Arctic Backpack

On June 8, I fly from Seattle to Kotzebue, Alaska for a two week backpacking trip in the National Petroleum Reserve with a group from the Sierra Club. From Kotzebue, 15 other participants and two guides will take bush flights to a landing strip in the arctic circle. No need for headlamps around the summer solstice. We will have 24 hours of daylight.

http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/brochure/07014A.asp

I have been told that the temperatures will range from 20 to 80 degrees. Also, that it WILL rain. I've upgraded my raingear. Expensive, but considering the alternative, worth it. I am not looking forward to the fact that my feet will be permantly wet on the trail. Not only is the tundra boggy, but in Alaska, there are no briges over the rivers and streams. You just go in with your boots on and get used to the wet.

The road to the top

Climbed to Camp Muir on Saturday with a large group of fellow climb to fight breast cancer folks. We had nice weather to start -- high clouds, but good visibility. As we climbed higher, the clouds began to come in below us, eventually covering Paradise and the Tatoosh range. Eventually, even the highest peak of that range looked like an island in the sky. Got to Camp Muir (10,188) at a bit before 3 pm after more than 5 hours of climbing. The climb was 4 1/2 miles, 4600 feet of elevation gain, entirely over snow and glacier. Spent over an hour at the camp, enjoying fierce winds, snow, sun, and everything else you can imagine. Mt. Rainier makes its own weather, and this was the perfect example of it. Headed down around 4:00 with a fellow climber. We hit the clouds at maybe around 8500 or 9000 feet, and it was something else. We could see only about 10 feet, and everything was white. You couldn't tell where the snow began and the clouds ended. Thankfully, the park service has put wands on the route, so we were able to get down by following the wands, each one about 20 yards from the next one. No reference points other than footprints, ski tracks, and wands. We could not hear anything or see anything. We really had no idea where on the mountain we were. Now I can see how people get lost. We were fine, but it made for quite and adventure. Got back down to Paradise at about 6:30. The last of the group finished at 9:00.