 Expedition Journal--August 2Alex PerryToday we went another 12 miles on the river. We were ready to start lining the boats at 11 a.m., but we hiked downstream to scout some riffles and the entire process took two and a half hours. Although the scouting was educational for all of the other group members, I could not keep from getting a little irritated, as much as I tried. However, the paddling was a blast and we made about six miles an hour excluding all stops, so we got into camp about 4 p.m. We met up with another party during dinner. After dinner we had a meeting, and decided to have a layover day to do some training with LNT tomorrow.
Rachel Flood After that, we hiked up a mountain so that we could see what was ahead of us on the river. There were a couple of things to be avoided. It was good to know that they were there. We paddled for an hour or so before we took our first break. I was getting really tired, so it was a relief when we did stop. After the break we paddled for 45 minutes more. We are camped just past Eroded Mountain on a long gravel bar. It is such a beautiful spot. The elevation allows for birch trees to grow in amongst the spruce.
Field notes: Brown bear: The brown bear closely resembles its relative the black bear. The brown bear, however, is usually larger and has a hump on its back. Weasel: Long, slender skulls and skinny bodies allow weasels to enter any burrow they can fit their heads into. Dall sheep: These animals inhabit the mountain ranges of Alaska. Dall sheep are found in relatively dry country and frequent a special combination of ridges and meadows. Oftentimes there is a steep slope nearby which the Dall sheep use to evade predators.
Vanessa Bacher
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