Summer Solstice

Where to begin. Well winter was long. Nearly a month ago we had a snow storm where a foot of snow fell in a weekend. To say I was done with winter was an understatement. D.O.N.E. They say it was one of the longest winters on record in Alaska. Skiing to work in May. Crazy. It seemed like no end in sight, until, at long last, the sun came. Melting the snow. Revealing the tundra and life that was so long hidden. Summer finally arrived. Just in time to restore sanity to all.

The past few weeks have been HOT. Unusually hot. Nearly 90 degrees one day. Many of us are asking "Where are we?". This is not normal in Denali. Usually we have rain, cold, averaging in the 50's, lucky to see the mountains when we do. The skies have been unusually clear and we've had views of the range for nearly two weeks straight! Shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. It's like we're in Hawaii. Dipping in nugget pond, moose creek, wonder lake. Strange days in a strange weather year in Alaska. Don't worry though, we're paying the price. In our blood. That's right, the mosquitoes are out with a vengeance. It's not unusual to count nearly 30 on your window screen, hoping to get inside. My one leg alone had thirty bites. Itch, ouch, eech. But this too shall pass.

The other day I went on a solstice hike. What's that you might say? Well in Alaska, we have nearly twenty-four hours of light come June 21. So why not hike? Myself and a group of friends started our hike around 9:30 pm. Our goal was to watch the sun set and rise on our hike. Luckily the wind was out in full force, so the mosquitos weren't bothering us. We climbed up to the top of a mountain where we watched the sun set on the foothills in the distance past Kantishna. As the sun went behind the hills at 12:30 am, we continued our hike in what I would describe as not night, but rather daylight. It wasn't even dark a little bit, it was just like the sun went behind some clouds for a few hours. We spotted a number of wildflowers, a caribou in the distance, and some old grizzly tracks. As we made our way to our sleeping destination, pika hut, we had to make one final tired push up the ridge, through spongy tundra and mosquitos. But alas, we made it up there just in time to watch the sunrise at 3:30 am and to make ourselves hot cocoa and popcorn to celebrate. Then an hour later, we fell asleep in the land of the midnight sun.