Glacier Bay and Juneau

The Playlist

The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. Out final hitch in Bartlett Cove was eight days long. Luckily Nate had the wonderful idea of creating a crew playlist to help us through it. We each get the same number of songs and we listen to the playlist on shuffle, so we never know whose music will play. The playlist is all over the place because although we have overlapping musical tastes, everyone’s favorite genre is different. The playlist made mornings and car rides far more enjoyable and we are all thankful for Nate’s idea.

Eight Days a Week

Our eight day work week began with the end of the turnpike bridge structure we had started our first week in Bartlett Cove. It turned out very well and the revegetation makes it look like it’s been there for ages.  I enjoy doing revegetation because piecing together the moss mats and making them blend in with the preexisting vegetation is kind of like a puzzle. Upon completion of the turnpike, we set to work clearing out and rebuilding two little culverts. One culvert was dry, and the other one constantly had water—so much so that we had a bailing bucket to allow us to see the bottom and keep us from continuously splashing ourselves as we chopped out roots. (Nate and I got very muddy before the bailing bucket arrived).  We secured and camouflaged the drain pipes with large rocks and lots of gravel. Redoing the culverts took about a full day of work and after completing the culvert revegetation, we were finished working on the Forest Loop Trail.

One of the boundaries of Glacier Bay recently changed, so our next task was making the new boundary obvious. To get to the border, we drove for about an hour and then hiked on a trail marked by blue flagging. To get onto the trail, a river crossing was necessary. Luckily, some very large logs had fallen across the river so we just walked across those and then along the river to the start of the trail. Although crossing the river on a damp, mossy log with water rushing beneath me was nerve-wracking, I came to enjoy the crossing as the week progressed.  The trail was really not much of a trail (I started thinking of it as the non-trail) and because this is rainforest, there were lots of muddy patches and open spaces disguised by moss. At every step we risked sinking down into the mud or having our feet find the open spaces created by fallen trees that have been blanketed by moss. It was a fun, challenging hike to do as a way to get to work. We dealt with the same conditions as we brushed the border. Brushing the border involved clearing out the trees and bushes (so many blueberry and huckleberry bushes) to create about an eight foot wide emptier space. We also installed NPS Boundary markers. The forest was full of blueberry and huckleberry bushes, so we snacked on berries throughout our days there.

The maze of logs we used to get across the river and to the trail

Part of the border we cleared.

On the sixth day of our eight day work week, we took a break from brushing the border and helped clear out the trees in front of the Glacier Bay Lodge. The Lodge is its own entity and thus has different maintenance people than the park, so we worked with them. The Lodge provided us with a delicious breakfast (second breakfast really) before we actually started working. We got bacon, eggs, biscuits, danishes, coffee, tea, fruit—everything we could have possibly wanted for breakfast. We were very appreciative of the food. We were also provided with a lunch of burgers and fries. Once trees were felled and piled, we used the wood chipper to condense everything and take it away from the Lodge. The wood chipper is quite a beast. It was entrancing to watch the chipper gobble up spruces and alders like they were French fries. We fed the beast through the entire day and now the Lodge has a clear view of Bartlett Cove.

SCA Dinner

The night of the last day of work, we had the SCA interns over for a potluck dinner. We had garlic bread, black bean burgers, fries, pasta, rice with sausage, and cornbread, and it was scrumptious. It was lovely getting to know other people with the SCA better. We ended the evening by watching the sunset on the dock.

The sunset on the dock after our dinner with the SCA interns.

The Day Boat

Once our eight day week was finally complete, were able to be tourists instead of workers. We started off our stint as tourists with a ride on the Baranof Wind graciously provided by the NPS. The Baranof Wind is the day boat that takes people up bay to see glaciers. The weather on Tuesday could not have been any better! The skies were splashed with clouds, the sun was shining, and it was warm (relatively speaking). We were lucky to see multiple whale breaches very early in the trip. We passed South Marble Island slowly to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of sea lions. Scotty said he was particularly amused by the sea lions as they “took five heavy steps and then collapsed from pure exhaustion.” After admiring the sea lions and the birds for a while, we continued up the West Arm of the bay. We stopped again when a grizzly bear was spotted on the beach. She turned out to have a cub with her! We watched mountain goats scramble gracefully over steep cliffs—the agility of mountain goats is quite impressive. Because the weather was so wonderful, we were able to go into the Johns Hopkins Inlet, where seals breed on the icebergs that calve off of the Johns Hopkins Glacier. We admired the Johns Hopkins  glacier longer than any of the other glaciers we saw on our way up the inlet. We saw it calve a few times, looked for seals reclining on the icebergs, and took lots of photos.  I am so awestruck by the power and wildness of glaciers. They are incredible.

We witnessed more whales, sea lions, and otters on our return trip. It was a wonderful way to spend the day and see more of Glacier Bay. I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to ride on the boat.

Stellar's Sea Lions and birds on South Marble Island.

A mama grizzly bear and her cub. The cub is to the right of the mama. 

Johns Hopkins Glacier 

Family photo on the Baranof Wind.

 Sea Kayaking

Wednesday we went sea kayaking. Sea kayaking is one of the best ways to see Glacier Bay. I really enjoyed being so low on the water and being able to look through the water at the bottom when we were in shallower water. Because we were not in a large motorized boat, whales and sea lions came much closer to us. Sea lions seemed very interested in us and are playful, curious animals. Clumps of them kept popping up near us as we kayaked along the kelp beds. It was fun to kayak across the top of the bulb kelp because I felt like we were gliding across the top of a forest.  I really wanted to see what was below the water in the kelp forest. We saw several humpback whales and would stop to watch them as they surfaced. It was awesome to be so close to such large animals. The weather wasn’t  as good as it was for the boat ride, but I thought it was great weather for kayaking. The clouds blended with the islands and mountains and it looked like a dream world of blues and greys. The water was so smooth and glassy. On the way back, we had to go against the tide. I found it rather disconcerting to be paddling and paddling and barely move relative to reference points on the shore. It reminded me of the Red Queen and Alice running to stay in the same place. Once we didn’t have to deal with the tide, the rest of the way back was quite pleasant. Sea kayaking was one of my favorite things we have done so far. It was relaxing while being very active, and allowed us to be a part of the environment rather than being strictly observers of the environment like we were in the day boat. 

Kayaking across bulb kelp.

Sam and Lesley watching whales on the glassy water.

A whale surfacing right by our kayaks!

Scotty and I kayaked together.

Sea Kayaking family photo! 

Park Potluck

Wednesday evening we (and by we, I mean primarily Lesley) made blueberry and huckleberry cobbler from the berries picked at the border. Mashed potatoes were also cooked before heading to town to the National Park Potluck dinner that was being thrown in honor of AJ (one of the maintenance guys), our crew, the SCA interns, and a few other people. It was a lovely, food-filled evening. There was even a Forest Loop Trail themed cake! The cake—and everything else I ate—was delicious.  The potluck was a wonderful way to spend our final evening in Gustavus.

The beautiful and delicious cake made in honor of AK Team 5.

Juneau

Thursday we rode the ferry to Juneau. We stayed in Juneau International Hostel. We got to sleep in real beds, with actual pillows! It was amazing. We all really enjoyed the carpet and couches as well. The hostel was a nice place to stay for our time in Juneau, especially because when we arrived, it was pouring, and continued to rain heavily the rest of the first evening.

Friday we split up and spent the day exploring downtown Juneau. Lesley went hiking, and Sam explored on her own and saw Jurassic World, which she has been waiting all summer to see. Vinny, Nate, Scotty, and I went into bookstores and galleries and souvenir shops galore. We (minus Scotty) also saw Jurassic World, went to a ridiculously overpriced Mexican restaurant that shall remain unnamed, and then went to The Rock Dump. The Rock Dump is a rock climbing gym. I hadn’t climbed for almost exactly a year, so I was really excited to climb again. Nate, who is a much more serious climber than me, was so happy to be climbing again, that he stayed until closing time.

Being touristy in Juneau.

On Saturday, after some group shopping, Nate, Vinny, and I were dropped off at the West Trail to hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. Our goal was to touch it. We talked to people along the trail to figure out how to best get down to the glacier. After a couple hours of hiking over slick rocks and through streams and mud and down a hill of loose, rocky dirt, we made it onto the glacier. I felt so small and insignificant while standing on the glacier. I am so glad we were finally able to get onto a glacier instead of just admiring them from afar. We stayed on the glacier for a while so we could really appreciate it. 

Mendenhall Glacier from the West trail.

Mendenhall Glacier up close.

Nate, Vinny, and me on the glacier!

I enjoyed getting to experience the capital of Alaska, and am happy that we’ll get another day in Juneau later in the summer. Now we are headed to Skagway for about a month to work on (and hike) the Chilkoot Trail. We are halfway through our summer, and quite a half it has been! Thank you for reading about our adventures.

-Sarah

Bartlett Cove/ Crew Appreciation

Bartlett Cove

After a weekend of 4^th of July festivities and relaxing, it was time to get to work in Bartlett Cove. This week we were graced to work in the presence of the trail masters mentioned in previous blogs, Johnathon and Casey. We also had the honor of working alongside the tornado of trail building excellence known as Mason. He has the beard of a “Young, buff Santa Clause” (quote by Vinny), and a humorous wittiness that will have everyone within earshot dying of laughter. Then there was Dustin. This man is so good with a chainsaw, it is rumored he can do perfect bore cuts one-handed! With the help of these four great traildogs, the crew was ready to get to work Monday morning.

We started off the week clearing corridor around a heavily used boardwalk. The crew made fast work of encroaching Alder branches and blueberry bushes with loppers, giving the path along the boardwalk a crisp, clean look that left tourists smiling and thanking us for our work.

The next task for the crew involved building a turnpike on top of a puncheon (basically the coolest looking bridge you will ever cross) that would elevate the trail out of a wetland area. Half the crew took on this task while the other half worked on fixing trail tread and revegetation near a beautiful pond. The revegetation project looked amazing by the end of the work week. The turnpike/puncheon was in the final stages on Thursday, on its way to being the strongest structure you will ever cross in Southeast Alaska.

After a solid week of work, the crew was invited to a small get together among the seasonal park crew. Here we were fed “Halibits." Halibits is the amazing creation you get when you put fresh halibut, Mason, and a kitchen together. The crew was grateful for this feast of Halibits, alongside many other dishes provided by various guests. After dinner, we danced and sang on full stomachs into the sunset.

Crew Appreciation

I would like to finish this blog by giving a shout out to each member of the AK Team 5 crew!

Samantha Sea:

Sam has taken over the crucial task as team photographer. She is dedicated to capturing the most majestic photographs of Alaska that you will ever see. Then after taking the most amazing photo you have seen in your life, she will easily destroy you in an arm wrestling match, or any competition of strength. In her off time you might catch her wrangling Gators down south.

Scotty Martell:

 Also known as Scotty Fresh, this dude is a zen master. If he is not meditating or creating rock cairns that add a certain feng shui to the area, then he is probably blazing the trail with Pulaski in hand. A talented skier during his winters, his skier style carries over to the trail during his summers.  He wears the trademark baggy clothes of a skier and has dreadlocks that could make a Jamaican jealous. This is his fourth season on a trail crew and it is hard to find someone as hardworking as he is.

Vincent Salvato:

Everyone has used a wheelbarrow at least once in their life, it’s not that hard. But you will find Vinny, also known as V-Money, carrying a wheelbarrow full of wet gravel up a narrow, slippery ramp with ease. Some might be able to accomplish such a task once in a lifetime, but Vinny gets it done all day long. I’d like to meet a better swamper than Vinny, but I do not believe such a person exists. He carries the team on his back with his incredible work ethic. He is also the team “garbage disposal:” the term leftovers is not part of his vocabulary.

Sarah Pickett:

Ever seen the movie “The Incredibles”? Sarah is like Elastigirl but 10 times more flexible. She rules the stretch circle every single morning, pushing the limits of what the human body can do. She also dominates the dance floor. Whether she wants to dance as graceful as a swan, or get down to some new age dance music, she does it all with style. Often found sporting cheetah print sunglasses, she is always smiling and laughing, making her a crucial part of the crew. She keeps spirits high each and every week!

Lesley Seale:

There is one reason why Lesley is getting another shout out after being praised as our fearless leader in a previous blog post, she DESERVES it! She is the backbone of this team, and the only reason we do the things we do. No matter what project she is handed, she will lead her crew to accomplish it with excellence. Lesley recently received her banjo in the mail. If you close your eyes as she plays, you might think you just entered a Mumford and Sons concert. She always has answers to guide the team and the crew does not know what we would do without her.  

Blog by Nate Dogg and edited by SarahPickettFences:

The Calling of Glacier Bay

Hello to all the lovely peoples out there from AKTeam5!

It's been such an amazing experience here in Alaska that I am having trouble adequately describing the magnificent country around me. I figure some eloquent wording might just be the best thing,with tons of pictures.

The low clouds caress the Fairweather Mountain Range like a long lost lover, slowly obscuring them from view. A fog glides over the creek-like waters of the slough allowing but trickles of sound through its thick curtain. The eerie laugh like call of a snipe calls out echoing across the camp. The sunset around eleven casting an orange glow over all in its shine and painting a picture of hues on the horizon. Eagles screaming nearby as they begin to nest for the night. This is how our nights generally were while in Dry Bay.

Days were spent working in a relentless bug infested work that not even the exhaust from a chainsaw could keep them away. We worked on the trails doing as we had been the previous weeks, clearing the corridor of ATV trails so the commercial fishermen of Dry Bay could haul their catches to the processing plant. We were blessed with clear weather all of our stay in Dry Bay except during the last week. Even then the weather wasn’t as bad as many had told us to expect. One day we had a light rain to work in all day, and the other we had only half of a morning with light showers as well.

On our ‘last’ night there we had packed up all of our belongings and were prepared to leave the next day. However after a morning of chores and picking invasive daisies, we learned that we weren’t leaving that day due to high winds in Gustavus, so we spent another night. That night after we had finished all of our chores, we looked like bums hanging out on/in the maintenance cabin eating, and just generally relaxing. It was a pleasant way to spend our official last night in Dry Bay.

The next day we had one plane arrive for us, and were told that some of us would be left behind, for a return trip of the plane. Scotty and I volunteered so that we might get to hang out with the fisherpeople as they celebrated the fourth early. It was interesting talking with the different peoples and learning their stories.

On our flight back to Gustavus we flew over the mountains instead of around. The views were spectacular and indescribable. Only seeing it for yourself can you truly understand, however some pictures might help you to see a little better. 

We spent the 4^th of July in Gustavus, Alaska. We all rejoiced in being in a town after having been in relative backcountry for around three weeks. Since there were so many activities going on, we decided to participate in the different events: a 5k race, 3-legged race, slow bike race, and a greased pole event; all of which happened after the parade.

We started the morning off right by eating ‘Pie for Breakfast’. I bought a piece of each the beaver pie, a bacon quiche of sorts, and a peach rhubarb, absolutely delicious. After was the Declaration of Independence reading (should definitely happen everywhere) and the parade. While small, the parade participants were extremely festive, including the preschoolers, Indian Islands Institute, a local inn, and various officials in their designated vehicles. After the parade began the events, which were just as exciting to watch as they were to participate in.  

I personally did the greased pole, which my body is still recovering from. The pole was a fresh cut spruce that had been debarked and all its nobs taken off. It was around 25-30 foot long and was suspended from a bridge over the Salmon River below at high tide. It was absolutely frightening to do and I had to conquer many fears in the process. I had already watched 4 other participants go, two of them successful (and really young) and the other two not. The two who succeeded had stayed on top of the log, and the others had fallen victim to the grease and were trying to climb underneath. I decided to try and take the winners’ approach and stay on top. I slowly inched my way out on the log taking almost 5 minutes to complete, but I came away victorious winning $100. At one point the guy in charge of the forklift had decided to shake it with me on it, I hollered out that I was afraid of heights and the guy seemed to not do it anymore. I barely made it to the end and when I splashed in the water, I had a smile on my face that couldn’t be wiped off.

Our Sunday was spent checking out the town and relaxing. We utilized the fact that we finally had service to catch up with relatives and check essentials in our home lives. We knew that the next day our work would begin in Bartlett Cove, so we decided to make the most of the day.

Neature in Dry Bay

Chapter 1 Soaring With Eagles:

We awoke early on a Tuesday morning and drove to the airport. We took two Cessna 206 aircrafts to make the journey. Flying along the coastline seeing the bright blue, tropical-like, glacier water was neat. At some point during the flight we seemed lost only to be soon escorted by a flock of eagles. I swear I could see John Denver riding an eagle. Both of the planes made it to Dry Bay, where we were greeted by a man called Johnathan. If you don’t know who Johnathan is, do yourself a service and look this man up! HE is a legend.   

Chapter 2 Swamp Life

Our crew was responsible for cutting and clearing corridor along 5 miles of the 65 total miles of ATV trail in Dry Bay. Here are a few definitions to give you a better idea of what we did: 

SWAMPING: Swamping is the act of moving cut trees and branches well off the trail. When done with one pile, simply move to the next. One does not run out of material to swamp. Swamp life is swamping all day, every day. Sentence: Vinny was made to swamp for Lesley.

SAWYER: The Act of using a chainsaw throughout the entire day and work week. One may probably receive carpal tunnel from doing this. A sawyer has one goal and that is to drop trees for the swampers. Sentence: Sawyer Casey hails from the great state of Ohio and knows more about chainsaws than you know about your mother.

The connection between swamper and sawyer is one of the strongest in Mother Nature. 

Chapter 3 Island of Bears:

On our first set of off days we traveled to the East Alsek cabin. We traveled with Mr. Kuboto through many rivers and thick brush to find this majestic cabin. Six people, four beds, one cabin; it was a fight. Our first adventure was to Bear Island. Bear Island was the first section of land to have vegetation on it after the glacier retreated. We found a game trail up a steep hillside behind the cabin, and were greeted with an outstanding view.

Chapter 4 That’s Pretty Neat:

The crew would frequently explore the river bed to the Alsek and in the opposite direction towards the ocean. The crew often saw pretty neat things like moose, bear, wolf and, eagle tracks. I could tell it was an eagle track by the way it was. That’s pretty neat! During these explorations our crew would stop and listen to the surrounding nature.   Only some of us could hear John Denver. At the Alsek we saw pretty neat ice chunks that floated down the river at alarming rates.

Chapter 5 Mr. Kuboto goes to the beach:

The sky was blue and the eagles were soaring, the beach was calling and we had to go. We took the Kubotas as far as we could before walking along the sand. After a long walk along the river delta our hearts were struck by the Gulf of Alaska. Scotty Martell, aka Scotty Fresh, experienced the ocean for the first time that day. Only a selected few of us fully submerged ourselves into the surprisingly warm water. We were greeted by many whales and seals who were also enjoying the prefect day.

Chapter 6 Our fearless leader:

Lesley Seale says she is from Colorado Springs, but being raised by a military family she has lived around the country and world. At being only 23 she has defined what experts say is possible at such a young age. This fearless leader has been known to use the chainsaw for over 40 hours a week only taking breaks to sharpen and refuel. While being a leader she is also a renewed chef. Being able to make anything out of nothing. Besides serving the planet for a living, she enjoys long walks on the beach, yoga, bubble baths, and John Denver. She has one of the brightest futures of our young generation, watch out world!  

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Urno088IAo