| Northern Lights Log (2007-07-13 -> 2007-08-02)
Leaders: Tyler Hogan, Katie Tennille
Students: Parker Bordeaux, Chris Bruno, Chase Clymer, Michael Conner, Max Minkowitz, Henry Weatherly
July 13
All have arrived safe and sound, though a bit travel weary. Trying to get a little shut eye before heading into the Talkeetnas. We will update you around Thursday, July 26 after we finish our backpacking and rafting trip. Stay tuned!
Greetings families, friends, and whoever is curious about this Northern Lights 4 group!
Well the Northern Lights has been quite a trip. This is one that starts so quickly and never slows down. Our first day out of the airport was given to preparing for our long adventure in the mountains. The group learned how to plan for a long term trip in the backcountry. We learned about expedition behavior, leave no trace, tent set up, stoves, and so much more. The guys all maintained great attitudes throughout this tough preparation process. We also gave a good portion of the day to fun games that helped the group bonding process, which pretty much took no time at all. They have been very close since early on in the trip.
On our third day we moved into the Alaskan backcountry to explore the Talkeetna Mountains. Everyone was so excited to get out of the front country. One of the best parts about this trip is that we spend so little time in the front country. It is definitely a burley backcountry trip. The group learned this on the first day. We followed ATV trails through deep mud as we headed into the woods. The day finished up with a tough uphill section. While this first day was quite technical, the view at the top of such an uphill was well worth it. Our campsite provided us with a stunning view of the Chugach Mountains, which face the Talkeetnas. The group was so excited to be close to the Tundra where we would be spending the majority of our section. Parker kept asking us what the Tundra looked like and I could finally answer his question. Parker now loves the Tundra. Apparently it is one of the coolest things he has seen. For our first night we cooked up some stir fry with Michael, Chase and Henry. These three have been sharing a tent for the entire time and it was their first night of a long series of meals that they all cooked together. Chase and Henry showed Michael the ropes with the stoves we use. Henry and Chase's previous Moondance experience made them excellent cooks. However, Michael likes to take control and he would soon become the master of pancakes and quesadillas, two meals that everyone is quite fond of. That night everyone slept sound. I will mention that Katie and I woke up around 2 in the morning to the sound of howling wolves that seemed to be venturing close to our camp site. Of course wolves pose no threat to people. However, their eerie voices were so cool to hear on our first night.
On day two we woke up to an excellent breakfast. We toasted some bagels and ate them with smoked salmon. This is about as good as a breakfast can get in the wilderness and it is quite easy to cook. It was an easy introduction to stoves for Max, Parker, and Chris. On Moondance we have leaders of the day (LOD). Katie and I felt that we would just call them Wookies instead of leaders, so our wookies for day two were Henry and Parker. They did a great job leading everyone through the muddy paths and taking care of group needs such as water purification. They set an excellent tone for future Wookies. Our second day was a bit lighter on the elevation. We took an easy journey over to Hick's lake where we would camp out the next night. Hick's lake is one of the most beautiful camp sites we stayed at. It is in the middle of the tundra, and it overlooks many of the mountains that we would be heading toward later in the trip. It was an excellent setting to learn about maps, compasses and backcountry navigation. For those who don't know, the tundra doesn't have any trees. About a foot beneath the ground there is a layer of permafrost that is frozen year round. This makes it so that no large trees can spread their roots. This sort of exposure makes navigation very easy. We can see where we are headed from miles away, and mountain terrain and features are easily recognized on a topographic map. This second night was also the second cook crew's first night on dinner. They cooked up some Jambalaya with sausage. The Louisiana boys, Parker, Chris and Michael introduced the rest of the crew to Tony's seasoning as well. The group is now completely addicted to Tony's and will put it on any meal. We really have to keep an eye on their rationing of Tony's.
Day three was a hard one. We wanted to camp out on Caribou Creek, which would lead us deep off trail later in our trip. We got a later start and ended up pushing it until 8pm to get to our planned camp site. Everyone was so exhausted. The terrain was just long rolling hills. We had a lot of creek crossings as well. With wet feet and hungry stomachs we cooked up tons
of pasta for everyone. The guys just wanted to get to sleep after such a hard day. We were quite proud of them. They pushed so hard and were encouraging to those who struggled with the larger hills. Everyone was excited to be at Caribou Creek, however. Caribou was sort of our gateway into the off trail section that everyone was so excited for. Following the water source provided us with lots of cool animal tracks to observe as well. We saw plenty of bear tracks strewn along the river's edge, yet those bears always seemed to avoid us.
It was another two days that we followed Caribou Creek before arriving at the off trail sections. Caribou Creek led us through a beautiful canyon with multiple river crossings. The kids loved this section. The water up in this canyon was so beautiful and clear. While the water was freezing, the crossings were right at the end of our day and it felt good on our worn feet. By the time we finished up this two day section, everyone was worn out. We promised them a rest day high on the tundra and it kept everyone motivated and moving forward. Michael also cooked up our first batch of pancakes one of those mornings. He put tons of chocolate chips in them. All the kids ate pancakes until they were stuffed. We tried to warn them that this is not a good way to start the day hiking, but we learned that if there is food in front of hungry teenage boys, they will not stop eating until they are full.
Pancakes proved to be ample fuel for such an incredible day, however. We had to ascend a large saddle that had been looming in the distance for two days now. Max and Chris were both Wookies for that day, and they did a great job of navigating up and over the saddle. At the top was just bliss. We could see for miles down the Alaskan tundra. It was a long valley sheltered by tall ridges and peaks on both sides. There was no trail and all we had was a compass telling us which direction to go. Everyone loved this scene. We relaxed in the soft grass at the top of the saddle for a while and threw some frisbee. It was such a nice view. Once everyone was rested from the uphill battle we eased our way across the tundra guided by Max and Chris. They did a great job leading us to our next campsite. When we arrived, everyone was excited that we chose such a nice spot for a rest day.
During our rest day we just ate tons of food. Henry, Chase, and Michael got up early and made some Cinnamon rolls. It is pretty tough to do in the backcountry, but these turned out pretty good. The dough was a little tough to deal with, and Henry ended up with dough all over his face. It is difficult to clean off out there. The rest day got everyone's spirit's up. The next day's hike was our most difficult of the trip, so it was well needed.
We got an early start for such a gnarly day. We gave the kids the option of whether or not they wanted to split the hike in two or push all the way to Chickaloon, the end of our choice. They all wanted to just crank it out, so we went for it. We left early and completed the first long uphill section by noon. The view up here was the greatest we saw all trip. Chase and Henry raided everyone with snowballs as we took a nice long break at the top. On the descent we had to navigate a large scree field. Scree is basically large pieces of loose rock. It is not easy on the feet. They kids were all very careful with foot placement, however, and we had no problems.
This was just the start of the day. We had to traverse a good 4 miles of steep terrain to get out of the gorge we were in. The steep walls put many kids outside of their comfort zone. Once we finished this section, everyone was glad they had pushed their comfort limits, however. It was really cool to see their confidence grow in these sorts of situations. This was a very technical backcountry day and I was impressed at how well everyone handled it. It is definitely one of hardest and burliest days we have ever done ourselves.
From there we hung out at the Chickaloon for a day and waited for our plane to drop off our rafts. Everyone was so excited the morning our plane flew in. The guides brought fresh fruit and vegetables and brought us awesome meals. The river was so gorgeous. It moves through sweeping valleys and we could see a lot of new terrain that we missed on our hiking days. The river moves really fast too and it kept the kids busy. We still felt so isolated even while we were rafting. The guys loved this rafting section, especially the food. The rapids were so much fun. It was constant extreme action.
As we move into sea kayaking, everyone is aware of how fast time is moving. These guys are having so much fun and laughing all the time. They really bring out the best in us too. There is never a dull moment.
Thanks so much for reading, there will be more to come after sea kayaking!
Thanks,
-Tyler and Katie
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