Returning to May
It is my second day at Brooks Camp and I have yet to see a bear. Even the maintenance men haven't seen a bear. We still have deep snow in the upper elevations. My partner is actually flying den surveys while I am at Brooks. So far they have not found too many dens open yet this spring. The bears are staying in the dens much longer than last year. I am beginning to wonder if I will see a bear any time soon.
Most of my day was spent training the summer staff. We have such a great group. I am glad however that I will not have to go through dunker and MOCC training again this year. While they go through that training the rest of the week I will be working on cameras and some spotting some bird identification sites to perform surveys in a couple of weeks.
Today in King Salmon
I woke up to a frosty chill in the air. As the sky lightened up the fog came in. the temperature was below freezing so the frost froze on everything it touched. I guess I can say winter is on its way.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Land of the Voles
I have spent most of the summer in the field somewhere and had little time to use the Internet. So after being gone for 4 months I am now going back in time to share my summer adventures with you while I try to keep you informed of things going on today too.
Yesterday I told you what Brooks Camp looked like when I arrived and left off with me going to BL3 to unpack. BL3 is a beautiful old cabin. It looks out over Lake Brooks. I love it. But when I arrived I was told that I was sharing my room. No, not with another human but a furry little creature. That furry little creature is a vole. Small like a mouse with short rounded ears. They are not as good as climbers as mice but just as annoying. I am not a fan of these members of the rodent family. And I was not excited to be sharing my room with the creatures.
BL3 has never had a rodent problem before. Why did we suddenly have a little guest. Seems one of my roommates left a bag of potato chips in his room at the end of last season and with the cold winter and warm cabin supplied with food the vole(s) made themselves at home. I had unpacked my belongings and was talking with my roommates when I spotted the first vole.
Little?!? Not exactly. This vole racing around the room on some kind of sugar high was huge and round and barely kept his belly off the floor. He was huge and looked more like a guinea pig than a vole. It was a vole on steroids. I could not get over how big it was. Not only that but it was racing around the room like it owned the joint. First act of business. Call the boss.
No I wasn't going to demand a new house or an exterminator but I had to have the rules qualified for me. Animals in a national park are protected. From the big bears to the tiniest ant or mosquito. Even the overgrown vole has its rights to live. I wanted to know if we had a course of action. I was told we could not kill it. Fine, I can't kill it but can I trap it? The answer? YES.
So my first night at Brooks was spent laying live traps for voles around the house. I hope the big guy enters the trap soon.
Back to Sept and what is going on in Alaska today. The Anchorage paper had a story of an albino moose spotted with a brown calf. The article included a picture of mother and calf. It was interesting news but frustrating as I haven't even seen a brown cow and now white ones are appearing. I tell you the moose are playing with my mind.
Yesterday I told you what Brooks Camp looked like when I arrived and left off with me going to BL3 to unpack. BL3 is a beautiful old cabin. It looks out over Lake Brooks. I love it. But when I arrived I was told that I was sharing my room. No, not with another human but a furry little creature. That furry little creature is a vole. Small like a mouse with short rounded ears. They are not as good as climbers as mice but just as annoying. I am not a fan of these members of the rodent family. And I was not excited to be sharing my room with the creatures.
BL3 has never had a rodent problem before. Why did we suddenly have a little guest. Seems one of my roommates left a bag of potato chips in his room at the end of last season and with the cold winter and warm cabin supplied with food the vole(s) made themselves at home. I had unpacked my belongings and was talking with my roommates when I spotted the first vole.
Little?!? Not exactly. This vole racing around the room on some kind of sugar high was huge and round and barely kept his belly off the floor. He was huge and looked more like a guinea pig than a vole. It was a vole on steroids. I could not get over how big it was. Not only that but it was racing around the room like it owned the joint. First act of business. Call the boss.
No I wasn't going to demand a new house or an exterminator but I had to have the rules qualified for me. Animals in a national park are protected. From the big bears to the tiniest ant or mosquito. Even the overgrown vole has its rights to live. I wanted to know if we had a course of action. I was told we could not kill it. Fine, I can't kill it but can I trap it? The answer? YES.
So my first night at Brooks was spent laying live traps for voles around the house. I hope the big guy enters the trap soon.
Back to Sept and what is going on in Alaska today. The Anchorage paper had a story of an albino moose spotted with a brown calf. The article included a picture of mother and calf. It was interesting news but frustrating as I haven't even seen a brown cow and now white ones are appearing. I tell you the moose are playing with my mind.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Back to Brooks
So lets go back in time and return to the month of May. My last blog talked about the wonderful experience I had while surveying eagle nests.
Once I finished the eagle disaster it off to my first week at Brooks Camp. I was excited and anxious to see all my favorite bears; Tundra, 402 and the little cub and of course 284. It was time to show the seasonals where they would be staying for the next four months and to go through all the necessary trainings to keep them safe for the season. Luckily a lot of our staff were returning from last year.
Once I landed and unloaded on the beach of Naknek Lake I took in all the beauty that I remembered from last fall. Only this year there were quite a few changes. For one, the mountains had a ton of snow on them. Even Dumpling which is the lowest mountain in elevation had snow on it. I passed snow banks on the sides of the trail to the ranger station. Maintenance people were still trying to unfreeze water pipes to all the cabins. But the most amazing thing was that the water levels were extremely high for spring. The beach was all ready non-existent and the islands in the river were all ready covered with water.
Once in the ranger station I got updated on conditions at the camp. The valley road was closed as there was still 10 feet of snow on the road. Unbelievable, but then we did have a lot of snow throughout the winter. Cabins were cold and the only wildlife that had been seen so far are the bats hiding in the buildings to keep warm.
Next on the agenda a walk to the falls. Did I say walk? Climb is more like it. The visitor center weather station recorded a day in Feb. where the winds were 90 miles an hour. The damage from the winds was evident on the falls trail. At least 30 trees had blown down over the trail. In some places you could not even find the trail. The normal 20 minute hike took me over an hour. I climbed over and crawled under trees. Not sure if the crew was going to clean up that mess before visitors arrived.
Once at the falls you could not miss how fast or how high the water was.
So all day long while I explored the camp all I could think about is how are we going to get camp ready to open. Then it was off to BL3 to unpack. Quite a different first day at Brooks then last year and oh yah no bears!!!!!
Once I finished the eagle disaster it off to my first week at Brooks Camp. I was excited and anxious to see all my favorite bears; Tundra, 402 and the little cub and of course 284. It was time to show the seasonals where they would be staying for the next four months and to go through all the necessary trainings to keep them safe for the season. Luckily a lot of our staff were returning from last year.
Once I landed and unloaded on the beach of Naknek Lake I took in all the beauty that I remembered from last fall. Only this year there were quite a few changes. For one, the mountains had a ton of snow on them. Even Dumpling which is the lowest mountain in elevation had snow on it. I passed snow banks on the sides of the trail to the ranger station. Maintenance people were still trying to unfreeze water pipes to all the cabins. But the most amazing thing was that the water levels were extremely high for spring. The beach was all ready non-existent and the islands in the river were all ready covered with water.
Once in the ranger station I got updated on conditions at the camp. The valley road was closed as there was still 10 feet of snow on the road. Unbelievable, but then we did have a lot of snow throughout the winter. Cabins were cold and the only wildlife that had been seen so far are the bats hiding in the buildings to keep warm.
Next on the agenda a walk to the falls. Did I say walk? Climb is more like it. The visitor center weather station recorded a day in Feb. where the winds were 90 miles an hour. The damage from the winds was evident on the falls trail. At least 30 trees had blown down over the trail. In some places you could not even find the trail. The normal 20 minute hike took me over an hour. I climbed over and crawled under trees. Not sure if the crew was going to clean up that mess before visitors arrived.
Once at the falls you could not miss how fast or how high the water was.
So all day long while I explored the camp all I could think about is how are we going to get camp ready to open. Then it was off to BL3 to unpack. Quite a different first day at Brooks then last year and oh yah no bears!!!!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Where Have I Been
What a season I have had. My schedule has been nuts and I have had little time in King Salmon to communicate on the blog. Not too worry I plan on getting everyone caught up with my adventures in Alaska. But before I travel back to the past let me tell you about the storm yesterday that hit King Salmon.
I was asleep when I heard the wind howl. Wind storms are quite common in King Salmon. What would be called a hurricane in the south is just another windy day here. But last night it got a little creepy. It was 3 in the morning and I awoke to the sound of the wind hitting the house. Then I heard what sounded like the roof being ripped off and rolling across the rest of the roof. Metal banged and rattled. I layed in bed covered up wondering if I should be worried or if I was imagining it. When things quieted down I went back to sleep. I wanted to check out the outside of the house but it was still dark when I walked the dog and still dark by the time I went to work.
After I had got to work, my boss came in and asked if I knew where the boat was parked. Our department has a boat that we use to carry gear to Brooks Camp and do run surveys with on Naknek Lake. I had no idea where the guys that work for me docked it last but assumed it was in its usual spot at Lake Camp. But I was told that it was not where it was suppose to be. My boss and the guys that work for me left for Lake Camp, loaded with waders and diving suits. By 2 pm they were back for a hot lunch and to warm up. Our boat had sunk in the storm. It had taken them most of the day to get it floating. After lunch they were going back to pull it out of the water. They had not returned by the time I had left for the end of the day.
When I got home I inspected my house. I did not lose the roof but I did have a large section of siding riped off the house. It was torn off on the wall that my bed is next to. No wonder it sounded so bad. The maintenance crew will be out tomorrow to look at it. Hopefully they can fix it before the next storm hits which by the way is some time tomorrow.
I want to apologize for being gone so long. Stay tuned to the stories of this summers excitement. I will be posting stories everyday. Stay safe and on the ground.
I was asleep when I heard the wind howl. Wind storms are quite common in King Salmon. What would be called a hurricane in the south is just another windy day here. But last night it got a little creepy. It was 3 in the morning and I awoke to the sound of the wind hitting the house. Then I heard what sounded like the roof being ripped off and rolling across the rest of the roof. Metal banged and rattled. I layed in bed covered up wondering if I should be worried or if I was imagining it. When things quieted down I went back to sleep. I wanted to check out the outside of the house but it was still dark when I walked the dog and still dark by the time I went to work.
After I had got to work, my boss came in and asked if I knew where the boat was parked. Our department has a boat that we use to carry gear to Brooks Camp and do run surveys with on Naknek Lake. I had no idea where the guys that work for me docked it last but assumed it was in its usual spot at Lake Camp. But I was told that it was not where it was suppose to be. My boss and the guys that work for me left for Lake Camp, loaded with waders and diving suits. By 2 pm they were back for a hot lunch and to warm up. Our boat had sunk in the storm. It had taken them most of the day to get it floating. After lunch they were going back to pull it out of the water. They had not returned by the time I had left for the end of the day.
When I got home I inspected my house. I did not lose the roof but I did have a large section of siding riped off the house. It was torn off on the wall that my bed is next to. No wonder it sounded so bad. The maintenance crew will be out tomorrow to look at it. Hopefully they can fix it before the next storm hits which by the way is some time tomorrow.
I want to apologize for being gone so long. Stay tuned to the stories of this summers excitement. I will be posting stories everyday. Stay safe and on the ground.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Eagle Survey Disaster
Yesterday was a beautiful day to search for bald eagles. It started out beautifully. I could not believe how much ice there is on the lakes yet as we flew out to the starting point. There is open water at Brooks Camp but only because the river is there opening things up but a boat could not make it there yet.
We got to the startign point and there in a puddle was a moose. This seemed to be a good sign as I rarely see a moose. The survey started and we were finding nests and eagles.It was awesome until my motion sickness took over. An hour into the surveys I had lost my breakfast but I kept looking and searching and finding nests. The end of the second hour of spinning around nests to gather information I lost what little I had in my stomach. But I could keep working. I had a motion sickness patch on and was sucking on ginger candy. We stopped after three hours for a bathroom and lunch break and by the time the plan landed I was again close to heaving my guts again. I went for a walk to try to settle my stomach and to stay away from the rest of the team while they happily downed their lunch.
We started out again. I found two more nest within minutes of each other. Again spinning in circles around the nest to gather the information. I found a third nest that the other team members didn't see. We circled around and they saw the nest and I took pictures then the dry heaves began. We had to circle around again to get GPS coordinates. My team members could not find the nest. I was busy loosing my insides to point it out to them so we just kept circling and I kept up heaving. By the time we had finally GPS the nest I was totally spent. Yet it wasn't over. 5 minutes later I spotted another. Three more spins. With the way my stomach was feeling I could not concentrate anymore. I had to call it a day. And while we were flying back to drop me off I dry heaved for another five minutes.
The team dropped me off then went out to finish the days transect. I got driven home and was told I was greener than the hulk. I laid down for an hour waiting for the world to stop spinning then headed back into the office. Overall we found 11 new nests not found on last years survey. Which is terrific but I now realize that I am not going to be able to do surveys from the plane as I can not take it.
Those of you in the contest. No bears were spotted yesterday.
We got to the startign point and there in a puddle was a moose. This seemed to be a good sign as I rarely see a moose. The survey started and we were finding nests and eagles.It was awesome until my motion sickness took over. An hour into the surveys I had lost my breakfast but I kept looking and searching and finding nests. The end of the second hour of spinning around nests to gather information I lost what little I had in my stomach. But I could keep working. I had a motion sickness patch on and was sucking on ginger candy. We stopped after three hours for a bathroom and lunch break and by the time the plan landed I was again close to heaving my guts again. I went for a walk to try to settle my stomach and to stay away from the rest of the team while they happily downed their lunch.
We started out again. I found two more nest within minutes of each other. Again spinning in circles around the nest to gather the information. I found a third nest that the other team members didn't see. We circled around and they saw the nest and I took pictures then the dry heaves began. We had to circle around again to get GPS coordinates. My team members could not find the nest. I was busy loosing my insides to point it out to them so we just kept circling and I kept up heaving. By the time we had finally GPS the nest I was totally spent. Yet it wasn't over. 5 minutes later I spotted another. Three more spins. With the way my stomach was feeling I could not concentrate anymore. I had to call it a day. And while we were flying back to drop me off I dry heaved for another five minutes.
The team dropped me off then went out to finish the days transect. I got driven home and was told I was greener than the hulk. I laid down for an hour waiting for the world to stop spinning then headed back into the office. Overall we found 11 new nests not found on last years survey. Which is terrific but I now realize that I am not going to be able to do surveys from the plane as I can not take it.
Those of you in the contest. No bears were spotted yesterday.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Year 2 Begins
I am back from the Grand Canyon and Minnesota and ready to work. The Grand Canyon was beautiful. It is considered one of the premiere parks in the National Park System. It receives over 4.5 million visitors a year. But with all its beauty it doesn't have brown bears, wolves, or moose. It is breathtakingly amazing. It also has habituated elk and mule deer. On our first night there we almost walked right into the back side of an elk. To our credit it was pitch dark. Unlike here the sun sets around 7:30 every night and rose around 5:30. We never had a day where we did not see an elk. The moose around here should take notice. I did love the training and the exploration of the park.
The 9 days with my family was wonderful. I traveled all over MN to visit everyone and had a great relaxing time. But Now I am ready to get to work. And since I am now an official Alaskan I can if I want afford to hunt and fish. We will see.
So let's start the season today with eagle surveys. I will be flying the next two days looking for eagle nests in the Naknek drainage area. Then on Friday I will be leaving for my first trip to Brooks Camp. The maintenance people have been out there for a month. The interps left yesterday. I can't wait to get out there.
There is still time to win the beautiful new book Katmai that celebrates our 100 year history. I have yet to see my first bear. Choose the day you think that will happen and let me know your choice in the comment section and if you choose the day I see my first bear the book is yours. It could be today so get your entries in. I am off to search for eagles!
The 9 days with my family was wonderful. I traveled all over MN to visit everyone and had a great relaxing time. But Now I am ready to get to work. And since I am now an official Alaskan I can if I want afford to hunt and fish. We will see.
So let's start the season today with eagle surveys. I will be flying the next two days looking for eagle nests in the Naknek drainage area. Then on Friday I will be leaving for my first trip to Brooks Camp. The maintenance people have been out there for a month. The interps left yesterday. I can't wait to get out there.
There is still time to win the beautiful new book Katmai that celebrates our 100 year history. I have yet to see my first bear. Choose the day you think that will happen and let me know your choice in the comment section and if you choose the day I see my first bear the book is yours. It could be today so get your entries in. I am off to search for eagles!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Coming To You From Phoenix
After a 12 1/2 hour day of flights and airports I arrived in Phoenix. My first step out the door of the plane I was ready to go back to King Salmon. I am not much for heat and it was 102 when we got off the plane. I sure hope the canyon is cooler.
Flying over Alaska yesterday I got to see how much snow was still in the high country. Not many of the lakes or rivers in the upper elevations have thawed yet. I was hoping to see the volcanoes from the air but where they were suppose to be we were flying in clouds. so not much to report. The bay in Anchorage is wide open with a lot fewer icebergs than I saw in it two weeks ago. It won't be long before the cruise ships arrive. I hear Kodiak has all ready seen the first one. So it means the Summer season is all most upon us. Now I am off to the canyon.
Flying over Alaska yesterday I got to see how much snow was still in the high country. Not many of the lakes or rivers in the upper elevations have thawed yet. I was hoping to see the volcanoes from the air but where they were suppose to be we were flying in clouds. so not much to report. The bay in Anchorage is wide open with a lot fewer icebergs than I saw in it two weeks ago. It won't be long before the cruise ships arrive. I hear Kodiak has all ready seen the first one. So it means the Summer season is all most upon us. Now I am off to the canyon.
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