ALASKA EXPEDITION 2010

“That otta be real cool with the loooong days now. Miss talking, bping with you too Harry.”

“have fun peeps! be safe! XXXOOO”

“Jackstraw, Grrg, Mauricio, Sunnydayz, Karbellas, Diane, and Fridge are safe in Anchorage at the Backpacker Hostel. We pick up Eggs, Second gear, ole man, Amy G, Tango, Cocohead today.

we had a very late evening Dinner at Humpy's and of course, fridge had a nice glass of cold Anchorage H2O and designated driver.

Spam,MarkO,Lonewolf,Greg,Crash Bang, our legendary BOOT signature is still tops and rocks the Hostel with East Coast Trekkers.”

“Fridge,

Are you still up from yesterday or already up for today? Glad half the crew made it already. You guys have a great day!”

“We just left Chicago. They say we will be in at 1pm local. Wifi on Alaska air is free. This is being sent from my iPod touch at 32000 feet.

AK here we come”

“With that forecast I hope you guys brought appropriate sleeping bags...some people didn't last year and were a lil cold sleeping...it's colder in the mountains remember.”

“Secondgear has a 25F and I have 35F. We will be warm.”

“Ooooh....that might not be enough...I think some of the cold ones had 30F bags last year...I had a 15F and was cold one night when we were high up.”

“There will be some snugglin goin on this trip, I reckon.”

“they'll survive - might not be terribly comfortable though! :)

the scenery will make up for any discomfort overnight.”

“Overnight? What night? Doesn't get dark this time of the year.”

“I had a 30 last year and was comfortable.”

“Have fun everyone! Come back safe and overflowing with experiences to share. Luv u JS!”

“We have made it to Nabesna and using there wiifi. We crossed several streams getting here as the road was washed out. We are now waiting for a brerak in the clouds to embark to Mt Jarvis.”

“Alaska is awesome! took a short hike down the road at the lodge, there's an old gold mine high upon the hillside...... As soon as the clouds clear we're headed out”

“Okay, looks like we will be bunking down at the Devils Lodge. Heading to Jarvis tomorrow early morning.”

“Happy 4th folks hunkered down in Devils mountain lodge waiting for weather to clear. will b flying out in the am.”

“woohoo! planes are flying! We all should be out on the Jaksina creek in a couple hours. wish us luck and good weather.We talk to everybody in a few days!”

“Anyone that gets a sat phone call from the gang, please let us know how things are going.


TIA”

“I'll call Calm Spirits in a couple days and get an update, I'm sure Fridge is calling her and updating her everyday like last year.”

“Calm Spirits has been posting updates on facebook.”

“Paula Martin: "Fridge called. Everyone is doing great. They love the scenery.He will call tomorrow again checking in.They have had some storms. But,he is keeping check with bush pilot. so far every thing going as planned"”

“Just got a call from Jackstraw on the Sat phone. All is well. Having a great trip so far. Everyone doing good.”

“They camped overnight last night on a mesa with 40mph winds and about 45degrees. Highs in the daytime of around 60. He said it was awesome!”

“Pass this along - some great trail advice.



Knowing that helps me sleep easier at night.”

“LMFAO! That is hilarious.”

“They're heading back to the lodge today...some of them should have arrived according to Calm Spirits.”

“Got a call from Jackstraw last night. Everyone is doing great. They had an incredible trip! I'm sure they'll post sometime today.”

“I just got a call from Fridge and it seems that they have all survived and they have no internet where they are.

There was a lot of screaming and growling, so it was a bit hard to understand.
But he said something about AmyG killing a grizzly bear as we spoke.”

“Hi Marko!”

“griz stand no chance against AmyG”

“What a trip. Thanks fidge for the adventure.”

“Well everyone made it out alive.

Amg G had an encounter with a GRIZZ and has pics too. Dall Sheep and Mountain caribou where everywhere every day. One night we spent with the view of Mt Jarvis staring down at us, with 46.5 mph winds. Single wall tents had a problem, double wall had no problem as usual.

One night we camped at an alpine lake with views of a 250 foot minimum water fall cascading down on the other side of the Jacksina Glacier. Fresh caribou kill was just 3oo yards away and we didn't have any visitors that night. Tussock and Muskeg bog fields kicked there arse though. Seen Marmots and Arctic squirrel. We have at least 2000 pics and will be posting in a few days.”

“We come across many Dall sheep skulls and caribou racks. Sunny Dayz in my opinion has the best Grizz foot print pic ever. It's Hugh. Some fell into quick (silt) sand up to there knees and had to be pulled out. hehehe you should have seen the look on there faces. Freaked out!

Last day heading to our final camp along the Jacksina we encountered a big animal moving through the thickets and it wasn't a rabbit. Piles of GRIZZ pooh and fresh foot prints were everywhere as was torn down trees. Never did see the animal but all the brush thicket was moving and splitting a path that we all knew was something big.”

“sounds like a great time.”

“can't have a bad trip to Alaska can ya!

:)”

“Setting at the ANC Airport. Totally do not want to leave.
Best team ever this year. Everyone performed well. We had several glitches we had to work out, but everything worked out and the entire trip was a success. Having several women on this trip was definitely different. We run the usual regiment Chin Music with no complaints. At one point the lead team was at least 1 1/2 ahead of the pack and with Jackstraw bring up the rear using radios to communicate, every step of the way was coordinated with everyone in sight and safety was not compromised.

I met new faces and and hiked with my past friends and had another dream of mine full filled with memories forever etched within me. I want to personally thank everyone who made my dream come alive and true. We had a mix of backpackers this year that put every bit of skill into this trip and consolidating this wealth of skill was a true learning experience for everyone especially me. One of the team members said to me as I dropped them off to depart back home, thank you for bringing us together. As I drove off thinking what was said I realized how precious out bond was and life time experience we shared together that will separate us from any other trip.

Thank all 12 of you for giving me my dream and long needed breath of life.”

“What a great trip with great people! Had the time of my life and the hardest hiking yet.

Pics available here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=181502&id=682139982&l=1e42244c9e”

“That is a huge skeeter, lol”

“very sweet pics Tango. and i love any pic that begins 'death'.”

“AWESOME!!!!...thanks for sharing!!!”

“Anyone have a GPS log of your route?”

“Thank you Stephanie.”

“great stuff tango!”

“You're welcome all. Can't wait to see the others' photos! Come on guys! Get to posting and a trip report would be very nice!”

“trip is already over?!!”

“

My GPS track”

“That's about half the area I thought you were going into. Was thinking you had gone down lower.”

“Very similar to a couple of our days in reverse.”

“eggs, can you email me your tracks? I'll put it along side tracks from our trip in Google Earth and post a screenshot. Email is on my profile.”