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Northern Lights Log (2008-07-10 -> 2008-07-29)
Leaders: Wilson Robinson and Emmie Martinat
Students: Ellie Boydston, Olivia Coble, Jenny Cook, Suiter Coxe, Livia Cuniolo, William Heilpern, Tess Ker-Seymer, Daniele Lomoro, Maggie Mardre, Camilla San Mauro, Ben Siegel
Our group is deep into the backcountry of the Talkeetna Range and won't emerge until Tuesday, July 22nd. Check back in after this to hear tall tales of their adventure.
Trip Update 7-25-08
Backpacking/White water rafting update:
Greetings from Alaska! We just finished our backpacking and white water rafting sections of the trip and are now getting ready for our next Alaskan adventure on the waters of the Prince William Sound.
Soon after we welcomed everyone to Alaska we gathered up all of our gear (duffle's, food, tents, backpacks, etc...we weren't exactly invisible amongst those in the airport) and cruised towards our first campsite in our fully equipped diesel engine school bus. Arriving late (thought still thinking it was early being in the land of the midnight sun),we set up our tents and went to bed so as to prepare ourselves for the day ahead of us.
Receiving a taste of Alaskan "summers", we spent all day getting to know each other while preparing for backpacking and learning how to speak both Italian and English. We ended our day with a delicious meal of stir fry and a wonderful fire net to the Matanuska River...special thanks to our fire masters Livia and William. It was a prefect spot for our first Moon-up and a great end to a busy day.
Putting our newly learned skills to work, we woke up early, packed out packs, and headed for the trail to begin our first day of backpacking. Covering almost 5 miles entirely uphill, our first Leaders of the Day (LODS) William and Ellie, did a great job setting a positive tone that would remain throughout the trip. Ellie was almost too good at letting others know that it was okay to get stuck in the mud...multiple times. So good that Livia, Danielle, and Camilla followed ensuite creating a domino effect that would become know as "The Italian Disaster". Regardless if our muddy boots, we had a great first day and were luck enough to receive good night wishes form our neighborly moose.
Waking up the next morning to some Alaskan dew, we continued on to Hick's Lake. The LOD's, Ben and Tess, led us to our destination in no time, attempting to stay clear of the "man-eating" mud. Unfortunately, it seemed to grab Camilla yet again, this time taking her boot for dessert, only minutes before we arrived at camp. Thankfully, Camilla was able to salvage her boot and hop to our campsite while Daniele was kind enough to carry both his and her pack through the remainder of the mud. Siuter, William, and Livia rewarded us all with some delicious chicken quesadillas while Tess and Camilla entertained us with their story-telling abilities...both were impressive. We finished the day with Moon-up before sinking into our "pillow-topped mattresses" beneath our tents for a good night's rest.
Suiter and Livia got the group moving early the next morning after studying the maps and showing the group the rest of our destination. We made it to our lunch break in no time where we encountered both bear and moose tracks on the same trail. Soon thereafter, we arrived at camp, refueled for the next day with gourmet pizzas made by Jenny, Maggie, and Daniele, all the while enjoying our most scenic kitchen yet.
The next morning we were greeted by a moose in a nearby stream as we prepared ourselves for a long day of hiking. If we were at all groggy, we quickly got over it with our early morning river crossing, a river of glacier water that is. Working together as a team, we successfully and safely crossed the river and trekked onward to our final destination as we enjoyed the squishy noises that emerged from our boots. We arrived at our campsite earlier than expected and set up what would be our base camp for the next two nights. After our Italian dinner of pesto pasta, al dente to Livia's liking, Daniele practiced his English and read the group journal aloud during Moon-Up before we headed off to bed for the night.
Leisurely awaking the following day, Olivia and Ellie made some phenomenal pancakes for the group. We then took a short day hike and were able to see our campsite from 1000 feet above, as well as the beautiful mountains and valleys that surrounded us. We ended our rest day with a hearty meal of rice and beans, Ben and Wilson saving the day by storing some for the next day, and headed to sleep.
Packing up camp in record time, Maggie and Ellie led us for our first day of off trail hiking. Crossing and re-crossing the same river approximately seven times, we quickly learned what a luxury it was to have a well-delivered trail. Going over our first pass of the rip with our packs, our group was finally able to comprehend the enormity that is Alaska. We followed tiny pikah trails for the rest of the day until we got to our campsite at the end of Glass Creek. Apparently we had arrived before check-in time and had to wait until the two hers of caribou, or according to William reindeer, vacated our grassy rooms. Sleeping at 5000 feet with a belly full of food, we awoke the next morning to a surprise outside our tents...snow in July! Rather than hike through the weather, being ahead of schedule, our group decided to wait out the snow and hike for a longer period of time the following day.
Thankfully, our prayers were answered the next day and we had beautiful weather for our last day of hiking. Knowing it would be both strenuous and long; the group chose Ben and Olivia to lead us to the finish line. Hiking through snow, we reached our highest elevation of the backpacking section at our 6000 foot pass. Blazing our own trails through the snow, sometimes even sledding if we could, Jenny and Olivia gracefully led the difficult decent. Our group worked together as a team, kept each other's spirits high, and did an amazing job trekking through difficult terrain. For the remainder of the day, we contoured around so as to avoid the drainage below. Finding an old horse trail after about half-way, we were able to pick up the pace for the rest of the mileage and make it to the Chickaloon River, only to be rewarded by Emmie and Wilson with king size Snickers bars. Trudging through tough terrain for many hours, as the day went on, our group morale only became stronger and more positive. IT was quite an incredible way to end a wonderful 8 days of backpacking.
Waking up early, we packed our packs and put on our boots for the final time and hiked to the airstrip where we were net by a two-seater airplane that carried our rafting gear. After a healthy lunch, we cruised down the beautiful Chickaloon River. William, Ben, Daniele, Livia, Wilson, and Emmie manned the paddle boat with Tom through our first section of whitewater. Greatly appreciating the friendly reminders and early morning wake-up calls, the kids voluntarily provided Emmie and Wilson with a shield from the white water, constantly making sure we remained dry. We ended our day with a dinner of "Mexican Surprise", the kids' most favorite dinner thus far, especially Maggie. We topped off the night with s'mores, a campfire, and fireworks, finishing our first day of whitewater rafting.
The next morning, our bellies full of granola, we packed up all our gear for our final day of rafting, completing our first backcountry section. Suiter, Olivia, Jenny, Tess, Ellie, and Maggie grabbed the paddle boat for the day and proved themselves professional paddlers...a little more so than the boys the day before according to Tom. Accompanied by spectacular scenery, we rafted 25 miles down the Chickaloon River. It was an amazing way to recap our past 10 days.
All in all, our first two sections have been wonderful. Our group has been incredible and Wilson and I are so proud of everything they have accomplished. We are off to sea kayaking next and will return in 5 days with a new update! The trip has flown by and we're having a blast! Until next time...
-Wilson and Emmie
Trip Update 7-31-08
We made it! Since we wrote last time, we have successfully finished sea kayaking and have completed the remainder of our trip. We can't believe it's already over...
After being blessed with wonderful weather during back packing, it was time for us to pay out dues. We arrived in Whittier by train and set up our "bomb-proof" shelter in order to prepare for sea kayaking. Waking up early the next morning we quickly learned how to take down our shelters in the rain, the weight difference between a wet tent and dry tent, and the luxury oh having dry clothes (a lesson we would carry with us throughout the rest of the trip). On the water by noon, Maggie and William, our fearless leaders of the day, led us through rain and wind and successfully made it to our first night's campsite at Entry Cove. Daniele entertained us all by singing American songs that William taught him from the back of the kayak.
Arriving at Entry Cove, we quickly set up our tents and the group shelter before preparing dinner. Ellie and Olivia, along with their honorary cook crew member, Ben, made us all delicious macaroni and cheese for dinner while the group, especially Camilla and Tess, waited in anticipation for them to finish.
We awoke the next morning to Ryan and Erica, our awesome guides, informing us that we would spend another night at Entry Cove due to heavy winds out in the Sound. Making the most of out time, we sat in the group shelter and cooked all day. Suiter, William, and Livia made delectable hash browns and pancakes for breakfast. Staying warm and dry, we retreated to out tents early to emerge hours later for our next grand meal of pizza. Suiter took the lead and made phenomenal pepperoni pita pizza. As if that wasn't enough, Wilson and Emmie surprised the group with some good old backcountry brownies. The day ended with a rock skipping competition in which Wilson apparently "dominated" William. There are no other witnesses, so the verdict is still out.
Eager to paddle again, Olivia and Daniele led our group to the next campsite at Hobo Bay. As soon as we got on the water, we were greeted by both seals and sea otters beside our boats, and they remained with us for the majority of the day. Before stopping for lunch, Ryan took us into Pirate's Cove to show us a beautiful waterfall that flowed into the ocean. As we turned the corner, Jenny spotted something moving on the shore, still about a mile away, which after further inspection was a bear! It was amazing! Shortly after we stopped for lunch, where Wilson and Emmie had an intense rock skipping competition with witnesses present (much to Wilson's dismay, and Emmie's delight) Emmie beat Wilson by a landslide. Agreeing on a rematch after lunch, Wilson somehow managed to win the next competition and was clearly pleased with himself for the rest of the day. We arrived at Hobo Bay and Maggie, Jenny, and Daniele made awesome burritos for the group. We ended our day with Moon-up inside the group shelter as we watched seals in the water in front of us.
Getting on the water the earliest we had all trip... possibly due to the morning competition of the last person out of their tent had to carry our portable toilet bag on their kayak for the day that had been christened the night before... Camilla secured the bag and we paddled to the glaciers. Icebergs and wildlife abound, we navigated through the water to Black Sands Beach. Soon after getting out kayaks out of the water and getting out dry bags to our campsite, an enormous chunk of ice broke off of a glacier (also known as caving) that created a tidal wave heading towards our kayaks. Working as a group, we ran all nine kayaks further up shore just in time to watch the water hit the exact spot where they once sat. It was incredible! On that note, Wilson and Emmie surprised the group with Snickers and gummie bears to tie them over until dinner. We think they were satisfied.
While the rest of the group rested, William went with Erica and Ryan to paddle around the glaciers, seizing the opportunity to see them up close. As dinner time rolled around and William returned, the rain finally seized after four days straight, allowing us to cook dinner on top of enormous boulder that provided us with a beautiful view of Harriman Fjord. It was absolutely beautiful! As Ben, Tess, and Camilla made dinner and Livia prepared the pesto sauce the way Italians make it (aka, the right way), we watched Cascade Glacier, Barry Glacier, and Coxe Glacier cave into the ocean. It was an amazing way to spend our last night sea kayaking, as well as our last night in the backcountry.
We awoke the final morning to no rain and glimpses of blue sky. Taking in every last moment with the glaciers, beautiful scenery, and peacefulness that accompanied us, Jenny and Camilla led us to our charter boat pick-up. Apparently becoming attached to the group toilet, Camilla once again carried it for the day, all the while with a smile on her face and teaching Emmie the verses of "il coccodrillo." Arriving at our destination and finally being able to experience the sunshine again, we dried out our gear before loading up the charter boat and returning to Whittier.
After spending some time in Whittier, we returned to Anchorage for our last night in tents. Olivia, Jenny, Suiter, Maggie, Tess, and Ellie made scrumptious puppy chow for us all before bed. Powdered sugar covering our faces, the puppy chow disappeared in minutes and was the perfect way to conclude a wonderful day... and an incredible 3 weeks in Alaska.
All in all, we had a phenomenal time in Alaska. Our group was amazing through and through, and Wilson and I are so proud of all of their accomplishments. There was never a day where group morale was even remotely low, especially during our difficult sea kayaking section, and each day proved more incredible than the last. Thank you all for allowing us to spend these last three weeks with your sons or daughters, it was indescribable and quite a memorable experience. We will miss them all dearly and hope to all see them again sometime soon!
Wilson and Emmie
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