Oh that elusive summer!

Tempsco helicopter landing pad near the Ore dock.

[Entry from late July] Today was yet another day of waiting for that elusive summer that we seem to be experiencing so much this year. We’ve had very few days where our temps climbed out of the 50’s and most days are overcast, damp and windy. Today was no exception – a high of only 53, but with the chilly humidity it felt like it was in the mid 40’s; and there were very strong gusty winds all day. Brrrrr! I t was a cold one at the docks today.

The forecast for the next 10 days is similar, and that’s what we’ve mostly seen for the last several weeks and it’s getting a bit old (we’ve only seen the sun 2 days so far in July and the month is almost over). The closer we get August the more concerning this pattern is, because even in a warm summer it’s not unusual for things to begin cooling off again by mid-late August. If this cool and blustery trend doesn’t change soon (and that’s not likely) – it’s going to make returning to Maine in October the start of a VERY long winter. But we’ll keep hoping for sunnier days!

Sheralyn and Carla on the trail to Lower Dewey Lake

The days are also starting to slowly get shorter now as we come off the incredibly long days we gained until the peak at the summer solstice in late June. The summer solstice is celebrated in many towns in Alaska, and Skagway was no exception with a barbecue and outdoor party which went late into the night with music and dancing

Tim took this candid of Emma and I hamming it up in the gift shop. Emma was not in costume on this particular day but as you can see I am wearing the 1890’s attire. Just call me Dr Quinn…..or perhaps Laura Ingalls Wilder!

The long days are nice, but it can make sleeping a bit of a challenge since the sun rises around 3:30am and sets well after 10:00pm. And in terms of visible light, up here they have something called “civil twilight”, and that rises around 2:00am and sets at midnight, so that means almost 22 hours of visible light. The extra light is great when you want to do things outside, but it can wreak havoc with your body clock until you get used to it (which took me about a full month).

The long days came in handy when Tim was visiting recently since it gave us lots of daylight for outdoor activities and of course sightseeing. I hope you enjoy some photos during his visit of a hike we made to Lower Dewey Lake just above Skagway with Sheralyn (one of the Liarsville performers) and her dog Sebi, a young but very well-mannered border collie. Sheralyn and I had both worked a full day before leaving for the hike, so we arrived at trailhead around 5pm and returned to car by 7:15, still to a bright northern summer sky. Even so, I’ve hiked for years and this was the first time I’ve ever hiked so late in the day.

Sheralyn and Sebi at Lower Dewey Lake

The first part of the hike was a steep climb through the forest and the trail was full of switchbacks. Given this was my first real hike this season, I wondered if I was in good enough condition these days for this particular hike, but after about ½ mile or so the terrain changed as we reached the top of the ridge and then it undulated around the ridge and then around the lake.

It was a beautiful hike with deep woods and thick moss groundcover everywhere. There were also lots of streams and rivlets (more than usual especially since our recent rains), including one part of trail where two sections of stream ran side by side and the trail in the middle. Trails like this one remind me of why I like to hike so much. My knees weren’t so happy on the downhill portions, especially with all the clambering over rocks required as the trail narrowed and began to wind around trees and large rocks. This part of the trail required hopping over large rocks in some places and squeezing through narrow passageways between trees and rocks in others, but I like scrambling so I was having fun.

Tim and Carla at Lower Dewey Lake

We returned to camp later to hear of yet another bear making its way into camp. We have a momma bear with either 2 or 3 cubs that have been hanging around the area for a while now, so we’re all on alert much of the time since sightings have been frequent lately. Just the other day in the middle of a very busy camp with several busloads of visitors, our camp dog Denali alerted by suddenly barking and pulling at her leash insistently. She is most often kept free to wander, but on this day she happened to be on a lead near the firepit, and when she barked, this was not a normal bark – it was a “something is nearby” alert, and we all took notice when we let her go from her leash to see where she headed. She is an incredible barometer for activity in the area, as are most other animals if we humans are just smart enough to pay attention to what they are trying to tell us.

Employee dogs Talia and Merlin at Liarsville housing.

Denali made a purposeful walk through camp past the giftshop and the center of camp, then headed toward the gravel road where the coaches are parked which separates the camp from the bake area. She stood in the road for a bit and looked around with her ears perked smartly on high alert, and then she eventually climbed up the steps at the side of the road which lead into the office and laid down there to keep a watch. She stayed there for quite a while, so we guessed the bears must have been in the area, but fortunately they kept a distance from camp and our visitors.

Sebi on alert for something at Lower Dewey Lake

That’s all I have time to write for a bit, but if you’d like to see the photos from the remainder of Tim’s recent visit to Skagway and our tour of just a small part of the massive state that is Alaska -- including my favorites of glaciers and bears and some stunning scenery at Glacier Bay -- check out the photo blog at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ctssyount/2/tpod.html
Until later, cheers all!