We decided to head up to Hatcher's Pass this morning, to see if there was enough snow for the kid to try out his snow board. Nope, not yet. But it was a nice drive. Hatcher's Pass is about 10 miles from our house, you can see it out the front window. The Pass was part of the original trapper/gold/mail trail from Seward on the Inland Passage to Fairbanks and points north. The Pass was also home to a number of gold mines, the most famous being the Independence Mine, which is now a state historical site. Nowadays the Parks Highway skirts the around the bottom of the Alaskan Range, making the pass road obsolete. It's closed in the winter, and barely passable in the summer. If you don't have a 4x4, don't even think about it.
This first shot is looking south from the lower pass, just below the mine. That's our house, right there, in the middle. That little dot. What? You can't see it? Yeah, well it's down about 3000ft and about seven miles away. As always, you can click on the pictures to get higher resolution enlargements.
The headwaters of the Little Su run through the bottom of the valley you can see in the above photo. Up close, it looked like this today.
Believe me when I say that water is Goddammed
cold. How do I know this? Don't ask.
Believe me when I say that water is Goddammed cold. How do I know this? Don't ask.
::Offers cup of hot beverage and warm, dry towels::
ReplyDeleteNice pictures from the last few days. We had a really nice snow fall, and thankfully it is sticking.
Stay warm and dry today!
I can't wait for snow. I'm terribly jealous of you guys. If we have another green Christmas, I'll be ticked.
ReplyDeleteLast year it snowed on October 12th (about 8 inches stuck), but eventually melted and we had a VERY green Christmas. I almost had to mow the lawn, it was pathetic.
I drove the pass road once, and I'm not about to do it again. The road is horrible, but everyone else was in a big hurry to get to the other end.
ReplyDeleteI used to enjoy skiing there, back when I was in high school.
I usually drive the pass road to Willow two or three times a year, except for last year when it was washed out most of the season.
ReplyDeleteWe're usually up in the pass a couple of times a month during summer. We do a lot of hiking up there. It's one of our favorite places.
Shawn, we had to mow the lawn last Xmas down here in Ohio. But that's because I was praying for warm until we got our snow trucks lined up. This year we don't have that problem, so we should have a white Xmas, you know, unless someone else is praying real hard. Sorry about last year.
ReplyDeleteAlso, excellent photos Jim.
Pretty unlikely that I'll have any kind of green xmas.
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough though, I'm watching the Science Channel right now, the Tom Brokaw special on Global Warming. Scary shit.
Lovely photos! I'm a new reader making my way through your blog. :)
ReplyDelete