UNCLASSIFIED ALASKA EXPEDITION 09

“2010 trip has been confirmed and will be posted soon.”

“wtf are you going where you need crevasse rescue skills? jumpin' geezsus! i have only PRACTICED these skills like twice ever... heaven forbid i have to actually pull someone out of a mess like that. i know how arrest a fall, rig an anchor and set up a haul system... but that assumes you have all the gear (which i do) and know how to use it (which i do IN THEORY)... and THAT assumes you are in at least a three-man roped team because if it was a two-man roped team there better be a lot of knots in that rope and you better pray one snagged on the edge when you fell 'cause we are both going in at that point.

;)

lol! you are my kind of hiker.”

“Fridge is a wild man!”

“Sounds exciting. Ya'll be safe! If I don't see a trip report sometime soon after the 16th or 17th tellin me how awesome it was I'm gonna start callin peeps. :)

TAKE LOTS of pictures. ...and Uncle Fridgy....beware of the tavern winches.”

“I will be taking a SPOT on this trip. I have to figure out how to use it before I leave.

I plan on posting a link where y'all can follow our trip online in near real time.”

“fridgy, what time of year are you doing the 2010 trip?”

“Welll, not really but I am very Jealous. hope you have fun and stay safe.Drink lots of Summer Ale you will know what I am talking about when you get home”

“Stinkers!!”

“I'm back IN for 2010!!!”

“I think I'm gonna do Pictured Rocks and Isle Royale in 2010. Alaska will be awesome but its a little $$$ for me now that I'm providing for a one-income household of 4.”

“Yo Chin Music

Grizzly lake has Grayling and Burbot (fresh water cod family).”

“Fridge!!! What the heck old man??? I've been calling you all week...even left a message with Calm Spirits!You invite me to hit the trail this weekend and then won't call me back???WASSUP???”

“I was checking out what burbot are. Ugly things, look like a cross between an eel and a catfish, but like deep, cold water.”

“I'm thinking about getting a steripen for this trip....”

“Fridge - I have caught burbot, by accident, in Manitoba. Ugliest damn fish I have ever caught. They look like something out of another era and will actually wrap around your arm like a snake.....freaking weird.

I would almost choose to cut my line instead of trying to get the hook out.”

“Im bringing a steripen with tablets as a back up.”

“http://www.qwikcast.com/cgi-bin/forecast.cgi?zip=Wrangell-St.+Elias,AK


gonna be cold at night. Maybe some snow...”

“I received an e mail today from a friend we met last year in Chistichina where we will be tanking up with gaz last time before we depart on the Nabesna Road. Fred tells me this is Peek season for blueberry pickin and this year is the best ever. So we can do a berry pickin thang or let OLE Grizz do it and we watch.
Fred also tells me they have had little to no rain the month of July so I'm thinking crossing Tumble creek will be no problem.”

“We will be taking this road to Nabesna...
Improved gravel road from Tok Cutoff to end in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park; 42 miles (68 kilometers). This gravel road begins at the Tok Cutoff and runs through the wild northern reaches of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park. Sport hunting is allowed within the national preserve north of the road, subject to state and federal regulations. All-terrain-vehicle use requires a permit from the National Park Service. The road is passable to all types of vehicles as far as Trail Creek, at Mile 29.4. Beyond this point, the road fords several substantial streams, and you shouldn’t attempt to cross unless your vehicle has high clearance. The streams may rise and become completely impassable in early spring and after rainstorms. Check at the Park Service ranger station at Slana for current conditions. The last three miles of the road into the privately-owned gold-mining settlement of Nabesna require four-wheel drive and may not be passable.”

“PERMAFROST 101
Permafrost is ground that is frozen year-round. It affects everything. We will be crossing lots of Bogs with standing water and Tuccock. tent stakes can be hard to embed.
When we are driving you will notice the effect permafrost on the roads, and see the road rippling like waves on an ocean.
Permafrost creates much of the natural environment you’re driving through. It prevents surface water from draining into the soil below, creating the boggy, swampy black spruce forest. It also creates small ponds and lakes, where ducks, geese, swans and muskrat all live.
The only time permafrost really causes trouble is when it melts. That’s exactly what happens along the roads; the blacktop melts the permafrost underneath and the road sags. In buildings, when the warm floor melts the permafrost, the foundation sinks.
One of the effects of global warming is that permafrost is actually getting warmer and melting. As the permafrost melts, swamp and bog levels lower, making them unsuitable as wildlife habitat.”

“I can take the nights, would like it a little warmer during the day. I'm bringing a couple types of stakes for my tent, it is free standing, so that will help. Food and pack is packed, lets go!

What is the permafrost going to be like sleeping on? My new NeoAir ok, or should I bring the DAM pad? My pack has the short Nightlight pad in it for any extra padding I might need under my regular pad.”

“Neo Air will be fine. Be sure and bring a foot print for your tent.”

“????????”

“What poundage of food y'all flying out with?”

“When I add the small chub of salami and some string cheese, my food is around eight pounds for six days.

Not sure on whether to bring a synthetic jacket or just a down vest and whether a 3 oz. polycryo ground cloth or a heavier nylon one that I need to cut the grommets off of.”

“...taps foot...waiting for pics & trip report...


...have a safe & GREAT trip!!!!!”

“Fridge are we going all the way to Nebesna? Or just taking the rd part of the way there?

Thermarest be okay on permafrost?”

“All the way to Nabesna and your thermarest is perfect.”

“All the way in Nebesna?

You rascals!”

“spelled NABESNA”

“Nabesna ?

Spell Check still don't like it.

Hey Uncle Fridge, Jackstraw had a nice party Saturday.
The funk band was funky.”

“I was wondering if you could bring your 2X extender with you to Alaska, I Was hoping to see how it would work with the 100-400mm Canon lens i rented for this trip.

Thx Troy”

“Fridge, we are flying out from Jacksina Creek/Jaeger Mesa to near Mt. Jarvis? Any GPS coords for that? Uploading my topo GPS, want to make sure I get the right area.”

“Troy - I had to look around but I finally found my 2X. I'll bring it, if ya let me shoot with that 100-400 on occasion.....heheh

I'll have: 17-40 f4, 70-200 f2.8, 1.4X

Dub - I have my 70-200 f2.8 IS AND my buddy's 70-200 f2.8 NON-IS. The non-IS is about a half a pound less. You think the IS function would needed? I'm thinking, no.”

“Dub
WGS 84
N62 09.338 W143 24.966

N62 05.330 W143 28.575

N62 01.375 W143 37.084

N62 13.371 W143 22.050”

“Jacksina Glacier
Glacier in Valdez-Cordova County, Alaska, USA.
Latitude: 62.08917 : Longitude: -143.47417”

“Alaska Summer Ale...ahhhh refreshing
last edited: 8/04/09 2:44:26 AM”

“Good morning Fridge! How we hooking up Friday? Call you on your cell phone if that works up there?”

“Hiker Duane I have cell service there with Sprint. I'll have my cell on and if you don't have service you need to find a phone. I will try too locate your flight and meet you as you pick your baggage up if possible.....Dub Troy and ChinMusic will be in and around at the same time as well. Iffin I we do not hook up I will have you paged.


Everbody needs to bring along a BIG trash bag to secure your backpack in as we travel to Nabesna iffin we encounter rain. Or use your Pack cover iffin that works for you.
last edited: 8/04/09 2:22:46 PM”

“note to all you's......what goes on in Alaska stays in Alaska......last year we have kept the best secrets totally safe and locked up. hehehe Damn straight. We gonna have some fun!”

“Hey, whats mine is yours, however this is the very complicated push-pull style lens, :) the Canon 100-400mm f4.5/5.6 IS. I will say it took great pictures of the almost full moon last night, and should be good in strong light for birds and animals. hoping that with strong light and your 2X I will be able to get some good animal pictures. Also I am bringing my tripod, not an expensive tripod, A brand called Fancier, but it came with a Quick Release and ballhead mount. Also it is the carbon fiber metal and only weights about 2.5lbs. I thought I may be able to do a few longer time shots using the tripod. I know adding the 2X will make the 400mm lenght around an f8 but thats why I am hoping for strong light, or possibly a 1/2 to 1 sec shot using the tripod if necessary. Thx I appreciate your bringing the 2X.”

“Dang sounds like a whore house sizing up a pekker”

“We going to Vegas or Nabesna or Anchorage?:)

Thanks Mike, I'll try to not get blown away if I get paged at the airport.

How are prices compared to the lower 48? Half again or double?

My camera has a 20X zoom, didn't like the one distance shot I took a couple weeks ago of a mountain a mile away or so, just a tiny bit fuzzy, but you could make out the cracks in the rock pretty good, too far to expect a great photo, other wise, my pics turned out good from my trip to the John Muir Wilderness. I downed loaded to my puter, and was very happy with most of them.”

“Darn, just finally found my GPS...if I didn't find it I was gonna have to buy one of those new touchscreen color GPS with a built in TOPO base map of the entire US....darn.”

“We have been invited to have dinner with Kimi and Fred Ross when we leave Nabesna. Last year they did this for us. Real FOOD and Alaska Hospitality at it's best.”

“Behave yourself, Fridge.”

“No way MarkO....I'm IRISH”

“Just don't give us Irish a bad reputation.”