10 Days in Alaska....

John, Kathy and Sam have been wonderful.

Amanda and I were so lucky to bump in to them on our travels through Laos. The only thing that would have made this visit to Alaska even better would have been Amanda's presence.

Kathy relaxing on a freshly reclaimed rocking chair.

The Peace Sign....

The Back Garden

John & Kathy's Home....

John and Kathy's spacious and beautiful Alaskan home has been my home for the past 10 days and having a base has been wonderful. The 'Peace' sign which hangs on the side of the house during the Summer was made by John.  During the Winter it is fully illuminated and hangs out over and above the road.  People are always asking John do you
live in the Peace Sign house?  John receives thanks constantly from Fairbank's strangers, and I even saw him receiving a huge hug from an attractive young French lady who has been living up the road for the past 4 years.  She always wondered who was behind the Peace sign!  Everyone knows the Peace sign house, even the guys who I hitched with to Fairbanks knew where to drop me once I mentioned the Peace sign.  Today is US Mother's Day, so yesterday evening John & I spent a couple of hours raking Autumn from the large garden for Kathy to enjoy.  John treated us all to an 'all you can eat' Champagne brunch today, what a generous and lovely man.... Both John and Sam ate so much the afternoon was spent in slothly digestion mode..... They got their monies worth!

As I sit here and type I look out over spruce forests and distant mountains laid out beneath a clear blue sky. It's 6.30am and only 2 degrees celcius outside. We still experiencing very chilly night temperatures though the day time temps are steadily increasing. Twenty degrees celcius is expected during this week.

My plans for the working on the salmon fishing boats fell through, so alternative plans are to be made. Unfortunately these don't include making any money. Though after paying airfares to the remote commercial fishing destination of $600 the salmon fishing would have paid very little anyway. I'd have been going more for the experience and the surroundings of wild Alaska than earning hard cash. Amanda would also have told me to stop worrying about money and that things always work out. So far it seems she was right.

John when not working has taken me out paddle boarding (standing up on an over sized board with a long paddle), kayaking and canoeing down the local river. The ice has just thawed, and toppling in from the stand up paddle board initially weighed heavily on my mind! I survived, and not only survived, I remained dry!

Paddle Boarding....

The Paddle Boat Discovery.... River Cruises for Tourists....

Cruising....

Working the Paddle....

John Cruising....

John Looking Good....

A two minute cycle down the road and I'm on the peat bogs. These bogs are peaceful sanctuaries for the local wildlife. Sitting quietly on the bank I've seen beaver, muskrat and a wide array of local birds. The peat bogs are a beautiful place to be at first and last light.... even though I'm not too sure when first and last light are... The days are already drawing out up here. It's light enough through the night not to need artificial light sources. Sunrise is currently 4.15am so it's light from 3.30am, and sunset is somewhere around 11.15pm, so it's light until after midnight.... Up here the sun doesn't like to travel too far beneath the horizon, so there's always ambient light. Sunrise and sunset are currently increasing by almost 5 minutes per day! By June 17th the sun will set just before 1am and rise at 3am. There'll be no nightfall whatsoever. Due to this lack of darkness the Northern Lights will be a non starter! Another time me thinks!

A couple of days ago John and I drove 60 miles out of town for a trek and camp. On arrival alongside the river we established camp (fending off the constant barrage of huge mosquitoes) at 4pm we began our trek to Chena Dome. John told me we should make plenty of noise to let bears know we were coming, so we wouldn't startle them, causing a defensive and aggressive reaction.

'I don't want to make noise and scare them away John.'

'You walk ahead then.' was John's reply. I laughed, and proceeded to walk on ahead. 

Bro-mance.... Over looking the White Mountains...

Monkey Man...

Snow.... Cold & Wet....

We didn't encounter any bears. Ninety minutes in we did encounter knee deep snow followed by wet icy cold feet for the duration of the trek. At the top of the dome we were rewarded with panoramic views of the 'White Mountains'. On returning to camp John got to preparing some 'camp' foodstuffs. Freeze dried ready meals are the staple diet of most campers, and that's what we had.

Moose inside the no hunting sign.... Nice!

Enroute to to our camping we pulled up at a large 'Beer Store' to pick up some red wine to go with our blue cheese. We got distracted by the fine selection of beers sold on tap. The lady asked John if he had a 'growler'..... The term 'growler' in the UK has been used over recent years as a crude title for a lady's.... hmmm, let's go the opposite to crude, a lady's flower, or 'foo' as Amanda referred to it. I was pretty sure John didn't have a growler. To my surprise John told the lady his growler was in the car, and returned with a lovely flagon (growler) which was duly filled with a strong beer called 'Arrogant B*stard'. A delicious drop indeed.

Due to the licensing of the premises we were unable to taste the beers. The lady behind the counter took this so seriously that she almost imploded when I swept my finger through the froth spilling on to the draining trays from our flagon and plunging it in to mouth, with a naughty grin... John and I looked at one another bewildered at her reaction. She clearly wasn't all there! I noticed a beer being advertised at 41% ABV, and enquired about it. One of the assistants passed me a very small bottle with said ale which happened to be made in Scotland. He then went on to inform me that this tiny bottle of beer was $89.99.....

At this point I was holding the bottle in one hand reading the label. John swept round elbow banging in to my arm, causing the briefest and potentially most expensive juggling session either of us had ever encountered..... The bottle survived. We gasped, sighed with relief, laughed and hit the road.

After our evening meal of camp food we headed to Chena Hot Springs. As the name suggests this is a spring.... that's hot.

The place was wonderful. John and I arrived at 9.15pm, which I thought to be rather late for a dip. John assured me it would be the perfect time. He was right. We had the place to ourselves. After wallowing about in the geothermally heated rock pool casually sipping chilled 'Arrogant Bastard' from plastic water bottles. Not very classy I know.... But seeing as the staff were unaware of our 'smuggling' they didn't offer any fine containers to craddle our illegally imported alcoholic beverage, we headed back to camp.

Pleased with our beer and hot bath!

Geothermal aqua -massage.....

Me & John at 11pm....

We had a lovely time sitting and chatting by our huge camp fire.... John regaling tales of life and trave. Our boots and socks dried in the hot air from the fire. John went on to tell me that so many pairs of boots are returned to REI (a recreational activities store where John now works part time since retiring as a teacher) each year as faulty, when in actual fact they were simply fire damaged from folks leaving their footwear too close for too long to the lapping flames....

A few minutes later I was treated to a barrage of cussing and growling as John retrieved his $150 dollar boots.... one of which had a very melted sole... He was not a happy bunny. It set pay to his trekking plans for the next day. We hit the sleeping bags at 1.30am. Headlamps still not required. The ambient light from the sun was plenty to get us around camp. The temperature had already plummeted to almost freezing.

John contemplates life after melting his boot....

I woke at 5am. I unzipped the door of the tent leaving John sleeping. The air was freezing the ground crunched under my bare feet. I grabbed my socks, boots and fishing gear. Icy puddles cracked and creaked under my feet as I walked and fished the river. Half and hour later I returned extremely cold and unsuccessful to the camp. I immediately gathered papery bark from the surrounding birch trees for kindling and set to making a big morning fire. Within 10 minutes the flames were crackling ferociously..... I pulled the camp chair in tight and watched the river. I sat there listening to the crackling fire, surrounded by freezing air but bathed by it's powerful heat, I watched the river flow by for over 3 hours in deep contemplation. I sipped hot chocolate and ate maple flavoured oats. When John rose I set off on a solo 4 mile round trek to Angel Rocks.

The trek was so peaceful and beautiful. I encountered so much moose poop I was sure I would see a moose. Either someone was up ahead of me scattering woody moose Maltesers in my path or the moose had been pooping during the hours of almost darkness.

The silence at the top of Angel Rocks really was something to behold. So still, so beautiful.

Moose Poop Maltesers....

So my plans have changed.....

I sent out emails offering my services as a writer and photographer to a few sport fishing outfits.

I received two replies offering me salmon fishing gigs. One during the first week of June and another the first week of July.... Fantastic. Now I just need to sort out the logistics of getting to these places. I mentioned cycling down to Vancouver last time....

But having found a cheap return flight from Anchorage to Frankfurt then on to London on 10^th July I no longer need to get back down to Vancouver.

The bicycle thing has been proving tricky. My main dilemma was whether to purchase new or second hand, either way I'd have to purchase then sell before I left for the UK.... I popped an enquiry on 'Craigslist' for anyone selling a decent touring bicycle.

I got a response from a guy called Sam who lives locally in Fairbanks. Sam said he had a Specialized Tricross Touring Bike. I met with him yesterday to size up the bike, to see if it was comfortable etc. I stood chatting with Sam and his wife Gretchin for10 minutes. They'd read my travel blog so knew of my journey. I told them if I bought the bike I'd have to sell it again in 8 weeks time.... Sam then blew me away with his next sentence.

'You know, we'd be happy to lend you the bike, we have friends in Anchorage (6 hours drive from Fairbanks) where you could leave the bike when you've finished your tour. We'd love to support you on your journey.' Good heavens, I couldn't believe this incredible show of generosity, kindness and trust to total stranger.... Simply beautiful. I'm still blown away as I type this.

In the meantime big James whom I got the ride with from Vancouver also started searching for a bike down in Talkeetna... He found me an old mountain bike. It wasn't suitable for what I had in mind, but how kind and thoughtful again..... These folks are just salt of the earth. I love them all. I wish Amanda was with me to experience the kindness I have been shown over these past months. It truly moves me.... almost to tears at times..... sounds soft I know, but it really is amazing experiencing human kindness so frequently. It reminds to always trust, love and share.

I have many miles to cover on these two wheels. I'll be loading the bike up with panniers (bag that hand over the wheels of the bicycle) and all my gear. I'll be camping as I go. I need to plan how much food is required between towns, as at times there can be as much as 120 miles between shops..... and even then these shops will be simple petrol station shops, so I'll be unlikely to get what I really want, such as nice raw veg and healthy foods. I also have to think about the weight of the foodstuffs I'm buying, as I'll probably be carrying a couple of days worth at a time, along with all my camping gear, photographic equipment and the contents of my backpack.... Oooooh it's sounding bloody heavy already! It's an extra 20 kilos going on the bike before I even get any food or water on there! Some big old mountains to climb too.... I'm going to be fit by the end of this.

See the map below for my plans..... I'll be pushing the timescales so things may change....

John tells me what I'm attempting is impossible in the timescale I've set.  He's probably right.... But I've been told in the past that I wouldn't complete the Parish Walk, and that I couldn't get to the top of Throng La in the Himalayas within 5 days.... but somehow managed.....
I'll just have to play it by ear.... 

John is probably right!!!