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A Fat Old lady Takes Up Climbing
The Year Ten Journal
September 2009 

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September 5 & 6th:
The last time I came up north to see Denali, there was no sign of her from the ground, so I went flightseeing for the view. With clear skies predicted, I hoped to get a good view this time without having to sprout wings, and I was not disappointed. It was a very pleasant overnight camping trip with my dog, Jascha and my traveling cat, Angel. All the small pix have links to larger versions with better resolution. Also see images from the following week in the links below the collage.

  Denali collage

Images from Glen Alps, September 12:

Overlook to the city on a crisp fall day
Brightly colored Mt. Ash berries and leaves
Bunchberries (Dwarf Dogwood) on the tundra
More tundra colors-- bearberry, alpine willow, etc.
Chugach Mountains, seen from Glen Alps


September 19th:
Some old friends from Fairbanks, currently living in Iowa, contacted me to say that they were going to be stopping over in Whittier on a long cruise to the Far East. Since they had several hours and the weather was inexplicaply nice-- that's rarely the case in Whittier-- I took them up the Portage Pass Trail nearby. We took along some snacks and also enjoyed the berry bounty provided by Mother Nature. It was great to catch up with their activities as we chatted along the way. It was a lovely hike in beautiful conditions with delightful companions. Click the thumbnails and other links to see them bigger.

Portage Pass Trail

More images from Whittier and Portage Pass:

The cruise ship docked just after midnight; this is a hand-held shot of the night lights.
The giant ship dwarfed the other boats in the Whittier Harbor.
Learnard Glacier hangs over the tunnel to Whittier.
A mountain tarn along the trail
Another view of Portage Glacier, with fall colors.

Additional September scenes:

A snowstorm dusted the mountains by Anchorage on the Autumnal Equinox.

Matanuska Peak reflected in a Palmer marsh, about 40 miles from Anchorage 9/26/09
Matanuska Glacier, about 100 miles from Anchorage, along the Glenn Highway
Hardy Northern Yarrow plants were still blooming in freezing conditions in late September.
A picturesque puddle of ice, near the flowers 9/27/09
Colorful Sheep Mountain, along the Glenn Highway


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Enjoy the Flowers Along Alaska's Hiking Trails
Butterflies Along Alaska's Hiking Trails
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