Thoughts, musings, and things learned in my final days in Chignik Bay... (pictures coming soon)
-The best way to keep bugs away is Alaskan perfume. The secret ingrediets are: Deet, gasoline, engine oil, dirt, all sorts of plant smells, sweat, more dirt, WD-40, whatever is leaking out of my rented 4 wheeler, andddd more dirt.
-You either have wind or bugs. Sometimes both, never neither.
-Sometimes the Penair gets confused as to where you are. I am in Chignik Bay not Chignik Lake. I will be angry if you go to pick me up in the wrong place.
-Don't try to leave a fishing village at the same time the fishing season ends. You won't be able to change your flight when you finish the job early.
-4 wheelers can go a lot of amazing places that you wouldn't think they can get to. They can run over all sorts of things like small trees. Unfortunately, they get high centered and the farings get ripped off them if you try to drive over too big of a tree.
-Just because the drillers want you to climb up a cliff of crumbling rock does not mean they will respect you any less if you don't.
-Just because someone warns you that a rock is falling does not mean you are in a position to move out of the way of said falling rock... luckily it was a small one.
-Stray dogs just will not leave you alone.
-If you look in the right places, there are fossilized things all over in the cliffs!! :D
-Some of them are so new that parts of the tree are still stuck to the rock it imprinted on.
-When the power goes out where we are staying, every electronic thing beeps constantly, for a long time....
-Walking along a deserted beach with my iphone playing music is almost like having my own real-life soundtrack.
-You can send 1000 pounds of dirt through the USPS. It only costs $300 too.
-Sometimes you get lucky and the plane that is "completely booked an full" had to skip a stop due to weather. You get to leave days earlier than you expected to.
-Just because your shipped goods are clearly marked "Anchorage" does not mean they will go there. Mine got shipped into the hub city, and then back out to western Alaska, specifically, Perryville. I got a call from a very confused pilot.
Annddd the end! Happy to be home again!! Getting ready to leave for Kodiak soon!
Friday, September 7, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Alaskan Adventures: Chignik Bay Part Two
Part two of Chignik Bay... Sorry, still no pictures. But I have some cool ones!!!!
-The stray dog is better at fishing than I am.
-Then again, he just dragged the already dead fish off the side of the stream... to the front door of the place we are staying. 4 dead fish won't attract bears. At all.
-I may have cell service, but I can not send a text
-Don't wander down the beach next to the cliffs when the tide is coming in.. unless you want wet feet.
-Finding fossils is still as awesome as when I was 5.
-When the cap is stuck on the water monitering well, running over it with the ATV will fix everything.
-Taking water level readings is harder when the water level meter was left in Anchorage.... Luckily, I know how to improvise.
-Benchmade knives are far superior to Smith and Wesson knives. They don't break when abused and misused. Then again, they also cost 4 times as much.
-The sunrises are awesome. The sunsets and stars probably are too. But I have no windows where I am staying. And am asleep by the time the sun sets.
Looks like the job is going to finish up early. So I will be home sooner than planned... if nothing changes :) Probably one more post like then and then some pictures when I am hommmeee!!
-The stray dog is better at fishing than I am.
-Then again, he just dragged the already dead fish off the side of the stream... to the front door of the place we are staying. 4 dead fish won't attract bears. At all.
-I may have cell service, but I can not send a text
-Don't wander down the beach next to the cliffs when the tide is coming in.. unless you want wet feet.
-Finding fossils is still as awesome as when I was 5.
-When the cap is stuck on the water monitering well, running over it with the ATV will fix everything.
-Taking water level readings is harder when the water level meter was left in Anchorage.... Luckily, I know how to improvise.
-Benchmade knives are far superior to Smith and Wesson knives. They don't break when abused and misused. Then again, they also cost 4 times as much.
-The sunrises are awesome. The sunsets and stars probably are too. But I have no windows where I am staying. And am asleep by the time the sun sets.
Looks like the job is going to finish up early. So I will be home sooner than planned... if nothing changes :) Probably one more post like then and then some pictures when I am hommmeee!!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Alaskan Adventures: Things Learned in Chignik Bay (Part one of maybe a few)
So I am working in Chignik Bay at the moment. I do geotechnical drilling for anyone that does not know. If you don't know what that is and want to know, google it! We have some ok internet that I use once in a while. Anyway, just figured I would share some things I have learned so far in a manner similar to my Chevak blog. :)
-Penair is easily confused. When I check in for the 3:30 flight, I do not want all my stuff to be on the 11:00 flight.
-The afore mentioned point caused me to be unable to locate my checked bag. It turned up later (before I ahd left the airport) in the baggage claim area. Good thing I was worried about it and checked.
-Shipping complicates things even more. When I say I want my stuff shipped on the 3:30 flight with me, it does not mean to ship it on the 10:30 flight. Also, when shipping sends me back to the terminal and tells me to "just let them know over there you have some stuff going cargo", when I go talk to the people in the terminal, it is not comforting that everyone seems to have no idea what I am talking about. They suggested I go talk to cargo....
-Luckily, someone in Chignik Bay got all my stuff and the drillers kindly put it in my room for me. Sometimes people are awesome
-Anchorage is small. Alaska is even smaller. I ran into a guy I went to school with and some guy that works in the building across from me who recognized me because of my truck whome I did not know in the King Salmon Airport
-Energy drinks cost about the same as the do in Anchorage. Cheese is $10. A pound of hamburger is $3.
-Just because the sun is shining when you leave in the morning does not mean it still will be a few hours later.
-It takes approximately 10 minutes to become miserably soaked when it starts raining and you are not properly equipped with rain gear
-Everyone's mood gets worse when they are not properly equipped in rain gear and are soaked.
-Pants weigh about 10 pounds more when they are completely saturated
-When renting an ATV, it is good to specify you not only want it to run, but you want it to have brakes
-Using small trees to stop a brake-less ATV when you are going down a hill is sometimes a must. Better a tree than the other ATV.....
-Using trees to keep a brake-less ATV from rolling down a hill has been dubbed "the Chignik Bay parking brake"
-When trying to kick start an ATV, it works better when the kill switch is not engaged and the key is on. (hey, I ride two wheeled toys.... not 4)
-The semi-automatic shifting on an ATV is almost as dumb as the "optional" manual shifter on cars these days.... Just be automatic or manual. please
-The semi auto shifting does almost compensate for the ATV having no brakes. I can almost stop when I want to.
-When the sun comes out, I can almost pretend I am in Hawaii... with a really loud drill rig.
-I am scared of bears. And am really happy I have a .44
-I feel super badass when riding down a dirt, potholed road, with no rain gear on, in the pouring rain, on an ATV with no brakes.
-This place is gorgeous. Too bad it rains a lot too
-When you talk to airport ops and close a runway, that does not mean that planes will not land on it. Some piolets don't bother to check in with the tower before just landing whereever the hell they want. You would think that the giant orange drill rig in the middle of it would say "maybe you should check and see if this runway is open" before just landing on it.
-Just because airport ops says no flights are scheduled for the rest of the day does not mean there are in fact no more flights. I runied some guy's day because he didn't get to leave because the runway was closed when his plane was unofficially scheduled to come in....
I will probably post a few more of these as the project goes on :) Oh, and there will be a post of only pictures... to make up for all the posts of only words.
-Penair is easily confused. When I check in for the 3:30 flight, I do not want all my stuff to be on the 11:00 flight.
-The afore mentioned point caused me to be unable to locate my checked bag. It turned up later (before I ahd left the airport) in the baggage claim area. Good thing I was worried about it and checked.
-Shipping complicates things even more. When I say I want my stuff shipped on the 3:30 flight with me, it does not mean to ship it on the 10:30 flight. Also, when shipping sends me back to the terminal and tells me to "just let them know over there you have some stuff going cargo", when I go talk to the people in the terminal, it is not comforting that everyone seems to have no idea what I am talking about. They suggested I go talk to cargo....
-Luckily, someone in Chignik Bay got all my stuff and the drillers kindly put it in my room for me. Sometimes people are awesome
-Anchorage is small. Alaska is even smaller. I ran into a guy I went to school with and some guy that works in the building across from me who recognized me because of my truck whome I did not know in the King Salmon Airport
-Energy drinks cost about the same as the do in Anchorage. Cheese is $10. A pound of hamburger is $3.
-Just because the sun is shining when you leave in the morning does not mean it still will be a few hours later.
-It takes approximately 10 minutes to become miserably soaked when it starts raining and you are not properly equipped with rain gear
-Everyone's mood gets worse when they are not properly equipped in rain gear and are soaked.
-Pants weigh about 10 pounds more when they are completely saturated
-When renting an ATV, it is good to specify you not only want it to run, but you want it to have brakes
-Using small trees to stop a brake-less ATV when you are going down a hill is sometimes a must. Better a tree than the other ATV.....
-Using trees to keep a brake-less ATV from rolling down a hill has been dubbed "the Chignik Bay parking brake"
-When trying to kick start an ATV, it works better when the kill switch is not engaged and the key is on. (hey, I ride two wheeled toys.... not 4)
-The semi-automatic shifting on an ATV is almost as dumb as the "optional" manual shifter on cars these days.... Just be automatic or manual. please
-The semi auto shifting does almost compensate for the ATV having no brakes. I can almost stop when I want to.
-When the sun comes out, I can almost pretend I am in Hawaii... with a really loud drill rig.
-I am scared of bears. And am really happy I have a .44
-I feel super badass when riding down a dirt, potholed road, with no rain gear on, in the pouring rain, on an ATV with no brakes.
-This place is gorgeous. Too bad it rains a lot too
-When you talk to airport ops and close a runway, that does not mean that planes will not land on it. Some piolets don't bother to check in with the tower before just landing whereever the hell they want. You would think that the giant orange drill rig in the middle of it would say "maybe you should check and see if this runway is open" before just landing on it.
-Just because airport ops says no flights are scheduled for the rest of the day does not mean there are in fact no more flights. I runied some guy's day because he didn't get to leave because the runway was closed when his plane was unofficially scheduled to come in....
I will probably post a few more of these as the project goes on :) Oh, and there will be a post of only pictures... to make up for all the posts of only words.
Alaskan Adventures: Chignik Bay Part 1
First off I would like to make a disclaimer. Well, before that I would like to start with a quote I heard recently. "Approach life like a dog; if you cant eat it or play with it, just pee on it and walk away." My general approach to life involves the first two options, quite often. To get to the disclaimer: my coping mechanism for doing what I do is to downplay the potential severity of the situation; ie, "play with it". To someone who does not know me, it quite possibly makes me sound kinda like an idiot who has no business doing whatever I am doing. When I am rock climbing, I will casually ask my belayer if they are ready to save my life. Or when I going hiking I will make a smart ass comment about a bear encounter. You get the idea? That said, when I make a comment like that on here, it is how I deal with the fact that if I, or someone I am trusting, screws up, someone could die. I completely understand the severity of the situation. it's just how I deal with it so I can keep doing what I do. I am not an idiot, or insensitive, or an asshole or whatever, it's just how I deal and try to make everyone around me feel more at ease.
Anyway, with that nugget of knowledge about me, on to the story.
My first out of town job that is officially mine to handle is in Chignik Bay. I am finding there are quite a few logistical hurdles involved in working remotely. I always tend to feel overwhelmed with thinking about logistics. Because I like to over think and over analyze everything. My unease has not been helped with the minor detail that the trip plan has changed probably thirty times in the month leading up to the project. Unfortunately, this seems to be common when trying to coordinate multiple people with tight and variable schedules.
By the time I actually left for my first trip to Chignik Bay, I was just happy that I was actually on the airplane. One less thing to change. I mean I was still concerned about actually getting on a flight home but ya know, minor details.
Anyway, the final plan that we went with was my boss, Craig, and I would go out to the site to recon the area and collect rock samples from potential material sites. I was not sent alone for several reasons. The first being that I am new. I like rocks quite a bit but I am still learning (and will always be) the art of identifying rocks. I am also learning how to pick out drill sites. For the most part it is pretty logical, but everyone has their own opinion on how to pick them and mine is currently a little more errrr, random, than most. The second being that this is a remote area. 50ish people live there. The wild animals in the area are not used to people and don't know to be scared of us. There are bears all over from what I hear. Luckily, my boss and co workers like me enough that they do not want me to get mauled by a ferocious beast. Collecting rock samples and looking at drill sites involves hacking through high brush with in areas the locals have informed us a sow and three cubs have been seen fairly regularly. Perfect.
With all this background, this leads me to the airport at 6 am on monday. I park and unload my two bags. Luckily, my boss is bringing most of the gear so I can travel light. I wander into the terminal. Ugh, Penair is as far away from where I parked as possible. I finally get to the ticket counter. I go to check in. Hi lady, ummm I want to check a gun what do I do with it? She gives me a piece of paper to sign and fill out. I read it. Awww shitttt. I have to have it in a hard, locked case. Totally forgot. It is currently in a soft, not locked case. I figure that I am not going to be able to talk my way out of it so I tell her to forget it and I will take it back to my truck. My boss is bringing his gun anyway. I hope.
I get checked in and throw my gun in my backpack and go find coffee and my boss. I let him know I am actually here since I left my regular cell phone in my truck and I am not sure if he has my work cell or not. I explain my gun situation him. He has his, excellent. I wander back to my truck and put it under my seat. I get back to the gate just before it is time to board. As I get on the plane, they hand out earplugs. Well, that is considerate. It is a decent sized plane, like regional jet sized, except it has propellers. We have an uneventful ride to King Salmon. I read my book.
We land and the weather is nice, minus the swarms of bugs. It is about 9:00 at this point. Our flight to the Bay is not until 3. We collect all of our baggage and Craig goes to ask if we can get on an earlier flight. We manage to get onto the 10:30 flight. We wait in the terminal for a while. At 11:30 we are starting to wonder what is going on. I mean, planes running late is normal. Finally, at noon, the plane shows up and we are ready to board. It is s very full flight so I get to sit in the co-captain seat. This is really cool for all of 20 minutes..... until I fall asleep. I guess the sound of the propeller and having slept for about 3 hours the night before does that. I wake up when we make a stop at some unknown location before continuing to Chignik Bay. The piolet calls for the weather.... It is getting stormy toward the Bay. We fly low... at about 4 to 600 feet. The plane lurches around a fair bit. Mind you, this is a Cessna Caravan, an old small plane. My boss says that while it isn't a great ride, it certainly isn't the worst.
After lurching through a fair bit of rain, we finally land in Chignik Bay. It looks just like all the pictures I have been staring at for the last few weeks! We get out and get drenched as we wait for all of our baggage to get unloaded. We get a ride to our housing and get all of our stuff put away. We talk to the people in the city office about the project and the arera. They are confused because they thought we were coming later in the week. I know I sent several e mails that got responses saying we would be there monday and the drillers were coming friday... Oh well, they still have somewhere for us to stay. They are curious as to what we are doing with the runway and warn us that there are a number of bears in the area. Sweet. We rent a truck, which turns out to be a dodge, probably from the 70s with brakes that barely work.
Now that we have a vehicle, it is time to work! We put on rain gear and head out into the storm. In no time at all, I am soaked though my rain jacket. It is really more of a wind jacket that is somewhat waterproof. Luckily, my rain pants, which I borrowed from my roommate, are more waterproof. This is the last time I am too lazy to unpack and repack my rain gear for a trip... my real gear is siting back at the office waiting to be shipped.
We walk over sand dunes and try to find good locations to drill for a few hours. Craig flags some spots before we call it a day. I spend the rest of the evening reading and watching TV before passing out at 8.
During the night, I hear the wind and rain outside. The next morning, the weather is significantly worse than the day before. It is raining sideways. I get the feeling that this place is really pretty.... if I could see the scenery through the rain.
We spend the day in the bear infested overgrown brush with machetes and one gun since I had to leave mine :( I really have a lovely time seeing how big of a (small) tree I can hack down with mine. We mark some more test holes and collect some rocks to take back to test. We also come to the conclusion that there is no way we are getting a drill rig onto the hill behind the airport. Well, there goes a quarter of the test holes on this project. It is becoming apparent that things are not done changing on this project yet. Actually, I am guessing things will be changing until it is completely done.
Anyway, I am getting tired of writing this and you are probably getting tired of reading it :) So long story short, We get up the next day and make it out on the first plane. It is actually the first plane that has come by since we got in due to weather. We stop at Chignik Lake (another village about 10 miles away) to look at a material site. We collect some rock samples and I find some fossilized shells in one of the rocks. Sweet! I take a few fossils for my (super small) collection.
We make it on the plane out and get back to anchorage at 8. I unpack all my stuff, clean what I need, and pack it all up to ship the next day. I'll post up some pictures eventually :) they will probably get their own post.
Anyway, with that nugget of knowledge about me, on to the story.
My first out of town job that is officially mine to handle is in Chignik Bay. I am finding there are quite a few logistical hurdles involved in working remotely. I always tend to feel overwhelmed with thinking about logistics. Because I like to over think and over analyze everything. My unease has not been helped with the minor detail that the trip plan has changed probably thirty times in the month leading up to the project. Unfortunately, this seems to be common when trying to coordinate multiple people with tight and variable schedules.
By the time I actually left for my first trip to Chignik Bay, I was just happy that I was actually on the airplane. One less thing to change. I mean I was still concerned about actually getting on a flight home but ya know, minor details.
Anyway, the final plan that we went with was my boss, Craig, and I would go out to the site to recon the area and collect rock samples from potential material sites. I was not sent alone for several reasons. The first being that I am new. I like rocks quite a bit but I am still learning (and will always be) the art of identifying rocks. I am also learning how to pick out drill sites. For the most part it is pretty logical, but everyone has their own opinion on how to pick them and mine is currently a little more errrr, random, than most. The second being that this is a remote area. 50ish people live there. The wild animals in the area are not used to people and don't know to be scared of us. There are bears all over from what I hear. Luckily, my boss and co workers like me enough that they do not want me to get mauled by a ferocious beast. Collecting rock samples and looking at drill sites involves hacking through high brush with in areas the locals have informed us a sow and three cubs have been seen fairly regularly. Perfect.
With all this background, this leads me to the airport at 6 am on monday. I park and unload my two bags. Luckily, my boss is bringing most of the gear so I can travel light. I wander into the terminal. Ugh, Penair is as far away from where I parked as possible. I finally get to the ticket counter. I go to check in. Hi lady, ummm I want to check a gun what do I do with it? She gives me a piece of paper to sign and fill out. I read it. Awww shitttt. I have to have it in a hard, locked case. Totally forgot. It is currently in a soft, not locked case. I figure that I am not going to be able to talk my way out of it so I tell her to forget it and I will take it back to my truck. My boss is bringing his gun anyway. I hope.
I get checked in and throw my gun in my backpack and go find coffee and my boss. I let him know I am actually here since I left my regular cell phone in my truck and I am not sure if he has my work cell or not. I explain my gun situation him. He has his, excellent. I wander back to my truck and put it under my seat. I get back to the gate just before it is time to board. As I get on the plane, they hand out earplugs. Well, that is considerate. It is a decent sized plane, like regional jet sized, except it has propellers. We have an uneventful ride to King Salmon. I read my book.
We land and the weather is nice, minus the swarms of bugs. It is about 9:00 at this point. Our flight to the Bay is not until 3. We collect all of our baggage and Craig goes to ask if we can get on an earlier flight. We manage to get onto the 10:30 flight. We wait in the terminal for a while. At 11:30 we are starting to wonder what is going on. I mean, planes running late is normal. Finally, at noon, the plane shows up and we are ready to board. It is s very full flight so I get to sit in the co-captain seat. This is really cool for all of 20 minutes..... until I fall asleep. I guess the sound of the propeller and having slept for about 3 hours the night before does that. I wake up when we make a stop at some unknown location before continuing to Chignik Bay. The piolet calls for the weather.... It is getting stormy toward the Bay. We fly low... at about 4 to 600 feet. The plane lurches around a fair bit. Mind you, this is a Cessna Caravan, an old small plane. My boss says that while it isn't a great ride, it certainly isn't the worst.
After lurching through a fair bit of rain, we finally land in Chignik Bay. It looks just like all the pictures I have been staring at for the last few weeks! We get out and get drenched as we wait for all of our baggage to get unloaded. We get a ride to our housing and get all of our stuff put away. We talk to the people in the city office about the project and the arera. They are confused because they thought we were coming later in the week. I know I sent several e mails that got responses saying we would be there monday and the drillers were coming friday... Oh well, they still have somewhere for us to stay. They are curious as to what we are doing with the runway and warn us that there are a number of bears in the area. Sweet. We rent a truck, which turns out to be a dodge, probably from the 70s with brakes that barely work.
Now that we have a vehicle, it is time to work! We put on rain gear and head out into the storm. In no time at all, I am soaked though my rain jacket. It is really more of a wind jacket that is somewhat waterproof. Luckily, my rain pants, which I borrowed from my roommate, are more waterproof. This is the last time I am too lazy to unpack and repack my rain gear for a trip... my real gear is siting back at the office waiting to be shipped.
We walk over sand dunes and try to find good locations to drill for a few hours. Craig flags some spots before we call it a day. I spend the rest of the evening reading and watching TV before passing out at 8.
During the night, I hear the wind and rain outside. The next morning, the weather is significantly worse than the day before. It is raining sideways. I get the feeling that this place is really pretty.... if I could see the scenery through the rain.
We spend the day in the bear infested overgrown brush with machetes and one gun since I had to leave mine :( I really have a lovely time seeing how big of a (small) tree I can hack down with mine. We mark some more test holes and collect some rocks to take back to test. We also come to the conclusion that there is no way we are getting a drill rig onto the hill behind the airport. Well, there goes a quarter of the test holes on this project. It is becoming apparent that things are not done changing on this project yet. Actually, I am guessing things will be changing until it is completely done.
Anyway, I am getting tired of writing this and you are probably getting tired of reading it :) So long story short, We get up the next day and make it out on the first plane. It is actually the first plane that has come by since we got in due to weather. We stop at Chignik Lake (another village about 10 miles away) to look at a material site. We collect some rock samples and I find some fossilized shells in one of the rocks. Sweet! I take a few fossils for my (super small) collection.
We make it on the plane out and get back to anchorage at 8. I unpack all my stuff, clean what I need, and pack it all up to ship the next day. I'll post up some pictures eventually :) they will probably get their own post.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Ruger 44 Super Redhawk Alaskan Review
This isn't really a story of my normal blogging style. This is a review... that will hopefully help someone like me make a decision....
I am writing this in an attempt to help other people who are looking for a bear gun and are looking for reviews of 44s and somehow stumble across this site. Some background on my shooting experience: I started shooting a few years ago. 90% of my shooting has been with my 10/22. I have shot a few of my friends' handguns of varying calibers, a few larger rifles, and a shotgun once or twice. I was certainly apprehensive about being able to comfortably shoot a 44. I was mildly concerned that my gun was going to go flying and hit me in the face or something... I am an average size female, generally considered to be pretty bad-ass and tough in attitude.
Anyway, as I am going to a bear infested area to work the next few weeks, and bearspray is a pain to ship and completely illegal to fly with at all, I ended up buying my first handgun. After a few weeks of asking everyone I could what their preference was for bear protection, I finally came upon the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan. (specs here) I was highly concerned that the ultra-compact size was going to make it completely unmanageable to shoot. I figured it would be a "shoot once a year just so I don't forget what to expect if I do actually have to use it" gun. I read a ton of reviews about it. Most of them said it was a manageable gun.I was skeptical since all of the reviews seemed to be from guys who shoot a lot of guns.
Anyway, so I take my new gun to the range to shoot. My mom also comes with a 357. I shoot the 357 a few times and remember that it is not the most pleasant gun ever to shoot. I apprehensively eye my 44 laying on the bench while feeling my wrist stinging a little from the few shots I just took with the 357. I guess I ought to shoot it; that is what I came for afterall.
I load up the gun with some 240 grain bullets. I cock the hammer, take a breath, and squeeze the trigger. The gun goes off and I hit the target. Not only do I hang on to the gun with ease, I am convinced that it feels better than the 357 I just shot. I shoot the next 5 rounds happily. I hit the target every time, 15 yards away. I take a short break and watch my mom shoot. I load up again and shoot 6 rapid shots. I only hit the target with one, but it doesn't feel bad at all. I put a total of 20 rounds through the gun. My wrist and arm are still feeling great by the time I am done. With the exception of the rapidly fired shots, all of my shots land on the target. I am not a bad shot, but I am by no means ready to go shoot in a competition or somthing. I can usually hit a shot gun shell with my .22 at 20 yards or so. (no scope)
Overall, I highly recommend this gun. I am by no means an expert on guns, or all that experienced with guns at all. However, shooting this gun was fun. I didn't want to stop. The recoil was not bad at all. I will have to try it again with higher grain bullets and see how that affects it. The accuracy was good as well. From what I have heard and read, I was concerned the shorter barrel was going to make it difficult to aim. This was not so at all. The grip felt good in my hand and the weight of the gun makes it feel incredibly solid. The trigger pull is smooth and I feel like this is a gun I will be using for the rest of my life. I would recommend this gun to anyone looking for a bear-defense gun. As a disclaimer, I can't compare it to other 44s as it is the only one I have shot.
EDIT: since the original post, I have shot the gun a bit and am still pleased with my purchase. I got some 340 grain bullets for it and those make a huge difference. It is still manageable but just barely. My buddy that was with the range with me said it looked like it almost came out of my hand. (I had a pretty firm grip on it so that wouldn't happen) Definitely packs more of a punch. Also, I have taken this gun with me all over Alaska. (Chignik, Kodiak, Cooper Landing...) Have not had to use it luckily. We were working on a beach near a salmon stream in Kodiak at dark so I brought the gun. I (stupidly) left it in its holster after these outings and when I got home, it had a few surface rust spots on it from the saltwater. I cleaned it up and oiled it really well and it's good as new now.
Also, when I carry this gun, I usually keep it in a galco holster and put it in the side pouch on my work backpack. The backpack tends to get thrown around and somewhat abused. Probably not great for my gun and should come up with a better way to keep it. I am saying this because I broke the rear sight on the gun. Funny thing is I was looking at the sight the day before I did that and thinking about how fragile it looks. Anyway, I am going to replace it with a williams firesight. It looks a little more sturdy than the original equipment. Will update with results when I get it and use it some.
I hope that someone finds this review helpful in making a decision on a 44 :)
I am writing this in an attempt to help other people who are looking for a bear gun and are looking for reviews of 44s and somehow stumble across this site. Some background on my shooting experience: I started shooting a few years ago. 90% of my shooting has been with my 10/22. I have shot a few of my friends' handguns of varying calibers, a few larger rifles, and a shotgun once or twice. I was certainly apprehensive about being able to comfortably shoot a 44. I was mildly concerned that my gun was going to go flying and hit me in the face or something... I am an average size female, generally considered to be pretty bad-ass and tough in attitude.
Anyway, as I am going to a bear infested area to work the next few weeks, and bearspray is a pain to ship and completely illegal to fly with at all, I ended up buying my first handgun. After a few weeks of asking everyone I could what their preference was for bear protection, I finally came upon the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan. (specs here) I was highly concerned that the ultra-compact size was going to make it completely unmanageable to shoot. I figured it would be a "shoot once a year just so I don't forget what to expect if I do actually have to use it" gun. I read a ton of reviews about it. Most of them said it was a manageable gun.I was skeptical since all of the reviews seemed to be from guys who shoot a lot of guns.
Anyway, so I take my new gun to the range to shoot. My mom also comes with a 357. I shoot the 357 a few times and remember that it is not the most pleasant gun ever to shoot. I apprehensively eye my 44 laying on the bench while feeling my wrist stinging a little from the few shots I just took with the 357. I guess I ought to shoot it; that is what I came for afterall.
I load up the gun with some 240 grain bullets. I cock the hammer, take a breath, and squeeze the trigger. The gun goes off and I hit the target. Not only do I hang on to the gun with ease, I am convinced that it feels better than the 357 I just shot. I shoot the next 5 rounds happily. I hit the target every time, 15 yards away. I take a short break and watch my mom shoot. I load up again and shoot 6 rapid shots. I only hit the target with one, but it doesn't feel bad at all. I put a total of 20 rounds through the gun. My wrist and arm are still feeling great by the time I am done. With the exception of the rapidly fired shots, all of my shots land on the target. I am not a bad shot, but I am by no means ready to go shoot in a competition or somthing. I can usually hit a shot gun shell with my .22 at 20 yards or so. (no scope)
Overall, I highly recommend this gun. I am by no means an expert on guns, or all that experienced with guns at all. However, shooting this gun was fun. I didn't want to stop. The recoil was not bad at all. I will have to try it again with higher grain bullets and see how that affects it. The accuracy was good as well. From what I have heard and read, I was concerned the shorter barrel was going to make it difficult to aim. This was not so at all. The grip felt good in my hand and the weight of the gun makes it feel incredibly solid. The trigger pull is smooth and I feel like this is a gun I will be using for the rest of my life. I would recommend this gun to anyone looking for a bear-defense gun. As a disclaimer, I can't compare it to other 44s as it is the only one I have shot.
EDIT: since the original post, I have shot the gun a bit and am still pleased with my purchase. I got some 340 grain bullets for it and those make a huge difference. It is still manageable but just barely. My buddy that was with the range with me said it looked like it almost came out of my hand. (I had a pretty firm grip on it so that wouldn't happen) Definitely packs more of a punch. Also, I have taken this gun with me all over Alaska. (Chignik, Kodiak, Cooper Landing...) Have not had to use it luckily. We were working on a beach near a salmon stream in Kodiak at dark so I brought the gun. I (stupidly) left it in its holster after these outings and when I got home, it had a few surface rust spots on it from the saltwater. I cleaned it up and oiled it really well and it's good as new now.
Also, when I carry this gun, I usually keep it in a galco holster and put it in the side pouch on my work backpack. The backpack tends to get thrown around and somewhat abused. Probably not great for my gun and should come up with a better way to keep it. I am saying this because I broke the rear sight on the gun. Funny thing is I was looking at the sight the day before I did that and thinking about how fragile it looks. Anyway, I am going to replace it with a williams firesight. It looks a little more sturdy than the original equipment. Will update with results when I get it and use it some.
I hope that someone finds this review helpful in making a decision on a 44 :)
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| target from my first outing. all 15 of my aimed shots hit :) |
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Climbing Mountains: O'Malley via False Peak
So I got it in my head that I should climb another mountain before heading off to Chignik Bay for work. I ran into a friend on Friday night and we ended up talking about how she has not been rock climbing in a while... which lead to my talking about mountain climbing... and her agreeing to go on a hike with me on Sunday before I head out on Monday. I told her I wanted to climb O'Malley and that it should be about 3 hours to the top. Meet me at my place at noon on Sunday and off we will go....
So at noon on Sunday she shows up at my house. I show her the map of the 5 routes that I have found that people usually take up the mountain. Of course, I have no desire to take the "easy" route that most people take. We end up choosing to take the "Northwest" ridge route. Supposudly it is not the easiest way up, but it is not the hardest either.
We drive up to the Glennalps trailhead. It is a beautiful day so parking is horrible. After driving around the parking lot for a while and watching people who got there after me slip into spots, I get impaitent and make my own place at the end of one of the rows. We get out of the truck and start toward powerline pass. We have a nice downhill walk for a bit before we have our first turn to make. I follow the signs to Williwa Lake trail. We cross a bridge and continue on a boardwalk before we start to go up.
I spot the obvious trail on the saddle between Little O Malley and False Peak and head toward it. Some guy warns us that there is a moose up around the corner. I pick a little side trail to try to avoid it. 50 feet later, we run into the moose having a snack. I pull out my bear spray, hey it will work on moose too, right? Luckily, he moves along pretty fast and we skirt around him with no msihaphs. We scramble up the trail and in 45 minutes, we have reached the turnoff to the ridgeline.
The ridgeline starts off decievingly easy. There are a few little rocks and a nice trail to follow. However, we reach the first peak and are faced with craggy rocks all over and no obvious trail. My approach to the situation is up and over the rocks. Chealsea is not so excited about this idea so I let her lead, assuming (correctly) that she will probably pick a safer route. We slowly make our way to the left of the rocks down and around the false peak. On the other side, we pick up the trail. In hindsight, we can see that it went around the other side of the peak.
After many cycles of losing the trail, carefully treading over the rocks to get around the false peak, finding the trail again on the other side of the peak, and then seeing yet another peak in front of us, more ominous looking than the last, we lose the trail for good. (One of these peaks is a peak that is actually called "False Peak" FYI...) Being the adventurers that we are, we keep pushing forward, assuming the trail will manifest itself in front of us like it has before. No luck. I decide to may a carron in case other people have the same experience and are not so tenacious. I wonder if anyone has been this way in a long time. Or ever. Chealsea concludes that whomever was making the trail must have been teleporting. There has only been an actual thing resembeling a trail about a third of the way. I mean this is fine with me, I know the direction we are going and can see Flattop and the way back to my truck so I am not too concerned.
It might have been a little easier if there were no clouds up where we were. It is a beautiful day, but the mountain tops have some clouds on them. (I actually end up a little sun burned) We can see the main trail below us. When there are no clouds. Unfortunately, at the time we lost the trail, there were a lot of clouds. Just when we were starting to get concerned that we had missed something, we see a saddle in front of us. And it looks like another trail joins the ridge we are on! I look at the map. Yes! That appears to be the main route. Or the Northeast Ridge route. Or some route on the map... It is a little hard to tell which is which with the lowered visibility.
We even see other people walking along the trail! Awesome!! 3 hours into the hike, we head down to the saddle and merge back on to the main trail. We see a guy hiking a little ways in front of us and follow him. The trail is about as fragmented as the one we were on before. We would pick it up for a hundred feet or so before losing it again. At this point, I am leading and pick a new approach: head up. I lose the guy in front of us behind some rocks, never to find him again. Weird, I wonder where he went....
After some trail making and a few more false peaks, we finally come to a rock that is taller than all the rest. I scramble over to the surrounding rocks to make sure they really are lower and it is not just my perspective. Well, it is unmarked but it is definately the highest rock for miles and it shows signs of wear... this must be it! Finally, exactly 4 hours into the hike, we make it!
We have a snack and talk about how badass we are for taking the sweet ridge route before heading back. We decide to take the main trail through "The Ballfield" We have had enough rock scrambling for one day. We make it back to the saddle with no major problems. Descending from the saddle is fun though. A few hundred feet of loose scree. We both fall a few times trying to get down. Why would anyone want to go up this?!?! Our route was SO MUCH better. And more fun.
We make it to the bottom of the saddle, only a little more dirty than before. There is no obvious trail. Awesome. We pick a path that seems to be the right direction. The rocks here look like people have walked on them, right?? I am starting to see a pattern in my mountain experiences... (read about east twin peak :) ) We do eventually find a nice path to follow which leads us back to the turnoff we took to get on the ridge.
The whole valley that this alternate path was in is really cool. It is called the ballfield and is just covered in rocks. Some of them fell from the mountains, but it looks like a lot were deposited by glaicers. The sides of the mountains are almost perfectly smooth until about a thousand feet up, where they become all jagged. It looks like a glaicer just came through, scraped off the sides of the mountains, and deposited a bunch of rocks and silt in weird mounds. Accodding to Chealsea, it kind of looks like Mars, but greener. Also, there are a few large boulders in the area, which look like they might be good for bouldering. If anyone more interested in bouldering than sport climbing actually reads this and is interested...... Walking along it, we could see just how long and awesome looking the ridge we took is. From below, we could see two people start down the ridge path before turning around.
Continuing on, we slide carefuly down the slope toward powerline pass, seeing more and more people as we go. We cross over the bridge and are on the final streach home! Some random guys decide to ask about our hike. "So like, where did you go?" "O'Malley" "Is that like, that peak over there?" They point in the right direction. All you can see from this angle is False Peak. "Kinda, we went like 4 peaks past that one" They are properly impressed. We wish each other a good day and continue on.
10 minutes later, we are back at my truck, which is looking rather lonely in the emptying parking lot. Luckily, I have not been towed or ticketed! Overall, an excellent hike. about 7 hours total. The rock scrambling was fun but less terrifying than that of East Twin Peak. I will post up some pictures when I get back from Chignik Bay and have my phone again.... :D And then I will blog about Chignik Bay (part 1)!!! Be excited?!?!
For the webpage where I got most of my info for the hike.... click here! Really, it's good info!
Edit: Pictures! In no particular order... views of the foggy ridge and from the top and such :)
So at noon on Sunday she shows up at my house. I show her the map of the 5 routes that I have found that people usually take up the mountain. Of course, I have no desire to take the "easy" route that most people take. We end up choosing to take the "Northwest" ridge route. Supposudly it is not the easiest way up, but it is not the hardest either.
We drive up to the Glennalps trailhead. It is a beautiful day so parking is horrible. After driving around the parking lot for a while and watching people who got there after me slip into spots, I get impaitent and make my own place at the end of one of the rows. We get out of the truck and start toward powerline pass. We have a nice downhill walk for a bit before we have our first turn to make. I follow the signs to Williwa Lake trail. We cross a bridge and continue on a boardwalk before we start to go up.
I spot the obvious trail on the saddle between Little O Malley and False Peak and head toward it. Some guy warns us that there is a moose up around the corner. I pick a little side trail to try to avoid it. 50 feet later, we run into the moose having a snack. I pull out my bear spray, hey it will work on moose too, right? Luckily, he moves along pretty fast and we skirt around him with no msihaphs. We scramble up the trail and in 45 minutes, we have reached the turnoff to the ridgeline.
The ridgeline starts off decievingly easy. There are a few little rocks and a nice trail to follow. However, we reach the first peak and are faced with craggy rocks all over and no obvious trail. My approach to the situation is up and over the rocks. Chealsea is not so excited about this idea so I let her lead, assuming (correctly) that she will probably pick a safer route. We slowly make our way to the left of the rocks down and around the false peak. On the other side, we pick up the trail. In hindsight, we can see that it went around the other side of the peak.
After many cycles of losing the trail, carefully treading over the rocks to get around the false peak, finding the trail again on the other side of the peak, and then seeing yet another peak in front of us, more ominous looking than the last, we lose the trail for good. (One of these peaks is a peak that is actually called "False Peak" FYI...) Being the adventurers that we are, we keep pushing forward, assuming the trail will manifest itself in front of us like it has before. No luck. I decide to may a carron in case other people have the same experience and are not so tenacious. I wonder if anyone has been this way in a long time. Or ever. Chealsea concludes that whomever was making the trail must have been teleporting. There has only been an actual thing resembeling a trail about a third of the way. I mean this is fine with me, I know the direction we are going and can see Flattop and the way back to my truck so I am not too concerned.
It might have been a little easier if there were no clouds up where we were. It is a beautiful day, but the mountain tops have some clouds on them. (I actually end up a little sun burned) We can see the main trail below us. When there are no clouds. Unfortunately, at the time we lost the trail, there were a lot of clouds. Just when we were starting to get concerned that we had missed something, we see a saddle in front of us. And it looks like another trail joins the ridge we are on! I look at the map. Yes! That appears to be the main route. Or the Northeast Ridge route. Or some route on the map... It is a little hard to tell which is which with the lowered visibility.
We even see other people walking along the trail! Awesome!! 3 hours into the hike, we head down to the saddle and merge back on to the main trail. We see a guy hiking a little ways in front of us and follow him. The trail is about as fragmented as the one we were on before. We would pick it up for a hundred feet or so before losing it again. At this point, I am leading and pick a new approach: head up. I lose the guy in front of us behind some rocks, never to find him again. Weird, I wonder where he went....
After some trail making and a few more false peaks, we finally come to a rock that is taller than all the rest. I scramble over to the surrounding rocks to make sure they really are lower and it is not just my perspective. Well, it is unmarked but it is definately the highest rock for miles and it shows signs of wear... this must be it! Finally, exactly 4 hours into the hike, we make it!
We have a snack and talk about how badass we are for taking the sweet ridge route before heading back. We decide to take the main trail through "The Ballfield" We have had enough rock scrambling for one day. We make it back to the saddle with no major problems. Descending from the saddle is fun though. A few hundred feet of loose scree. We both fall a few times trying to get down. Why would anyone want to go up this?!?! Our route was SO MUCH better. And more fun.
We make it to the bottom of the saddle, only a little more dirty than before. There is no obvious trail. Awesome. We pick a path that seems to be the right direction. The rocks here look like people have walked on them, right?? I am starting to see a pattern in my mountain experiences... (read about east twin peak :) ) We do eventually find a nice path to follow which leads us back to the turnoff we took to get on the ridge.
The whole valley that this alternate path was in is really cool. It is called the ballfield and is just covered in rocks. Some of them fell from the mountains, but it looks like a lot were deposited by glaicers. The sides of the mountains are almost perfectly smooth until about a thousand feet up, where they become all jagged. It looks like a glaicer just came through, scraped off the sides of the mountains, and deposited a bunch of rocks and silt in weird mounds. Accodding to Chealsea, it kind of looks like Mars, but greener. Also, there are a few large boulders in the area, which look like they might be good for bouldering. If anyone more interested in bouldering than sport climbing actually reads this and is interested...... Walking along it, we could see just how long and awesome looking the ridge we took is. From below, we could see two people start down the ridge path before turning around.
Continuing on, we slide carefuly down the slope toward powerline pass, seeing more and more people as we go. We cross over the bridge and are on the final streach home! Some random guys decide to ask about our hike. "So like, where did you go?" "O'Malley" "Is that like, that peak over there?" They point in the right direction. All you can see from this angle is False Peak. "Kinda, we went like 4 peaks past that one" They are properly impressed. We wish each other a good day and continue on.
10 minutes later, we are back at my truck, which is looking rather lonely in the emptying parking lot. Luckily, I have not been towed or ticketed! Overall, an excellent hike. about 7 hours total. The rock scrambling was fun but less terrifying than that of East Twin Peak. I will post up some pictures when I get back from Chignik Bay and have my phone again.... :D And then I will blog about Chignik Bay (part 1)!!! Be excited?!?!
For the webpage where I got most of my info for the hike.... click here! Really, it's good info!
Edit: Pictures! In no particular order... views of the foggy ridge and from the top and such :)
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| Normal route up that doesnt look so fun... |
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| Anchorage from the ridge |
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| from the top |
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| from the top |
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| Carron |
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| Ptarmigan! |
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Climbing Mountains: East Twin Peak
So this weekend I climbed a mountain and ate lunch in the clouds as I like to describe it. BTW I added a new map to the right hand side... of mountains I have climbed in Alaska :)
After my epic trip across the western part of America, I returned home and realized how little I know about my own state. I mean, I think I hiked more on my trip than I have the whole time I have lived in Alaska. I realized that was a problem as far as I am concerned and have set about fixing that. At this point in the summer, I am proud to say this has been remedied. :) However, for some reason, while I didn't mind hiking all over in the lower 48 by myself, I feel that most of the hiking I do in Alaska is best done with someone else. (with the exception of Flattop.... It is close enough to town, popular enough in general, and I am familiar enough with it that I will do that one by myself...) I guess I just feel like Alaska is so big, isolated, and wild that I really want someone with me should shit go down in a bad way.
So I have been searching (aka moreso being in the right places at the right times to meet people of similar interests) for people who want to explore Alaska with me.... and ideally know something about mountain safety so I can learn new skills and techniques to be safe. Unfortunately, I find that these sorts of people tend to be rather busy sorts of people so scheduling time to climb mountains can be difficult... But it is going well.. anyway... to the story of the weekend!
I took a 12 hour day hike with my co worker near Ekluta lake. He is really into ice climbing (which I am hoping to try some day) but has injured his shoulder and has thus had to content himself with hiking until it heals. We decide to do a day hike and come up with a few mountains and trails that sound interesting. We independently come up with the same 3 peaks and finally decide to go to Eklutna and hike the Twin Peaks. If you are familiar with the trail (which we were not) you know that the Twin Peaks trail does not actually go to a peak. Instead, it goes to a ridge where the trail kind of ends. You can then ascend 1000+ feet up shitty rock and all sorts of sketchiness to the actual peak if you really want to. Apparently, this is not recommended, though people do it, we found proof of this at the top.
Long story short: There are about 3 miles of well defined trail. Then there is about 2 of back country trails to the ridge line. Then it is anyone's game as to how to get to the top, which is another few miles.
After missing the turn off to Eklutna and ending up in Palmer, we finally arrive at the trail head. We have all sorts of food and tons of water with us. My stupid back pack weighs a ton. We head off on the first part of the trail. I have been on it again and am somewhat prepared for it. It is a lonnggg uphill. We stop a few times along the way and check out the view and rest. Before I know it, we are at the start of the primitive trail.
We rest at the bench and then head off. We go steeply downhill for a while... well, this seems counter productive. This is pretty obviously the trail though..... We finally get to the bottom... and a creek crossing. Mark gets half way across and then jumps for it, barely making it. I then follow. I get half way across and then jump for it... and land in the water. Ugh. Great. I don't have extra socks. We stop so I can squeeze out my socks before continuing on.
The trail starts heading uphill. This is a good sign. The bad news is that we are not heading toward the peak like we thought the trail would. We are headed north with the peak to the east. We stop and check the map. Well, there is a trail that kind of loops around.... We keep following the trail. The plants along the way are pretty but are scratching my legs. Good plan Anna, wear shorts. I hate being too hot so I usually wear shorts. Unfortunately, this results in some minor bleeding along the way. Oh well, I am nice and cool at least. A little later, we are up on the ridge looking at the peak, maybe a half mile away.
We spend some time on the ridge. There is a really cool view of Palmer and the Knik river. There is also some really cool geological features and the clouds are literally rolling over the ridge right in front of us. Pretty sweet. At this point, Mark mentions that the path to the peak is pretty much non existent and not recommended for amateurs. Well, he is an experienced ice and rock climber and has climbed 14ers in Colorado... so he qualifies. I have climbed flattop and a few rock walls... I don't exactly qualify? So we decide to hike along the ridge and go for it. It doesnt look thatttt far.
It is that far. After hiking along the ridge (which is a gorgeous walk and there are lots of cool rocks...)., we spend the next two hours or so ascending the final thousand feet to the summit. It is some serious rock scrambling. I follow Mark. He expertly taps the rocks to check their stability. I am glad he has some sort of idea of how to do this as safely as possible. We slowly pick the safest way we can find up the rocks, not wanting to think about how we are going to get down. I am really glad I am not afraid of heights.We have to back track a few times. We stop multiple times. "oh, ten more minutes to the top!" Wrong. There are multiple false peaks once we are actually up on the peak.
We finally make it to the top, soak in the view, take pictures, sign the register, and eat lunch. According to the register in the canister, we are only the third group to make it to the top this year. Only a handful have even been there since 2008, when the dates start. I am feeling pretty accomplished. We look down on some clouds as they blow by, sometimes obscuring the view completely. Pretty sweet!
Now for the fun part... getting down safely. Neither of us are remotely interested in going down the way we came. We find a gully full of scree and decide to try sliding down it. It is super sketchy. At one point, I knock a largeish (1' at its widest) rock onto my ankle. Ow. It takes forever and I fill my shoes with rocks but we make it out of the rocky summit and to the alpine tundra safely. We are no where near the trail that we took up and see no trail that goes to where we want. There are goat trails going horizontally, but no trails going down. We decide to just wander down and make our own trail. We can see where we meet up with the established path.
On the way down, I wonder if we are the first people to have come this particular way. I see no signs of people having been here. I mean there is no "good" way down really and this is as good as any. I would guess someone has been there before at some point. However, after hikes like Flattop where EVERY inch seems to have been traversed at some point, I find this though (and slight possibility) pretty cool.
As we head down, we see the mountain goats below us. ( I think they are goats and not sheep... They look more goat like than sheep like but I could be wrong here...) This is a new angle to see them from! Usually I see them from below. Ha! Mountain goats! I am ABOVE you. :). We eventually make our way back to the creek. Mark makes it across with little problem. Again, I end up slipping, and falling in this time. Awesome. I am all wet now. Oh well, almost back to the truck.
An uneventful hour later, we are back to the trailhead, thankfully safely, and feeling quite accomplished. The hike itself was about 9 hours... 12 hours total from when I left home to when I got back. Super fun day overall! Time to co climb some more mountains..... Oh, and some pictures!
And now I am watching the Olympics. The end :)
After my epic trip across the western part of America, I returned home and realized how little I know about my own state. I mean, I think I hiked more on my trip than I have the whole time I have lived in Alaska. I realized that was a problem as far as I am concerned and have set about fixing that. At this point in the summer, I am proud to say this has been remedied. :) However, for some reason, while I didn't mind hiking all over in the lower 48 by myself, I feel that most of the hiking I do in Alaska is best done with someone else. (with the exception of Flattop.... It is close enough to town, popular enough in general, and I am familiar enough with it that I will do that one by myself...) I guess I just feel like Alaska is so big, isolated, and wild that I really want someone with me should shit go down in a bad way.
So I have been searching (aka moreso being in the right places at the right times to meet people of similar interests) for people who want to explore Alaska with me.... and ideally know something about mountain safety so I can learn new skills and techniques to be safe. Unfortunately, I find that these sorts of people tend to be rather busy sorts of people so scheduling time to climb mountains can be difficult... But it is going well.. anyway... to the story of the weekend!
I took a 12 hour day hike with my co worker near Ekluta lake. He is really into ice climbing (which I am hoping to try some day) but has injured his shoulder and has thus had to content himself with hiking until it heals. We decide to do a day hike and come up with a few mountains and trails that sound interesting. We independently come up with the same 3 peaks and finally decide to go to Eklutna and hike the Twin Peaks. If you are familiar with the trail (which we were not) you know that the Twin Peaks trail does not actually go to a peak. Instead, it goes to a ridge where the trail kind of ends. You can then ascend 1000+ feet up shitty rock and all sorts of sketchiness to the actual peak if you really want to. Apparently, this is not recommended, though people do it, we found proof of this at the top.
Long story short: There are about 3 miles of well defined trail. Then there is about 2 of back country trails to the ridge line. Then it is anyone's game as to how to get to the top, which is another few miles.
After missing the turn off to Eklutna and ending up in Palmer, we finally arrive at the trail head. We have all sorts of food and tons of water with us. My stupid back pack weighs a ton. We head off on the first part of the trail. I have been on it again and am somewhat prepared for it. It is a lonnggg uphill. We stop a few times along the way and check out the view and rest. Before I know it, we are at the start of the primitive trail.
We rest at the bench and then head off. We go steeply downhill for a while... well, this seems counter productive. This is pretty obviously the trail though..... We finally get to the bottom... and a creek crossing. Mark gets half way across and then jumps for it, barely making it. I then follow. I get half way across and then jump for it... and land in the water. Ugh. Great. I don't have extra socks. We stop so I can squeeze out my socks before continuing on.
The trail starts heading uphill. This is a good sign. The bad news is that we are not heading toward the peak like we thought the trail would. We are headed north with the peak to the east. We stop and check the map. Well, there is a trail that kind of loops around.... We keep following the trail. The plants along the way are pretty but are scratching my legs. Good plan Anna, wear shorts. I hate being too hot so I usually wear shorts. Unfortunately, this results in some minor bleeding along the way. Oh well, I am nice and cool at least. A little later, we are up on the ridge looking at the peak, maybe a half mile away.
We spend some time on the ridge. There is a really cool view of Palmer and the Knik river. There is also some really cool geological features and the clouds are literally rolling over the ridge right in front of us. Pretty sweet. At this point, Mark mentions that the path to the peak is pretty much non existent and not recommended for amateurs. Well, he is an experienced ice and rock climber and has climbed 14ers in Colorado... so he qualifies. I have climbed flattop and a few rock walls... I don't exactly qualify? So we decide to hike along the ridge and go for it. It doesnt look thatttt far.
It is that far. After hiking along the ridge (which is a gorgeous walk and there are lots of cool rocks...)., we spend the next two hours or so ascending the final thousand feet to the summit. It is some serious rock scrambling. I follow Mark. He expertly taps the rocks to check their stability. I am glad he has some sort of idea of how to do this as safely as possible. We slowly pick the safest way we can find up the rocks, not wanting to think about how we are going to get down. I am really glad I am not afraid of heights.We have to back track a few times. We stop multiple times. "oh, ten more minutes to the top!" Wrong. There are multiple false peaks once we are actually up on the peak.
We finally make it to the top, soak in the view, take pictures, sign the register, and eat lunch. According to the register in the canister, we are only the third group to make it to the top this year. Only a handful have even been there since 2008, when the dates start. I am feeling pretty accomplished. We look down on some clouds as they blow by, sometimes obscuring the view completely. Pretty sweet!
Now for the fun part... getting down safely. Neither of us are remotely interested in going down the way we came. We find a gully full of scree and decide to try sliding down it. It is super sketchy. At one point, I knock a largeish (1' at its widest) rock onto my ankle. Ow. It takes forever and I fill my shoes with rocks but we make it out of the rocky summit and to the alpine tundra safely. We are no where near the trail that we took up and see no trail that goes to where we want. There are goat trails going horizontally, but no trails going down. We decide to just wander down and make our own trail. We can see where we meet up with the established path.
On the way down, I wonder if we are the first people to have come this particular way. I see no signs of people having been here. I mean there is no "good" way down really and this is as good as any. I would guess someone has been there before at some point. However, after hikes like Flattop where EVERY inch seems to have been traversed at some point, I find this though (and slight possibility) pretty cool.
As we head down, we see the mountain goats below us. ( I think they are goats and not sheep... They look more goat like than sheep like but I could be wrong here...) This is a new angle to see them from! Usually I see them from below. Ha! Mountain goats! I am ABOVE you. :). We eventually make our way back to the creek. Mark makes it across with little problem. Again, I end up slipping, and falling in this time. Awesome. I am all wet now. Oh well, almost back to the truck.
An uneventful hour later, we are back to the trailhead, thankfully safely, and feeling quite accomplished. The hike itself was about 9 hours... 12 hours total from when I left home to when I got back. Super fun day overall! Time to co climb some more mountains..... Oh, and some pictures!
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| The twin peaks! |
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| View of Palmer from the ridge |
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| The peak from the ridge |
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| Flowers on at high elevation :D |
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| Looking down at the lake through the clouds! |
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| Signing the register!!!!! |
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| Standing at the stick marking the summit! |
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| Looking down on the West Twin Peak |
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| See the goat?!?! (sheep?) |
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
I have Jet-Ski Envy
I spent a lot of time around water as a child. I spent all summer at the swimming pool and then we would go on vacation to the beach where I would swim or at my family's lake house, where I would also swim. It would be safe to say that I love water and find it an excellent source of entertainment. Hell, my first job was as a life guard.
Anyway, my family went to our lake house every summer that I can remember from the time I was born until I graduated high school. Most of those years we did not own a boat. Not to say I did not get my share of boating adventures from our friendly lake neighbors, I did. When I was 13, we bought a 18.5 foot Sea Ray speed boat. That thing was fun! Now we could go out on the water whenever we wanted! This opened the door to many days on the lake tubing, water skiing, and having a good time in general.
However, I must say that I always wanted to ride around on a jet ski. As a kid, I had dreams of one day buying my own jet ski to ride around the lake. I love the sound they make when they go over the lake. I just thought they were so cool. They looked like so much fun!
Anyway, a few years later, I was invited to my friend's cabin. I get there and they have jet skis! Which I was told I would be permitted to ride. I was soooo excited! I finally get to go out on them and I must say, they were everything I had hoped and dreamed they would be, and more. I run around the lake like a crazy person.
I guess it is one of those rare times that something you really want really is as good as you dreamed it would be.
Anyway, my family went to our lake house every summer that I can remember from the time I was born until I graduated high school. Most of those years we did not own a boat. Not to say I did not get my share of boating adventures from our friendly lake neighbors, I did. When I was 13, we bought a 18.5 foot Sea Ray speed boat. That thing was fun! Now we could go out on the water whenever we wanted! This opened the door to many days on the lake tubing, water skiing, and having a good time in general.
However, I must say that I always wanted to ride around on a jet ski. As a kid, I had dreams of one day buying my own jet ski to ride around the lake. I love the sound they make when they go over the lake. I just thought they were so cool. They looked like so much fun!
Anyway, a few years later, I was invited to my friend's cabin. I get there and they have jet skis! Which I was told I would be permitted to ride. I was soooo excited! I finally get to go out on them and I must say, they were everything I had hoped and dreamed they would be, and more. I run around the lake like a crazy person.
I guess it is one of those rare times that something you really want really is as good as you dreamed it would be.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Making friends hiking Flat Top
So I read this lovely inspiring article the other day. Basically it was about how awesome it is to be outside, which I agree with. So when I get off work on Monday a lot earlier than I was expecting, I decide it would be a good idea to hike Flat Top.
Well, I have a softball game at 7:30 and I had gotten off at 4... that gives me a good 3.5 hours to get to the trail, hike, and get back. I know some crazy people who can climb the mountain in half an hour so I figured it wouldn't be too hard to do.
By the time I get through traffic and to my house, it is 4:30. I decide I should eat something and end up leaving to hike around 5. I get up the mountain around 5:30. Ok. 2 hours: ready: hike!
I get around the first part without much problem. I go the "wrong way" around blueberry knoll. We went this way when it was all snowy so why not go this way now? I get to the back side of the knoll and see a trail up the mountain that I have not used before. I have seen people go up it in the winter with mountaineering gear. It looks like fun. I start up the trail and find a sign. "Old route up flat top. Extremely strenuous and unmaintained. Use new route" Hmmm, sounds like a good way to go.
I start up the trail and run into a snowy patch. It is super slippery and its steep. I slowly make my way across the snow to the trail up. This is not helping me make good time.... I look up the hill and it only gets steeper. Well, it's too late to turn back now; I don't want to go down that snow I just went up.... I continue to go up... on all 4s. It is way too steep to walk up. I scramble up the rocks and dirt using my hands and feet and finally make it to the bottom of the final ascent.
I start up the rocky grade and stop to catch my breath and look at the view. A few people coming down do the same. I somehow end up talking to them and taking a million pictures. I have them stand all over the place. No no, I think I can get a better shot if you stand there.... I wish them a happy hike and continue running up the mountain. I am going to be late to the game if I don't start moving!
I get the rest of the way up as fast as I can. It is starting to rain so the rocks are getting slippery... boo. Nevertheless, I make it to the post marking the top in 55 minutes. Ok! 6:30ish... game starts in an hour. Ready, go!
I start down the mountain. I pass a girl that I saw on my way up. She is moving slowly and safely down the rocks. She asks me how much I hike the mountain... a lot! We talk some and then I head off. Just a little further down the mountain I stumble upon some tourists debating if they should go to the top or not. It is raining a little and the rocks are getting slick. Not to mention that visibility has been better... I encourage and convince them to head to the top. They are practically there anyway. We talk about their trip and how awesome Alaska is. I wish them a safe trip and continue on my way.
At this point, I am practically running down the mountain. Probably a bad idea. I hit a slippery rock and slide, barely catching myself. Some random dude walks by "woahhh, sweet slide! that was awesome!" Why thank you random dude.
I make it down the top part of the trail and run into my picture buddies again. I say hi and we talk for a bit again. I check my watch... going to be late! I run off down the mountain. It is more of a trail than a rocky climb at this point. I go the opposite way from my way up. I don't exactly remember the way down and end up on a very steep unofficial trail down. I stop running and walk at this point. Too steep! Shit... I go plummeting down the trail and come to a skidding stop on the actual trail before, right before I would have gone over the edge and probably hurt myself. All of this is done right in front of a family on a hike. They applause and I get a "you go girl!". I feel super cool, smile, and continue running down the trail.
I run around almost to the bottom... and find more snow. Snow in july, seriously Alaska!?!?! I carefully tread across it. I end up way above where the trail should be. Oops. I look down and see some guys hiking on the actual trail. They see me. "Oh no! don't even think about falling on me!" I hear. Don't worry dude, I wont! I wait for them to pass. They don't. Apparently they are concerned for my safety and insist on helping me off the snow. "give me your hand, really!" "I WILL fall on you if we do this..." "No no, it's fine!". I grab his hand, and slide out of control down the snow before finally falling all over the place and knocking him over. He laughed and we all continue on our way.
I practically sprint the last part of the trail back to my truck in just under 25 minutes after reaching the top. 7:00. Perfect! I should make the game. I set off down the road and a weird animal runs out in front of me. I stop and stare at it before realizing it is a lynx (or bobcat?) how do you tell those apart? AWESOME!
It ends up taking me longer to drive across town to my game than it took me to get down the mountain. Kind of sad, but I make it to my game in time. :D
The end!
See I do update this on occasion! :) Sorry for the lack of editing.....
Thursday, May 17, 2012
My dirtbike has Issues :*(
Those of you who know me probably know that I have put my dirtbike through a figurative watery hell. Twice. I am impressed that the poor thing still runs.
Anyway, when I say that, I mean that I laid the thing over due to incompetence in a river and seized the engine once. I took the engine to Yamaha and completely accidentally (really, I wasn't trying to. Or it would not have worked) used my awesome hot girl powers to get it fixed. Super super cheap. I then took the bike out again and dropped it in the water. Again. This time I shut off the engine before I got it seized. It had some issues so I rebuilt the carburetor and lo and behold it ran better than ever!
Anyway, that was before I started working in construction all summer. Working in construction in Alaska=working 7 days a week. No life in the summer really. So my bike sat in the garage with the fluids in it (shoulda drained those....) for years.
Last summer I went to pull it out and discovered my front brake was havin issues. Damn... I want to start riding again so I decided to try and fix that. Well, let's see if it starts first. I kick it and it fires up pretty well. I put it in gear and it goes... and goes... pulling in the clutch does not release the flywheel and make the engine stop pulling like it should.. and I have no front brake. The rear brake is not doing much at all. Shittt... Oh right, engine kill switch. I get the bike off and do some research on the newest problem.
Well, I put cheap oil in it last time I changed it because I really just needed to drain the old stuff out that had gotten mixed with water and flush the thing. I should have drained the new shit I put in because it has now practically glued my clutch assembly together. Well, that is the best I can figure as to what its problem is. It was fine last summer and I have not touched it since.
Anyway, so my list of stuff to do to get it running is growing. The good news is that I don't think there is anything else to go wrong with it... the back brake is new, the engine was just repaired, and the carburetor was just rebuilt. So when I fix the clutch and front brake, I should be in business! I hope....
Anyway, when I say that, I mean that I laid the thing over due to incompetence in a river and seized the engine once. I took the engine to Yamaha and completely accidentally (really, I wasn't trying to. Or it would not have worked) used my awesome hot girl powers to get it fixed. Super super cheap. I then took the bike out again and dropped it in the water. Again. This time I shut off the engine before I got it seized. It had some issues so I rebuilt the carburetor and lo and behold it ran better than ever!
Anyway, that was before I started working in construction all summer. Working in construction in Alaska=working 7 days a week. No life in the summer really. So my bike sat in the garage with the fluids in it (shoulda drained those....) for years.
Last summer I went to pull it out and discovered my front brake was havin issues. Damn... I want to start riding again so I decided to try and fix that. Well, let's see if it starts first. I kick it and it fires up pretty well. I put it in gear and it goes... and goes... pulling in the clutch does not release the flywheel and make the engine stop pulling like it should.. and I have no front brake. The rear brake is not doing much at all. Shittt... Oh right, engine kill switch. I get the bike off and do some research on the newest problem.
Well, I put cheap oil in it last time I changed it because I really just needed to drain the old stuff out that had gotten mixed with water and flush the thing. I should have drained the new shit I put in because it has now practically glued my clutch assembly together. Well, that is the best I can figure as to what its problem is. It was fine last summer and I have not touched it since.
Anyway, so my list of stuff to do to get it running is growing. The good news is that I don't think there is anything else to go wrong with it... the back brake is new, the engine was just repaired, and the carburetor was just rebuilt. So when I fix the clutch and front brake, I should be in business! I hope....
Monday, May 7, 2012
I lose my shirt
This weekend was graduation weekend. And Cinco De Mayo. And the "super moon". Which is the night the moon is the closest to the earth and is super big looking! Sadly, it was cloudy so I couldn't see it. :(
Therefore, there was some partying to be done. I went to a lot of graduation bbqs and concluded that since I was to sick to celebrate my graduation last year, I may as well make up for it this year. Long story short, I end up downtown at "da club" on Saturday night with some friends.
We start at the Anchor and conclude the music sucks and is not making us want to dance, which is the whole reason we decided that going out was a good idea. Also, we are some of the only people dancing to. Kind of lame. It is no fun when everyone can actually see my horrible dance moves. So we try the next place down the road. The Avenue turns out to be a little more hopping. We decide to stay here for a while.
The place is packed and insanely hot. Everyone wearing an undershirt has stripped down to it. So I decide that is a good idea too. I am wearing a super cool (temperature wise, not cool cool, well it is bright bright green so I guess it is pretty cool...) tank top underneath so this is a good call. I carefully put my shirt with my coat. After a few drinks and a tequila shot to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, and a really sloppy attempt by some guy to convince me to come home with him and sleep with him (uh, hello buddy, you can't even answer the simple questions about yourself I am asking you, hellssss noooo. What kind of a girl do you think I am? This is all moving so fast!), we then decide we need to go outside and cool off.
I am careful to grab my coat and my shirt on the way out. We push our way through the crowd and make it outside. Ahh! fresh air! I look down, uhhh where is my shirt?!?! Shit guys! I lost my shirt! I go back inside and look all over the floor. No where to be found. My friend goes back inside with me to help me look, and make sure someone isn't wearing it. Oh! That might be why I can't find it on the floor. We still don't find it. Eh, I liked that shirt but oh wells!
We head off to the Bernie's which is pretty fun. The DJ here used to work at the Anchor when it was my favorite place to dance. Now Bernie's is the place with the good music. We hang out until they kick us out for the night. I get home and go to sleep.
Anyway, so the next day, I go to a graduation BBQ out in Eagle River. On the way back into town, we decide to stop at the Avenue to check and see if my shirt had turned up.
We walk in. The bouncer wants to check my ID. "Umm, I don't want a drink, do you have a lost and found? I kinda lost my shirt last night..." He laughed and wanted to know if I had too much tequila. Nope, I didn't have much to drink in general last night, tequila or otherwise. He has me describe it. "Ummm, it is blue?" He asks about the fabric and if it is soft and kind of thin. Ummm, yup, sounds like it. He takes me to the lost and found and produces my shirt. I start laughing. I am not sure why. He then again asks me about the amount of tequila I had last night. Ummm, no, still didn't have much of that... Apparently I am missing some sort of reference and he was trying to be funny. Sorry dude, I am lacking in cultural references....
Anyway, I was really excited to get my lost shirt back :D
Therefore, there was some partying to be done. I went to a lot of graduation bbqs and concluded that since I was to sick to celebrate my graduation last year, I may as well make up for it this year. Long story short, I end up downtown at "da club" on Saturday night with some friends.
We start at the Anchor and conclude the music sucks and is not making us want to dance, which is the whole reason we decided that going out was a good idea. Also, we are some of the only people dancing to. Kind of lame. It is no fun when everyone can actually see my horrible dance moves. So we try the next place down the road. The Avenue turns out to be a little more hopping. We decide to stay here for a while.
The place is packed and insanely hot. Everyone wearing an undershirt has stripped down to it. So I decide that is a good idea too. I am wearing a super cool (temperature wise, not cool cool, well it is bright bright green so I guess it is pretty cool...) tank top underneath so this is a good call. I carefully put my shirt with my coat. After a few drinks and a tequila shot to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, and a really sloppy attempt by some guy to convince me to come home with him and sleep with him (uh, hello buddy, you can't even answer the simple questions about yourself I am asking you, hellssss noooo. What kind of a girl do you think I am? This is all moving so fast!), we then decide we need to go outside and cool off.
I am careful to grab my coat and my shirt on the way out. We push our way through the crowd and make it outside. Ahh! fresh air! I look down, uhhh where is my shirt?!?! Shit guys! I lost my shirt! I go back inside and look all over the floor. No where to be found. My friend goes back inside with me to help me look, and make sure someone isn't wearing it. Oh! That might be why I can't find it on the floor. We still don't find it. Eh, I liked that shirt but oh wells!
We head off to the Bernie's which is pretty fun. The DJ here used to work at the Anchor when it was my favorite place to dance. Now Bernie's is the place with the good music. We hang out until they kick us out for the night. I get home and go to sleep.
Anyway, so the next day, I go to a graduation BBQ out in Eagle River. On the way back into town, we decide to stop at the Avenue to check and see if my shirt had turned up.
We walk in. The bouncer wants to check my ID. "Umm, I don't want a drink, do you have a lost and found? I kinda lost my shirt last night..." He laughed and wanted to know if I had too much tequila. Nope, I didn't have much to drink in general last night, tequila or otherwise. He has me describe it. "Ummm, it is blue?" He asks about the fabric and if it is soft and kind of thin. Ummm, yup, sounds like it. He takes me to the lost and found and produces my shirt. I start laughing. I am not sure why. He then again asks me about the amount of tequila I had last night. Ummm, no, still didn't have much of that... Apparently I am missing some sort of reference and he was trying to be funny. Sorry dude, I am lacking in cultural references....
Anyway, I was really excited to get my lost shirt back :D
Monday, April 30, 2012
In which I mess up my nails, learn how awesome lube is, and feel like a huge idiot.
Ugh, blogger has changed my layout. I can't find where anything is. Dumb.
As most of you probably know, now that I have money (kind of) and have a sweet new truck and a sweet motocycle to go with it, (it's so hard to decide which one to take to work in the morning... ah the awesome problems I have!!!!) I have started doing what I do best: modifying them to make them more awesome.
I spent last weekend with the truck... de tinting the windows since I got pulled over for illegal tint (knew it was coming just was hoping not so soon) and putting in some sweet new headlights. The truck now looks pretty awesome and is legal to drive in AK. Anyway, this story is about my motorcycle.
So I decided I wanted new grips for the bike. I have changed the grips on my dirtbike and know this can be a pain in the ass. Not too bad; it just takes a little determination and 15 minutes to do what should take 5. Anyway, I pick out some nice looking grips for the bike. They even have some aluminum rings on them for extra badassness. I ordered these last week.
I get home today from work today, do my thing, go play some catch with my friend, have a lovely time, and come home and check the mail. This is where things went wrong. My new grips came! Cool! It is 8, I am kind of hungry, but there is still light and this should take 30 minutes tops. I excitedly rip open the clamshell. (who invented sealed calmshells anyway. Even with a knife they are dangerous and really hard to open) The grips are as sweet as I imagined! To my credit, I do check the box for any directions. Nope, none. I decide to put them on now. Why not?
I start by pulling off the old grip. Of course this is not easy and I end up cutting it off. I start trying to work the new one on. It does not want to go on. Oh, I forgot lube. I can't remember what I used on my dirtbike but I have chapstick in my pocket. So I smear it all over the tube and the inside of the grip. I try to work it on. It will not go on past the first aluminum ring. The metal is making it too tight. I try harder and try twisting. The aluminum cuts up my hands and majorly does a number on my nails, which I just painted last night. This is why I never painted my nails before.... However, I kind of like painting them and I think my coworkers like playing "guess what color Anna's nails will be" each Monday.
Anyway, I get the grip stuck on. I go inside and look for more lube. Hmmm, I have lube for the chain on my bike. I check the internet and see if that will work. Yes it does! Ok, good deal. I try to spray it on the inside of the grip. It goes all over my face, luckily missing my eyes. I really need to remember to wear safety glasses when I do stuff like this.... It still is not going on so I decide to take it off and try again.
I try putting it on without the aluminum rings on. They seem to be stopping the rubber on the grip from stretching. After much working at it, I finally get it on. The grip is too flimsy where the metal is supposed to be to be used without it. Damn. I am at my 30 minutes now and have made my bike un-rideable. I am hungry and want to give up but it is going to be getting dark soon. Ok, let's pull it off and try again.
I put the metal ring back on and spray chain lube all over the grip. I try again. After a fair bit of work, I manage to get it on. Unfortunately, the grip is rubbing on the handlebar and is making my throttle stay open. That is not safe, going to have to do something about that. Additionally, all this pulling is causing the metal to cut up the rubber in my nice new grip. Ugh. I take the grip off. Again. I notice that there is a diameter of 22mm stamped on the grip. Weird. I check the old one to see if it has any info on it. Nothing. Bummer.
I mess with the grip-less handle bar and get the throttle functional. Ok, one more try. After lubing it up a lot, I get the grip back on. Again. I get the grip on pretty well but am unable to get the second aluminum ring on the grip. Who needs that? Well, the rubber on the grip looks like shit at this point and damn it, I am giong to get that ring on there. I eventually force it on.
At this point, multiple people have left the parking lot and come back home to me still working on my bike. It is now approximately two hours later and the sun is starting to set. The sunset is pretty at least. My hands are also bleeding despite the fact that I put gloves on about 30 minutes into the procedure. My nails are also ruined.
I have the throttle working and the grip on. Kind of. Well the throttle is working but the grip is all stretched really weird and looks horrible. I decide to give up for the day. I pick up the other grip and take a look at it. The diameter on it is 24 mm. Fuck, I bet the handles are different sizes. In fact, I know they are since the other one does not have the throttle on it. Since the grip looks so shitty and I am going to have mis-matched grips for a while at this rate anyway, I decide to take the grip off and replace it with the other one.
I end up having to cut the damn thing off. Oh well, it was more or less destroyed at this point anyway. The metal rings make cutting it slightly ineffective since the part that is so tight and causing the problems is the metal. I eventually pull it off.
I lube up the 24 mm diameter grip and slide it on in about 30 seconds. Perfect fit. Awesome. I feel much better about riding with this grip on since it has no conflict with the throttle operation at all. Why did I not do this two hours ago?
Well, my grips are definitely going to be mis matched for a while now. I do not want to repeat this adventure any time soon. Even if I did, it would take a bit to get new ones shipped...
Anyway, it is now after 10. I am tired and hungry and my hands hurt a lot. Between the 2 hours of the friction from pulling on a stupid little grip and the metal cutting me, they don't feel to great. And they are all dirty like they always are when I touch anything that goes on a road and needs oil and gas to run... no matter what I am doing to it, I always get filthy.
Time to make dinner. I don't want to cook. I just want food to appear. I decide macaroni and cheese from a box can't be that hard to make. I boil the water, add the noodles, and wait. I finally strain them and add the cheese powder, a little butter, and some milk. I don't measure any of this. After stirring for a bit, I realize that I have put way too much milk in. My dinner turns out to be noodles swimming in cheese flavored milk. Ok, apparently this is not my evening.
Time to finish blogging, then wash the chain lube off my face, and finally go to bed and hope my hands heal some overnight. They really don't feel so great. :(
I would have pictures but my hands were so torn up and I was so hungry that I didn't take any. Too bad for you! But here is a picture of my sad mac n cheese
As most of you probably know, now that I have money (kind of) and have a sweet new truck and a sweet motocycle to go with it, (it's so hard to decide which one to take to work in the morning... ah the awesome problems I have!!!!) I have started doing what I do best: modifying them to make them more awesome.
I spent last weekend with the truck... de tinting the windows since I got pulled over for illegal tint (knew it was coming just was hoping not so soon) and putting in some sweet new headlights. The truck now looks pretty awesome and is legal to drive in AK. Anyway, this story is about my motorcycle.
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| Truck in progress |
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| Truck done! Definite improvement :) |
I get home today from work today, do my thing, go play some catch with my friend, have a lovely time, and come home and check the mail. This is where things went wrong. My new grips came! Cool! It is 8, I am kind of hungry, but there is still light and this should take 30 minutes tops. I excitedly rip open the clamshell. (who invented sealed calmshells anyway. Even with a knife they are dangerous and really hard to open) The grips are as sweet as I imagined! To my credit, I do check the box for any directions. Nope, none. I decide to put them on now. Why not?
I start by pulling off the old grip. Of course this is not easy and I end up cutting it off. I start trying to work the new one on. It does not want to go on. Oh, I forgot lube. I can't remember what I used on my dirtbike but I have chapstick in my pocket. So I smear it all over the tube and the inside of the grip. I try to work it on. It will not go on past the first aluminum ring. The metal is making it too tight. I try harder and try twisting. The aluminum cuts up my hands and majorly does a number on my nails, which I just painted last night. This is why I never painted my nails before.... However, I kind of like painting them and I think my coworkers like playing "guess what color Anna's nails will be" each Monday.
Anyway, I get the grip stuck on. I go inside and look for more lube. Hmmm, I have lube for the chain on my bike. I check the internet and see if that will work. Yes it does! Ok, good deal. I try to spray it on the inside of the grip. It goes all over my face, luckily missing my eyes. I really need to remember to wear safety glasses when I do stuff like this.... It still is not going on so I decide to take it off and try again.
I try putting it on without the aluminum rings on. They seem to be stopping the rubber on the grip from stretching. After much working at it, I finally get it on. The grip is too flimsy where the metal is supposed to be to be used without it. Damn. I am at my 30 minutes now and have made my bike un-rideable. I am hungry and want to give up but it is going to be getting dark soon. Ok, let's pull it off and try again.
I put the metal ring back on and spray chain lube all over the grip. I try again. After a fair bit of work, I manage to get it on. Unfortunately, the grip is rubbing on the handlebar and is making my throttle stay open. That is not safe, going to have to do something about that. Additionally, all this pulling is causing the metal to cut up the rubber in my nice new grip. Ugh. I take the grip off. Again. I notice that there is a diameter of 22mm stamped on the grip. Weird. I check the old one to see if it has any info on it. Nothing. Bummer.
I mess with the grip-less handle bar and get the throttle functional. Ok, one more try. After lubing it up a lot, I get the grip back on. Again. I get the grip on pretty well but am unable to get the second aluminum ring on the grip. Who needs that? Well, the rubber on the grip looks like shit at this point and damn it, I am giong to get that ring on there. I eventually force it on.
At this point, multiple people have left the parking lot and come back home to me still working on my bike. It is now approximately two hours later and the sun is starting to set. The sunset is pretty at least. My hands are also bleeding despite the fact that I put gloves on about 30 minutes into the procedure. My nails are also ruined.
I have the throttle working and the grip on. Kind of. Well the throttle is working but the grip is all stretched really weird and looks horrible. I decide to give up for the day. I pick up the other grip and take a look at it. The diameter on it is 24 mm. Fuck, I bet the handles are different sizes. In fact, I know they are since the other one does not have the throttle on it. Since the grip looks so shitty and I am going to have mis-matched grips for a while at this rate anyway, I decide to take the grip off and replace it with the other one.
I end up having to cut the damn thing off. Oh well, it was more or less destroyed at this point anyway. The metal rings make cutting it slightly ineffective since the part that is so tight and causing the problems is the metal. I eventually pull it off.
I lube up the 24 mm diameter grip and slide it on in about 30 seconds. Perfect fit. Awesome. I feel much better about riding with this grip on since it has no conflict with the throttle operation at all. Why did I not do this two hours ago?
Well, my grips are definitely going to be mis matched for a while now. I do not want to repeat this adventure any time soon. Even if I did, it would take a bit to get new ones shipped...
Anyway, it is now after 10. I am tired and hungry and my hands hurt a lot. Between the 2 hours of the friction from pulling on a stupid little grip and the metal cutting me, they don't feel to great. And they are all dirty like they always are when I touch anything that goes on a road and needs oil and gas to run... no matter what I am doing to it, I always get filthy.
Time to make dinner. I don't want to cook. I just want food to appear. I decide macaroni and cheese from a box can't be that hard to make. I boil the water, add the noodles, and wait. I finally strain them and add the cheese powder, a little butter, and some milk. I don't measure any of this. After stirring for a bit, I realize that I have put way too much milk in. My dinner turns out to be noodles swimming in cheese flavored milk. Ok, apparently this is not my evening.
Time to finish blogging, then wash the chain lube off my face, and finally go to bed and hope my hands heal some overnight. They really don't feel so great. :(
I would have pictures but my hands were so torn up and I was so hungry that I didn't take any. Too bad for you! But here is a picture of my sad mac n cheese
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| Yum... dinner.... |
Friday, April 20, 2012
One more nugget of wisdom learned on my trip to Chevak
When going through airport security back to Anchorage, make sure ALL your pockets are emptied... Including the ones that your work pants have that the pants you normally wear are lacking. Cell phones will set off the security alarm.
Also, do not forget to remove your first production super spiffy Benchmade knife from the computer bag that you threw it in. Security does not like them. That knife wasn't even supposed to come on this trip... Luckily i was able to check it last minute!
Also, do not forget to remove your first production super spiffy Benchmade knife from the computer bag that you threw it in. Security does not like them. That knife wasn't even supposed to come on this trip... Luckily i was able to check it last minute!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Chevak Pictures
Ok, a few pictures from the job!
And a few more things I learned that I forgot yesterday...
Digging a 2 foot deep hole in frozen ground sucks. And takes foreverrrr
Even if they say the last plane comes in at 6, it is a good idea to wait to start drilling in th e middle of the runway until 9. The last plane really comes in at 9.....
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| Drill rig at sunrise |
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| Me "supervising". Watch out drillers, here comes the girl with the mittens! |
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| Where the magic happens. Uhhh, Trevor, is this sandy silt or silty sand? |
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| They wanted a reference of how tall the pipes were... notice the huge mittens that cover half my arm |
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| Drilling at 1 am... |
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| It took most of a day to dig this stupid hole.... |
And a few more things I learned that I forgot yesterday...
Digging a 2 foot deep hole in frozen ground sucks. And takes foreverrrr
Even if they say the last plane comes in at 6, it is a good idea to wait to start drilling in th e middle of the runway until 9. The last plane really comes in at 9.....
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Things I learned in Chevak
As you know, I spent the last few days in Chevak, Alaska. It is a decent size village in Western Alaska. This was my first excursion into bush Alaska so I thought I would change up my blogging style. I don't really want to write a detailed description of everything. Because I honestly don't remember each day well enough to do that. Sooo I will make a list!
Things I learned in Chevak:
Riding a snowmachine is a great way to cool off your coffee
Dumping antifreeze all over the Tundra should be avoided
Drillers are crazy. In a good way. In this case. But "their brains are weird"
Drillers will resent you a little for having a clean jacket... and will quickly remedy the situation by wiping their filthy hands all over it
...even though their own jacket is actually cleaner than yours
there is a huge difference between sandy silt and silty sand. The term "sand with silt" should not be used
If you manage to dump your coffee over three times and fall off the snow machine before 9 am, it will be a good day
the sun stays out until 11.
Working until 1:30 am is awesome
UFOs can be seen in Chevak (for serious)
finding Internet is a pain in the ass
...As is submitting a timesheet with no Internet access....
dirt in your eye hurts
do not ever eat silk worms. They smell like dirt and will probably make you vomit up the delicious dinner you just ate. it might be worth $100 though
20 degrees is not bad to work in. 20 degrees with constant 20+ mph winds sucks.
steel toed boots suck in the cold. No matter how insulated they may be.
Mittens are warm. Though the drillers will make fun of you for wearing them.
Snowmachines are extremely unreliable. Towing them is relatively easy though
a great way to warm up your hands is to stick them in a pot of boiling water.
Goggles are a life saver in the wind. Especially if you have contacts and your eyes bitch about being cold and outside all day. Like mine do.
It is not possible to go to the grochery store and spend less than $50.
sunrise and sunset over the tundra are beautiful.
Stomping on, and crunching ice is fun.
Ok, hopefully that gives you an idea of what my trip was like :)
It was informative, pretty fun, and cold. Though it could have been a lot colder...
I might post a picture or two later... I don't have a lot. I did not bring a camera....
Things I learned in Chevak:
Riding a snowmachine is a great way to cool off your coffee
Dumping antifreeze all over the Tundra should be avoided
Drillers are crazy. In a good way. In this case. But "their brains are weird"
Drillers will resent you a little for having a clean jacket... and will quickly remedy the situation by wiping their filthy hands all over it
...even though their own jacket is actually cleaner than yours
there is a huge difference between sandy silt and silty sand. The term "sand with silt" should not be used
If you manage to dump your coffee over three times and fall off the snow machine before 9 am, it will be a good day
the sun stays out until 11.
Working until 1:30 am is awesome
UFOs can be seen in Chevak (for serious)
finding Internet is a pain in the ass
...As is submitting a timesheet with no Internet access....
dirt in your eye hurts
do not ever eat silk worms. They smell like dirt and will probably make you vomit up the delicious dinner you just ate. it might be worth $100 though
20 degrees is not bad to work in. 20 degrees with constant 20+ mph winds sucks.
steel toed boots suck in the cold. No matter how insulated they may be.
Mittens are warm. Though the drillers will make fun of you for wearing them.
Snowmachines are extremely unreliable. Towing them is relatively easy though
a great way to warm up your hands is to stick them in a pot of boiling water.
Goggles are a life saver in the wind. Especially if you have contacts and your eyes bitch about being cold and outside all day. Like mine do.
It is not possible to go to the grochery store and spend less than $50.
sunrise and sunset over the tundra are beautiful.
Stomping on, and crunching ice is fun.
Ok, hopefully that gives you an idea of what my trip was like :)
It was informative, pretty fun, and cold. Though it could have been a lot colder...
I might post a picture or two later... I don't have a lot. I did not bring a camera....
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New Adventures: Alaskan Travels
As many of you know, I recently took a new job which will involve some travel throughout Alaska. I am just beginning my first foray into Alaska and figured I should share :)
As an almost completely brand new Geologist for the State of Alaska, my boss is trying to get me used to traveling in Alaska and get me trained. Lucky for him I learn fast and this seems to be going pretty well. Anyway, my first assignment involves little work on my end. I am accompanying a consultant-run drill team on the Chevak runway project. Basically, I am getting sent out to Chevak for the weekend to observe and learn and figure out how to work in remote places in Alaska. This particular job is especially good since there is going to be the installation of temperature recording canisters which I need to learn how to work with but we don't use often, as I understand it.
Anyway, to avoid 3 am flights, I am traveling to Chevak in two days, even though I will only be flying for a total of about 3 hours from Anchorage to Chevak. So I am staying the night in Bethal, which is apparently the "hub" to many western Alaska villages.
Anyway, my adventure begins this morning. I have spent the last few days in "wilderness first aid and survival" class. Today is the last day of this. I spend the day learning about cleaning wounds, how to survive falling in cold water, how to wrap up hypothermic people, and how to remove embedded fishooks. Basically people, you want me to come on all your awesome trips you are taking this summer for sagety reasons! ;) Don't even ask me the secret to painlessly removing fishooks. I won't tell you... you are just gonna have to bring me on your fishing trips :)
At about 2, I leave the class a little early to head to the airport. The plane leaves at 5 and my boss wants me to get there in plenty of time. I pack the rest of my stuff and get to the airport around 3.
Okkk yay for being early.... now I have 2 hours to kill... I read my book and wait patiently. Cool, the plane leaves from concourse A.... I worked on this project last summer. Looks like it holding up well, sweet! A lady walks by on the phone "yeah, it's like 36 degrees in Anchorage..." Um no, lady, it is closer to 50. This is practically summer time! I am amused.
I read and wait some more before finally boarding the plane. I get on and am asked by the flight crew member (I can't remember his official title...my pilot friends would be dissappointed in me...) asks me to please sit in the front of the plane for weight reasons. Oh, it's going to be one of those flights. Myself and the two other people on the flight board. The crew goes through their checks and then asks us to please get off the plane. They have to call maintenance, but it will only be a few minutes. Ummm great?
The three of us go back into the terminal. 10 minutes later, we get called to board again. Well I hope nothing was actually wrong... that was really fast to fix it if there was anything... The plane fires up. It is really noisy. Note to self: bring earplugs on the plane. I would rather not completely lose my hearing.....
We have an unevenful trip twoish hour flight. I read my book and check the window occasionally. Interesting. Mountains, flat, mountains, flat with rivers, mountains, other physical features, flat, oh hey, we are landing already!
We land and I get off the plane. Uhhh, where do I go? I pick a building and start walking... seems like the right one. I go inside and there are people and a tiny little garage door for the baggage claim. The other passengers follow me. Good, either I am going to the right place or they are lost too... A few minutes later, my bag and action packer appear. Ok, right one!
Now for getting a taxi.... I hope there is one sitting there... I have no phone numbers to call. I guess I could ask. I only have 80 pounds of gear to lug around. Walking all over sounds great! Luckily, I walk out the door and there is a cab sitting right there. The driver loads up my stuff for me and we head off. One of the guys from my flight is in the cab too. He asks me a few questions. Have I been to Bethal before, where do I live, what am I doing here.... The usual. We talk for a short bit and then he gets dropped off.
I continue on a short ways to the B&B I am staying at. The driver unloads my gear and drops me at the office. Ok, action packer, you are big and awkward, you are staying outside. Please don't walk off with anyone..... I go in the door and there is nothing there, just more doors. Uhhh. I read the signs. "B&B office up stairs." I pick that door and lug my laptop case and other bag up the stairs. I get to the top and am in what appears to be someone's house. I have never actually stayed at a B&B before so I don't know what to expect. "Uhhh, hello?" A man wanders over to a counter and helps me.
He checks me in and gives me info on cabs and other pertinent things. I leave and head to my room, lugging all my crap with me. This is going to suck when I actually have work tools I need to bring in addition to all my clothes and gear I need in general.... I open te door to the building. Great... more stairs! I take two trips. Stupid awkward sized action packer.... My room is pretty nice. Apparently it has the best view in town. I don't know if I would say that since I have nothing to compare it to but it does have a nice view of the river (which is frozen and covered in snow) and the tundra beyond. It is fun to watch the snomachiners go by. And, at 9ish, the sun is starting to set and the lighting on the snow looks really cool! Too bad I did not bring my camera (stupid to forget! It is more or less indesctuctable and I have had it long enough that should I somehow lose it I won't be too heartbroken... It has been a good and faithful camera for many years) or my phone (intentional... would rather not lose or destroy in the middle of no where) I do have a work camera but I am kind of saving that for work.. ya know?
Anyway, I go into the room. It is completely covered in coat hooks. I count 26 different coat hook hangers and a few other wall hangings which purpose I can not determine though they kind of look like modified coat hooks.... Well, I guess I won't be lacking for a space to hang every article of clothing I brought... and my sleeping bag!
Anyway, I wander down the street and get some dinner. My coworker told me there is a pretty good place just down the road. I find it without too much problem. It isn't too bad. I walk back to my room and pick a coat hook for my coat. All right, time for some reading and bed!
As an almost completely brand new Geologist for the State of Alaska, my boss is trying to get me used to traveling in Alaska and get me trained. Lucky for him I learn fast and this seems to be going pretty well. Anyway, my first assignment involves little work on my end. I am accompanying a consultant-run drill team on the Chevak runway project. Basically, I am getting sent out to Chevak for the weekend to observe and learn and figure out how to work in remote places in Alaska. This particular job is especially good since there is going to be the installation of temperature recording canisters which I need to learn how to work with but we don't use often, as I understand it.
Anyway, to avoid 3 am flights, I am traveling to Chevak in two days, even though I will only be flying for a total of about 3 hours from Anchorage to Chevak. So I am staying the night in Bethal, which is apparently the "hub" to many western Alaska villages.
Anyway, my adventure begins this morning. I have spent the last few days in "wilderness first aid and survival" class. Today is the last day of this. I spend the day learning about cleaning wounds, how to survive falling in cold water, how to wrap up hypothermic people, and how to remove embedded fishooks. Basically people, you want me to come on all your awesome trips you are taking this summer for sagety reasons! ;) Don't even ask me the secret to painlessly removing fishooks. I won't tell you... you are just gonna have to bring me on your fishing trips :)
At about 2, I leave the class a little early to head to the airport. The plane leaves at 5 and my boss wants me to get there in plenty of time. I pack the rest of my stuff and get to the airport around 3.
Okkk yay for being early.... now I have 2 hours to kill... I read my book and wait patiently. Cool, the plane leaves from concourse A.... I worked on this project last summer. Looks like it holding up well, sweet! A lady walks by on the phone "yeah, it's like 36 degrees in Anchorage..." Um no, lady, it is closer to 50. This is practically summer time! I am amused.
I read and wait some more before finally boarding the plane. I get on and am asked by the flight crew member (I can't remember his official title...my pilot friends would be dissappointed in me...) asks me to please sit in the front of the plane for weight reasons. Oh, it's going to be one of those flights. Myself and the two other people on the flight board. The crew goes through their checks and then asks us to please get off the plane. They have to call maintenance, but it will only be a few minutes. Ummm great?
The three of us go back into the terminal. 10 minutes later, we get called to board again. Well I hope nothing was actually wrong... that was really fast to fix it if there was anything... The plane fires up. It is really noisy. Note to self: bring earplugs on the plane. I would rather not completely lose my hearing.....
We have an unevenful trip twoish hour flight. I read my book and check the window occasionally. Interesting. Mountains, flat, mountains, flat with rivers, mountains, other physical features, flat, oh hey, we are landing already!
We land and I get off the plane. Uhhh, where do I go? I pick a building and start walking... seems like the right one. I go inside and there are people and a tiny little garage door for the baggage claim. The other passengers follow me. Good, either I am going to the right place or they are lost too... A few minutes later, my bag and action packer appear. Ok, right one!
Now for getting a taxi.... I hope there is one sitting there... I have no phone numbers to call. I guess I could ask. I only have 80 pounds of gear to lug around. Walking all over sounds great! Luckily, I walk out the door and there is a cab sitting right there. The driver loads up my stuff for me and we head off. One of the guys from my flight is in the cab too. He asks me a few questions. Have I been to Bethal before, where do I live, what am I doing here.... The usual. We talk for a short bit and then he gets dropped off.
I continue on a short ways to the B&B I am staying at. The driver unloads my gear and drops me at the office. Ok, action packer, you are big and awkward, you are staying outside. Please don't walk off with anyone..... I go in the door and there is nothing there, just more doors. Uhhh. I read the signs. "B&B office up stairs." I pick that door and lug my laptop case and other bag up the stairs. I get to the top and am in what appears to be someone's house. I have never actually stayed at a B&B before so I don't know what to expect. "Uhhh, hello?" A man wanders over to a counter and helps me.
He checks me in and gives me info on cabs and other pertinent things. I leave and head to my room, lugging all my crap with me. This is going to suck when I actually have work tools I need to bring in addition to all my clothes and gear I need in general.... I open te door to the building. Great... more stairs! I take two trips. Stupid awkward sized action packer.... My room is pretty nice. Apparently it has the best view in town. I don't know if I would say that since I have nothing to compare it to but it does have a nice view of the river (which is frozen and covered in snow) and the tundra beyond. It is fun to watch the snomachiners go by. And, at 9ish, the sun is starting to set and the lighting on the snow looks really cool! Too bad I did not bring my camera (stupid to forget! It is more or less indesctuctable and I have had it long enough that should I somehow lose it I won't be too heartbroken... It has been a good and faithful camera for many years) or my phone (intentional... would rather not lose or destroy in the middle of no where) I do have a work camera but I am kind of saving that for work.. ya know?
Anyway, I go into the room. It is completely covered in coat hooks. I count 26 different coat hook hangers and a few other wall hangings which purpose I can not determine though they kind of look like modified coat hooks.... Well, I guess I won't be lacking for a space to hang every article of clothing I brought... and my sleeping bag!
Anyway, I wander down the street and get some dinner. My coworker told me there is a pretty good place just down the road. I find it without too much problem. It isn't too bad. I walk back to my room and pick a coat hook for my coat. All right, time for some reading and bed!
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Reflections on my trip: the passage of time
While taking a walk to Fred Meyer today, I had some interesting thoughts. I remember taking this same walk before I left. I had some interesting trains of thoughts that I wanted to share.
One thing that has always fascinated me is the passage of time. To me, once something has past it kind of becomes part of a huge collection of "things that are over and affect me now but can't be changed". It is over, done, and almost doesn't exist anymore. I mean, I remember it happening, but memories are kinda faulty, ya know? You ask 5 people who were at the same place having the same experience and you get 5 different stories of what happend.
I have experienced a similar feeling when I visited Huntsville after graduating high school after having been gone for a few years. I was back at the same place and it was really hard to comprehend how much time had passed. I mean, there were plenty of different things and many of the people I had known there weren't there anymore or we no longer had anything in common. But really, it was like I had never left. I was there before and I am there now so really, what is the difference?
Anyway, tying this in. I left Anchorage for almost three months ago and had an amazing time traveling around and seeing stuff. However, as soon as I was back in familiar territory, it was almost like I had never left. I mean, I go back to my same condo and go to the same store and see the same people and go to the same places. I picked up right where I left off. It was almost like the last three months didn't even happen. I mean, I know they did but being here, it is hard to remember anywhere else.
On the flip side, while I was away, it was really hard to remember home. I mean, of course I remember my family and friends and everything else. But not actually being there, it just seemed less real. It was weird being in a new place every week or day so. I have never had that experience before. I mean, traveling, yes. But I have always gone somewhere, stayed there, and then gone home. Not this ongoing journey deal.
I guess the point I am trying to make and to take away from all of this is that whatever is happening here and now at this moment should be enjoyed to the fullest. As soon as it's over, it's gone. And is never coming back. I mean, something similar might happen un the same place but it will never be exactly the same? At the same time, if whatever situation you are in is awful, it too will pass eventually. I mean, your experiences will always stay with you but the longer it has been since the actually happened, the less real they will become.
They say that time is the 4th dimension. I mean 1 dimension is a point, supposedly. So that is kinda like you. Just as you are without the world around you. Just you as a single point. Then there are to dimensions. So that is like a piece of paper. Kind of hard to relate to life I guess. However, it is kind of the way that (I think) a lot of people see things. I am lucky enough to be able to imagine (some) things in 3 dimensions but I know some people don't. So 2d is kind of like thinking. Or talking. Or writing I guess. If that makes sense. Then 3d is real life. I mean you can move in any direction you want, gravity limited of course.
Time is the 4th. Or so they say. I am not so sure that I believe that. Since we are so limited in our experience of it. I mean, other than now, we have no control over what we are experiencing time wise. in the 3rd dimension, we can be anywhere we choose to be, gravity permitting of course. Time, all we get is now. We can remember previous time, but can not go back. We can envision future time, but we can not go forward and whatever we envision, it never turns out that way. At least not exactly. Time has its own way of working way beyond what we can control. I would argue that time is more like the first dimension. I mean, all we can really control or see is a miniscule amount of time, kind of like a point. Oh well, anyway, this is getting too technical.
A few years ago, I totally didn't get this. I still might not totally get it, but I am moving in that direction. Seize the moment and make the most of it. If the moment sucks, it will pass. But really, most things really aren't that bad.
Hopefully, I am not too crazy and this is mildly interesting :)
One thing that has always fascinated me is the passage of time. To me, once something has past it kind of becomes part of a huge collection of "things that are over and affect me now but can't be changed". It is over, done, and almost doesn't exist anymore. I mean, I remember it happening, but memories are kinda faulty, ya know? You ask 5 people who were at the same place having the same experience and you get 5 different stories of what happend.
I have experienced a similar feeling when I visited Huntsville after graduating high school after having been gone for a few years. I was back at the same place and it was really hard to comprehend how much time had passed. I mean, there were plenty of different things and many of the people I had known there weren't there anymore or we no longer had anything in common. But really, it was like I had never left. I was there before and I am there now so really, what is the difference?
Anyway, tying this in. I left Anchorage for almost three months ago and had an amazing time traveling around and seeing stuff. However, as soon as I was back in familiar territory, it was almost like I had never left. I mean, I go back to my same condo and go to the same store and see the same people and go to the same places. I picked up right where I left off. It was almost like the last three months didn't even happen. I mean, I know they did but being here, it is hard to remember anywhere else.
On the flip side, while I was away, it was really hard to remember home. I mean, of course I remember my family and friends and everything else. But not actually being there, it just seemed less real. It was weird being in a new place every week or day so. I have never had that experience before. I mean, traveling, yes. But I have always gone somewhere, stayed there, and then gone home. Not this ongoing journey deal.
I guess the point I am trying to make and to take away from all of this is that whatever is happening here and now at this moment should be enjoyed to the fullest. As soon as it's over, it's gone. And is never coming back. I mean, something similar might happen un the same place but it will never be exactly the same? At the same time, if whatever situation you are in is awful, it too will pass eventually. I mean, your experiences will always stay with you but the longer it has been since the actually happened, the less real they will become.
They say that time is the 4th dimension. I mean 1 dimension is a point, supposedly. So that is kinda like you. Just as you are without the world around you. Just you as a single point. Then there are to dimensions. So that is like a piece of paper. Kind of hard to relate to life I guess. However, it is kind of the way that (I think) a lot of people see things. I am lucky enough to be able to imagine (some) things in 3 dimensions but I know some people don't. So 2d is kind of like thinking. Or talking. Or writing I guess. If that makes sense. Then 3d is real life. I mean you can move in any direction you want, gravity limited of course.
Time is the 4th. Or so they say. I am not so sure that I believe that. Since we are so limited in our experience of it. I mean, other than now, we have no control over what we are experiencing time wise. in the 3rd dimension, we can be anywhere we choose to be, gravity permitting of course. Time, all we get is now. We can remember previous time, but can not go back. We can envision future time, but we can not go forward and whatever we envision, it never turns out that way. At least not exactly. Time has its own way of working way beyond what we can control. I would argue that time is more like the first dimension. I mean, all we can really control or see is a miniscule amount of time, kind of like a point. Oh well, anyway, this is getting too technical.
A few years ago, I totally didn't get this. I still might not totally get it, but I am moving in that direction. Seize the moment and make the most of it. If the moment sucks, it will pass. But really, most things really aren't that bad.
Hopefully, I am not too crazy and this is mildly interesting :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
I learn to solder
Even though I am half way decent at welding and have owned a soldering iron for a number of years, I have never really learned how to solder. The rare times I work with wiring, I have always just used electrical tape and twisted the wires together.
Anyway, the new truck is awesome
But has a few minor issues that bug me. One such issue is that the temperature/compass console does not work. I have researched the issue and found it is a common problem, especially in warm climates. Makes sense. Luckily, the fix is cheap and easy. If you know how to solder.
I conclude soldering can't be that hard so I pull my truck apart and find the circuit board that controls the console with no problem. I am good at taking truck interiors apart... Sure enough, the resistor that my research revealed as the culprit had completely popped off the circuit board. All i have to do is solder it back on and it will work. Supposedly.
I decide to go for it. Lets learn to solder on this truck piece that is 800 dollars to get a new one. My thinking is that it doesnt work anyway so why not. In hindsight, the "why not" argument would be "so i can take it to someone who actually knows what they are doing" but what would be the fun in that???
I spend about 30 minutes trying to get the damn thing reattached. The resistor itself is tiny. Maybe 1/8 inch by 1/4 inch. Just working with it is a pain. Needless to say, i melt part of the circuit board before finally getting it attached. It looks like shit. However, no one will ever see it. Im not too concerned about looks in this case as long as it works. Hopefully it wont break again and i will never see it again either.
Anyway, i pop it back in the truck and turn it on. Success! Except that i have no bearing. Instead of a letter, there is an 8. Uhhh ok. Weird. At least the thermometer is working.
I drive around a bit and realize that the 8 is supposed to be an s. oops. I guess i fried something important. Oh well. It gives the truck character and im just glad it works again :). And i kind of know how to solder! I would call that a success.
Photos!!!!: The circuit board and rogue resistor and my s disguised as an 8.
Anyway, the new truck is awesome
But has a few minor issues that bug me. One such issue is that the temperature/compass console does not work. I have researched the issue and found it is a common problem, especially in warm climates. Makes sense. Luckily, the fix is cheap and easy. If you know how to solder.
I conclude soldering can't be that hard so I pull my truck apart and find the circuit board that controls the console with no problem. I am good at taking truck interiors apart... Sure enough, the resistor that my research revealed as the culprit had completely popped off the circuit board. All i have to do is solder it back on and it will work. Supposedly.
I decide to go for it. Lets learn to solder on this truck piece that is 800 dollars to get a new one. My thinking is that it doesnt work anyway so why not. In hindsight, the "why not" argument would be "so i can take it to someone who actually knows what they are doing" but what would be the fun in that???
I spend about 30 minutes trying to get the damn thing reattached. The resistor itself is tiny. Maybe 1/8 inch by 1/4 inch. Just working with it is a pain. Needless to say, i melt part of the circuit board before finally getting it attached. It looks like shit. However, no one will ever see it. Im not too concerned about looks in this case as long as it works. Hopefully it wont break again and i will never see it again either.
Anyway, i pop it back in the truck and turn it on. Success! Except that i have no bearing. Instead of a letter, there is an 8. Uhhh ok. Weird. At least the thermometer is working.
I drive around a bit and realize that the 8 is supposed to be an s. oops. I guess i fried something important. Oh well. It gives the truck character and im just glad it works again :). And i kind of know how to solder! I would call that a success.
Photos!!!!: The circuit board and rogue resistor and my s disguised as an 8.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
First day back... skiin!
So I went skiing today. It was pretty awesome. Alyeska may not have tons of lifts but it is not lacking at all in the awesome department. The vast openness at the top of the mountain is pretty amazing. I mean the entire upper part of the mountain is completely open. I didn't see much of that. The awesomeness of the snow might have helped too. And it was absolutely gorgeous. Check back to see some pictures :)
So we get to the hill and get up to the top of the lift. We all take off and 10 feet down the hill my ski spontaneously pops off and I face plant and slide down the hill. Aly is up the hill luckily for me and bring s me my ski. Mason laughs at me. And Tanya is at the lift already wondering what the hell happened to me. Weird my ski popped off. I have the tension on the bindings so tight they don't even come off when they should...
We went all over. The northface was amazing. The snow was soo nice!!! This part of the hill is still one of the more challenging ones I have been to. Definitely the longest double black I have found thus far!
Anyway, really, I won't be updating every day more. Buttt I felt I should share :)
So we get to the hill and get up to the top of the lift. We all take off and 10 feet down the hill my ski spontaneously pops off and I face plant and slide down the hill. Aly is up the hill luckily for me and bring s me my ski. Mason laughs at me. And Tanya is at the lift already wondering what the hell happened to me. Weird my ski popped off. I have the tension on the bindings so tight they don't even come off when they should...
We went all over. The northface was amazing. The snow was soo nice!!! This part of the hill is still one of the more challenging ones I have been to. Definitely the longest double black I have found thus far!
Anyway, really, I won't be updating every day more. Buttt I felt I should share :)
The grand conclusion!
Day 76: The longest 40 miles I have ever driven
Well, I drove a lot more than 40 miles today. Just read. You will understand!
The Ramada turns out to be a pretty nice place to stay. Nothing fancy but the room has a kitchenette (not that we used it) and their continental breakfast includes homemade breakfast sandwiches that are delicious. It was a little loud during the night. I could hear semis engine braking occasionally and apparently some kids decided to have a party. The office guy later said he had to kick them out at 2 am. No fun.
Anyway, Papa wakes me up around 6. Ready to get up? Uhhh, no. Breakfast is not out yet anyway so he doesn’t try to hurry me. I get up shortly thereafter and shower. I then go to sink to fill my water bottle. I turn it on and fill it. Instead of turning it off, I turn it up all the way. Water jets out of the water bottle and all over me. Ugh. I change shirts. That is a little better.
My dad comes back inside. I don’t know exactly what he is doing outside. He comments that he is having a Canadian morning. Uhhh what? Apparently everyone he has encountered has said “eh” numerous times. Ohhh. Haha. I go out and start up the truck. Oh it sounds happy to be awake and running at this cold and early hour.
We head off down the road. A few miles out of town, I realize I forgot to get gas. Oh, I have half a tank, I am sure we will see something. My “maintenance required” and tire pressure warning lights then come on. I have no idea what the symbol for the tire pressure light means so I panic a little. Dadddd get in the glove box and tell me what this means. We figure it out. Probably because it is cold out. Great. And thank you truck for telling me you need an oil change. I am quite aware. You will have to wait until I get home. All your stupid lights are just annoying me right now.
I try to reset the tire pressure light. No go. Apparently I have to fix the problem before I am allowed to turn off the light. Ughh. I’ll do it the next time I find a gas station. I consult Daniel. He finds a station 100 miles up the road. Hmm, should be able to make it there right as the gas light comes on. Ok, let’s go for it. I hate to backtrack.
As we drive, we see a buffalo chillin on the side of the road. Cool. We stop to take a picture. The camera battery is dead. Great. Well, I get a shot on my phone. So that is something.
I continue on the road. I come upon a truck pulling a trailer and pass it. Ok, good. Hopefully they will be nice should I run out of gas and will help us. I see a sign for gas. Yes! I pull out anddd they are closed for winter. Dammit. The truck and trailer pass us back. I get back on the road and go around them again. My gas light comes on before I expect it to. Shittt. This is going to be close. I know I have 3.5 gallons left when the light comes on. If I can do 15 mpg then that’s 45 more miles I can go. Daniel says 40 more miles…
I keep driving. It is mostly uphill. Well, there goes my mpg. Make that 10. This is wayyy closer than I want to cut it. At least there is someone closeish behind us…. My dad starts talking and I am stressed out and not in the mood to talk. Ehh, sorry Dad, a little worried right now! Talk to me in half an hour when we have gas. I am just hoping that the place Daniel found is actually open. I don’t think they would have gas more than 100 miles apart on the highway even in the winter but…..
We make it! I am really relieved. I run inside and give them my card. I need gas please! I fill it up. The pump is in liters so I don’t know exactly how close we were to running out but the bill is over $100 so I know it is really close. The guys with the trailer pull up. They are friendly and I apologise for passing them so many times. They don’t mind and we chat a little.
I ask my dad to check my tires. I don’t have a tire pressure gauge for some reason. I know I had one in T Rex so I must have left it. I could really use it at the moment…. The gauge on the air hose says most of them are overinflated. Weird, I would think they would be low since it is really cold and cold makes air less dense… We set it to the recommended pressure. The light stays on. Ughh! Annoying. At least I have gas and the “check engine” light isn’t on too!
We head on down the road and soon encounter a whole heard of bison. Cool! I pull off to the side of the road and we take some pictures. The camera battery has warmed up by now and the camera is functional. My dad gets out and takes some pictures.
For most of the day, the roads are pretty good. There are a few places where they get snowy but they are mostly dry and not too bumpy. Until we get near Whitehorse. The closer we get, the rougher the roads get. The truck is bouncing around all over. I mean, it is handling great, but it is definitely getting a workout! We hit Whitehorse. Oh my gosh, they have a stoplight! And chain restaurants! This place is huge! Most people suggested that we stay here. However, that leaves 700 miles to drive tomorrow. I am getting sick of driving. I am so sick of it that I actually let my Dad drive some today. So 700 miles on the last day sounds terrible.
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| Bison!! |
We continue on to Haines Junction, about 100 miles past Whitehorse. This should make tomorrow better! The road is pretty awful. This is what I remember from the drive down. It is all frost heaved and has washed out places all over. At least it is still dry! I am hearing weird noises and can’t tell if it is the road (probably is) or my truck. I am concerned that the tire pressure is way too low. It has warmed up to where the temperatures were yesterday and my tire pressure light is still on. This concerns me a little. I will check it when we get gas…
By the time we pull into Haines Junction, I starting to lose it. I hadn’t realized it, but I am really tired and hungry. Heyy, I never really had lunch. Oops, I forgot…. Not to mention I am stressed out. All of my credit cards are almost maxed, my truck has all the stupid warning lights on, and I have realized all the stuff I need to do when I get back. I miss having no responsibilities! I have to actually do stuff when I get back. I need to make a list.
I pick a motel. I had done some research before I left and found a place people said was cheap. There is not a whole lot of accurate data on hotel prices on this trip online so I have to go with reviews and such that may or may not be outdated. Well, the place is $80 a night. Cheapest we have stayed all trip so why not? It also might be the only motel open in town in the winter… Oh wait, I think there is one other!!! Anyway, I get the room and pretty much lose all motivation. Just want to sleeppp!!!
However, I want to get gas before tomorrow so I don’t forget again so we head to the gas station. I fill up. I want to check my tires but they have no air. My dad asks inside about air. The guy doesn’t think anywhere in town has air. Great. Oh well. I am sure we will find air somewhere. I hope. I am not excited about driving over a thousand miles in my nice almost brand new super expensive tires with them improperly inflated. What can I do right now though? I’ll deal with it as soon as I can!
As we leave, my dad starts asking about food. We were going to heat up some canned food but the room has no microwave. Uhh, I don’t know. Hot food is good. I guess. I just want to sleep. I just realized how exhausted I am and really don’t care. I am having a really hard time dealing with the stress caused by my truck tire pressure. Not a good sign insignificant things seem unmanageable…
We try a few places. One is closed for the winter, another has $30 entrees, and another closes at 8 (it is now 8:05). Ughh!!! I don’t care! I just want to sleep!!!! We finally find an open burger place. I wanted something more healthy (oddly) but oh well! I get a burger. And a salad. Win win? It is pretty good. I realize that part of my problem might be that I am hungry…. Oops. I let my dad know that I am exhausted and trying not to be unpleasant or anything but if I am, that is why. He says I am doing ok and that he would think I am quite exhausted.
Anywayyyy, we pay and drive the whole quarter of a mile back to the hotel. I look out the window. The stars are starting to come out over the mountains. I missed northern mountains. We finally started to see some goo mountains about half way through today! Northern mountains are just more rugged than the southern Rockies. I mean, the whole top half of mountains up here is bare of trees and covered in rocks and snow. Most of the mountains down south are covered with trees most of the way to the top. The rocky top parts, if any, just seem more tame somehow. I don’t know how to explain it. I can’t wait to see my Alaskan mountains again!
I get in bed and am hoping to be asleep by 10. I must say, I am really excited by the idea of sleeping in my own bed again!!! I really need to sleep so I won’t be a mess by the time I get home tomorrow!
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| Lucky to have good weather most of the way! |
Day 77: 12340 miles and 1 ticket later…
Though he claims to not be a morning person, my dad is up at 6 and talkative. He is always talkative in the morning. He might deny it, but he is totally a morning person. At least subconsciously. I lay in bed, not excited to be up. We talk about airplanes and random stuff.
I finally get up and shower. I realized that I have now come full circle on my trip. I will be going back the same way I came. This is where I turned off to take the ferry last time! Kindaaa cool! I guess. Anyway, I come out of the bathroom and my dad is starting out the window. Oh nice! The sun is coming up and there is a beautiful Alpenglow going on! These mountains are so beautiful and rugged. Nothing against other mountains, but I think Northern mountains will forever be my definition of “mountains”.
There is no dryer in the room so I run out to my truck to get mine. It is below zero and my wet hair freezes. I decide that since I am freezing anyway I should take some pictures of the mountains. I do so and run inside and dry my hair while my dad checks out.
He comes back and my hair is dry enough. I go outside and start putting things in my truck. I start it up so it can start getting warm. Poor Arizona truck is probably freezing. I go back to the room and realize I have locked myself out. I bang on the door. No answer. Dammit! My dad must be in the bathroom. I am only wearing my hoodie so I bang on the door until he is done and gets it.
A short time later, we are on the road. Daniel puts us into Tok a little after noon. Not bad! The road is absolutely horrible, just as I remember. I don’t think I manage to launch my truck today luckily. We talk about stuff for most of the morning. My dad is definitely more talkative in the morning… yet he says he is not a morning person. I don’t buy it!
A little before noon, we pass the Canadian border checkpoint. Sweet, 20 more miles to Alaska! The road is better and I speed down it. Next thing I know I have red and blue lights in my window. Oh shit, those are probably for me since there is no one else around. I pull over. He spends a long time sitting in his cop SUV. I wonder if I got pulled over for speeding or for my license plate being completely covered in dirt and unreadable or both. A short time later, my question is answered.
Mr. Cop walks up to me and informs me that I was doing 120 in the 90 zone. He then translates that into SI units for me. Thank you, I am an engineer and can convert. Or, I can just look at my speedometer. My response? “Oh shit, sorry!” Um yeah, great thing to say to the cop. I’m not sure why I said sorry actually. I am not really sure what I am sorry about. He takes my license and registration and disappears into his car for a while.
I probably should be upset or something by this. Honestly, I found the whole thing highly entertaining. I have come so far and have been speeding all over the US and Canada and on the last day I get caught. I am just hoping the ticket isn’t ridiculously expensive. He finally comes back with my paperwork and a nice Canadian ticket. He wrote me up for 110 and the ticket is $46. I am extremely happy. I ask him how I am supposed to pay it. He lets me know I can mail money to the address on the back or I can come to court in Whitehorse on May 12 if I want to plead not guilty. Well, it is going to cost way more to get to Whitehorse than to just pay the ticket so I head on my way.
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| Genuine Canadian speeding ticket.... |
We see a heard of caribou just before Tok. My dad is pretty excited. We have seen all the deer family with the exception of moose on the trip. He wouldn’t mind seeing something with paws but has been pleased with the wildlife viewing.
We make it to Tok about on schedule, even with the unscheduled stop. I didn’t have breakfast so we stop at Fast Eddys for some lunch. We get a pizza which turns out to be pretty awesome. We stop at the gas station on the way out of town. They have air! My dad checks my tires again. It says they are still good… Why the hell is my light still on?!? Oh well.
Only 300 miles to home! We take off down the Tok cutoff. I hit cruise control just above the speed limit so I don’t get too excited on the straight sections and get another ticket today. The Tok Cutoff has a lot of random gravel patches. I don’t remember this leaving. Then again, the roads were covered in snow when I left. While there is snow all over, the roads are still clear. I hardly use my 4wd all day again.
After making the turn onto the Glenn Highway, we see a moose! Sweet, we have now seen all of the northern deer family on the trip. My dad is pleased. We finally get to Glennallen. From here on, I am pretty familiar with the area. It is weird. I have been gone for a while but it seems like I just drove out yesterday. I always feel like that when I go back to a place that I know. I always feel like I never really left. In this case, I feel like the last 77 days didn’t really happen. I mean, obviously they did, but in the scheme of things……
Anyway, we make it into town without further ado. Anchorage is starting to get into spring. Early spring in Anchroage is gross. The snow is all brown and melted and the sand they have been putting all over the roads all winter for traction is making everything brownish grey. It is also overcast which makes it even more grey.
I take my dad home. I thank him for flying out last minute to do the drive with me. 3200 miles in 5 days alone with Daniel might have made me crazy. Even though I didn’t let him drive much, the peace of mind and company was awesome and probably somewhat necessary on my part.
I get home and walk in the door. I immediately receive a huge hug from my newest roommate, Theresa. Last time I saw her, she hated hugs. Sweet, I like this change of heart! She helps me carry all of my shit in from my truck. Yay! Awesomeness! I then walk straight to my room and say hi to Chip. He looks at me and then ignores me. Ok ok, I did just abandon you for almost 3 months. But I left you in good hands! And I am back! He finally comes over to see me. He is glad I am back, even if he is pretending to be mad at me!
I spend the rest of the night unpacking and putting my stuff away. I catch up with Theresa, talk to my mom, and talk to some of my other friends on the phone. Meeting my mom for breakfast tomorrow and going skiing with Tanya and Ali! Not missing a beat here!
I go through all of my mail. Ugh, scary! I find my Honda car payment letter. Oh shittt, my first truck payment is due in April. Early April. The dealer had told me May. Luckily, I had saved some emergency cash for when I got back… This is majorly going to suck until I get paid and get my tax refund. Oh well, It will work out!!
By about 10, I have all of my clothes unpacked, have done laundry, and have the majority of my shit put away. Not too bad! The only thing I really bought on the trip was shot glasses. Well, I got a shirt or two and my new coffee thermos. Oh, and a truck and a phone but those don’t count. I ask Theresa if she wants to help me unwrap them. And then apologize because I didn’t bring anything back for anyone. All people get is postcards from me! I figure that the thought that goes into a postcard would outweigh being brought stuff…? Anyway, I tell her she is more than welcome to use my shot glasses anytime. She is excited to see what I picked out.
I am really quite excited to be in my own bed again, listening to chinchilla sounds as I fall asleep.
I suppose my grand adventure has come to an end. It has been more fun that I could have possibly imagined. The experience may not have been entirely life changing, but it has been umm, life reinforcing. If that makes any sense. Basically, I have come to the conclusion that my life philosophies that I have held have withstood this test and are probably on the right track. The experience was completely any worth and the financial not so awesome spot I have myself in at the moment. I probably would have always regretted not having done something like this. Well, and I will probably regret not doing something like this again someday.
Anyway, I will keep updating this blog. Sooo subscribe by e mail. Or follow me. Or just check back. Well, if you find what I have to say interesting J I will probably do some random reflections and thoughts about my trip on here that are more in depth than the last paragraph. And post random stories from my life as the happen and I feel that they are worth writing and sharing! Thank you for reading. I appreciate it!!!
By the way, I am going to try to get the trip portion of my blog published in a book. Like for real published and sold in book stores. Sooo if you really liked reading it, I would not mind some help editing in a few months soooo contact me! I guess. J
I will put up a few more pictures later.... Check back in a bit!
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