We're Walkin' On a Lake!!
I lost a friend, Mark Webber, in the 3rd grade back in Newtown, Connecticut, growing up. One winter Monday, he didn't come back to school. The only thing the adults told our class (I suppose to protect us, somehow) was that he had died in an accident. No one told us that he fell thru the pond ice in the hills up above his house, so it took me a while to piece it together. In retrospect, we were deprived of a useful life lesson from his drowning...
It would be another 30 years before I would venture out onto frozen water, and then only high up near Mount Hood, at about 3500 feet. I explored out a short ways on the lake that we were circling on snowshoes during a Scout outting. Remembering that the adult leadership role is to "model perfect outdoor behavior," I didn't go far because I didn't do any of the requisite preps for ice adventure and I didn't want to get myself in trouble. I got off the ice almost as quickly as I strayed onto it.
So, at age 44, I am finally in a position to explore solid ice. Juneau has Mendenhall Lake, and during the winter, it gets cold here (go figure). Last Sunday, Julie and I took a little walk on the lake. Seems that the temperature hadn't been above freezing for about 5 days, and when I chopped a hole in the ice with my ice axe, I stopped chipping at four inches depth of solid ice with no end in sight (remembering from my old Boy Scout Fieldbook that 4 inches of ice was enough to engage in any activity short of driving an SUV on it...).
Besides, the general population of Juneau was already out on the ice on one of those rare winter afternoons where the blue, cloudless skies and glacier-glasses bright sun belie the fact that the air is about 25 degrees. It was glorious. A couple hundred folks were out on all manner of foot contrivance... cross country skis, ski skates, ice skates, hiking boots, mountain bikes, tykes being towed on sleds behind skiing moms. There were locals out for exercise with their dogs, tourists walking in jeans, sneakers and thin jackets, kids out playing, a small group of folks flying a noisy RC airplane out over the wide expanse.
It was about as fine a winter hike as I have ever taken, and the prize was the terminal end of the Mendenhall...
It would be another 30 years before I would venture out onto frozen water, and then only high up near Mount Hood, at about 3500 feet. I explored out a short ways on the lake that we were circling on snowshoes during a Scout outting. Remembering that the adult leadership role is to "model perfect outdoor behavior," I didn't go far because I didn't do any of the requisite preps for ice adventure and I didn't want to get myself in trouble. I got off the ice almost as quickly as I strayed onto it.
So, at age 44, I am finally in a position to explore solid ice. Juneau has Mendenhall Lake, and during the winter, it gets cold here (go figure). Last Sunday, Julie and I took a little walk on the lake. Seems that the temperature hadn't been above freezing for about 5 days, and when I chopped a hole in the ice with my ice axe, I stopped chipping at four inches depth of solid ice with no end in sight (remembering from my old Boy Scout Fieldbook that 4 inches of ice was enough to engage in any activity short of driving an SUV on it...).
Besides, the general population of Juneau was already out on the ice on one of those rare winter afternoons where the blue, cloudless skies and glacier-glasses bright sun belie the fact that the air is about 25 degrees. It was glorious. A couple hundred folks were out on all manner of foot contrivance... cross country skis, ski skates, ice skates, hiking boots, mountain bikes, tykes being towed on sleds behind skiing moms. There were locals out for exercise with their dogs, tourists walking in jeans, sneakers and thin jackets, kids out playing, a small group of folks flying a noisy RC airplane out over the wide expanse.
Our plan was to dress warm, take a light lunch, and walk from Skater's Cabin on the SW shore of the lake out to the Mendenhall Glacier. The map showed a distance of about 2-1/2 miles to the foot of the glacier. There was about 2 inches of powdery snow from one of the previous nights on the surface of the ice, so there was no treacherous slipperiness. Even so, Julie threw her Yaktrax on her boots, or rather, she held up her booted feet so that I could secure them and she wouldn't have to bend...
By the way, Julie is soooo wicked cool for doin' stuff like this with me... (shameless pre-Valentines Day suck-up)
It was about as fine a winter hike as I have ever taken, and the prize was the terminal end of the Mendenhall...
KML
posted by Ken at 10:29 PM
1 Comments:
What a beautiful sight - thanks for sharing this great adventure and the awesome pictures. That winter weather must be good for you as you both look great!! Julie dear - you look like you are melting away to nothing - don't lose too much weight or we won't recognize you when you come home. It must be all that great exercise, Ken's good cooking and all that honeymoon lovin' :-)
Ken - you are such a suck-up - but a good one :-) Thanks for being so good to my baby girl - although I know you are getting treated like a King too - as you well-deserve to be.
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