Bear Mountain hike

You may remember this mountain from some of my early blog posts; its name is Bear Mountain. This weekend I joined a couple of friends for a hike to the very top. We had great weather. When we got above the Alpine tree line it got pretty windy and we had to trek through some snow. The snow was the hardest part for me. We hiked some pretty steep spots with rocks but on the snow I really had trouble staying balanced and thought I was going to slip and rocket down the snow covered side of the mountain.

We reached the very peak and stayed up there for a bit, telling stories and just enjoying the view. On the way down we took a different route and walked quite a ways along the ridge of the mountain. One spot we had to descend one at a time because we were knocking down rocks as we went. We talked about what kind of food we were going to eat that night most of the way down. Actually, I was probably the one that kept bringing that subject back up. When we got back to town we had a nice steak dinner. Thanks, Arlo! :)

Blue Lake

Mt. Edgecumbe in the background and Mt. Verstovia on the right

Some lichen

Water droplets on the lichen

This is a part where it was hard to stay upright walking on the snow

There's a glacier in the background

Patrick, Ben, and I looking at stuff

A crevasse

Getting close to the peak

Self-portrait

Pretty little blue pond

The peak after we started our descent

Walking along the ridge

We were talking about food and this looked like a dish my mother used to make. It was something like cheesy potatoes and I can't quite remember what was sprinkled on top but all I could think of was bacon bits.

A Super-Mario mushroom!

Juneau trip number two

This time my trip to Juneau was for a SAGA orientation. In SAGA's program YABAH (Southeast Alaska Guidance Association and Young Alaskans Building Affordable Housing) there are only two Americorps Connections members: David and I. Since SAGA is based in Juneau and we work and live in Sitka, there was never an opportune time for an introduction to the SAGA team. Many Americorps members began their term the beginning of September and therefore it seemed ideal to invite David and I to Juneau for the induction. We stayed at a resort quite a ways out of town called the Eagle Valley Center. The center's water was supplied by a creek nearby. Everyone was advised not to drink the tap water and not to shower too often because the water was so limited.

It was a joy to meet all the people that were going serve in Alaska as a SAGA member. On Tuesday, we were all sworn in by Alaska's commissioner of education, Larry LeDoux, at Alaska's state capitol building. The rest of the week was filled with kayaking, downtown touring, glacier sight-seeing, and games and movies at the center. We played a lot of chess and a lot of cards.

On the way to Juneau

A little trail by the Eagle Valley Center

Getting sworn in at the state capitol building

A picture of Mt. Roberts and downtown Juneau

After taking the tram.

Mendenhall glacier.  Much different than when I saw it in April because the snow melted into a big lake!

Kayaking.

Out front of the Eagle Valley Center

The Eagle Valley Center

It's been a while!

Here's the progress on the YABAH house starting with a photo from the 5th of July.

Everything is going well on it so far. This week we've been framing the garage in back and hoping the trusses come in soon.