The Quest for Bessie - Summer Edition

Decided to take another crack at Bessie this past weekend. We dropped our overnight gear off at the Kunk Lake shelter where we would eventually spend the night. After that we rowed across Kunk Lake and started up the muskeg toward the ridge that would take us to the mountain. I was accompanied by a couple friends. Jeremy reaches a helping hand to his wife Kate as she stretches for the opposite bank.

No trip up Bessie would be complete without a dog. This friendly guy is Rudy and he had a unique way of cooling down. He would wade into muskeg ponds and then crouch down to get his back completely submerged. Right now he's shaking off the excess water.

If you don't remember or haven't seen the pictures of my first trip up Bessie, go to our April 2007 archive (the link is on the right hand side of the screen) and scroll a little more than half way down until you see "The Quest for Bessie." When you get there you will see an evening shot of this cornice when the sun was making it blaze. I thought it was neat to see it again in late July. Too bad we didn't have the same weather this time around!

What a rainbow! I love the way this rainbow captures the sunlight "under" the bow while the rest of the mountains behind it are still in the shadow of the clounds. There were pieces of a double rainbow as well but they weren't visible in this shot.

Bessie or Bust

There it is. Bessie as seen from an spot close to the winter campsite.

Kate and Rudy are taking in the scenery.

Scenery

Reflection of Helen.

The last of the day's sunlight before the overcast took control of they sky.

Red rock.

Etolin Mountains

Helen as seen from "Bessie Jr." No photo can do this area justice. From the top of the peak to the bottom of the valley shown in this photo is about 3000 feet. There is noise from the water cascading over a thousand feet. There are rugged mountains to the right and left that simply can't be captured with my limited equipment. Best of all there is a nice breeze keeping the bugs away! The bowl appears to be a glacial cirque which explains the apparent depth of the two lakes at the bottom of the valley.

A squall moves across the landscape.

The south side of Helen. I you look closely you should be able to see three deer. You may have to click on the photo to enlarge to make the challenge a little easier. If you are having a problem finding them I'll give you a hint after the next picture.

We found out about the deer when Rudy started going crazy at the base of Bessie Jr. He could tell their were animals around. They had to put him on a leash for fear that he would try to run them down and chase them off a ridge which is a pretty dangerous occupation in places like this. Kate decided to stay with Rudy on Bessie Jr. because of the deer and difficulty of the climb. Note the deer on a narrow ledge on the ridge ahead of Jeremy.
Hint for previous photo: lower section of the ridge.

The Top, Elevation 3915

Here's Jeremy on the top of Bessie just after the peak was swallowed up in a cloud.

When I sat down to pose for my picture at the top I was completely enveloped in a cloud like the picture above. But in the 10 seconds or so it took to get the shot, the ceiling lifted just enough to get something besides a white background.

The clouds kept coming and going while we were on the top. For the most part we had very little visibility, resulting in no pictures of the very scienic fishtrap valley. This is my first extended, non-work related, hike with my new hat in conditions where I actually needed it. It performed just as I envisioned. It kept my neck, back, and face dry without having to put on my hood.

Time to start down.

This Way Down

Have to climb up what some call Bessie Jr. before we can get down the ridge. That little speck of yellow close to the top is Jeremy making his way up - before he can get down.

This is my favorite picture of the day. It's amazing what happens when the skies clear up, even for just a little bit. Helen is on the right and the peaks that make up Virginia are just left of center. Less than an hour later a big squall moved over us and the winds picked up and we were hit with rain for a while.

Rainbow over Dog Salmon Lake. Not the most approporate name for such a beautiful lake. When the sun shone briefly on part of this lake, the water took on a deep cobalt blue.

A buttercup in a hostile environment. We eventually made it down to our camp at 9:30pm and didn't get to bed until about 11pm. Jeremy and Kate said that they heard a loon on the lake early in the morning. I missed it - too busy sleeping. Caught a trout in the stream for breakfast (along with my oatmeal) and headed back to town late Sunday morning. A very enjoyable trip.

Reflections

Work took me to the Bradfield on Wednesday and Thursday. After work Wednesday offered opportunities to explore the beautiful area. The Bradfield river empties out into the head of the Bradfield Canal that cuts a path through this little piece of the contenent. The Canal ends near Anan and the southeastern edge of Wrangell Island. This is a little creek flowing through the river's floodplain/tideflats.

Part of the Bradfield river at low tide. I paddled through here later in the day when the water was about 10-12 feet higher than it is now.

Kayaked for about an hour and a half at the end of the day. I was just starting out here. It got pretty dark before I finally returned but it was a beautiful way to spend the end of a day. There was only one little requirement. Keep paddling or the bugs will get you. They weren't bad - unless I slowed down.

Bradfied Canal

Roadside wildflowers. Most of the lupine had already bloomed and gone to seed but the indian paintbrush was at its peak and speckling the meadows with crimson.

Muskeg.

Someone was walking bear foot. The folks who work at the hydro-electric plant (Tyee) said that they had been seeing a two brown bear sows with three cubs apice, one with two cubs, and one with a single cub. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see any of them but I did get to walk on their paths.

Flowing Water

Institute Creek. I was excited when I noticed that the water level was perfect for taking pictures. It had been high since late winter due to snow melt and now I'm finally able to get the picture I've been waiting for. If you click on this picture you can see a larger version.

Another angle.

Here is another creek along the Institute Trail.

Another nice looking shot. I like the reds in this photo, we don't have a lot of red rock on Wrangell Island but there was at least 100' of red rock in this stream.

All in a Day's Work

I volunteered to do a survey of the Institute Trail up to Shoemaker Overlook on a pretty nice Saturday. I was planning on hiking up there anyway and thought I could get some work done at the same time. I brought the camera and I'm very thankful I did. This shot is near the trailhead looking toward the institute property.

The trail going toward the High Country Shelter just above the junction.

Fog would keep rolling in until about 3 pm, then clear off and then repeat the cycle.

Dramatic Clouds

This is looking toward Etolin Island from the trail to Shoemaker Overlook.

Woronkofski Island from Shoemaker Overlook.

After the work day was done (6pm Saturday) I was driving home and stuck the camera out the window and snapped this picture of the cloud formation over Woronkofski Island.

Shoemaker Harbor as seen from Shoemaker Overlook. It's a steady two hour hike (at a brisk pace) from there to here because the trail loops around a creek and cliffs before getting on top of this bluff.