22 lbs

That is the max weight for our luggage from San Andres to Providencia next week. Apparently it's a small plane and they're concerned about weight.  I've been on some VERY small planes and have never seen quite as low of a limit as this. I have seen them weigh everyone on board before taking off. Makes me wonder what kind of plane it is and what made them impose the rule to begin with!  Hopefully it wasn't a close call...  :)

We will simply get creative - 10 days, 22 lbs. We will pack light (luckily Colombia and Panama will be very warm) and do much laundry in the sink in our room. It's a beach vacation, the heaviest thing we bring should be our snorkel gear, right?  :)

Now, where's that scale?

10 things we learned in Kodiak

It's good to be home.  Thank you to our hosts and good friends Karen and Robin - our Alaska adventures wouldn't be the same without them!  We had sooooo much fun...we laughed (and laughed and laughed), ate lots of good food, brought back tons of fish, scaled some very cool mountains and saw fantastic wildlife.

And we've returned with brand new knowledge about Kodiak Island and Alaksa in general:

1. Take a gun fishing (for various reasons).
2. Kodiak brown bears are shy and not cuddly at all.
3. If you don't own a pair of XTRATUFs, you shouldn't live there (if you don't know what they are, ditto).
4. Have at least one camouflage clothing item, or you'll be voted off the island.
5. Never hike in the fog.
6. Dodging potholes is a sport.
7. What's a trail switchback?
8. Schedule extra time in between flights to allow for delays and cancellations (they WILL happen).
9. There is always room for another freezer in the house.
10. Sea Otters are hard to find if you're looking for them.

Hasta luego, Kodiak

Well, we leave in a few hours. We'll fly through Anchorage and Seattle on our way home.

Kodiak is a beautiful island. After a few days of clouds, we awoke to sunny skies and temps in the mid 60s. Perfect hiking weather, so we tackled Barometer Mountain. Not a hike for those with any fear of heights. They don't believe in switchbacks here and their trails are straight up up up, sometimes coming pretty close to steep drop offs. Tom is definitely part mountain goat, but I kept up, albeit with some encouragement in spots. The view from the top was, of course, beautiful - mountains and water as far as the eye could see. 

I would definitely come back to Kodiak. There are more fish for Tom to catch, sea kayaking to be done and many more peaks to climb.  And it wouldn't be the same without our good friends Karen and Robin. Top notch for sure. 

See you in Denver!  I'm ready for some hot sun. :)

From the summit. 

Also from the summit. You can see the memorial cross (center) for a hiker who fell and died. Very sad. 

Fog.

We got up with full intent to hike Barometer Mountain today. It was foggy. Really foggy and "socked in" with clouds. Barometer shouldn't be done in the fog or when you can't see the top through thick clouds (basically fog only higher). 

So we went to breakfast at Java Flats (http://www.javaflats.com/) and checked again. Fog. Then we shopped a bit and checked again. Fog. Then we went to the fisheries research center with aquarium and a really cool "touch tank" where you can touch sea anemones, starfish and more. Then we checked Barometer again. Fog. Then we went to the Kodiak Brewing Co and had a beer, then checked again. Fog.  We finally called it and did a short hike elsewhere, no Barometer today. Maybe tomorrow, we have all day before our flight. But guess what is outside right now. Fog. 

They seem to like the fog and low clouds here. We heard two different people at breakfast say "what beautiful weather today"! This when we were impatiently waiting for it to lift and reveal Barometer and we thought "WHAT?!".  I asked Karen about this comment and she agreed, a beautiful day. Very little rain, above 50 degrees and no wind. A good day in Kodiak. 

We had a wonderful time with our friends and hosts Robin and Karen at dinner tonight, good food & great company.  No more bears were spotted on the way home. 

Kodiak is definitely beautiful, low clouds, fog and all. We'll see what our last day here has in store for us tomorrow. 

Bear count = 4

Eagle count = 5

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

Fox count = 3

Whale count = 0

Sitka black-tailed deer = 1

Sign in Kodiak Brewing Co

View from trail in Fort Abercrombie State Park

My superpower...

...is not my ability to avoid nausea. Least of all on an anchored boat in the ocean. In true form, I lasted at most two hours before waving the white flag and asking to be returned to shore. It's so pretty out there and I love boats, but even though it was "as calm as it gets", it wasn't calm enough for me. I've never actually thrown up from seasickness, but I've sure felt like it. Today 4 more halibut were caught, and a smaller one thrown back. Our cooler will be full...

We also returned to the same bear spot from two nights ago and saw the same mother and two cubs as well as another shy bear that peeked out from the bush, but was too timid to cross the road with people around. But he looked BIG. Maybe tomorrow. 

We also hope to hike Barometer Mountain tomorrow, weather permitting. 

Bear count = 4

Eagle count = 5

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

Fox count = 3

Whale count = 0,  but we heard two spouting on the water today

Kodiak from the water

A Halibut Jamboree.

Well, with a fantastic fisherman like Robin, it's easy to fill a cooler with halibut. And that's just what they did yesterday.  We now have a cooler of it to drop off for processing!  The biggest one they reeled in was about 160 lbs. Huge!  AND we are going back out today, all 4 of us. Should be fun!  Hopefully the seas are calm. They weren't calm yesterday and Tom actually tossed his lunch, which if you don't know him, is not common. Usually his stomach is pretty tough. 

While all the fishing was going on, I took a great trail run yesterday, it's nice to see green and ocean for a change!

We also took a dinner cruise on the Galley Gourmet last night. Yum!  Saw otters, puffins and sea lions. And tons of jellyfish, not something I expected to see. 

Bear count = 3 ( we narrowly missed incrementing this)

Eagle count = 4

Seal count = 2

Otter count = 1

Sea lion count = maybe 10

Puffin count = too many to count

The Haul. 

View on my trail run in Fort Abercrombie 

From our dinner cruise

Eagles, Bears & Salmon...oh my!

Bear Count = 3

Bald Eagle Count = 2

Seal Count = 2

Three Kodiak bears!  A mama and two cubs. We saw them just before dusk as they were fishing for salmon in a river by the road. Very cool. Even cooler, we started our own bear jam (pictures of bears and bear jam below). Previous visitors to Yellowstone will appreciate this. 

Also spotted today were two Bald Eagles, one of which was easily the largest Bald Eagle I've ever seen.  And two seals out fishing for salmon in the ocean at the mouth of a river. 

We planned on hiking another peak but the island was pretty much fogged in all day, and after multiple warnings from locals of "don't ever hike in the fog", we decided to postpone that until later this week.  

Tom is heading out to fish for halibut and salmon tomorrow with Robin. I may get a trail run in and some exploring around town while he's filling our cooler with fish to take home!  We also have a dinner cruise tomorrow night on the Galley Gourmet ( http://www.kodiak-alaska-dinner-cruises.com/kodiak-dinner-brunch.html ).  

Bears - mama and one cub

Bear Jam

Pyramid Mountain (bear count = zero)

We arrived in Kodiak yesterday. It is beautiful...green and mountainous!

On Karen and Robin's recommendation, we tackled Pyramid Mountain today...what a beautiful hike!  One area was definitely a "hands-on" scramble, a bit intense (for me) - the rest was just very steep trail. 

We were rewarded with sweeping 360 degree views of Kodiak Island and the surrounding waters from the top. 2500ft elevation gain in just 2 miles.  Luckily they have LOTS of oxygen down here at sea level!

Now we are hungry. Dinnertime?

Pyramid mountain (point in the middle), we approached from the right. 

From the summit. 

Anchorage, unexpectedly.

Well, we thought we'd be in Kodiak by now but mother nature had other plans. Kodiak was fogged in last night, so after they turned two planes around, they cancelled our flight. BUT this actually worked out very well, as we got a hotel and hopped the public bus and explored downtown Anchorage a bit - a bonus!

So we sit at the airport once again, but we are assured the weather has much improved in Kodiak and we will be on our way soon!  

Downtown Anchorage

We'll be back for you, Silverheels.

Well, we attempted Mt Silverheels south of Breckenridge off of Hoosier Pass today.  The weather looked cloudy, but stable until we hit about 13,000 feet, then the clouds started gathering.  Dark clouds.  Clouds that could hold lightning.  So, we made the tough call to head back down without gaining the summit.  Discouraging, for sure, but the right call - just a few minutes after we got in the car and starting heading home, rain and lightning hit the area we just came from...justification.  :)

Some pictures below from our hike - it was a beautiful day to hike.  We started across the road from the Hoosier Pass parking area, followed the road up to some towers and then headed up and off-trail.  I'm guessing we did about 9 miles, almost all off-trail.  Our favorite kind of hike!  We saw about 4 other hikers on the way out, NONE on the way back, until we were within 1/2 mile of our car.  I love the solitude and connection with nature that can be had by strapping on some hiking boots, packing the day pack with layers and snacks and heading off into the mountains.  Thank you, Colorado for another beautiful day above 10,000 feet.

I think my favorite picture (and moment) is when Tom called me over to where he'd stopped and pointed out a white-tailed ptarmigan in the rocks - it was SO hard to spot!  Only when we'd both taken pictures and were almost ready to move on, did I notice the second one, looking to be sitting on a nest.  Just fantastic!  These birds don't startle easily and usually hold their ground, making for some great photo opportunities...

The Ptarmigan

 

Views to the West

A fantastic thistle. 

Mt Silverheels

Tom heading down

Some late summer bloomers...

My favorite local trail...

With all of the cool, cloudy, rainy weather lately (thank you, Mother Nature), I wanted to remind myself that it is summer out there!  What better way than with a trail run in the heat of the day?  So, I laced up my shoes and headed to my favorite local trail at Bear Creek Lake Park.  Why is it my favorite?  A few reasons - 1) it really is never extremely crowded, I usually only pass a few hikers, runners and bikers - 2) it is mostly shaded, at least the 5 mile loop that I normally do - 3) it is not crazy-hilly as so many front range trails are (unless you add a modest climb with Mt Carbon) - and last but not least 4) it is only a 10 minute drive for me!  I do love Green Mountain, as it's out my back door and there's no driving required and I run there plenty, but there is no shade there, so on a hot day, Bear Creek it is!

I start off on the Owl trail just on the south side of the creek, and it intersects the Cottonwood trail, then the Mt Carbon trail and I take the detour on the Fisherman's trail around the lake and back onto the Mt Carbon trail along the north side of the creek - almost exactly 5 miles start to finish.  It's a peaceful run and one I've done MANY times.  I've seen plenty of critters from large coyotes to a bald eagle chowing on a fresh catch from the lake.  Tom fishes there with Lucy quite often in the summer and Lucy HATES the beavers in the area - they torment her from the water and have even caused her to fall through some ice (in shallow water) in the winter - of course from her chasing them when she shouldn't!  Rascally critters!

Well, even though today was warm, I saw signs of fall - there were quite a few small bunches of yellow aspen tree leaves (pic below), and even some in other kinds of foliage as well.  I do love the fall, followed by ski season, but then, of course, I'll have to strap on my winter weather gear and running snowshoes to enjoy this local trail.

Tomorrow we head up Mt Silverheels off of Hoosier Pass - one of Colorado's centennial peaks -I'll try to post pictures...

Sunflowers

I found these little beauties on a trail run a few days ago. A nice addition to Green Mountain, as the other flowers are winding down for the year!  

The same, only different.

I went back to Ohio this weekend to visit family.  My hometown – or I should say the town closest to my parents’ house - is a small one, or at least used to be.  I grew up with a rotary phone, a party line (2 neighboring houses shared our same phone line), no ability to get a pizza (or any other food) delivered and 42 people in my graduating class.  Small.

But now, that closest town is not so small.  The only chain restaurants we used to have were fast food, or the Ponderosa buffet.  But now, Olive Garden, Max & Erma’s and Cheddars dot the horizon and it houses 2 Wal-Mart stores.  There is much more traffic, much more to do and many more options for restaurants.  This is great, especially for those that live there – it means the economy is good and jobs are available.  But for me it is sad to see old schools, restaurants and other buildings torn down to make way for these new, “better” buildings, franchises and just overall progress. 

Somehow, living out-of-state and only seeing it infrequently, I always expect it to be the same as it was – and in some ways, it is - the historic homes and big trees are still there, along with the city pool, cute neighborhoods , county fairgrounds and most importantly, Dietsch's ice cream.  And out by my parents’ home, few things have changed except new homes are being built on previous farmland.  Somewhere deep down, I expect progress, but it never fails to surprise me. 

In some selfish way, I want it to be exactly the same, even though I know the growth is good – small towns have it tough in today’s world where people flock to cities.  Findlay, Ohio – to me you are the same, only different.