Yo, Ho the Rattlin' Blog: Southeast of the Northwest

Point Bridget at Sunset.

Alaska is not as expected. At first blush, all seems as it should. The landscape of Southeast Alaska is drastic; the sea gives way to dense forest, which gives way to enormous peaks jarring the skyline, punctuated by hundreds of glaciers. But get up close and personal and the ecosystem seems incongruous. First off, the forest isn't a coniferous forest as I would have expected this far north. Its a rainforest, plain and simple--a humid jungle minus the heat. To my eye it is an ecosystem more comparable to Costa Rica than anywhere else I've travelled. While there are conifers, other vegetation like the giant skunk cabbage, towering deciduous trees, and spiny and poisinous Devil's Thumb smack of a jungle. Above treeline things become decidedly more predictable. It is cold, windy, snowy and steep, and the views are as gaspingly intense as a plunge into one of Juneau's many iceberg-riddled lakes.

Insert into this dramatic landscape all the animals you've always wanted to see but never, or rarely, found--Mountain Goats, Bald Eagles, Grizzly Bears, Humpback Whales, porcupines, native Alaskans in brown rain gear and gumboots.

But I'm accustomed to all that by now, and after three weeks Laura and I have the drill down pat. One thing is slightly unsettling. Our first day, we both bought bright yellow rubber rain suits in anticipation of the 90 inches of rain Juneau receives annually. Since purchasing them on June 20th, we have used them: never. Contrary to all probablities, the past week has been sunny with record-setting high temperatures reaching the 90's.

Perhaps the next three weeks will make up for the lack of rainfall we've had, perhaps not. Either way, the next group will be hard pressed for a better trip than the one we've just finished.

In the past three weeks I've been reminded of how difficult and frustrating and exhausting this job is--how all-consuming and energy-sapping it is to reign in 11 energetic teenagers 24 hours a day. But I've also been reminded why I do this job; moments when 11 kids raft their kayaks together at Seduction Point near Haines and sing Billy Joel's "Piano Man" at the top of their lungs, while rare, make your heart glow.

Our next group arrives tomorrow, and I expect the first few days to be equally as taxing as they were with the previous group. But I know and remember how big the payoff can be, and I am ready.

As for me, I've had some incredible experiences. I saw a Grizzly bear and her three cubs and saw 28 mountain goats, both firsts, as well as some of the most spectacular scenery of my life. I am loving every minute, and while I must cut this short (7 minutes remaining!), know that I am having a blast here in AK.