anchorage, the motor stalled and wouldn’t restart. We didn’t leave Granite Bay for another two hours while we considered every part of the fuel delivery. We dropped the anchor again and ate lunch half way through the process. Paul replaced the fuel filter eventually, a difficult task with the mount of the motor, and the motor started up again.

Another irony with sailing – the winds were good for a broad reach out of Port Wells but we didn’t dare turn off the motor. Paul did raise the jib to reduce the bouncing from the chop.

We were an hour out of Whittier when the motor stalled again and wouldn’t restart. Now Paul suspected water in the gas. He replaced the fuel filter again and stuck the fuel hose in the spare tank of gas. It took about an hour of starting and restarting the engine to run all the old fuel through. Then the motor ran strong back to the harbor. During that hour without a motor, an east breeze kept us in deep water in Passage Canal and we even raised the jib for when we could think about anything but the motor.

We’ve come a long way with this boat, especially this motor. No panicking this year (though strong language still has a role) when the motor stalls. No marital discord sparked by the frustration. Just calm problem solving and patience to find the problem. As the previous owner predicted, owning a boat has moved us beyond being a family to being a crew.

Here's the only other hiker/berry picker that we saw

jul 2011 clear sailing

Our July 2011 week in Prince William Sound was almost the exact opposite weather-wise as the same July week we spent there in 2010. Last year we had one sunny day of weather. This year, we had one rainy afternoon and night.

The itinerary turned out to be much the same. We hadn't intended to anchor in Surprise Cove, but an east wind on our first afternoon out altered our plans. That was the right decision because it was the only real sailing we did all week. We even neared Blossom's hull speed (6.3 knots) on a broad reach into Cochrane Bay.

The next day we motored to Long Bay in Culross Passage. Last year we had the bay to ourselves but we'd heard that the salmon were running and other boats would be there this time. And that was true, though numbers declined each night. Eight boats Saturday, 3 on Sunday, just 2 of us on Monday night. Paul cast for silver, sockeye, chum, and pink salmon at the head of the lagoon and caught a huge pink that fed us dinner and lunch. We assembled our kayaks on the beach and explored the lagoon one day and the bay the next. We also hiked up to the Shrode Lake cabin.

The wind had us changing our float plan again on Tuesday. We had intended to head south out of Culross Passage to visit Port Nellie Juan for the first time. But a strong westerly breeze in Long Bay indicated that the forecast was correct about a decent westerly blowing. So we headed north out of Culross to hit the wind sooner and sail it over to Perry Island, where we hadn't been yet either. We were disappointed to see the wind die as we left the passage.


But we weren't disappointed after an hour-long motor to West Twin Bay. We anchored behind the spit near the head of the bay. The clarity of the water and light and the warm sunny weather made the bay look almost tropical. Paul even jumped into the water before our shower on Wednesday evening. West Twin had the added amenity of few bugs so we were able to spend much time relaxing in the cockpit, sipping cocktails and enjoying the bay, which we had all to ourselves.

Bhikkhu's first kayak trip

To see more photos of this trip and earlier ones this summer in Prince William Sound, click the photo:

Sailing Prince William Sound 2011

17-20 june 11 sunny sound

I couldn't believe I was wearing shorts as we motored into Harriman Fjord. The water is ringed by glaciers whose icebergs are floating everywhere. The first two days of our long weekend were downright hot (by Alaskan standards). Even after the clouds returned, little rain fell and we enjoyed a dry weekend on Blossom. Two downsides to the calm weather -- no sailing and no breeze to knock down the no-see-ums.

Despite the millions of little buggers trying to steer me otherwise, it was an easy time to take Guillame Apollonaire's advice: Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness, and just be happy.

Hobo Bay

Packing B up to the ridge

Blossom anchored at the base of Serpentine Glacier

Paul guides us out of Hummer Bay (where the tse-tses were unrelenting)

4 june 11 upwind in port wells

When I emailed our float plan to my family, my brother in Wisconsin replied "I envy you. We have a high in the upper 50's today with strong winds. It feels chilly; not boating weather." Hah! I said. That's a good day in Prince William Sound. I hoped it would reach 50. It didn't for 3 days, but that's beyond today's blog.

Despite the chill and rain, we hoisted the sails and headed up Port Wells to Esther Passage. Paul was at the helm for most of the sail because the wind held during his 1-hour shift. We have resolved to try to sail any breeze that comes up, so despite the weather, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to make some distance under sail and without the motor.

Eventually the wind died down and we furled the sails and started the motor. Minutes later, a pod of dall porpoises started swimming alongside us, and then crossing in front of us. Technically I think it was my shift at the helm, but I grabbed my camera and scooted up to the mast to photograph their antics. They are very hard to photograph, but you can see two in this photo - one on either side of the furled jib.

And while we were out in the rain, Bhikkhu was doing what all good first mates do, especially when the boat has two captains - he was checking the charts and guide and keeping us on course.

23 may 11 prince william sound

Another season in Prince William Sound has begun. We hauled Blossom to Whittier on a Saturday. We spent the afternoon getting the mast raised, rigging sails, installing the bimini, and moving everything back in. By the time we launched, it was evening and we still had some shoreside duties left to do so we decided to stay in the harbor overnight. One task was to remedy a dumb mistake that we won't likely make again (hopefully). When they raised the mast, we didn't check the location of all the halyards and missed that the end of the jib halyard was at the top of the furler. Late Saturday night, when the tide was low, we motored over to a pier where Paul could climb up a ladder and reach the halyard.

On Sunday morning we inflated the dinghy, paid our fees to the harbor master, and finished rigging the sails. We motored in the rain and calm out to Surprise Cove for a night. A rare treat to share the cove with only one other boat. On Monday morning the sky was clearing as we hiked up to North Lake. By the time we headed back to Whittier in the afternoon, it was balmy by PWS standards.

Not a long or far trip, but a good shakedown cruise to work out the kinks in Blossom and us.

highlights 2010

Over dinner on New Year's Eve, we remembered some of the fun and travels of 2010. Again, we are grateful for the good fortune that continues in our lives: good friends, great family, stable jobs, good health, and being with each other.

Here are some of the highlights of each month of 2010:

January: Good skiing when the snow was fresh and great mountain biking on packed trails in the local parks. Never a dull moment in Anchor-town.

February: An active trip of hiking, biking, and snorkeling with good friends in Hawaii.

March: We skied out to Dalteli, a small lake in the Alaska Range foothills with a group of friends.

April: A warm sun made spring skiing solar powered and brought a smile to everyone's face. Even the ptarmigan got friendly.

May: With the return of the green came more biking and hiking, and gardening. This little footpath became a regular route on evening walks in Bicentennial Park.

June: When we weren't on the boat in Prince William Sound, we rode the singletrack trails in Bicentennial Park.

July: We spent most weekends and an entire week on the sailboat in Prince William Sound. One of the highlights of our time in the Sound were hikes through bogs with abundant shooting stars.

August: A silver-lining of the wet summer were the mushrooms. We spent many evenings harvesting boletes in the parks. This red bolete dramatically and quickly exhibited a change in coloration to blue when cut, which signifies a poisonous bolete.

September: The annual backcountry bike trip with the Alaska Dirt Divas to the Serenity Cabin near Eklutna Lake in Chugach State Park. Blue skies, stunning fall colors, and fun friends.

October: Mountain biking with the Alaska Dirt Divas on the White Rim Trail, in Canyonlands National Park, Utah - an adventure with good friends

November: Spending Thanksgiving with my mom, step-dad, brother, and sister-in-law in central New York. My brother and I wandered the farm's woodlands, just the two of us, and appreciated the big trees.
December: Santa found us in Talkeetna, bringing us more than we deserved and helping to remind us how blessed we are with friends, family, and a happy pack.

A post about the highlights of the year begs a mention of the sadnesses of our year as we lost family, friends, and acquaintances who have touched our lives and hearts. In August a plane carrying three young maintenance workers from Katmai National Park disappeared in bad weather on the coast. Paul knew one of the young men and they worked with some of our friends at Katmai. In September Sandy Kogl, a good friend of good friends in Talkeetna, died after a gracious struggle with ALS. In October Paul's aunt Norine succumbed to a rare form of lung cancer caused by her exposure to asbestos as an infant. We saw Norine each Christmas that we spent with Paul's parents and we traveled to Italy twice with Norine. Norine and Sandy were both just 68.

19 sep 10 end of summer

The last month has been a busy time of playing with family, harvesting the garden, and enjoying the best weather we've had in months. Here are some photos from the last few weeks. I hope to get through the backlog soon.

Paul, my dad, and I bicycled from Indian to Girdwood and most of the way back on one dry day during my parents' visit. My stepmom Kay drove the support wagon, babysat the pup, and met us in Girdwood for lunch.

We skipped two weekends in Prince William Sound because of forecast downpours and small craft advisories. Then came the weekend after Labor Day ....

Airing out the sails at anchor in Pirate Cove, with College Fjord as the backdrop.

Blossom anchored in Bettles Bay Lagoon. We found a ridge full of blueberries above the lagoon.

We enjoyed a couple of hikes "in the heather" above Port Wells.

11 aug 10 soggy zen

I feel like I haven't done anything but whine about the weather since we returned from a soggy week in Prince William Sound to the soggy summer in Anchorage on Saturday evening.* So I won't dwell on the dominant weather that we had in the Sound last week.

I'm trying to focus on how this is the first summer in a long time that I actually sit around reading. Earlier this summer I complained to a friend back East about the flurry of summer reading lists that pop up everywhere in June and how Alaskans were too busy making the most of every minute of sunshine to sit around reading. Winter is for reading. My remarks were possibly a bit insensitive because she was laid up with a broken ankle. I hoped that she was enjoying the opportunity to read and relax during the warm days. I wanted to know what she was reading for my own winter book list.

Then came our time in Prince William Sound - a week last month and a week this month. The weather was less than inspiring for exploring by either boat or foot most of the time, but perfect for snuggling in with a hot beverage and a good novel. This approach to a vacation, unusual for me, certainly leads to a relaxed state.

Paul commented on how the week had a Zen quality -- from the quiet mornings of reading (including a book on Zen) and doing Sudoku and crosswords to the chance to mindfully carry out chores and meal preparations. Even the landscape looked like an Asian painting with mists defining successive ridges and mountains.

Once again it seems that the trick is to bring that calm, relaxed state of the retreat back to the everyday world.

* And it's official - the National Weather Service says that we're setting records for cool, wet, and cloudy. And it has rained every day since this article was in the paper.

** I've added some more photos with captions to the gallery.

july 2010 blossom

In September 1998 Paul and I sailed together for the first time; it was the first time Paul had ever sailed. We went to Maine to visit my brother Ron. Our plan had been to rent kayaks and paddle part of the Maine Island Trail. We had rented a shelter on Isle of Haute in Acadia National Park for a few nights. But because Ron hadn't kayaked before, no one would rent to us. Ron, who is a boat designer, was working for a boat builder at the time, and his boss offered to loan us an open wooden sail boat that he had built. We'd still be camping every night, and if the wind didn't blow, the boat was fitted with oars. His daughter had named the little blue boat Blossom.

Ron and Paul did row quite a bit but we also sailed. Somehow Ron anchored Blossom off-shore each night and got us and the camping gear to the islands without a dinghy. The weather was mostly good, we ate fresh mussels, hiked on Isle of Haute, and had a great time. Not only did Paul get the sailing bug that week, but we bought two folding kayaks and found out that the National Park Service wanted to send him to Alaska to work for Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks. Our lives were changed forever in the span of a few days.

Our Jeanneau Tonic 23 is much more modern in design than that little wooden gaffrig sailboat, but those happy memories and maybe the blue bottom hull of our boat have caused us to call our sailboat Blossom almost from the time we bought her. We haven't told anyone, but that's the name we've been leaning toward. And we've finally toasted her with Paul's homemade mead (the last bottle from our wedding 16 years ago!) and made it official -- here's Blossom II.
Our Blossom with all the wet gear hanging out on the first sunny day

July was the first real sailing and gunkholing month on our Blossom. Over a long Fourth of July weekend, we anchored in Surprise Cove, hiked on a state park trail, and finally saw Blackstone Bay. We've kayaked in Prince William Sound many times and have never seen whales. We probably saw a dozen humpbacks in Cochrane and Blackstone Bays that weekend. We scooted back into Whittier for a night in the harbor when a small craft advisory was forecast for our last day. Sleeping at dock and maneuvering about the harbor the next day in sustained 14 mph winds with 40 mph gusts were excellent boat handling practice!

On the 17th we drove to Whittier with food, libations, books, and other supplies for a week's sojourn. We spent another night at Surprise Cove and then two rainy nights tucked back into Three Finger Cove. Two harbor seals had greeted us there. On the first night, I was awake in the middle of the night and heard an odd bubbling sound water off the bow. I jumped out, grabbed the binoculars, and peered out into the dark. I could just see some tremendous splashing near the shore. In the morning and all the next day, the seals were gone. I feared that orcas had attacked them. When we left the cove the next day, dozens of seals were hauled out on rocks near the cove entrance. I hope that our seals were just visiting with the family.

We left Three Finger Cove and spent the afternoon motoring up out of Cochrane Bay and down Culross Passage to within a couple of miles of where we had started that day. The sun came out for the first time in four days while we were anchored in Long Bay. We hung all the wet towels and rain gear on the boom, back stay, and life lines. Paul hoisted a sun shower from the main halyard and we bathed in the cockpit.

Clean and dry, we sailed out of Long Bay and then down Culross Passage to Picturesque Cove for a night. The next day we motored through the gap between Culross Island and Applegate Island and then up the east side of Culross. We had hoped for a little wind from the greater Sound for sailing that day, but the north breeze wasn't enough to be worth tacking back and forth up wind. We tried to visit Lake Bay that day but the commercial fishermen had it blocked off to catch pinks returning to the hatchery. So we returned to the north end of Culross Passage and anchored in Carrs Cove.


The wind and sun returned on Friday and we sailed out of Culross Passage and north into Port Wells. For an hour we just enjoyed the east wind on a broad reach toward the glaciers. Late in the afternoon we anchored in Ziegler Cove in the state marine park of that name. The swells in the cove rocked us to sleep after we explored the long gravel beach and boggy uplands separating the cove from Port Wells. On Saturday, those same east winds pushed us back to Whittier. With the whisker pole holding the jib out, we hit our fastest speed yet, under sail or motor, of 7 knots.

To see more photos of our Prince William Sound trips, click Play or the photo itself: