Summer Adventures- Post 1

I have returned! This has been an adventurous summer with some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen! My summer job with Adventure Treks made my dream of traveling to Alaska a reality. I got to spend about a month up in the largest and most beautiful outdoor playground I've experienced. I have been fortunate enough in my life to see many beautiful places, but Alaska takes the cake! It is the Last Frontier and man does it have some amazing recreational opportunities. During our group's last backpack in the Talkeetna Mountains, all I could think was "I could build my cabin there, or there, or there, etc." Alaska is a land of big mountains, open space, and no sense of time!


My journey started after nine days of staff orientation in Battleground, WA. My staff team of 5 and I packed up our home (aka U-Haul), popped it on the back of a brand new 15 passenger van, and began our four day drive up to Anchorage. We crossed the border into BC after stressing over an unfriendly patrol who cautioned us on entering without some of my co instructors having a passport. The laws have changed and they're being stern with travelers in preparation for the law going taking effect. We got across (thankfully Alaska let us back in a few days later) and continued a whirlwind of driving through BC. The farther North we traveled, the more beautiful the scenery became, and the later the sun stayed up. Before attacking HWY 37, notorious for pinballing rocks between the glass windows of our van and u-haul, we covered the weak spots with cardboard.

Next up came the beautiful Yukon Territory, home to Robert Service and solitude! A month later, we drove back via HWY 97 and saw an amazing amount of wildlife... countless caribou, mountain goats, a black bear, and bison! The bison took over the road, causing a bit of a road block! The drive back also proved to be a bit adventurous due to a breakdown in the middle of nowhere. We were aiming to get back to the continental U.S. quickly because a co instructor and I were both jumping on another trip with very little turn around time. My Alaska team and I were rotating drivers, stopping only for meals and bathroom breaks in hopes of gaining half a day to explore Seattle. About 3am, we discovered the u-haul had sprung a flat, but only after the tire shredded itself into confetti across the Yukon! With four tires on the u-haul, we never even felt the flat until it was too late. To top off the experience, we were almost out of gas, having passed up the last non-automated petrol station at midnight. A local drove by an hour later, informing us there was a small town (I would call it a village) with gas and a mechanic who might have a trailer tire in the following town. We lucked out on both and were back on the road a few hours later!

Once in Alaska, we set off to prepare for the students arrival. Part of the itinerary included scouting the trail heads the backpacking groups would be using. In Alaskan bear country it is recommended that you make noise so that you don't startle any bears that you might happen upon (in addition to having a can of bear spray). Some do this with bells, others sing, some just yell. Our staff team agreed on shouting "Hey Bear" or the phrase "I'm a salmon!" One of my co instructors, Billy, walked about 10 yards up the bushy Crow Pass Trail Head during a scouting mission and was inspecting some plants. The rest of the staff team was down in the parking lot. I heard him say "Hey Bear" and thought nothing of it. Then he exclaimed "Shoo Bear!" Instantly I realized this could mean only one thing. The rest of the staff team and I cautiously rushed up to Billy who was slowly backing away from a curious black bear. We grouped together (also protocol for interacting with black bear) and couldn't resist taking a few pictures before retreating further!


Just before started running shuttles from Eagle River Campground to Anchorage to pick up the students, I walked off to treeline to pee. Once I found my spot, I looked up and saw a big rock. I thought, "I don't remember a rock there." Upon looking closer... "That's a hairy rock." Light bulb flickers on... "Whoa... that's a moose! Retreat!" Moose have been proven to be more dangerous than grizzlies because of their unpredictability. Fortunately, this moose frequented the campground and was used to humans!