I woke up to expect a tree protruding through the roof of the hostel, after last night's storm, but it seems that it avoided Girdwood. Walking to the 'Bake House Cafe' for breakfast, I didn't notice anything out of line as a result of the high winds. Leaves had fallen prematurely, and a few branches were scattered over the road, and I did spot a basket-ball net that must have fallen over, but other than that, Girdwood was looking it's usual self! I talk like I've been here all my life don't I?!
Having done the 'ordering breakfast' routine a few times now, I entered the cafe confidently and ordered the '76 special' (see yesterday's post for details on that) and told them exactly how I liked my eggs; sunny side up! It was, as usual, delicious and fit for a traveller. Flicking through the 'Coast' magazine, which is a local magazine for Alaska, I happened to stumble across several articles about being bear aware. It seems each day I read and hear more about these bears, but I still haven't stumbled across one. Now, I've said that, they're all likely to parade outside the hostel!
I proceeded next door, to the Alaskan Art Gallery. They have some really lovely paintings and photographs, along with different wooden crafts. It wasn't long before I met the shopkeeper, Nancy, and had a quick chat. She lives in Anchorage, and tells me that Anchorage was affected quite badly by the strong winds; trees had blown over and the electricity was off all night. School today for everyone has been cancelled, which isn't something that happens much here in Alaska following a storm event. Nancy also told me that trees in Alaska have small root systems and so it doesn't take much wind to bring them down; the small roots, obviously, because of the freezing and thawing ground. My chat with her ended with yet another warning about bears; it seems she has been affected by them badly, seeing a Black bear in her back garden and apparently her neighbour's dog was nearly attacked by two Grizzilies.
I then went on to take the shuttle to the hotel and the tram, and just before catching the shuttle bus, noticed this low lying cloud passing over the roofs of the Bake Shop and the Art Gallery. It's a stratus cloud, just if you're wondering.
As this was my last day in Girdwood, I planned to make use of most of the afternoon for hiking in the mountains. Just before I set off on my adventures amongst the glaciers, I decided to visit the 'Roundhouse Musuem' that perches on the mountain-top. It was built in 1960, and is distinctively octagonal. Once used as a meeting place, it is now used to present artefacts from Girdwood's past, including newspaper articles, hiking equipment and old photographs. I got speaking with the lady behind the counter and she seems to have her day planned out rather nicely: a complimentary tram ride to the musuem, great views all day, everyday, and then a lovely hike down the mountain after she finishes work.
I left the musuem to start what would be my last hike in Girdwood. The hike trail I took was nearly the same as yesterdays, but this time I proceeded precariously over an area of relatively deep ice, but it turned out that the area I wanted to walk on was actually a ski slope! Back I went!
I keep finding large clusters of what I believe to be White Quartz. In some areas of the mountain, these clusters are quite common. In actual fact, it's called Milk or Milky Quartz; the white appearance is caused when solid, liquid or gas gets trapped during crystallisation. I've picked a small 'nugget sized' one for my own collection but here's a much larger sample I picked up for a photo. Another thing that is quite common on the trail are signs about 'artillery' shells on the mountain sides, and it was only until the Roundhouse Musuem that I learnt why there are shells scattered randomly around. Apparently, they're used for avalanche mitigation, which in Girdwood is very important.
The journey across the arete was lovely, and probably would have been even better had the stratus clouds disappeared. However, over the last couple of days I have come to the conclusion that the clouds are part of the mountains; it's part of the experience. So yes, it did bother me at first, but now, it makes the whole hike much more real. That should be the philosophy of every explorer in my opinion. I returned to the cafe for some dinner, and to review my journal since I arrived. It's now been nearly a week since my landing here, but review my notes (or look at the blog) and it seems like a month! Making my way back to the hostel, I passed a family building a garage out of timber. As I promised yesterday, I did ask them whether timber buildings are better structually than concrete; the man answered me with a rather open answer: "it comes with its advantages and disadvantages". I did learn, however, that concrete has to be placed underneath foundations, otherwise buildings can literally slip and slide. This once again is to do with ground freezing and thawing processes. How more convinced I am over wooden buildings is questionable!
Girdwood has been quite different than Anchorage, in all sorts of ways. The lifestyle in Girdwood is primitive; the town relies fundamentally on tourism, particularly from the Ayleska Resort. It's mountain range hiking opportunities would keep every geographer thrilled; I've enjoyed my time here, but I'm also looking forward to Seward where I'm heading tommorow.
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