Wherein Moominmama dons crampons and explores the inner reaches of the Matanuska Glacier... Meet the Matanuska, a 27-mile river of glacial ice flowing from the Chugach Mountains of Alaska. Unlike alpine glaciers that hang from mountain slopes, this tongue of ice is created by ocean moisture as it delivers snow to the Chugach Range, and like all glaciers, over time, the snow compresses and squeezes out air molecules to form the dense glacial ice. Moominmama learned it can take 600 years for the ice at the back to make it to the terminus or toe of the glacier, where my ice climbing adventure began with a long hike through the glacial moraine. While Moominmama has walked on a glacier before, ( the Athabasca between Jasper and Banff in Alberta), I've only seen the surface. The Advanced Trek offered by MICA Guides brought me into the features of the glacier, rappelling down cliffs and walking along ledges to get inside the strange shapes that the ice forms as it moves alon...
In which Moominmama reflects on the start of a new year and what it means to reach Year Five of a life on the road... Starting on my fifth year on the road, Moominmama wonders if it's an adventure anymore, or just a lifestyle. Somehow, "Moominmama's Lifestyle" just doesn't have the same ring! But the truth is that not everything is new and exciting! Having picked up the trailer in New Mexico and driven to Arizona, I'm enjoying a Sonoran Desert that's actually somewhat familiar. I enjoy being back among the grandfather saguaro cactus, unique to this particular desert. The Sonoran Desert, unlike others, is marked by two rainy seasons: the summer monsoons and winter rains. But as I've learned, last year there were no significant monsoon rains in the Phoenix area, deepening an already serious drought. This year, no flowers greeted my March arrival. The plants were dry and dormant, and the local park ranger was taking photos of stressed-out saguaros on my...
Wherein Moominmama hikes in the John Muir Wilderness and joins a ceremony where Japanese Americans declare "Never Again is Now"... Driving into the eastern Sierras is like arriving on a different planet from the sand and sagebrush below. At 10,000 to 11,000 feet, the air has a chill, there's snow on the mountaintops, and everything smells of ponderosa pine and moist earth. Even the bird calls are different. After a week in the valley, the mountains were calling, and Moominmama drove up to hike in the John Muir Wilderness, choosing a three-mile trail up Mount Whitney to Lone Pine Lake. The days had been warm, but I wasn't sure how much snow I'd find on the trail. As it turned out, I got a good 2.5 miles before I had to put on microspikes to navigate the snow, which was firmly packed down. What spectacular views! And fascinating plant life. This is manzanita, a bush with tiny teardrop flowers that will eventually turn into berries. It is related to a bush I'd se...
I take it you did NOT get wet from the trip!
ReplyDeleteNope, that would have been a mighty chilly dip!
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