ALASKA EXPEDITION 2010

“The First 30 Seconds
What you can do to thwart a panic attack in two common crisis situations
Bear encounter
Situation: You turn a corner in Wrangell-St.Elias Park to see a grizzly 50 feet away -- and coming down the trail.
Reaction "You're [probably] going to panic, so channel your fear into positive action." Stand still, even if you want to run. Holding your ground shows the bear that you can defend yourself. Wait for it to react, or move away. Rehearse an action plan beforehand. Keep groups close together and always put an adult at the front. Pepper spary is both a useful deterrent and strong psychological security. Practice unholstering the canister until you can do it without looking or fumbling. Keep the spray at ready when traveling through prime bear zones like huckleberry patches and dense foliage.”

“Getting lost

Situation: Your uneasiness is confirmed when the trail dwindles to a game path.
Even when your life is not in immediate danger, you can panic. It's a physical response to a potential threat, Hyperventilation, a racing heartbeat, nausea, and loss of small motor skills can make you act irrationally. Calm down by sitting down. "Then, eat and drink something." Because thoughts dictate your actions, rein in your imagination by taking an inventory: Where is the nearest known point on a map I was at? How much water do I have? Stop panic from overtaking a group by being authoritative yet cool. Strong, soothing leadership is reassuring to others.”

“Hiking, and in particular hiking in remote areas, is a great experience if approached with due regard for fitness, safety and skill. One of the major skill categories, is the ability to navigate with or without compass and map. Ideally, no one should head off the beaten track without map or compass, but what if you find yourself in that situation, or you lose or damage your compass?

Here are a few basic ‘skills’ that could one day be of use to you.

Finding direction by using your watch...
If you have a watch that is working correctly, you can always quickly determine the points of the compass as long as the position of the sun is visible.
The method used varies depending upon which hemisphere (northern or southern) that you happen to be living in. The following methods are described using an analog watch, (that’s a watch with an hour and a minute hand) but they can be applied just as well if you own a digital watch – just use your imagination to superimpose the 12 hourly numerals and the relevant position of the ‘hour hand’ on the face of your digital watch.

Northern Hemisphere
Holding your watch horizontally, point the ‘hour hand’ of your watch at the sun.
Note the direction that lies exactly midway between the ‘hour hand’ and the numeral twelve on your watch. This will be South.
Once you have established this, it will be easy to determine the other points of the compass.

Southern Hemisphere
Holding your watch horizontally, point the numeral twelve on your watch at the sun.
Note the direction that lies exactly midway between the twelve and the ‘hour hand’.
This will be North.

These methods will give you a good approximation of compass direction.
If your watch happens to be adjusted for daylight saving at the time, then ‘remove’ the daylight saving for greater accuracy.

Another method of determining compass points can be used if you do not have a watch. This method takes longer and also requires enough sunlight to cast a shadow...

To find North without a watch
Before noon, on level terrain, position a stick of about 3ft upright into the ground.
Mark the tip of its shadow with a peg or stone.
Using the tip of the shadow as a radius, draw an arc around the stick.
The shadow will shorten as it approaches noon, pulling back from the arc. It will then lengthen again - where the afternoon shadow once again touches the arc, place another peg or stone.
Now draw a straight line between the two pegs/stones - this will be an East/West line, with the first peg being in the westerly direction.
You can now draw a North/South line at right angles to the East/West line.

The following (less accurate) method can also be used at any time of the day without drawing an arc...
Peg the tip of the first shadow, then about 20min later peg the tip of the moved shadow. Draw a straight line between the two pegs, and this will be an approximately East/West line, with the first peg again being the westerly one.

A typical error when lost, is a tendency to wander off what you may think is a straight line bearing, sometimes even slowly circling back on yourself.
To prevent this, note an object (tree, rock, terrain feature) that lies directly ahead of you in the direction you wish to travel, then aim for it. When you reach it, take another bearing on the direction you wish to head, sight another object directly ahead of you and repeat the process.
In areas of restricted distance visibility, you may have to repeat this quite often over short ‘legs’ to ensure that you are remaining on course.

Keeping a course by the clouds...
What if it's a cloudy day with no sun visible to get a bearing on, or the bush canopy prevents you getting a clear "shot" at the sun?
Well, if you're lucky, it may be windy with the clouds moving in a constant direction - note the directional flow of the clouds, and adjust your course relevant to their direction. e.g., If the clouds are moving from your front from right to left over your shoulders, keep them there, at the same time, sight an object straight ahead of you and head for it.
To retrace your steps in the same general direction, just do an about turn, then keep the clouds moving from behind and now left to right over your shoulders, and repeat the process.

Being aware of your surroundings will often pay off, so try to cultivate that habit.

Telling the time without a watch...
Determine North, South, East and West using the method previously described.
Position your stick at the intersection point of your East/West, North/South lines.
The Eastern point of the arc around the stick will be 1800hrs, the Western point will be 0600hrs, whilst the Northern or Southern (depending on which hemisphere you're in) midpoint of the arc will be 1200hrs.
The approximate time of day can then be read off the arc using the moving shadow.”

“Learn How to Stay On Course
By understanding your terrain, knowing your pace, and reading the map regularly you can stay on course wherever you are.
Read the map regularly. Sure it sounds obvious, but many hikers look at the topo only when they're lost.

Visualize the terrain ahead based on the topo's contour lines. If the area doesn't look as you imagined, verify your location on the map immediately.

Know your pace so you can calculate the time it'll take to get to a landmark. You'll be tipped off if it takes unusually long. Figure out your pace by timing how long it takes you to hike a mile wearing a pack.

Use a compass to verify your general direction and orient yourself with the map, but don't expect it to tell you where to go. You have to study the map for that.

Never wander when you're lost, and always keep a level head. As soon as the landscape doesn't jibe with your map, backtrack to a place you can clearly identify on your map and start over.

Daydream later. Keep track of the terrain you're traversing, as well as any changes in direction.”

“How to Align Your Compass
Learn how to orient your map with a few basic compass skills
In open country and above treeline, route finding tends to be as easy as looking for the next landmark. But in forests, marshes, and low-visibility situations (like whiteouts and fog), you'll need a compass to orient your map. A few basic skills simplify the art of compass navigation.
Determine the magnetic declination for your area and set your compass for that variance, which is marked on most maps.
Orient the map so its grid lines point toward true north. This orients map to landscape, so you can correlate contour lines with surrounding features.
Place the compass on the map so the baseplate's long edge (and direction arrow) point from your map position to your intended map destination.
Hold the baseplate in alignment with your intended route, and rotate the compass bezel until its markings align with the magnetic needle. Now the north-south arrow on the rotating bezel points to magnetic north, while the baseplate arrow points along your intended travel vector, called a heading.
When obstacles deflect you off course, note the compass bearing of the direction you walk or paddle (say, 45 degrees), then count your steps, strokes, or the time you spend off-course. After skirting the obstacle, follow the "back bearing" (225 degrees is the opposite direction of 45 degrees) for the same steps, strokes, or time (equals distance). Then resume your primary heading.
QUICK TIPS
Follow The Leapfrog
In heavy fog or featureless terrain, use your hiking or paddling partners as intermediate objects. Send them forward as far as possible and wave them into position along your course. Then leapfrog ahead. Give them the compass as you pass so they can repeat the leapfrog.

Rock To Rock
In low-visibility situations, take note of any obvious landmark in your line of travel, then move single-mindedly until you reach it. When you get there, take another sighting, pick a new intermediate objective, and repeat.

The Two-Mile-An-Hour Speed Trap
An oft-stated rule of thumb for walking speed is 2 miles per hour. But that's for a dayhiker on an easy trail. It doesn't account for heavier loads, gazing time, rest stops, photos, or lunch breaks. Plan to average about 1.5 miles per hour if you move steadily on a good trail. Heavy loads, rough terrain, rest stops, or water searches slow you down further.

COMPASS TIP: Declination 101
Maps are oriented toward geographic, or "true," north (the North Pole), but compass needles point to magnetic north, a place that wanders slowly within the Canadian Arctic. The difference in angle is called magnetic declination, and it varies from 21 degrees west in Maine to 26 degrees east in Alaska. That's why you should buy a compass with adjustable declination and set it properly.

On most compasses, adjusting declination is done by turning a tiny metal screw on the rotating compass needle housing. Look for declination on the lower left portion of your topo map; you'll see two diverging lines with the angle listed between them. If it says "16 degrees east," rotate the compass housing so the magnetic north/compass needle mark sits 16 degrees to the right (east) of the true north orienting lines. Twist the screw to reach the proper orientation.”

“Understanding Your Compass

The only place you're likely to find a big red "YOU ARE HERE" sign on a mall map, so before you can make use of a topographic map, it must be oriented properly to your surroundings. Knowing which direction North is isn't enough--you must also find your own position on the map

That act of figuring out where you are in relation to a map is called triangulation, a long-winded term for using at least two recognizable landmarks to pinpoint your own position. To triangulate properly you will need a compass, a ruler and a pencil or pen.

Before you leave the house, prepare your map.

Find the declination diagram at the bottom of your map.
Align your ruler along the line labeled "MN," which stands for magnetic north. Using pencil, extend that line from the bottom to the top of the map.
Draw parallel lines every 1.5 inches on both sides of this line all the way across the map.
It's not necessary to draw lines across the entire map ~ just do the sections you're actually going to use.

In the field, identify at least two landmarks that you see and locate them on the map.
Look for easily identifiable features such as peaks, clearings, lakes, ponds, roads, rivers and buildings. Scan the map carefully until you find two (preferably three) such distant landmarks.

The second landmark should be at a right angle to the first as you look at them in the field; the third should fall between these two.

Mark these landmarks on your map if necessary so you don't "lose" them.

Align your map to your surroundings.
Spread the map out flat.
Set the compass dial to North (0 degrees).
Lay the compass on top of the map and align one long side of the baseplate along one of the magnetic north lines you added.
Turn both map and compass together until the red end of the needle is on the "N." The top of the map now points to true north.
Align your map to a landmark.
Pick up the compass.
Point the direction of travel arrow at the first landmark you chose in the field, in this case the north end of the lake down in the valley in front of you.
Rotate only the dial until the red end of the needle points again to North. Hold the baseplate still at this time, keeping it pointed at the landmark.
Put the compass back on the map with one long baseplate edge touching the landmark.
Carefully pivot the entire compass until the orienting lines inside the compass housing are parallel with the magnetic north reference lines you drew before you left home.
Draw a five or six-inch line from the landmark along the edge of the baseplate.
Triangulate your position.
Repeat steps 1-6 above under Align Your Map To A Landmark.

Your approximate location will be where the 2 lines cross.

To further verify your location, select a third landmark between the first two and repeat steps 1-6. This third line should pass through the intersection of the first two lines to confirm your position. If not, recheck your work for all three landmarks.

I see a stream on my map. How do I find it in the real world?
You may encounter a situation where you can see a choice location on a map, but because the terrain around you blocks the view (high trees, rolling hills, riverbeds and so on), you can't see it in "real life."

After you oriented yourself to the map, you can easily judge the location of a landmark in the field even if you can't see it.

Mark both your current location and destination.
Lay one side edge of the compass baseplate on the map, aligned with these two points. (The direction of travel arrow should be pointing toward the goal, not away from it.)

Holding the baseplate steady on this line, turn the dial until the needle and the orienting arrow line up.

Read the bearing at the marker line.

Pick up the compass and map with the needle still aligned with the orienting arrow, follow the direction of travel line with your eyes. It is now pointing to the object you wish to find in the field.

Getting from here to there, however, probably won't be a simple matter of walking in a straight line. To learn how to navigate around obstacles without losing your way.

I see a peak up ahead. How do I find it on the map?
If you know your position on a map, you can use a compass to identify landmarks in the field.

Let's say you're on a mountain peak, and you'd love to identify a nearby summit so you can brag to your friends back home about the view. Nothing to it!
Orient the map.
Draw a straight line connecting your current location with the summit you want to identify.
Place one side edge of the baseplate on this line, with the direction of travel arrow pointing toward the summit on the map.
Turn the dial until the orienting arrow and the north end of the compass needle are lined up. Read the bearing, which is the number on the dial at themarking line.
Pick up the compass and, after making sure the orienting arrow and needle are still aligned, sight along the bearing. The direction of travel arrow now points to your peak.
Doublecheck your work visually by making sure that the terrain around the object you identified on the map matches the terrain around the object in the field.
How do I navigate around this huge bramble patch without getting lost?
Following a compass bearing is hard enough, but nature makes it even more difficult by throwing up obstacles that block your nice straight line. Marshes, ponds, boulders, trees, cliffs, steep slopes, brambles and dense foliage can all thwart hikers trying to follow a straight course. Sometimes, you'll soon find, the shortest distance is not the easiest.

Planning your route in advance helps here. If you know ahead of time, for example, that an outcropping of rock lies between your campsite and that cave entrance, study your topographic map and plot a route around it.

But you never know when your path will be unexpectedly blocked ~ by a fallen tree, a washed out bridge, an unmapped quarry ~ forcing you to navigate around without benefit of planning. Here's how.
Sight ahead while you're walking in order to identify landmarks along your compass bearing. For example, say you're truckin' along a bearing of 270 degrees (due west) and you encounter a huge fallen tree. Before moving around it, sight along 270 degrees ahead of you and note a conspicuous landmark ~ tree, rock, or other easily identified point ~ on the opposite side of the log that's at the same bearing.
After detouring around the downed log, go to the landmark you noted earlier and resume your previous course of 270 degrees.
Here's another technique called "right angle navigation." We're back at the downed tree again and want to navigate around it on a bearing of 270 degrees (due west).
Turn 90 degrees from your bearing. In this case, you decide to turn left, (due south). Turn the dial so the direction of travel arrow and the marking line point to 180 degrees.
Begin your detour. Carefully count your paces as you go.
As soon as you clear the tree, turn 90 degrees back toward your previous bearing. In this case, you'd turn right (due West) again, back to 270 degrees. Rotate the compass dial to match that bearing.
Walk past the obstacle.
Turn 90 degrees to the right, this time in the opposite direction of your first turn, and rotate the compass dial again; in this case, you'd rotate it to 360 degrees (due north).
Walk back along the other side of the log, counting off the number of steps you walked the first time you turned. This will return you to your original course.
Turn 90 degrees left to 270 degrees, your original bearing (due West).
The key to making this technique work is keeping out and back portions of the detour equal in length. Keep close track of the number of paces you walk, and keep your strides as uniform as possible.

How do I measure hiking distance accurately on a map?
"Linear distance" and "travel distance" are almost never the same in the backcountry. "As the crow flies," in other words, "ain't as the hiker walks."

If you're trying to estimate how many miles you have ahead of you, measuring the distance straight from point A to point B won't do you any good ~ because unless you're actually a crow, the route you take will likely follow a more roundabout path.

To measure actual or nonlinear distance on a topographic map--of a winding trail, say, or a meandering creek ~ use one of these two methods. (Note that the Paper Method does not work very well on the trail.)


String Method
Find something long and flexible, such as a piece of string or dental floss. An item that retains its shape is even better ~ a twist-tie or pipe cleaner, perhaps.
Place one end of the twist-tie at the starting point.
Use your fingers to conform the twist-tie to the shape of your route.
Mark the end of the route on the twist-tie with your thumb and forefinger, or give it a sharp crimp.
Straighten it out and lay it down next to the bar scale at the bottom of the map to read the distance.
Note: If you're using string or something that won't keep its shape, always keep it anchored with one finger as you move forward. Otherwise, if the string slips you'll have to start over again. Also, don't stretch the string when you straighten it out.

Paper Method
Find a thin strip of paper about a foot long.
Align the edge of one end of the paper with your starting point. Make a tick mark there.
Now rotate the paper gently to follow the bends in the trail, making tick marks at significant turns until you reach the end point.
Lay the paper along the bar scale and read the distance.
Some guidebook maps will have a numerical scale ~ such as "one inch equals one mile" ~ indicated in the legend, but no accompanying bar scale. In a case such as this, measure the distance with a ruler (there's a small one on the baseplate of your compass) and multiply that number by the scale. A distance of 3.75 inches on a map with a "one-inch-equals-one-mile" scale would represent 3.75 miles on the ground.”

“Reading Topo Maps: Understanding Contour Lines

The thin brown lines snaking around a topographic map are called contour lines. All points along the same contour line are at the same elevation above sea level. Think of a contour line as a closed loop. By following a contour line on the ground, you would travel neither uphill nor downhill, eventually ending up back at your starting point. A line marked "6500," for example, means that point on the map is 6,500 feet above sea level.

Contour lines allow you to infer general terrain characteristics from their patterns. For example, lines crowded close together mean steep sections. Lines spaced widely apart indicate more gentle slopes. When studying topographic lines, be sure to take into account the contour interval found in the legend.

Be careful, however: Because contour lines are measured in regular intervals, you can find a wide elevation variation in the terrain between two contour lines.


Contour Lines vs. The Real World
As reliable as a topographic map may be, it can't tell reveal every detail of the terrain. A 20-foot-high cliff or a 30-foot deep ditch could lie between two 40-foot contour lines ~ and you wouldn't know it because it won't be indicated on the map in any way.

A route that climbs up a gentle creek to the ridgetop may look ideal on the map ~ only to be an impassable tangle of downed trees left by a winter storm when you try to hike it. Flexibility, then, is the key to navigation using any map.

Index Lines vs. Interval Lines
You'll notice both thin and thick contour lines on a topo map. The thick lines are known as "index lines" and are labeled with a number revealing the elevation. The thinner, unmarked contour lines between the index lines are called "interval lines." Use the elevation marked on index lines to calculate the elevation of interval lines.

For example, an index line marked "6500" means everything along that line is 6,500 feet above sea level. On a map with a 40-foot contour interval, the interval line to the inside of the index line would be at 6,540 feet above sea level. The interval line to the outside of the index line would indicate 6,460 feet above sea level.”

“Forget all that crap, let's talk about skinny dippin'.”

“Glacier Deposition and Moraines
The awesome force of a glacier or ice sheet can carve impressive valleys, such as the area we are goin to, and can bulldoze wide swaths of continents. The rock and soil picked up and transported by glaciers creates new landscapes as it is eventually deposited by melting and retreating glaciers.
"Drift" is the generic term for all glacially deposited material. The term is derived from the old theory that rock and soil deposits around the world were not produced by glaciers or ice sheets, but were deposited by the Great Flood of biblical fame.
Here's a short glossary of different types of glacial and ice sheet depositions:
Glacial flour - rock ground to the texture of a fine powder. It usually flows out of a glacier as sediment in a glacial meltwater stream running from the glacier.
Till - refers to an unconsolidated and unsorted mixture of sediment, clay, gravel, and rocks deposited by a glacier.
Moraine - a French word that refers to any glacier-formed accumulation - there are a variety of moraines.
Terminal moraine - an accumulation at the outermost edge of where a glacier or ice sheet existed.
Recessional moraine - moraine located "behind" the outermost edge of a glacier, formed when the glacier lingers in one spot for a long time.
Ground moraine - gently rolling hills and plains deposited by ice.
Lateral moraine - ridges of till on the sides of a glacier.
Medial moraine - a moraine formed when two glaciers merge (a tributary and trunk glacier) and their lateral moraines come together to form a single moraine.
Push moraine - a moraine created by till that was a moraine deposited by an earlier glacier that once covered the area.
Ablation moraine - a moraine formed from material that fell upon the glacier.
Glacial erratics - large boulders that had been carried by the ice and deposited. They are much different in size than surrounding till.”

“Alpine Mountaineering
It is glaciation, cloaking the mountains in snow and ice and splintering the rock into fantastic shapes through the freezing and thawing of water in cracks, that makes Alpine mountains so spectacular, exciting and of a siren beauty. Glaciers are the bodies of permanent snow, hardened by time and pressure into ice, that flow out of the mountains. They are fed by the heavy snowfall of winter and melt in the warm temperatures of summer. When the rate of melt is greater than the natural rate of advance due to gravity, the glacier is said to be retreating.
For 150 years the glaciers of the Wrangell-St.Elias, and indeed of everywhere except Antarctica, have been retreating, growing steadily smaller and becoming covered with rock or moraine, that falls on to the ice from the surrounding mountainsides. A moraine-covered glacier is in effect a rubbish tip of the mountains, and about as much fun to walk on. As few can fail to be aware, that process has speeded up dramatically in the last 30 years, radically altering many climbs.
Crevasses
Glacier ice is a plastic substance. It is soft enough to flow downhill, but stiff enough to crack open when stressed. Such stress occurs on the outside of a bend, for example, or whenever there is a steepening of the valley floor, or sometimes at the sides, simply because friction is causing the ice to flow slower than in the centre. In all these cases, the glacier will split open to form crevasses. These can be anything from an inch to fifty yards across. The smaller ones are usually the nastiest because less obvious. Glaciologists tell us that crevasses cannot form to a depth greater than 150 ft, but there is scant consolation in that.
In summer, the lower parts of most glaciers, when not covered with moraine, become bare of snow, revealing so called dry ice. Here crevasses are quite without malice and provide useful places to practise ice-climbing and rescue techniques. Higher up the mountain, however, they become masked by snow and a very different proposition. Immediately in front of you a crevasse may be invisible, but to the right or left a faint dimpling of the surface is often discernible, and it may prove to be the continuation of an open hole some distance away. In winter, or after fresh snow, these signs are hidden and great care is needed.
Glaciers are probably at their safest in Spring when there is still a lot of snow about but freeze/thaw is strengthening the bridges. In summer, crevasses are usually safe early in the morning when the snow is frozen hard, but by the afternoon it will have softened, and the bridges will be in a precarious state. As the season goes on, crevasses become increasingly open. By the end of August, glaciers and icefalls which were straightforward ski runs in April can be all but impassable.
It is a good rule always to rope up, even on a well-tracked glacier, unless you know from personal experience that there are no crevasses. Tracks in the snow or other parties wandering about un-roped are no guarantees that the glacier is safe. If hollow, probe it with your axe (easier if you have one of a sensible length, say 55–65 cms, rather than a pterodactyl) or a ski-stick. If your axe goes straight through, or the bridge collapses into the depths, try again elsewhere! It is not unusual to have to weave back and forth across a glacier, crossing or jumping each individual crack at its safest point. Late in the season, the only bridges remaining may be wildly improbably cantilevers of dripping ice. Often they are stronger than they look, but take no chances. Arrange a strong belay and cross on all fours to spread your weight as much as possible.”

“Marko can give the information needed on skinny dippin and Fridge can give us the information needed on survival...all bases should be covered then.”

“MarkO.....You will get you chance to do just that.....just expect us to laugh when you try to go pee pee...”

“OK........OK, y'all want the naked truth now?”

“yea what Tenjen said is right on... and she will be taking pics of us old men na kid in a Glacier Lake.....hehehe...roflmao with a beer in my hand”

“The beer is in the Fridge.”

“the heck with The Girls Gone Wild videos...we've got the Geezers Gone Wild! =)”

“Fridge, ygm”

“Maps if you want to purchase your own are.... NABESNA A-5, A-6 1/ 63 k
I will send everyone a map with way points as soon as I recieve first monies in Feb....That will determin who is really going or not.
I also have a special surprise gift to each team member I will bring with me to Anchorage. This will only be to the final team members and is quite pricy as I have already had this product made up for 2010. Lets just say Mountain Hardware has some nice stuff with our trip logo....

and MarkO sorry but no Bra's
last edited: 9/13/09 3:07:34 PM”

“Trip Logo ??

WTF?”

“Trip logo is top secret to those who are really going on this trip MarkO”

“With respect to the bear encounter where in the heck are you going to find an adult in this group???”

“Hand it over, country bumpkin!

Why you gotta mention a thing like that, Tango?”

“Tango I want you too go on this trip so yous can baby sit us...”

“I'll second that!

All in favor say, "Aye-Aye-Aye".”

“I would love to go! My life is in flux right now so I can't commit (story of my life) but I have this thread favorited and if there still is a space for me... Although hiking with Mark0???? Ha ha ha!”

“Tango, I'll keep MarkO at bay....He always behaves when we are out Backpacking.”

“Well, I will have bear spray so...!! I am NOT babysitting anyone! I didn't even babysit when I was a teenager! I will be hiking light so I can't bring a whip, flex cuffs definite maybe!”

“All we have to do is kick him in the knee!!!”

“If you kick him in the knee someone will have to carry him out...”

“Then kick a little higher!”

“Then we might be serenaded with some opera”

“aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

“Unless he just went swimming good chance of missing!”

“Get the flux out, Tango!

You girls ought to keep an eye on that Fridge. He's from West Virginia.....”

“Ha ha ha!”

“Hey, he's not the one asking if he can let it rip in other people's tents”

“Good info Fridge

Did ya see a lot of bear sign above tree line?

Can't wait to see which route we're taking

I like that Glacier info too.
Here's my friend Bigfoot scrambling down the lateral moraine at the Blue Glacier
”

“Did you read her rights to her?”

“Feel free to share my email.
Anyone have any idea of the best time to buy airfare? Last I checked, I found Norfolk to Anchorage RT for $608.”

“cocohead...not alot of bear sign above tree line but we did see plenty of it down below. At one location we come across at least 12 piles of chit in approx 25' X 25' space and I am not kidding. When we all come upon it we didn't stay around ...heck no...we got the heck out of dodge. I didn't know they stacked it higher than markO..”

“iamjcb....Your guess is as good as mine...I am purchasing my tickets next month.”

“Tickets???You buying mine too???”

“$720 from Vegas right now. And there is an article about airlines cutting fall schedules. Hope they don't keep them cut for the spring and summer.”

“$720 from Vegas? I got $608 from the east coast.”

“Where did you get your ticket iamjcb? The lowest I've found is $650 from Nashville.”

“How low can you go?

Fridge, are you sayin' that I am stacked?”

“You have stacked heels?”

“Occasionally I have sh1t heels.”

“I didn't buy it, but I think it was on Expedia. Delta, through Atl.”

“From Vegas the ticket would be $720 from Phoenix it's $667. yippee~~.”