Past the Equinox on the fast track to winter

The first snow fell in Fairbanks the second week of September, before the trees had lost their leaves! It was a little strange to have a gold canopy and white ground.

The Equinox marathon was a week away, and I began to wonder if the cold and snow would become a major hindrance towards my race performance. Luckily, the morning of the race was cold but absolutely clear, and the only snow was on the Ester Dome trails.

 

The race course is almost entirely on trails and occurs on the fall equinox, when the birch are at their peak color. I couldn't have asked for a more scenic run! Or a steeper one...

The Tanana River valley spreads out in front of the Alaska Range, seen from the top of Ester Dome. 

Denali was clearly visible to the south-west.

A view of nearby Murphy Dome (it has a funny white satellite tower on top) 

In the days following the race, I felt like I should have given more effort, pushed myself just a little bit harder, maybe to have finished faster. When I looked back at the picture of myself grimacing 100 meters from the finish, I can see why I didn't want to give any more. 

In other news... fall rains have brought mushrooms! Some are good to eat - these are probably not.

I tried my hand at sewing a mitten to line with rabbit fur from my bunnies, and the first one has been completed! I still need to make one more to have a pair though. There just isn't much time to dedicate to sewing.

What did I do this weekend? Draw, play with bunnies, read scientific literature, hike, and bake LOTS of bread. The best way to spend a weekend.

Cross-section of a black spruce burn, ink and watercolor

Carmen the rabbit was very confused when presented with bubble wrap - I thought that there was so much potential for entertainment there.

Saturday I hiked the Angel Rocks - Chena Hot Springs loop. You first park a car at the end, Chena Hot Springs, then bike ~ 6 miles to the Angel Rocks trailhead, stash your bike, and then hike 8.7 miles back to the hot springs. We found some trees that looked like they were meant to recline in.

Crazy black spruce

Gold! Gold! Everything is gold!

Hiking through birch forest on the Granite Tors trail near Fairbanks. Even at noon, the angle of the sun feels very low relative to what I'm used to. The morning was brisk with some ice on the trail. I really get the feeling that once we pass the equinox, we really will be racing towards winter!

A gust of wind sends birch leaves flying like gold coins - the pattering sound of leaves colliding with each other and the ground is delightful!

Once we arrive at the burn perimeter, the view of the Chena River valley opens up below.

We left the main trail to explore some farther tors that are visible on the next hilltop. We followed some moose trails and found a couple shed antlers! Thus followed a few minutes of weighing the thought of carrying a heavy antler ~8 miles back to the car. We compromised by carrying the smallest antler... Notice that it takes two arms to lift the antler above my head - it's that heavy! (no, I am not that weak...)

Looking back at the scrub/tussock we walked through.

A giant rock thumb!

The birch are starting to reach their peak color 

Bouldering on the tors - the granite is VERY gritty and will cut your hands (or clothing) to pieces.

The Alaska Range was visible on the horizon. It's been rainy for a few days so I haven't seen these mountains in a while.

On the descent from the ridge top we walked through a burn area that had HUGE cranberries - so we had to stop and pick them! We got an entire gallon in about 30 minutes.

Larch trees in the bog

It may be a while for art images to appear again, as I am working on a sewing project that is competing for my time with class work and lab work. Hopefully soon...!

Fall returns to Fairbanks!

Fieldwork is ongoing, but the focus has shifted from data collection to packing and cleaning up our gear from this summer.

The blueberries are past their prime now (sort of dried and overly ripe), but the cranberries are just getting sweet. Willows are a spectacular bright yellow, and the birch are just starting to catch up!

We  have had plenty of rain the past few weeks, so the lichens are becoming really vibrant.

Black spruce forest is redeemed by the beautiful blueberries they shelter! The bright colors make one forget that their clothing is being yanked and torn by grabby spruce branches.

The horsetails make such a fascinating understory during the height of summer. The effect from a large stand of them is somewhat like looking through window blinds - somehow, there is a geometric organization despite their randomness.

Horsetail  Helicopters, watercolor and pen

We went hiking at Wickersham Dome again, because it is one of the best places to see fall colors close by Fairbanks. We were not disappointed! 

Up close, these plants have the texture of tongues. Now I can't get that image out of my mind when I look at them...

I didn't see a woodpecker on this hike, but I do see them around my cabin pretty often.

Hakespekk, pen

The mist and clouds actually made for a very dynamic landscape as we hiked along the ridge line. Burn scars in the forest take on a lurid red color because of all the shrubs.

Looking down at Wickersham Creek, where all the willows make a bright gold ribbon through the spruce forest.

I told myself before this hike that I wouldn't stop to pick berries, that I would just hike and be content. I even chose not to bring any containers deliberately! Yet I couldn't resist, and picked a couple liters of cranberries. They were so abundant, and the plants were so fruitful, that you could just grab handfuls at a time.

The White Mountains in the distance. Not white yet.

3 - hour summit

Our last day we had only a few hours for a hike before needing to drive to Missoula to catch our plane, so we decided to leave from the Sperry trailhead close to the park entrance. This is the start of the Gunsight Pass trail, which is about 20 miles long, so we decided to just hike until noon and then return to the car. Of course Dash sees a sign for a trail going to the summit of a small mountain and wants to climb it. LOTS of steep climbing and switchbacks, but the view was definitely worth it! We saw a spruce grouse too!

There was a fire tower you could climb up at the peak, for an unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains.

MacDonald lake, which we swam in after descending from the mountain. In total, we hiked 11 miles in just over three hours - pretty good considering how steep the trail was! Marathon training