Many the Miles

A trip from Iliamna to Port Alsworth
Even when no roads exist, sometimes the only practical way to transport a larger motorized vehicle to a remote location is to drive it. In order to do this, a suitable drivable surface must exist. If you are counting on ice then you better plan to have the equipment moved before the lake "break up" in the spring.
This Polaris six-wheeler needed to be moved from Iliamna to Port Alsworth in the late spring. The snow had already started to soften which would make it difficult to navigate through the drifts on the lake ice.  The 40 mile trip was for the most part, uneventful.  The occasional pressure crack in the ice and deep snow drift kept it interesting, but the fully enclosed cab and heater made it comfortable.

Loaded up an Ready to Go

Getting a tow from the snowmobile

Follow the Leader

View Many the Miles in a larger map

Mud on the Tires

Spring break up in Alaska can be a muddy, sloppy mess. The top of the ground thaws before the the lower ground thaws. This prevents the top layer from being able to drain. The result is a layer of super water saturated soil which is often the consistency of a "mud pie". This is most notable in areas with a higher clay content, such as dirt roads, paths and trails, and of course dirt and gravel airstrips.

Landing on a soft airstrip has many hazards, not to mention making a mess all over the aircraft.   Mud and gravel is pulled into the prop causing substantial damage if allowed to continue.

This runway is unusable for several weeks out of the year, and if you make the mistake of landing during that period, this is what happens, and no, I wasn't the pilot.

How is your soft field technique?

Settin' the Woods on Fire

Primarily heating with fuel oil is fine until you have to fill your 500 gallon tank, and when you have to fill it more than once a year because it has stayed 40 below zero for just a couple weeks too long, you start to feel it in the pocket book at $7.00 to $8.00/gal.  Woodcutting, (with a subsistence use permit for the National Park) not only helps to supplement the heating of the house, it also provides exercise and an excuse to get outdoors.   If your were to put pen to paper and work out the economics of it all, with the time involved, gas for the snowmachines, the cost of sleds, saws, and parts for all, I'm sure that fuel oil isn't really that much more costly than wood, but it's fun.  My 10 year old even is able to haul a load with the smaller sled behind his Bravo.

There are limitations in the National Park about the kinds and size of trees that are harvested.  Standing dead Spruce (Beetle Kill) is always a favorite because there is no size limit,  live spruce has to be under a specific diameter.  Birch is good as well, but needs to be seasoned for at least one year and preferably two before burning, it is also harder to work with because of its weight, it isn't already dry like the dead spruce. Getting the wood to the house can be a challenge.  Maneuvering a snowmachine down a hill becomes tedious when you have a 600lb sled attached and pushing you.  This year I only had to sacrifice a steering arm and the front bumper, but didn't suffer any injuries.  

The Spring sun has already diminished the snow quality and depth, which has put an end to the serious wood hauling for the winter, but next year you can bet the saws will be sharp, the snowmachines gased up, and we'll be out in the woods harvesting what we can.

Ski doo Tundra with UHMW sled

Beetle Kill

The Farm Boss and the Mini Boss

Stihl MS 290 and MS 181C

Night Drive

No street lights and very few porch lights combined with an starless sky makes the night black, pitch black.
When the sun sets at 3:40 in the afternoon and you get out of school at 3:15, sledding during daylight hours becomes limited.  The result of limited sledding time is restless kids more than willing to turn on the wii or begging to watch a movie instead of playing outside in the dark.

This is easily remedied by the invention of the portable gas-powered generator and a set of halogen work lights.  Not quite the prestige of the commercial ski resorts, but it seems to produce just as much fun and happiness.

Escaping (A Journey to Hell's Gate and Back)

A Modified Stinson 108 is often the aircraft of choice.

Here is a map of the area.

View Hell's Gate Pass in a larger map

My perspective

One Flight Down

I recently found my way up on the Stony River for a job.  Here is the trip home.

Chasing

Here are a few of the often overlooked, lessor viewed, smaller animals that can be seen if you know where to look.  Of course if you get board with the little guys you can always go back to looking for the bears.

Arctic Ground Squirrel or "Tsk, Tsk"

Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan

Learning to Fish 101

Food Fight

Winner, Winner, Fish Dinner

Chasing Dinner

Everywhere

It is once again the end of July and the Salmon are in!  Hot on their heels come the bears, looking to fatten themselves up before winter's exercise in hibernation.  Various levels of fishing experience is easy to see among the bears, as well as differing styles.  One of my favorite styles is the "charge and dive" method.  It involves the bear waiting patiently along the shore until either he gets the nerve to plunge into the icy water, or a fish becomes so tempting he can't help it, at which point he takes a running plunge into the river splashing and thrashing.  This method is rarely successful, but is very entertaining.  There is also a social order among the bears, the biggest get the best fishing spots, and if a younger bear gets a fish they had better start running, as a larger bear will try to take it as well.

The Thinker

Standoff

Handout

Patience

Three of a Kind

Bear in the Grass

Pesky Runt

Ready for Lunch

Playing with Fire

Volcanoes, glaciers, sunny beaches, rivers, waterfalls, and a pristine lake, and all in one location.  This is the "Fire and Ice" tour.  It begins flying through portions of Lake Clark Pass, over numerous glaciers, on the way to Mt. Spur for some aerial views of the volcano.  We stop for a relaxing lunch on the beach at the base of the volcano and enjoy some hiking while taking in the scenery and wildlife.  Then it is back to the planes for the scenic flight home.  A pretty good day.

The Good Life

Spring has finally arrived and given way to summer. The ice is gone, temperatures are on the rise, and the sun has been brave enough to show itself on occasion. The quiet stillness of the early morning is often shattered with the roaring whine of an aircraft departing the bay or the airstrip.  This brief interruption of solitude is brought courtesy of yours truly, unleashing 300 ear shattering horses on the pristine Alaskan wilderness.

Take-Off Run

On the Move

Landing

Peaceful Beaver

Dark Side of the Moon

Here are a few pictures of the Lunar Eclipse from the night of Dec 20 as seen from our back deck here in Alaska.










Blood Moon