ALASKA EXPEDITION 2010

“I duno they claim it's bear proof and when I seen them there I thought about you so I havem for you. I'll bring next week.”

“Bear canister stories. 2nd one interesting.

http://www.wild-ideas.net/news/blogger.html”

“why no mention of ursack?”

“Not allowed as bear/food protection!”

“i did not read this when i checked up on the regs. i'll prolly give them a call.”

“Let me know what the bears say when you call them =)”

“Yogi do you really want to eat anything from that bag after a bear stomps on it and tries to chew through the bag?”

“3 years ago I used Ursak on the JMT, but the next year no longer legal in Yosemite-- may be the same in AK. I had no probs with bears, but did have problems with small rodents getting in and chewing up my food baggies. Fortunately, it was at Vermillion VR, and the end of the hike for me. I was never able to get it tied tight enough at the top to keep mice out.”

“those buggers don't need much of an opening, do they! if they don't find one they will make one... the ursack is for sure not rodent proof. i have seen holes in them where mice have gnawed through to get at food stored inside. they company clearly states they are not rodent proof...

hard-sided bear canisters are a time-proven way to store food and protect bears.”

“We will be near this area. Ye haaaa

Bear encounters and deaths on the rise across Mat-Su
TALKEETNA: Man shoots four bears in roughly three minutes at his cabin.
By S.J. KOMARNITSKY
skomarnitsky@adn.com
Published: July 14th, 2009 05:10 PM
Last Modified: September 22nd, 2009 10:44 AM
WASILLA -- Two weekends ago, a Talkeetna area man woke up to a sow and three cubs breaking into his cabin. He ended up blasting all four, including a 250-pound bruin he shot from inches away as it pushed its way through his back door.
Two days later, a Talkeetna grandma had an equally scary encounter when a brown bear broke into her kitchen in the middle of the night. She escaped by shimmying out her bedroom window in her pajamas.
Those are just two of the up-close bear encounters in Mat-Su this summer, which is shaping up to be unusually busy, according to a biologist.
The number of bear encounters are up and so are bear deaths. At least 13 bears have been shot and killed in the Valley this summer in defense of life and property cases. That compares to the usual number of about five a summer, according to a state game official.
Yukon Don Tanner, a safety manager for Matanuska Electric Association said he's still not sleeping well after his July 6 run-in with a sow and three cubs at his cabin near Talkeetna.
Tanner said he was wakened about 4 a.m. by a noise outside his house.
"I have a squirrel that fusses around, but I thought that's not a squirrel noise," he said.
He got up, grabbed his Marlin .45-70 rifle from a table near the door where he leaves it loaded at night and looked out his bathroom window.
Outside he saw a bear 60 feet away.
He though it was a lone boar -- which is legal to shoot -- so he fired a blast, right through the screen window, he said.
The bear dropped, and Tanner thought that was the end of the story. But as he got ready to get back in bed, he heard a noise on his back porch.
He went to look and saw another bear -- one of the sow's cubs -- peering in at him through a screen window near the door.
"I take three steps toward the noise and this bear head pops up right in front of the screen so I shoot that one through the screen," he said.
At that point Tanner is standing next to his door, rifle at his knee when he said yet another cub -- a 250-pound bruiser -- starts to push the door open.
Tanner said he instinctively shot the bear in the face and it turned around and ran. Finally, as he went out to make sure the bear had died, he saw yet a final cub in his yard , it was running toward him and he shot that one too.
In about three minutes, I shot four bears," he said. "(My adrenaline) was about Mach 2. I couldn't sit still. My knees were shaking. I thought, 'Holy cow! I'm under attack.' "”

“Damn!”

“Nimblefoot.....Did you live in Alaska?”

“yeah. that adds to the fun.”

“Yes, '76 and '77. I cruised by the area you hiked in many times.

My favorite local bear story happened before I moved back to Wisconsin. It seems that a local came face to face with a black bear in some fairly dense underbrush, each of them surprised. The local foolishly decided the best way to handle the situation was to punch the bear in the snout. They say it took more than a few operations to reconstruct his face after the bear defended himself.”

“Nimblefoot....why don't you go with us next year?”

“We will be at the heart of a Volcano field.
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/wrangells.php

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/volcinfo.php?volcname=Jarvis”

“Those are some killer websites Fridge!”

“You aint seen nuttin yet.....wait till Christmas time and I unleash some sites I picked up from those who live there.”

“Fridge, I'd like to do that, but the past couple of years my spare moolah has been either going to help my kids or renovate this house. My other sorry assed excuse is that it's 'possible' that I'm going to attack the AT again in 2010. That being said, I go through this same 'I'm going to do the AT' thing every year about this time, and all through the winter as well. Once spring hits northern Wisconsin, it's pretty hard to pry me away until winter starts to creep in again. Thus, the cycle repeats.”

“I HATE waiting!!!”

“Wow...Alaska is such a hard sell. LOL Beautiful!!!! I am in!

:)

Thanks for putting this one together Fridgey!”

“Huh??”

“Great AmyG! Looking forward to meeting you!”

“Ms Amy G you have lots of mail!”

“Plan on being flown in on the Mesa on the right side of this pic...Your view will be exactly what you see here of Mt Jarvis. Only difference is you will much closer than this pic and Mt Jarvis will be towering over your head.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MountJarvis.jpg”

“I got the mail....thanks Fridgey!

:)

Soooooooo excited!”

“Welcome, AmyG, look forward to meeting you!”

“www.PepperPower.com wrote on Jun 12, 2009
" How to Use Bear Spray!

If a bear is charging, begin spraying when it gets within 40 feet. It will run into the fog. If a bear is coming at you along with a strong wind, you may wish to wait until it is quite close before spraying.

Carry your canister in a holster on your belt or chest, with nozzle pointing away from you. Aim for the face or spray a cloud that the bear has to run through to get to you.

Before hitting the trail, familiarize yourself with how to operate the bear deterrent. In an attack you may not have time to pull it out. Practice makes perfect sense. Bear attacks happen as fast as lightning!!! Most situations where you will need to use your UDAP Bear Spray will be in a close surprise encounter. Practice, at least seven times going for your spray, or until you can reach it in a split seconds time when needed. You may want to practice actually shooting from your holster with one of our inert cans. These cans have the same spraying power as our regular sprays without the hot pepper. For training purposes only, inert cans be purchased at half the price of our regular spray, we suggest also using outdated cans for this purpose. In a bear attack situation, we do know this: you will panic if you have not been trained ahead how you will think and react. Practice what you need to do in different attack situations. Rehearse, with friends or family various situations in order to be prepared in a real life threatening situation. Recently, a mother and her children were able to prevent a possible mauling by holding bear encounter drills with her family at home before hitting the trail.

Wisdom is better than strength - Be prepared!

This product is not a substitute for caution and common sense. In the pursuit of your activities don't be prey for an attack, stay alert, and be prepared with confidence and peace of mind by having easy access to any of our UDAP Pepper Power products.

The hottest and most potent formula available, at this printing, is designed and manufactured by a grizzly bear attack survivor. To achieve maximum strength we utilize only the purest, highest grade Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) red pepper in our products.

In any kind of attack situation you have to react under pressure. Attacks can be fast, often leaving you no time to think, only time to react. We strongly recommend you take time to familiarize yourself with this product's operation.

For more Bear Safety Tips visit
www.pepperpower.com "”

“Scroll down half the page ...look for Multimedia...Hear a Grizzly Bear.......You have to hear this......this is what you will here in Alaska.

http://websearch.cs.com/wm/redir?src=sponsored&requestId=b0e7a8da18d1c252&clickedItemRank=1&userQuery=Grizzly+bear+pistols&clickedItemURN=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Faclk%3Fsa%3Dl%26ai%3DCC8dZrvfZSsGTB4GYlQes4NDWC-mg1ZkB9_GK1gyFu6DeDBABIKpOKANQu5KR9P______AWDJBqABjomC_wPIAQGqBCFP0DANrwipFmsgCXvVQTUoMLc-SVbFEovm5UtuawH2-2c%26num%3D1%26sig%3DAGiWqtxMRxk5hawkT2bc7QLX7bNGsUvYhg%26q%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fnationalgeographic.com%2Fanimals%2Fmammals%2Fgrizzly-bear.html%253Fsource%253Dsem_G1813%2526kwid%253Dgrizzly%252520bear%257C3311343707&invocationType=-&fromPage=WMTRoll&Test=1
last edited: 10/17/09 11:00:08 AM”

“Looking for a partner to do this!

Buy this property in Alaska.....Already spoke to the owners. I'm asking because I know I won;t be going to alaska evey month and with other owner we both can accomodate the place and keep company there in alaska.
I'll put the dough up front and finace your part if necessary!

Larson Lake, Talkeetna (remote)
Talkeetna, Alaska
9967
This wilderness paradise is situated on remote Larson Lake, a fly-in lake with in flight views of Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park just 50 miles to the north. Exceptional fishing for sockeye salmon and rainbow trout as well as a variety of other species in Larson Lake, which is 6.4 miles long. Over 47,000 red salmon enter the lake every July, providing very exciting fishing. A 480 sq. ft. building is used as a boathouse for the three new 16' Lund fishing boats complete with new Honda outboard motors, plus two 16' canoes. In addition, there is the original 250 sq. ft. log cabin. A commercial Honda gas generator powers the cabin. The property is situated on 5 acres with magnificent views and 700 feet of lake frontage. The private retreat has abundant wildlife viewing, including moose, bear, swans, eagles, osprey, owls, loons, beavers and otters who also enjoy the serenity of the lake. Bear viewing is common at the lake and the nearby Larson Creek which is a tributary of the Talkeetna River. The property is a short 8 mile flight east of Talkeetna, or approximately 12 miles by trail (ATV or snowmobile). The property has the potential for a small lodge operation, B & B, corporate retreat or private retreat. Talkeetna is located one hour north of Wasilla and Palmer; two hours north of Anchorage, Alaska.

http://www.fsboalaska.com/detail.php?id_ad=1123&is_search=1&ord=”

“If no one interested I will most likely go ahead and make an offer in 2 weeks if this property is on the market.
Please e mail me within a week.
last edited: 10/17/09 4:02:37 PM”

“What do you plan to do with it?”

“Lets figure that out when we both buy it!


Seriously....I just want to spend some money and make a claim in Alaska!
and what I said top....is true !

I have dreamed of living in Alaska. Now that I have the resources this is possible for me, kinda like dreaming of backpacking in a place you have dreamed about and one day realize you are going to do IT!!! so you might say a dream come true...living a dream!!! and since I'm retiring at a young age , I plan on having a second Home.
last edited: 10/17/09 4:52:08 PM”

“You forget you're talking to a desert rat! I have to actually go there before I'd even think about it.

I saw a fare from Las Vegas that gets in at 3:30 on 7/2 and gets back to Vegas at a decent hour for $600 including taxes. Might book in the next day or two.

(Happy happy girl Penguins won!)”

“Retiring at a young age?!?!?

Isn't it a little late?”

“MarkO you are old as your bones tell you. My bones say nothing.”

“Sorry guys but I'm backing outta this one! I'm gonna spend my dough on a new Martin or Blueridge guitar! Have a wonderful time!”

“Hmmm, they say nothing? Are they still alive? =)”

“You better watch out, I am going to punch you really hard in the arm for that crack Mark0!!! I think retiring at 45 is pretty young. And I am the one that counts!”

“Heck MarkO this is gonna be easy for me....I'll just watch you get ur butt in trouble.

Tenjen my bones have many miles on the odometer and I now carry naproxen 500mg with me on every trip.

Spam you going to be missed....just bring that new guitar to a car camping trip and play the blues for us.”

“I knew this trip was too good to be true. Fridge is selling time shares! ;)”

“Okay I was thinking about that.”

“First year in Alaska we came across some of this red snow.
Watermelon snow, also called snow algae, is snow that is reddish or pink in color, with the slight scent of a fresh watermelon. This type of snow is common during the summer in alpine and coastal polar regions worldwide, such as the Sierra Nevada of California. Here, at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet (3,000–3,600 m), the temperature is cold throughout the year, and so the snow has lingered from winter storms. Compressing the snow by stepping on it or making snowballs leaves it looking red. Walking on watermelon snow often results in getting bright red soles and pinkish pant cuffs.

Watermelon snow is caused by the presence mainly of Chlamydomonas nivalis, a species of green algae containing a secondary red carotenoid pigment (astaxanthin) in addition to chlorophyll. Unlike most species of fresh-water algae, it is cryophilic (cold-loving) and thrives in freezing water. Its specific epithet, nivalis, is from Latin and refers to snow.”

“Tango, darlin'..............I was talkin' about Fridge being too old to claim "retiring young".

Heh-heh-heh !!

I too think that retiring at 45 is young.
Yes-yes, pretty (and) young!
>8^]”

“TUSSOCK

http://websearch.cs.com/wm/boomframe.jsp?query=tussock+in+alaska&page=1&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3Db0e7a8da18d2b105%26clickedItemRank%3D8%26userQuery%3Dtussock%2Bin%2Balaska%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.alaskaphotographyblog.com%252F%253Fp%253D347%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DWMTRoll%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alaskaphotographyblog.com%2F%253Fp%253D347”

“Tusslin' with the Tussock?”

“wonder what the property taxes are like. that's a sweet piece of land and the price is shocking low for the acreage + being waterfront and all (700 ft!) very tempting.”