The day was spent travelling in some rather isolated country (above in what we believe are the White Mountains) and ended in the town of Central, AK. Much to our dismay, we were unable to make it to Circle due to a river that had washed out the road only 7 miles short of our destination.
After hours of slow and tiresome driving this is the sign that met us. After using a SAT phone to reach our supervisor back at Fairbanks, we turned right around and made the trek back. Our crew was then shipped back down to Denali National Park (oh, bummer) where continued doing training and practice plots while we waited.
Our view during lunch on one of our training plots near Sanctuary River in Denali. Reaching this point required quite a lot of intense bushwacking through thick dwarf birch shrubs and alder stands. We also passed a grazing moose along the way.
One of our crew members, Eric, "botanizes" during our lunch break.
Due to long travel days combined with drawn out work periods, our last day in Denali we were let out a little early and given the chance to hike the Triple Lakes trail. The trail picks up outside the park near the town of McKinley Village and ends ~8 miles later by the visitors center (one of very few trails in Denali, basically all located in the visitors center area).
The Triple Lakes trail winding its way towards the Alaskan Range.
The first of the three lakes passed had a large beaver lodge on the near bank. No beavers were seen however.
The trail climbed and climbed to the top of the ridge that separated park from non-park land. The three lakes looked majestic far below.
Stands of Quaking Aspen made the hike all the more wonderful.
Brian Howard, a member of my crew, almost walked right into this prickly fellow. By the time I got my camera out he had wandered down away from the trail. The porcupine then proceeded to climb a nearby tree which was amusing as he sauntered about just about as fast and worried as you would expect an animal covered in gigantic quills.
This past Wednesday, back in Fairbanks from Denali, and fueled with lots of coffee, Brian (the seasonal botanist in my crew), Rachel (the other SCA intern, working for the other crew), and myself drove to the town of Eagle. The 8 hour drive was mostly due to the conditions faced on the Taylor "Highway". This road (almost all dirt/gravel) was 160 miles long and dead-ends in Eagle. Usually unable to go more than 30-35 miles an hour, the wonderful scenic views made for a doable trip. Also, we had the privilege of passing such well known metropolises such as Tok and Chicken (rumor has it the town is called Chicken because the miners who founded it didn't know how to spell Ptarmigan). Both of these towns could have been mistaken for a small rural rest stop.
Finally in Eagle, we were given a warm welcome and tour around the area by one of the NPS rangers living there. We drove out to the airfield to learn how to access gas for our rig, and while we were there a archaeology crew flew in from the preserve giving us a little taste of what is to come on Monday.
Dubbed the Hilltop House, our living situation consists of more or less a double-wide trailer, non-potable water, and a non-functioning shower. Not that any of that matters seeing as we will be living in the wilderness in just a few days. On the right is the massive F-350 truck we had to use (we actually filled it) to get to Eagle. Quite the beast.
Our first evening we meandered down to the visitors center and among the aspens along the Yukon River.
The town is beautifully located on the banks of the mighty Yukon on a particularly wide bend. Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve beckons in the distance.
Eagle Bluff looms over the town and pierces out into the silt laden river.
The small town basks in the late evening sun. Everyone around town recognized us immediately as outsiders and seemed friendly, welcoming us to the area.
Yesterday, after a relaxing morning, we decided to try to climb Eagle Bluff. First we had to cross the uber-cold Mission Creek.
After a very tough climb bushwacking through dense undergrowth of spiny herbaceous plants we popped out on top only to find we had over shot Eagle Bluff by almost twice its height. Whoops, at least we had an awesome place to eat lunch.
The river was like a gigantic living organism...its fast current and rippling silty water made it come alive.
Two resident rams on the bluff seemed surprised to find us...especially as we were above them. Dall Sheep are interesting in that, except for times of mating, the sheep roam the steep slopes in either groups of all males, or groups of all females plus lambs.
Apart from hiking around the area we have been taking advantage of our time off to rest, read John Grisham type novels lying around the house, and attempt to key-out unique plants we find...oh, the life of a botanist.
Today, along the river I was fascinated with these little birds called Bank Swallows. Hundreds of them flit around at supersonic speeds chasing each other and pulling off maneuvers that would surely have made me pass out.
They reminded me of pilots from World War II I read about as a kid, dogfighting each other, always trying to stay in front away from danger, or stay on the tail of the other keeping them in their sights...except this time it was about mating, not killing.
Definitely one of the most fun moments I have had taking photographs. The auto-focus and follow on my camera makes it super entertaining to try to snap quick shots of these guys as they turn, swoop, and zoom every which way.
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