Day 3: July 7th
Today is our first day of paddling. Rivers and creeks in Alaska play with the land – back and forth. The water continually turns and forks, so finding the deep water is a challenge when canoeing, but when you do, it is a sweet victory. So far the creek has a sandy bottom, but there are times when you feel you are pulling the canoe through quicksand. By the end of the day we are reading the water much better and not having to exert so much energy. The creek is like a snake, so although we have traveled ten water miles, we’ve actually only progressed five land miles.
New animals on our second day include: sanderlings, arctic terns, and a tundra swan. I found two broken eggs: one a medium sized and pale green loon egg, the other a small cream speckled sandpiper egg. The flowers which are cream and pink Indian paintbrush, arnica, gentia and harebells form a colorful landscape.
Our campsite for the night is on a little bank up from the creek with large lakes in the background. There are more birds here and it’s good to listen to all their calls and songs. It is warmer today, 78F, but with a cooler and stronger breeze which feels nice and keeps the mosquitoes away.
I forgot to tell you that because we’re near the Arctic Circle, it is always light, so there’s no sleeping in the dark or even in the dusk.
Today is our first day of paddling. Rivers and creeks in Alaska play with the land – back and forth. The water continually turns and forks, so finding the deep water is a challenge when canoeing, but when you do, it is a sweet victory. So far the creek has a sandy bottom, but there are times when you feel you are pulling the canoe through quicksand. By the end of the day we are reading the water much better and not having to exert so much energy. The creek is like a snake, so although we have traveled ten water miles, we’ve actually only progressed five land miles.
New animals on our second day include: sanderlings, arctic terns, and a tundra swan. I found two broken eggs: one a medium sized and pale green loon egg, the other a small cream speckled sandpiper egg. The flowers which are cream and pink Indian paintbrush, arnica, gentia and harebells form a colorful landscape.
Our campsite for the night is on a little bank up from the creek with large lakes in the background. There are more birds here and it’s good to listen to all their calls and songs. It is warmer today, 78F, but with a cooler and stronger breeze which feels nice and keeps the mosquitoes away.
I forgot to tell you that because we’re near the Arctic Circle, it is always light, so there’s no sleeping in the dark or even in the dusk.
No comments:
Post a Comment