Expedition Journal--August 6

It was an absolutely gorgeous evening: The few clouds that were present were lit up in brilliant arrays of oranges, reds, golds, and pinks, with the silhouettes of the mountains barely hiding the sun from our view. Although we set out to go fishing, our focus changed as the sunset continued and the expedition turned into more of an exploration. At about 11 p.m., Rachel, Bria, and Jess ferried back across and went to sleep. However, Peter, Vanessa, and myself were absolutely enthralled by the experience and continued on with the excuse of fishing as a reason.

We got back in the canoes and ferried up a channel that wrapped around close to the lakes, and set out to see what we could find. We brought a topo map and bear mace for precautions, but we wanted to explore and perhaps see some animals, so we ignored the map and the bear calls. I hope Deb and Cleve aren't upset in reading this.

The sights we saw and the noises we heard on our hike were eerie, beautiful, and mysterious. The swamp was somewhat marshy and boggy, but nothing serious, and easy walking aside from the slowed pace. The lighting continued to grow more and more beautiful. We heard the haunting call of a loon which almost reminded me of the howling of a wolf. There were moose prints, beds, and trails scattered everywhere throughout the area, and we decided to follow a trail heading in the general direction of the lakes.

Off in the distance I saw a strange mist, and as we neared it we discovered that it was a small pond. We hung around listening to the peace and silence of the area for a long time, ignoring the biting mosquitoes. We could hear a slow moving babbling brook beyond the pond, and then heard the sound of something strange, quite possibly a frog.

We decided to turn back just after midnight. We had done no fishing, had not even gone to the larger lakes, but none of us cared. We were almost entirely silent as we walked back, digesting the beauty and peacefulness of what we had seen tonight.

Suddenly we were interrupted by the sound of a surprised ptarmigan taking flight, and possibly the thudding of a large startled animal running away. We saw the ptarmigan, but we'll never know what other creature, if any, made the deep thudding noise we imagined (or maybe not) hearing.

It is now 1 a.m. and we have to wake up early for a long day tomorrow.

Rachel Flood
I am sitting here with mud between my toes and a smile on my face. What an awesome day it has been. We woke up this morning at 9:30 and all congregated in our "kitchen" where we whipped up the best batch of pancakes I have had in a long time. Alex went out last night and picked a bunch of blueberries so we incorporated those into our feast along with cider drink mix, loads of brown sugar, cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla. It was so good.

After we finished our food, Vanessa and I noticed that the weather looked as though it would allow us to take a dip in the river. We slipped into some shorts and sports bras and ran in and then ran out. The water was so cold that it hurt. Walking around barefoot following the run and dip led us to the discovery of the marvelous texture of mud. Before long, Jess, Vanessa, and I were mud bathing. It was so fun right up to the point where we had to wash off. We ran back on through the water. It never got any warmer.

At about 2 p.m. we scrounged up some food for lunch and then set out for a walk to a little lake near our campsite. I was glad that I had put on my boots for that hike. I finally discovered the marsh that was showing up on the map. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the terrain changes. One minute you're walking on a gravel bar and the next you're sinking into a marsh.

Only Jess, Vanessa, and I went on that hike. The others had been planning on ferrying across the river and hiking around the other side later in the day. When 9 p.m. rolled around, they hadn't left. By 10 p.m., we were all good to go.

The six of us hopped into canoes and headed out. Pete, Perry, and Vanessa took off in search of a lake for fishing, while Bria, Jess, and I sat back and enjoyed the view. It was incredible to see all of the colors in the sky reflecting off of the water with mountains towering in the distance. This place just has so much to offer. I can't believe how lucky I am to be here.

Vanessa Bacher
Here's an odd concept: I'm laying in the sun right now in my shorts and a sports bra. Obviously today is a beautiful day, so beautiful that we all jumped in the river and then literally jumped right out. After we jumped out we started running around like chickens with our heads cut off to keep our blood from freezing completely. To the left of me is the sun shining down on me. To the right of me is the moon faded in the sky.

I think the sun makes us all do wild and crazy things after you haven't seen it for awhile. Jess, Rachel, and I just finished skinny dipping in mud. It was great. I highly recommend it to people that want to have a good time in Alaska. We are now officially the mud goddesses covered from head to toe.