Quest for the Sun

Blueberry Hill. This was the mountain I intended to climb.




The sun is behing those clouds, and that stupid mountain.






Rays of sunlight peaking out.







The North East face of Soakpak being kissed by the sun.






Zoey checking out the valley below






The slope above me. It does not look far to the sunlight areas, but by the time I got there it would be dark!






Soakpak Peak







Sun Dog.





Yesterday I had planned to climb Blueberry Hill so that I could see the sun. Although the sun is not hitting the ground where I live we are having between 4-6 hours of "day light" I will not got into the technical definition of day light, but I will tell you it is NOT Dark here all the time. Well yesterday it seemed like we were going to have good weather in the morning, but a storm blew in and it was snowing and windy, plus the surface of the snow is icy from the mid-January thaw we had a few weeks ago. I talked Colby in to going skiing with me, but we soon turned back because the conditions were just too crappy!






Today was better, only about -9 and very little wind. There were a few scattered clouds in the morning, but the sun was clearly hitting the hills. So I set off on my skis to the North. I skied along the north side of Contact Creek where there is a "road" out onto the tundra. The snow was still icy, but at least there was a dusting a fresher show to give some traction. Zoey pulled in the harness a little bit today, sometimes giving me a little boost, sometimes, pulling me off balance.



When I got the the valley where little contact creek flows between Soakpak and Blueberry hill, I decided the sun looked like it was hitting Soakpak a little lower down.



So I skied a bit further, took off my skis and put on some crampons and started off by foot up Soakpak. As I walked north along the flank of Soakpak, the sunlight on the ground also traveled north. The light was just up on the next bench. Each timed I climbed the next bench and the sunlight was just as far. I could see the sun hitting the flat plane below me and the mountains above me, I just could not get to it. I think I hiked about a mile and a half before giving up. I sat on a talus ridge and looked at the sun light peaking out from behind the mountain across the valley. I drank my hot coco, took some photos. Maybe when the Sun moves to the south, it will shine through the space between the mountains. I think I could have been walking back in the sun if it was not for the clouds that rolled in! Oh well. Snow machines past by in the valley below and I could hear dogs barking in the distance. But for the most part it was quite and beautiful even if I did not get to see the sun directly.

Unanswered Questions

So I saw a doctor while I was in Fairbanks. He looked me over did some reflex tests, cracked my back and ordered an MRI. Nothing conclusive. He said that my symptoms may be caused by a number of things, some less concerning than others. It could be a pinched nerve. Or perhaps I am displaying the early signs of MS. Multiple Sclerosis, where the immune system attacks your nervous system. There is no one clear cause or test for MS. The DR said the MRI of my lower back was mostly normal, except for signs of Arthritis. What I am too young to have Arthritis. I am only 31!!!

So I still have so many questions, what is going on with my body?

100 degree turn around!

Remember the Fred Myers sign that Said -49 degrees in an earlier blog. Well the Temperatures in Fairbanks were between -50 and -40 the first two weeks of the year. I retuned to Fairbanks to see and Doctor and saw temperatures rise to 54 degrees F above Zero!!! That is like a 100 degree change in less than 2 weeks. WOW! have you ever seen anything like that. I do that think Fairbanks is used to a mid January Thaw. At this time the mid-west and the Northeast were getting a taste of the Arctic air which had moved out.

Oh and I got to see the Sun while in Fairbanks too! Because of the mountains it will still be a while before it rises above the horizon here.

Mush!

The internet is a wonderful place to meet interesting people. While I was in Fairbanks to see a Dr. to find out what is going on with this tingling sensation in my leg and face, I was able to meet up with my Musher friend. He loaded the dogs up in the truck and we headed to the Mushers Hall on the North side of town. Got all of the 8 doggies in their harnesses and hooked up to the line. I got to ride in the sled at first, then we pulled over and he let me drive the team the rest of the way. It was fun! It was warm out, about 40 degrees, what a change from the -40 degrees we had two weeks ago! We had to go kinda slow because one of the dogs, Queenie is old, like 12 or 13 and she has a hard time keeping up with the rest of the team. so we took it easy. No racing around the course, just a mellow dog sled ride through the boreal forest and across some open meadows. Note: Dog mushers like cold weather, below freezing because the dog shit freezes and is easier to clean up in that state. Mushing at warmer temps is a little stinky and messy.

There is sun on them there hills

Soakpak to the Northest and Nunamuit (below) to the West are kissed by the sun's rays at midday. Although I cannot see the sun I know that it does exisit!


Zoey and I skied about 2 miles today. We found some well used snowmobile trails and followed them to Contact Creek. Trappers use these narrow valleys and we have been advised to avoid them. We would not want zoey to get her paw in a leg hold trap intened for a wolf or wolverine.

Last week in Fairbanks it was cold! Okay I think this sign may be inaccurate. I think it is about 10 degrees off.

A few days earlier the ice fog was so thick I could hardly seen the sign across the parking lot.

Am I a Hypochondriac?

Okay, you should never send a hypochondriac to the Internet to find out "what is wrong" with them. Lastnight I tought I may have had or am having a mini-stroke. Long plane rides can cause blood clots, clots can cause a partial blockage to the brain resulting in tingling and numbness in the face AND the legs. Oh and some new medication I was using is known to cause blood clots.

So this morning I spoke to the health aide at the clinic AND an on-call doctor at the Tanana health Clinic in Fairbanks. They both told me that what I have is not life threatening at the moment. So I am going to wait until next week to go back into Fairbanks and try to figure out what is going on.

Maybe the numbness and tingling in my leg is just a pinched nerve, and maybe the numbness in my face is the result of me stressing out about coming back to school and not having a plan for the new semester and being freaked out about my leg. Most Doctors would think I am a nut case anyhow. I mean I swear that I have been exposed to and perhaps am carrying Haunta Virus, the Plague and Hand and foot and Mouth disease. And now I think I may be having blood clots and stroke symptoms. I think I just need a chill pill.

.... what's that you say, today is Saturday.... I'm going out to play.

Numb

For almost the past week I have had this weird numbness on my right shin.  It seems to be very localized.  Occasionally it is tingly.  I think I may have a pinched nerve or something.  I am going to the clinic this afternoon to see what they can tell me.  As I was watching a movie last night I thought my face was going numb too.  What is happening to me?  Does this happen to everyone as they get old??  What else do I have to look forward to?

From Hot Lava to 50 Below!

As most of you know I spent most of my Christmas Break in Hawaii. I was able to explore the big island. The highlight of my trip was watching the lava spill into the sea. A huge plume of steam can be seen from miles away. At night red hot rock shots into the air when it explodes after hitting the water. I was able to capture some of this excitement with a long exposure on my Cannon.

See the tiny helicopter in the photo for scale. I think we were standing about 3/4 mile from the steam plume.

Stupid Camera Ticks. I used a flashlight to outline myself as I stood in front of the camera.

I made it back in the Fairbanks on Friday Morning, Jan 2nd. I am still in Fairbanks. It is so cold that the pollution and the smog in the air hangs of the city in a dense cloud of ice fog. The hills are a little warmer and cooler, but the city is in a still valley with very little air flow. I was supposed to fly back to the village today but all of the bush plane flights were cancelled due to low visibility.

I was afraid my week or two in Hawaii would soften me up and make it hard to return to the arctic. But I seem to be faring well. The other night I went for a five mile hike with a friend who mushes dogs. It may be too cold for the dogs, but we still manage to make it out. I was sweating and had to unzip my coat and take off my mittens from time to time to cool down in the -45 F air. You know -40 is not so bad when there is no wind and you a dressed for it. Just be careful when you reach for the door handle.... your hand may freeze to it!!!

After the hike we enjoyed some heat in the Sauna. I think the temperature was close to 200 F when I went in. After my body heated up it made venturing out into the cold air with little clothing, refreshing...