Yesterday was a fantastic day. I spent my morning updating an old wildflower guide post for woolly lousewort (Pedicularis lanata) and then walked around the yard to take photos. Looping around the trails with my telephoto, hoping for some animals or birds, yielded nothing, so I swapped for my macro lens to photograph some more of the horsetails and catkins.
There was some lovely sunlight filtering through the clouds and an occasional sprinkle of rain. The juxtaposition of bright light and dark shadow made for what I thought were some interesting compositions.
Cat and I spent a couple of hours cleaning and organizing around the house while I mulled over where to go hiking that afternoon and evening. I couldn’t decide between doing part of the Granite Tors Trail or Wickersham Dome.
We were slowly loading some gear in the car while settling on a destination when a black-capped chickadee landed on the ground a few feet away while on the porch stairs. There were some tufts of Tut’s fur from a brushing last year, and the chickadee was collecting them for a nest. I was surprised to see it just standing there so close, somewhat motionless, for a while. I commented that I wished I had my camera at the ready because it was a perfect photo opportunity. But the camera was in the house with the wrong lens on it, so I just watched it collect fur, figuring it would be pointless to try to grab the camera.
After a minute or two of the chickadee not moving, I went inside to grab the camera and swap the lens anyway. Sure enough, it was still there collecting fur when I returned. It just kept stuffing its mouth full of more fur while I snapped some shots.
It was just after 4 p.m. when I settled on hiking Wickersham Dome. This can be a tough time of the year for hiking in the Alaska Interior because there’s often still snow, sometimes deep enough to wind up post-holing quite a bit, and where there’s not snow, there is usually mud. I knew Wickersham would be muddy, while Granite Tors would be mostly on a boardwalk until reaching a relatively rocky hillside. But we also live closer to Wickersham Dome and get better views relatively quickly.
When we arrived at the trailhead, only a couple of cars were there, and one guy got out of his car near the trailhead. I did a double take when I realized I recognized my old hiking and photography buddy from grad school, Jason. I hadn’t seen him or heard much from him in at least six or seven years and I felt it shockingly hard to believe that it had been ten years since we worked together at UAF.
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The three of us hiked out together while Jason and I caught up on what we were up to and reminisced about our often weird times at UAF and some of our hiking adventures that often turned epic for one reason or another.
I saw two of my first wildflower blooms of this season. The first, down lower on the trail, was a narcissus anemone (Anemone narcissiflora), which I didn’t stop to photograph (I have hundreds). Near the upper ridge that leads to the summit of Wickersham Dome, the ground was littered with northern kittentails (Synthyris borealis) already in bloom and woolly lousewort (Pedicularis lanata), not yet flowering.
Only a few minutes after gaining the ridge, we were caught in a huge gust of wind, followed by heavy rain. Running for cover behind a rock outcropping, we hoped to wait it out. It didn’t seem to be letting up, and the sky was pretty dark in the direction of the rain, so we decided to make our way briskly back down into the tree cover.
Of course, once we were off the tundra, the rain stopped almost immediately, and shortly after, the sun came out again. The return hike was relatively quick, though we did encounter some post-holing in the remaining snow patches in the valley. Despite the muddy conditions and occasional snow, I was thrilled to have the chance to hike with Jason again. We mentioned possibly making plans to get in touch for more hiking and exploring this summer. The day, filled with unexpected encounters and beautiful moments, left me grateful to have photography in my life and a wife willing to put up with hours of photography-related conversation along the way.
Gakona Glacier – Hike Info and August 2023 Trip Report
Sugarloaf Ridge Trail
