Glaciers

I went to Prince William Sound to catch a day cruise to see the glaciers.

I was fortunate enough to get a window seat with a delightful family of a husband and wife and their grown daughter. We had a great time talking about all sorts of things on the cruise, and pointing out things out the window. Which is important. Even if you are going to do that kind of thing by yourself, you don’t want to have to just sit there – you want exclaim and make comments.

The delightful boat guaranteed no seasickness, had free tea and coffee, a nice little meal, and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies right about the time we were totally pooped. You’d be surprised how exhausting it was!

The first excitement came with sea otters, floating on their backs in small and large groups and sitting on floating chunks of ice – they seem too small to call icebergs. It’s odd to think of something so little living in those freezing and exposed conditions. They really are adorable the way they look out over their stomachs at the world.

We saw a number of glaciers which were all pretty dirty looking, unlike the kind of snow covered arctic glaciers you might usually see pictures of. They were covered with bits of rocks and stuff that had been caught up in their movement. They were also very blue – because the deepness of the ice causes that color to be reflected back. Sometimes when we stopped the boat we could hear the glaciers calving in the distance, and we saw a couple good sized chunks break off and fall into the water. The boat hangs around waiting for that, and part of you is like “come on BREAK!”, and the other part is like “YIKES, there is going to be nothing left at this rate!” All the while you hear ice clunking against the bow as you drift.

We also got to have a bit of glacier ice fished from the water either with a drink or just in a cup. It seemed denser than normal ice – maybe all that pressure actually shows in a way that you can casually observe – weird.

After the long cruise I went to the airport to wait for HOURS for my middle of the night flight. On the plane I sat next to two women with a baby – the baby was out like a light the whole time, just squirming around a bit as they cradled it to their chests and put it on the food tray. Note to self – when I have babies, I’m going to travel at times when they can’t possibly hold their eyes open.

So that was it for me an Alaska – this time. I plan to return for sure, although when, I cannot say. On to the adventure of figuring out my normal life again –only with lots of plans and ideas on how to make it less normal.

Biology

I’m returning home earlier than expected for several reasons. One exciting reason is to get things set up to go back to school – at first at nights and weekends, then full time later on. I am going to go back to school to study biology with an eye towards being a naturalist, primarily. But also I am interested in biomimicry/bionics (which is when you look at nature to make new designs, etc.). I have been so inspired by my time in the outdoors.

I’ve delighted in taking pictures of the different wildflowers and looking at the many insects and animals. I think it would be a very nice way to spend your days walking through fields and woods for a living. I’ve thought a lot about how much it meant to me as a child to go on walks, and how lasting an impression the people who knew all about nature made on me. The excitement I feel, the need to touch the leaves, to inspect the rocks, to observe and interpret the animal behavior – it all reminds me of them. It’s also always been something I’ve felt, but I just didn’t do anything about it. So now I guess is the time.

I had thought before if I went back to school I might go for IT, something that could significantly improve my finances – but NO! I choose biology. Acting and biology – way to go Senta, hope you can find a way to make money somehow. F-ing arts and nature!!! The heart wants what the heart wants – that’s what they say, anyways. At the very least, studying biology will be a chance to learn more about the natural world – which is something I’m only ever going to want to do more of.

I’m sad to leave Denali, I’m sad I didn’t get to finish the park walk. But I would love to come back earlier in the summer some day and do the whole thing. Tonight there was a spectacular sunset - the first real one.

On my way out of Alaska, I MUST visit the glaciers of the Kenai Peninsula – you know, in case they disappear…

Snow on the mountains

People are saying the weather is colder and rainier earlier than usual, and there is fresh snow on the mountains. Not the best news.

Epic Walk #3 - Teklanika River to Polychrome Overlook - 18 miles

I survived! No Bears, but I did observe a moose on the bus ride to where I was to start walking, and some Dall sheep and birds of prey while walking. All enhanced by using binoculars. I know I’ve said it before, but the whole “let me get out my binoculars to observe this wildlife” experience is the bomb! My heart was beating fast in a section near a stream where I saw a bear before but I just looked and sang extra hard.

There was a cute ranger hut for winter use near Igloo Creek, and the sun did peek out of the clouds occasionally.

Unfortunately I didn’t make it all the way to Polychrome. I stopped somewhere around mile 44. The weather was cold and hazy in that area and I was concerned about the lateness of the hour and the number of buses that might be coming along to take me out of the park – especially as some of the buses passing me had signs saying they were full. I think it might have been a better idea to walk from Kantishna out of the park for bus reasons, even though it feels like you’d be turning your back on the best scenery a bit instead of walking into it.

Also, it was taking a lot longer than anticipated to walk this section. It was very exhausting singing loudly into the wind – that takes a lot out of you, although I believe it’s improved my singing ability as my diaphragm was getting a great workout. It’s also hard to sing and think separate things, so I started singing my thoughts at the top of my lungs.

I noticed my hands seem to be getting worse – it takes a lot less cold for them to go numb for longer. Not only do my fingertips turn white more easily, but it’s like a deeper freeze, because when the blood comes back they turn blue-ish before turning red-ish and warm then going back to pink. Also, the cold makes it hard for me to grip things, it feels like the muscles are frozen and won’t take commands – instead I get a bit of a dead sensation when I try to apply more pressure. I’m going to start documenting when this happens – at the very least in freakish pictures!

All that said, I had a delightful walk – all in all around another 5 and a half hours.

I welcome the night...

On rainy nights like last night, it gets kind of dark and almost feels like real night. But it’s not. It has been so long since I’ve seen the darkness and the stars, even the pitiful few stars visible over LA’s light pollution.

I miss the moon. One day about two weeks ago, I thought I saw it for a moment in the morning – but it was set in a pale blue sky, and that’s not the same thing as a big bright moon.

When the stars do come out, I want to take my cheap tent and go camping. I bought it and brought it all this way, so I’ve got to use it at least once. It even has a stargazing roof. I think it will be fun, although cold, and part of me thinks of a tent as gift wrapping for a bear.

Speaking of bears, tomorrow the weather is supposed to be nice and I intend to try the third leg of my park walk. It will be 18 miles from Teklanika to Polychrome. 18 miles on one of the sections on which I personally observed bears on the road during my bus ride. I’m not going to lie – part of me is so nervous and scared I want not to go. As a child at family camp, the counselors would come up and make announcements that bears had been seen near the trash dumpsters, and from that time on I have had a really deep seated fear of bears, even though I’ve known and even fed some bears in my time and they seemed nice – they were all trained and caged. Big, big difference.

If something should happen to me, and I’m sure it won’t, but if it does… I love you all! Even if you’re some random person who has stumbled upon this. Hey, thanks for being a part of the world – carry on, and be the best you can be, and enjoy every day to the fullest! Because as my Mum would say, “Tempest is fugiting all over the place!”

Watch. It will be the most uneventful walk ever, now. (I pray!)

Sad Eyes

Yesterday someone told me my eyes are always sad. It’s not the first time. I’ve also been told I have angry eyes.

Neither constantly sad nor angry, I blame the epicanthic folds. I have no eyelids! Well, hardly any to speak of. And not being straight up Asian, this confuses people. The blank space between my eyes and eyebrows and the way the epicanthic folds shape the outside of my almond eyes is unexpected and interpreted emotionally by some. While this is fascinating on one level, it’s also not something I can do anything about, and so somewhat unfortunate. How many people have misinterpreted my inner monologue to be one of melancholy or rage?

Also unfortunate is the fact that normal mascara sticks my eyelashes to my face and smudges. Fortunately a Chinese girl gave me the scoop on Kiss Me Mascara. Created by the Japanese, it creates an acrylic tube around your eyelashes instead of painting them. To get it off you literally pull the tubes off between your fingers. GENIUS! While that is one problem solved, I will always look at women who can do spectacular eye shadow work a little jealously. Sure, I hardly wear makeup, but it’s not having a workable canvas that irks.

That said, I love my eyes! They are a genetic gift that skips through the Italian part of my family (my mother used to tell me they came from Mongolia with Genghis Kahn – and maybe they did). With them I feel a bond to the last person who got them, my great Aunt Fiji (so nicknamed because of the look the eyes gave her). I only knew her as a small child, and I don’t actually remember her, but when I do think about my eyes, I feel like I am reaching back through time to hold hands and walk with her.

The eyes have also helped me out in those times when I wanted to pretend that I “no speak the English.” They take me from multiracial to whateversomeonewantstobelieve.