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| Kayaking in Eastern Channel |
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| I would love to know how the middle (upper) sea lion got to the position he is in |
Where did the last 3 months go??? So much has happened, it’s hard to know where to start.
After my parents left, Sitka became sunny, dry, and cold for nearly 2 months straight. It was a good thing that Ben and I
moved to the interior last year and acquired some warm, down puff jackets,
because our rain jackets and extra tuffs sat in the closet forgotten for a very
long time! In fact, on the first
day of rain after a couple months of sun, I didn’t even want to go out and walk
Chena after work because it seemed so gross out. I had to snap myself out of my sun spoiled stupor and remind
myself that walking in the rain is what we Sitkans do…and we don’t even think
twice about it.
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| January 4th- we thought it was finally starting to turn to winter on the mountains.... |
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| We were excited about finally seeing snow..... |
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| But by January 26th, the mountains once again looked (and felt) like summer. Note all of the short sleeves and shorts and lack of snow |
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| The Routon family on a warm summer like day at the end of January |
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| Ruthann loving the warm mountain top adventure |
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| Patrick, Jessica, and Matt wondering where the snow is... |
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| Ben soaking up the sun |
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| Kristin, Sam, and Chena on the boat ride to Kruzof Island |
We eventually started to gain some snow on the mountains,
but it hasn’t amounted to much. The
positive side of snowless mountains is that it has opened up some adventure opportunities
that would not normally be possible this time of year. We decided to take advantage of the
non-winter weather and hike Mt. Edgecumbe for my 30th birthday. Sam, Kristin, Ben, Chena and I left the
harbor at the break of dawn (which isn’t really very early on the last weekend of January- 9:00AM).
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| Ben and Chena enroute |
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| Running up the trail |
Even though the day didn’t necessarily
look or feel like winter, we were still reminded that it was by the lack of
daylight. To make the ascent
possible, we had to run and fast hike a good portion of the trail to be back by
dark. We didn’t stay long on the
summit because of the biting wind, but the views were amazing. I had never summited Mt. Edgecumbe on a
clear, blue sky day. The 360 views
were astounding, allowing us to
see all of the jagged mountain peaks of Baranof Island and beyond as well as
the immense Fairweather Mountains to the north.
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| Up the steep side of Mt. Edgecumbe |
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| You could tell from the trail markers which direction the wind has been blowing |
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Kristin and Sam at the summit
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On the boat ride back to town, the sea was bath-tub calm
with the setting sun casting an orange glow on the water. As we zipped back towards Sitka, two
whales swam in the distance, each spouts’ mist appearing peach colored against
the pastel sky. The sun glimmered off their backs and I
found it hard to comprehend the immense beauty all around me. We waved at the sea otters that we
passed floating in their kelp beds, always appearing as if they are waving back
with their little paws raised just above the water. Sitka provided a very amazing day to help me celebrate my 30th. And I must mention, the spectacular human
company on the trip made it even better!
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| Our home! |
As a late birthday present to me and an early birthday
present to Ben, we bought a house in Sitka! We couldn’t be happier with our new home and have been
enjoying the views of the ocean and the mountains from our windows. Ben and I both still have a hard time
believing that this is actually where we live now. Even on the rainy days, the views are beautiful overlooking
the ocean. We are excited to show
off our new place, so start booking your plans to visit!
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| A quick jaunt up Verstovia from the front door of our new home (the trail is a short bushwhack through the trees behind our house) |
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| Life is good! |
