Bruin news

Photo: James Poulson

A couple of great shots in the ADN today of a cellist serenading brown bears in an old Sitka paper mill. And a fellow Anchorage bike commuter is surely thanking his lucky stars this evening after a run-in with a brown bear on his morning ride to work. The (defensive) attack occurred less than three miles from my daily commuting destination north of Tudor Road.

Eklutna Lake tour

Happy Labor Day

Back in the Saddle (Hilltop Ride)

Ian takes a breather after a quick climb

Fellow Evergreen HS grad. Ian called me after work on Monday to arrange a ride on the new Hilltop Ski Area's singletrack trail system. The quarter-million dollar project completed last fall by Anchorage's Single Track Advocates offers nearly eight miles of dirt-pedaling bliss. Although the trails don't rival some the systems at some of the large mountain resorts in the L48, Hilltop does offer stunning views of the Anchorage Bowl and an iPod-free riding culture.

The Gasline Trail looking toward the Anchorage Bowl

Very few, if any, of the riders wear earphones at Hilltop because, as Ian and I found on Monday it is highly likely that one will cross a mammal of large dimensions on the trails. As a result, one's full attention is required to monitor both the trail ahead and anything brown and furry stirring in the bushes. Trying desperately to get home for dinner Monday night Ian and I were delayed several minutes as a cow and calf moose grazed while standing on the trail. Eventually we turned around, backtracking until we found a trail out of the woods. I look forward to getting to know the Hilltop system and avoiding ornery moose.

The young roadblock and mother

Powerline Pass Ride

The once-glaciated valley floor

My new office sits on the fourth floor of the Diplomacy Building at the southeast corner of town - in the morning shadow of the Chugach. Each day on my way to the copier I gaze, perhaps too long at times, toward the toothy peaks of North America' snowiest range. Today I finally got the chance to explore the expansive wilderness. I strapped the bike to the rack and drove toward the Glen Alps trailhead. When I arrived at the trailhead twosomes and threesomes in raingear headed off to the bushes hoping to fill their berry buckets. A light rain coated most everything in moisture. Donning a raincoat I pedaled onto the Powerline Pass Trail.

Atop Powerline Pass

Before leaving the range of the berry-pickers I spied three bull moose cavorting across the valley - their friendliness sure to vanish during fall rut. The valley soon turned to a bowl and I climbed to the top of the pass. A lone white dall sheep grazed on a nearby ridge. Kittiwakes swam in a blugreen tarn and seemed out of place. I reached the summit of the pass and paused, watching white clouds open and close like a ghostly curtain revealing treeless subalpine slopes. On the descent a rough-legged hawk kited just below the trail, circling then vanishing into the low white clouds. Farther, a large flock of ptarmigan sporting summer plumage crossed the trail clucking and cooing. Before long I was back to the trailhead where the numbers of berry-pickers had increased, swarming the valley slopes.

Burma Road Ride

A ride on the "real" Burma Road looks more suited to someone like Lance Armstrong

On Sunday after cleaning out the last remnants of our old apartment I took a bicycle ride from town to Bells Flats - our new neighborhood. Named for a man with the last name Bell who ran a dairy in the area a while back, the "Flats" is about 8 miles out of town. One can either drive the paved road from town to the Flats or, at about the halfway point split off to take Burma Road. No, not the 700-mile road linking Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar) to China, rather an old jeep trail leading from the site of the old Kodiak Navy Base (now the Coast Guard Base) to Bells Flats. While both trails are described as mountainous and rocky, the Kodiak Burma Road is much shorter (3 - 4 miles) and has fewer switchbacks. Both roads, however, were used during WWII. The Asian Burma Road, built by 200,000 Chinese, was used by the British to transport material to China; while the Kodiak version was used to store, demolish and dispose ordnance material. On a bicycle, Burma Road offers beautiful views of Barometer, Cope and Old Womans peaks. I felt lucky to only encounter a couple of hikers and no bear on the ride. Although I did see an older mountain goat kill sprawled out under a tree near the trail.

To reach Bells Flats, behind Old Womans Mtn., follow Burma Road or the paved road on the left.

Fixing ANC's Bike Problem

Looking to the future; Meghan and I can hardly believe that we have only three months left on beautiful Kodiak Island. Although we will certainly miss the amazing people whom we've befriended and the spectacular setting of Kodiak, we are looking forward to the advantages of living in Anchorage. For instance, we are excited about Kincaid Park's miles of (lighted) cross country trails, cheaper groceries, and expanded dining options. For me, the prospect of riding a bike on smooth pavement is quite exciting. Back in Denver I was fortunate enough to make a seven mile ride to work every day on a fixed gear bicycle. On loan from Meghan's brother Patrick, the "fixie" was a thrilling ride. For the uninitiated, a fixed gear means that the rear wheel lacks a freewheel so there is no coasting - whenever the wheel moves the chain moves and thus the pedals move. Some folks, like me, ride a fixie without brakes using their legs to apply resistance to the pedals to slow down. To say the least it requires a bit more anticipation than a "modern" bicycle (originally all racing bikes where fixed gear) especially riding in the city.
Although Anchorage is a great city for outdoor recreation, the city streets are not conducive to bike travel. Currently Anchorage's narrow shoulders, busy four lane roads, and unaware motorists create conditions unsafe for lots of bike commuting. Help may be on the way though. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the city has proposed a plan to increase bicycle traffic in the next 20 years. Proposed improvements include creating more greenbelts and widening paths. More encouraging, the plan calls for 51 miles of new bicycle lanes in the next four years. I think I'll wait until the improvements are complete before riding a brakeless fixie in Anchorage.

New Bike + Hungry Bears = Kodiak Excitement

The bears on Kodiak are in the final stages of hyperphagia. Although most have of the bears around town have fattened up, they are still looking for a few thousand more calories before heading to the hills for winter. Their preferred food sources, salmon and berries, are becoming less available and we have had numerous reports of bears picking through trash cans. The local experts say that we will see bears in and around town for the rest of the month. That said, we are on high alert for hungry bears. I was on high alert for big brown bears on my mountain bike ride yesterday. Sure enough, near the end of my ride at Boy Scout Lake, a forested state recreation site, I rounded a turn as a very fat dark brown bear was making his way down the hillside toward a stream. I skidded to a stop and caught the attention of the bear. He started to move back up the hillside, stopped, and looked over his shoulder to figure out what I was. A large tree blocked our direct eye contact as both of us waited for the other to make a move. After catching my breath and relieved to see that he was not moving any closer I used the most confident voice I could muster and told the bear to "go on, go on." Once he realized that I was just a nonthreatening human he began to walk down the hillside, keeping one eye on me as he made his way down to the stream. After that I headed for home, on the paved well-traveled main road. October bear count = 2.