Our 51st Park Experience!
Preflight shopping Spree
Best Alaskan Hat…ever!
Flying over Lake Clark Pass
Hardenberg Bay on Lake Clark
Our Cabin at The Farm - Unit #4
Cabin Art
Local transportation…weather permitting!
Suited up and ready to fly!
Cloudy skies…low ceiling…we won't make it to Twin Lakes today!
Hiking to Tanalian Falls via Beaver Pond Trail
Snack Stop at Beaver Pond
Tanalian Falls
Upper Tanailan Falls
View of Tanalian River from Upper Falls
Lunch at Kontrashibuna Lake
Island Girl!
Island dude?
Island Photo shoot
Island in middle of Lake Clark
Dick Proenneke's Cabin
Cabin Door - notice the hinges!
Cabin heater and cooking device.
Bunk Beds!
View from Dick's desk - Twin Lakes outside.
Mantle full of skulls
Dick's woodshed
The fireplace…which he seldom used.
Food Cache - to keep the bears at bay!
Dick's Crapper!
Teetering Rock
View of Twin Lakes from Teetering Rock Viewpoint
8/26 – Anchorage to
Port Alsworth. We are scheduled to
depart Merrill Field, Anchorage via Lake Clark Air at 1:00 pm today. With nothing better
to do, we go shopping at the Once In a Blue Moose Boutique and find the most awesome hat for Terry! Doesn't she look cute in that furry cap?
After shopping, we catch a cab and get to Merrill Field at 11 o’clock. We check in with
the folks at the counter, then take a short hike to the Alaskan version of
Safeway for a bite to eat. Before departing for lunch, we get the strong
feeling that inbound flights from Port Alsworth have been held up due to foggy
conditions. Hmm?
We return to the terminal at 12:30 only to learn that our
plane has yet to leave Port Alsworth…and it could be another hour or two until
the weather is clear enough for them to do so. As we idle away the time sitting
at the Merrill Field lake Clark Air Terminal, we meet Margaret the Park Service
Ranger responsible for Lake Clark. During our conversation, we tell her about
our game. She gives us the name of the purchasing person who buys for the
Alaskan Parks Association.
The weather finally lifts and at 4:00pm, our plane finally
arrives from Pt. Alsworth. We load up our gear, I get to sit up front with our
pilot Nate…but unfortunately while we waited at the terminal, I took out my
Canon to take a couple of pictures. Sadly, the Canon had died a second death! Crap! I haven’t
gotten used to the silly Sony and I tossed all the rice out before we left the
hotel. Looks like it will be up to the iPhone to capture any shots at Lake
Clark!
The flight from Merrill Field to Pt. Alsworth and The Farm,
where we are scheduled to spend the next four nights will take about an hour
and 15 minutes. Leaving Anchorage, the skies are partly cloudy; however as we
approach the eastern reaches of Lake Clark National Parks, we can begin to see
why traveling in this country can be difficult.
Clouds cover the peaks surrounding most of the mountains yet
Nate assures us that Lake Clark Pass is clear and navigable. Before leaving the
flatlands around the Cook Inlet, we spot a pod of Beluga Whales swimming
upstream to feed on salmon. From the air, they look like tiny white ovals
swimming up the mouth of a chocolate brown
river.
As we approach the Chigmit Mountains, the scenery becomes
spectacular! To the left and to the right of the airplane we are surrounded by
jagged peaks and glistening glaciers. The air is turbulent so taking pictures
of these beauties is a challenge. We are flying at an altitude of no more than
3000’ for most of the trip. The elevation at the Pass is 1050ft, so we’re well
above the high point on our journey to Port Alsworth and Lake Clark.
As we navigate through Lake Clark Pass, we are treated to
the sight of braided rivers and the turquoise waters of glacially fed lakes.
Approaching Lake Clark, the winds kick up and tosses our small aircraft
about. Nate gets us safely on the ground
where we are met by Joshua and Sam who help us with our bags and usher us up to
dinner.
We are staying at The Farm Lodge, owned and operated by Glen
Alsworth Sr and Jr. I had done all the arrangements with Glen Jr. and he assured
us of a pleasant stay! Glen Sr’s father, Babe Alsworth came to this area in
1944 and he and his wife homesteaded the land surrounding Hardenberg Bay –the
choicest real estate in the area!
Twenty-five years ago, the Alsworth’s began offering deluxe
sightseeing, wildlife viewing, fishing and photography oriented trips; however,
the only way to get to the Farm is via small aircraft.
Our package was to include a flightseeing excursion to Dick
Proenneke’s cabin on Twin Lakes, a photographic tour of Lake Clark and a day
hiking to Tanalian Falls and Kontrashibuna Lake. Tomorrow we are scheduled for
the flight to Twin Lakes…weather permitting!
8/27 – Lake Clark
National Park and the Farm. Breakfast at The Farm is served every day at
7:30 am sharp, therefore, Terry and I must roll our sickly bodies out of the
warm sheets about an hour ahead of time in order to be ready for breakfast.
Both of us are not feeling well. The cold has latched on to our lungs and
causes both of us to cough violently. The weather is a bit foreboding. Low clouds, gusty winds and a touch of rain.
But we’re here to have a good time, so up to the dining room we go.
Lo and behold…at this time, Terry and I are the only guests
at the Lodge! We have the entire place and staff at our disposal! At breakfast,
we meet our guide Jeff, who will accompany us on our Twin Lakes and Lake Clark
excursions. After breakfast, Jeff fetches our rubber waders we’ll need to get
on and off the floatplane that will take us to Twin Lakes. At 9:00 our pilot Carlin
makes his way to the floatplane which is docked about 50 yards in front of our
cabin. He seems a bit surly and rightfully so. The flying conditions are
deteriorating each minute. Once we’re aboard, Carlin lets us know that if he
feels uneasy about this trip, he’s going to turn around and head back to Port
Alsworth.
Twin Lakes and Dick’s cabin are about 30 miles north of Port
Alsworth. We take off from the calm waters of Hardenberg Bay and are
immediately greeted by the notoriously gusty winds that blow across Lake Clark.
The little floatplane is getting bounced around quite viciously as Carlin
navigates it up narrow mountain valleys. Visibility is a bit to be desired as
the bottom of the cloud cover seems to be only a few yards above us.
When Twin Lakes is finally in sight, the winds have picked
up even more. Carlin makes a wide pass over the two lakes, swoops down close to
the surface of the water and then shakes his head and says “we’re going back!”
No argument from either Terry or me! In fact, the ride back
to The Farm is even bumpier than the outbound flight! After we land, Carlin
says he could have landed on Twin Lakes – that wasn’t the issue. What would
have become a big issue is he didn’t feel he would be able to return later that
afternoon to pick us up. If that were the case, we’d be spending the night,
unprepared, at Twin Lakes!
All is not lost. Rather than visit Dick’s Cabin, today we
opted to hike to the Falls and to Kontrashibuna Lake. But first we would make a stop at the National Park’s Visitor
Center located in Port Alsworth to pick up our pin and watch a couple of movies
about Dick and the making of Lake Clark National Park.
The Rangers suggested we take the Beaver Pond Trail up to
the Falls and return via the Tanalian Trail.
About 20 minutes into our hike, a gentle rain began to fall. We donned
or rain gear and continued on. The Falls are situated about 2.3 miles from the
trailhead and two smaller trails take you to a view of the falls from below and
one above. We took both trails and I took what pictures I could with my iPhone!
From the Falls, we continued on the trail to the Lake, which is actually located within the National Park boundaries! As
suggested by the Ranger, we continued along the trail until we found a spot
suitable for lunch. It was now 3:30 pm.
It took us almost 3 hours to get to where we are and dinner is served
promptly at 6 pm. Now we did take our time on the outbound leg of the hike and
there was a minor elevation change going up the trail.
Heading back along the Tanalian Trail proved to be much
easier and much quicker. We were back in plenty of time to make dinner. Tonite,
we did not dine alone. We had the pleasure of meeting Dave and Karen Eubanks –
freedom fighters that have created the Free Burma Rangers movement to help
suppressed Burmese people escape the tyranny of their government and military. Very
interesting story.
Dave asked me what I did for a living. I told him I teach
business skills to contractors – primarily sales and marketing. He asked about
sales and I said sales is really nothing more than identifying what’s important
to the customer and why…then presenting a solution that satisfies their wants
or desires.
He pondered my comments for a moment then said, “John, I
learned something from you just now. As it relates to the work I do, and to
governments in general, perhaps we should all try to understand what the people
of a country want and why they want it before we impose our own agenda on
them.” Wouldn’t that be nice?
Because The Farm is a family oriented facility, they do not
offer alcohol in the dining room. And, unless you smuggle your booze into camp,
their airplanes do not allow the
transportation of alcohol between Merrill Field and Port Alsworth. All that
meant is no vino for Johnny during our visit. I can live with that. Certainly
won’t hurt me to lay off the vino for a couple of days! Apparently, in the past
there have been a few rowdies who whooped it up a bit too vigorously, hence the
Alsworth’s decided on the no booze policy.
8/28 – Lake Clark.
Sun’s out at 7:15am. Perhaps today we’ll get up to Dick’s cabin? Still feeling
like crap. Bloody mucus coming from nose and throat. Gotta get moving if we’re gonna make
breakfast at 7:30!
If there’s one thing I would request about our visit to The
Farm it would be more flexibility on mealtimes. I do understand they have tight
schedules to meet; however, there are times when I really don’t want to have
breakfast at 7:30a or dinner at 6pm. Not bitching here…just a customer service
suggestion to accommodate the guests.
The trip to Twin Lakes is postponed once again. High winds!
Today, our guide Jeff will take us out on the lake for some photo ops. Too bad
my good camera isn’t working because the little island he dropped us off at was
ripe with photo opportunities. I did what I could with my iPhone. We’ll see the
results once we get back to Phoenix.
Before going out on our boat rides, Terry and I walked about
Port Alsworth to see its full dimension. The tiny little town has two runways.
One that the Alsworth’s built and another wider runway that will accommodate
large transport airplanes. Both are gravel runways and rather lengthy.
The homes we saw as we wandered about were actually very
nice. Mostly second residences; however, there are several full time residents
living here. We wandered over to the resort’s garden and green houses and now
know why this place is called The Farm. They have a very impressive garden and
several green houses that provide vegetables for the guests at the lodge as
well as the local residents.
One of the very cool aspects of this place is there is NO
phone service or internet connection! You do not see guests with their heads
buried in their laptops, tablets or phones checking emails or Facebooking.
Hell…I haven’t been able to follow the volatility of the stock market- crazy as
its been! People actually talk with one another! Or they play Trump! Our idle
time has been spent beating each other in this simple game that we have played
for years! At last count, Terry and I were tied at 4 games apiece.
After our Lake tour, we get cleaned up for dinner. Tonite the
dining room has a full house. We are seated with Ike Tamrak and his wife Tanya?
(hard to understand her as she spoke very broken English) from St. Louis. Like
so many others we’ve met along our path to visit the Parks, Ike and Tanya have
set about to visit all 59 parks as well. Lake Clark is Park #58 for them. They
will conclude their quest at Gates of the Arctic in the next couple of days!
Ike works for Enterprise Rent-a-Car in the IT department;
consequently, they have driven to most of their park destinations. He told me
they’ve racked up over 300,000 miles on the road! Terry has trouble if I drive
over 6 hours. Imagine how she’d feel if she had to do 300,000 with me?
When I asked Ike what inspired them to visit all the Parks,
he replied, “The Ken Burns documentary.”
So true. Those films were a great tribute to our nation’s park system.
As Burns put it the parks are “America’s Best Idea.” I couldn’t agree more. Wandering about these
national treasures, all thoughts of the economy, politics, religion, sex, drugs
and rock and roll are diminished by the astonishing beauty created by Mother
Nature.
Gazing at a glacier that is probably hundreds of thousands
of years old and marveling at its incredible force that allows it to gouge out valleys between large stands
of mountains takes my breath away. Ah, but I’m easily amused. Yet, I think it
is much healthier to ponder the wonders of nature than to listen to the death,
destruction, and despair broadcast daily on all news channels. I digress. Back to our Lake Clark experience.
8/29 – Lake Clark.
The alarm goes off at 7. I’m really not feeling it. Terry’s completely wiped
out. She’s got some sort of stomach issue and passes on breakfast. I stagger up
to breakfast more to find out what our agenda will be for today and to ask Glen
Jr. if there is any way Terry and I could head back to Anchorage this
afternoon.
Our original itinerary had us departing Lake Clark at 9am on
Sunday. We would get back to Anchorage about 10:15 or so. From there, we’d need
to hustle to the International Airport (about a half hour drive from Merrill Field) to check in for our 12:30 departure to Seattle. That would be all fine
and dandy…IF we are able to get out of Dodge at 9 am tomorrow! Every morning, there has been very low cloud
cover and today is no exception. On Wednesday, the flight from Port Alsworth to
Anchorage wasn’t able to leave until 3pm.
I track down Glen Jr. and ask him the questions. He says we
are scheduled to fly up to Twin Lakes and he believes there will be no problem
getting us out of Port Alsworth upon our return from Dick’s Cabin. Perhaps the third
time will be the charm?
I rustle Terry out of bed. We don our waders and hop on the
Floatplane – Destination Twin Lakes and Dick Proenneke’s famous Cabin. CJ is
our pilot. We’ve got Jeff, our guide and Liz the “VIP” joining us. The cloud
ceiling is very low. Did I mention that the clouds were hanging VERY LOW? Yes
the wind has died down…but visibility seems sketchy at best!
CJ takes off to the northeast and heads up the same valley
Carlin did on Thursday. I’m sitting up front with CJ. Looking ahead, all I see
is a dense bank of fog. To the left and right of me are mountain slopes. I
cannot see the mountain tops because they’ve been eaten by the cloud
cover. I notice CJ straining to see if
the pass is OK. Apparently not, as he banks hard left and we begin retracing
our path. Oh crap, we’re headed back to home base. I guess old Dick’s Cabin
just isn’t in the cards this week. The weather has won out.
A few minutes later, CJ banks hard right. He’s now heading
up another valley. One of the many braided rivers below help show us the
direction. My guess is these Bush Pilots use the rivers to guide them though
the valleys. Again, I look forward and all I see is a dense blanket of clouds
directly in front of us. As we approach the gloom, CJ shakes his head and banks
the plane hard left.
Now I know we’re heading for home. Not so fast Kemosabe! CJ
knows of another route to the Twin Lakes. Meanwhile, Jeff our guide who hates
to fly is going nuts. He can’t believe we’re still in the air. He told me later he thought CJ would be landing on any number of lakes we’ve flown over to
wait for the clouds to lift. But CJ forges ahead!
Well what do you know! This valley is a straight shot to
Twin Lakes. CJ gets us there safely. We deplane and I manage to NOT fall in the
lake! Diane, the local Park Ranger is our guide and gives us the tour of Dick’s Cabin. Richard Proenneke originally intended to stay in the back county for a
year and ended up there for 31! His story is quite intriguing.
His cabin wasn’t the first to be built in Alaska’s
backcountry nor was it was the biggest. The reason it stands out is due to
his remarkable craftsmanship in building it and the fact that he filmed the
entire construction process.
After Diane completed her tour and story, Jeff, Liz and I
took off up a path to Teetering Rock. Terry still isn’t feeling good and was shivering in the cold. She stays behind and ends up meeting Monroe and Kay, the couple who
now care for the maintenance and upkeep of Proenneke’s cabin. Kay says to
Terry, “you look like you’re freezing.” Terry acknowledges and follows Kay back
to her cabin where they enjoy the warmth of the wood burning stove, a cup of
hot tea and stories about how each of them ended up in the wilds of Alaska.
Meanwhile, Liz finds a blueberry patch about halfway up to
Teetering Rock. I’m on a quest to see if Jeff’s story about the rock it true.
As Jeff tells it, Teetering rock is a 9 ton boulder that “teeters” atop another
rock. Jeff says if you stand behind the rock, put your knees on the bottom edge
and lift upward, you can get the boulder to teeter.
Since there’s been bear activity in the area, Jeff positions
himself between Liz, who is gathering berries, and me trekking upward to the
rock. Sure enough, I put my knees behind the rock, lift upward and the large
mass moves! Directly below me are Jeff, Liz and Proenneke’s cabin. I do not
want to be the one that gets the boulder to teeter off its perch and wipes out
this historic icon!
Up on a ridge, Jeff spots a couple of Dall Sheep grazing. In
past Alaskan Adventures, Terry and I were blessed with many animal sightings.
This trip, however, we’ve only seen a handful of wildlife. We did spot a bull
Moose grazing in a shallow pond on our way up to Twin Lakes and there are a
dozen ducks that hang out at the Farm. Besides that, we saw no other critters
during our visit to Lake Clark.
The flight back to
Port Alsworth is uneventful, as the cloud ceiling has risen to manageable
heights. We pack up or gear and are able to make the 3:00 pm flight back to
Anchorage. We bid our newfound friends goodbye and look forward to our next Park Adventure.
Happy Trails friends.
