My friend Emily posed the question, “who holds your happiness in their hands, or what?” The first thing that came to mind was water, we had just pulled over at a local spring to fill our water bottles with cold clear delicious water. Water in any form, salt or fresh, vast or creek sized, frozen or flowing.
Read MoreOur expedition in the Chilkat Mountains was almost over. We had hiked back down to the beach where it all began the day before, where the Zodiac was anchored just off shore waiting to carry us back across the Chilkat Inlet.
Read MoreI woke to Julie singing my name, “Lily. Lily. Lily, can I borrow your charger? My phone is about to die.” I opened my eyes to complete darkness, my hat still pulled over them, my muscles tense from being cold all night. It felt good to relax them as I pushed myself up and out of my sleeping bag, in a sad attempt to get warm I had burrowed far into my bag as if it were a den.
Read MoreThis is without a doubt one of the coolest places I have ever slept, made even better by the grueling three hour trek to get there. Not only does it reward your efforts with incredible views of the Chilkoot mountains across the way, and endless sights up and down the Lynn Canal, but you are level with the Rainbow Glacier. You are so close you can feel the chill of the ice.
Read MoreThis trip had been weeks in the making, planning around schedules, kids and the weather. We had postponed twice before and my time in Haines was quickly coming to an end, I had just five days until I would be on the ferry heading back down the Lynn Canal.
Read MoreBy this point in the hike I had walked just over 5 miles, gained well over 4000 ft, had one wet foot, crossed lots of summer snow almost wiping out just once, and taken hundreds and hundreds of photographs.
Read MoreFrom Shakuseyi the trail continues heading in the direction of Haines towards the second peak named Mt. Ripinski. After the first section of the day, steep switch backs and significant elevation gains, this part of the hike was a welcome break.
Read MoreI had waited weeks to do this hike. The delay was not due to weather or access, I could have reached the trail from Julie’s back yard, instead it was unusual bear activity that kept me out of the woods. Three different sows, each with two cubs, were running around town, eating chickens and breaking windows.
Read MoreThe number of peaks surrounding Haines, visible from just about everywhere in town, is astounding and one of the most epic things about this place. It isn’t just the presence of mountains, but proximity, they are just a couple miles away with peaks rising between 4,000 to 6,000 ft straight out of the sea, it is a mighty sight.
Read MoreTime and time again in Haines, and more generally, I have experienced a certain phenomenon. A serendipity of sorts, with a hint of déjà vu. I hesitate to call it fate or destiny, it is more a confirmation. A sign that instills a sense of confidence that I am exactly where I am meant to be in time and space, perhaps where I was always going to be despite feeling as if I had chosen a path amidst several.
Read MoreMy days in Haines typically began with a morning bike ride through town, sometimes looking for a spot to drink my thermos of coffee, other times looking to explore a new neighborhood.
Read MoreI was on a walk in downtown Haines and passed by the Pioneer Bar. The bar was closed due but peering through the windows it was a relic, exactly what comes to mind when you think of an old Alaskan bar. On the front steps a collection of bits and bobs had been thrown into cardboard boxes that read “free!”.
Read MoreMost days I visited the harbor, and each day the composition was unique. New clouds, no clouds, all clouds. Sometimes perfect reflections in still water, sometimes the wind blasting well over 15 knots. The Chilkoot mountains in the back ground, sometimes clouded over as if in a mood, other days clear for miles and miles.
Read MoreWhy Haines, Alaska? Alaska is a coveted destination; a land of great wilderness, remoteness, vastness, rivers flowing and salmon running for thousands of years, mountains riding out of the seas, glaciers everywhere, and fjords left in place of glaciers long gone.
Read MoreAfter 12 hours in Juneau I boarded a ferry heading up the Lynn Canal. The ferry, named Tazlina, would take 4.5 hours from the Juneau / Auke Bay port to our destination of Haines, Alaska at the very end of the Lynn Canal.
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