Bucket list

Things are just getting crossed off my bucket list right and left here! At the beginning of the summer I made a list of adventures/activites that I wanted to do before I left. That list is dwindling now. Last week I had a super action packed weekend. On monday me and my Australian roommate set off to climb Mt. Alice! This is the peak I see out my kitchen window every morning and the highest in Seward.

That peak in the middle is Mt. Alice

This was from earlier in the summer, it doesn't have so much snow on it now

 The trail is completely unmarked and only known about by locals. After very specific instructions on how to get to the trail and minimal trouble finding it, we set off. The day was perfect, sunny and warm and not too cloudy. The ascent wasn't too difficult and the first part of the trail was through a woodsy area over tangled roots and rocks.  We came to a nice clearing partway up and enjoyed the view of seward across the bay. Two different kinds of eagles, a bald and a golden eagle circled around over head. We sat for a few minutes just enjoying the view, it already felt like we were very high up. When we broke above the treeline we had a great view of seward all the way out into open ocean and down the resurrection river. It was already breathtaking and we weren't even close to the end. As we came to a field of wildflowers we laid in them, munched on carrots and talked about our future plans. I really like hiking with Sophia, shes always up for an adventure and is silly enough to do handstands on the mountain with me and have snowball fights. Sophia left for Canada today and she will be missed dearly, I will miss her contagious energy in the apartment. 

When we got up to the rocky part of the hike I got really excited, I love scrambling over rocks and climbing in areas that are slightly unsafe. The rest of the hike was like this, rocky with scattered snow patches. 

Us as we broke treeline. The resurrection river is the in the background.

Alaska is alive with beautiful wildflowers

Awesome scenery and awesome company

Unfortunately you can't get to the very top of alice, the climbing gets far too technical. But you can get to above the bowl area. When we reached a nice grassy area above the bowl we looked out over the bay, mountains and Seward and it was absolutely stunning. I was floored by how much beauty surrounded me. I felt like I couldn't possibly stare at it long enough to appreciate it. It was so breathtaking and I got really emotional and actually teared up at how awesome it was. If you know me well, you know that this is quite a feat. I do not get sappy or emotional over hardly anything. When I stood up there overlooking the everything my eyes instantly filled with tears. I can't even describe how much I was moved by it, I could have sat up there forever.

The bay

Climbing on rocks!

livin in the clouds

It is hands down my favorite thing I have done in Seward so far, which is saying a lot. 

That night I went out with the other interns for Karaoke night! We got up to sing American Pie which unfortunately for everyone in the bar, is about a nine minute song. I had over looked this small fact when I requested it and I felt like we were all up there for an impossibly long amount of time. It was still quite fun. I love karaoke. 

The next morning bright and early was our next adventure! We got the 9am shuttle into the Kenai Fjords national park and hiked up to the Harding Ice field. The harding ice field is basically exactly what it sounds like. A ginormous ice field. It stretches out as far as you can see and is right over exit glacier. the trail is 8.5 miles and it basically straight up hill. It was a rough day for me because my legs were already sore from hiking Alice the day before. Near the end of the trail it turns in to mostly snow and you slide all over the place. Its pretty treacherous because if you fall you slide down the whoooole way. The view at the top was definitely rewarding though. It was just ice as far as the eye can see. I can also now say that I have made a snow angel in July, which is exciting for me. The trail was great but somehow it was overshadowed by my hike up Mt. Alice. The harding icefield was also awesomely beautiful but it for some reason didn't elicit the same emotional response that Alice did. I'm not sure that I am capable of feeling that again, Its possible that I was just tired when I hiked up but either way it was the greatest. 

Emily, Katrina, Katie, Josh and I partway up the hike

Exit Glacier!

Hiking through snow!

Little "emergency hut" (basically and empty room)

My snow angel!!

Overlooking Harding Ice Field 

Exit Glacier and the ice field

Awesome weekend overall. Oh also we saw a marmot on the way up which was cool. He looked like a cross between a fat guinea pig and a weasel. He also seemed completely unperturbed by our presence even after we started coming closer and taking pics of it.

My weekend was a short one, immediately following our return from hiking I had my first overnight shift. This shift goes from 11:30pm to 9am. I had no idea how my body would react to the lack of sleep and the weird hours. For the first few hours it was alright, I felt pretty good (the 4 cups of coffee didn't hurt). Around 3:30am I started crashing. I started singing loudly to try and keep myself awake and walking around a lot. The overnight shift is nice in the fact that you are by yourself and you can work at your own pace, but throughout my week of overnights my body really did not respond well. After my over night shift I couldn't sleep at all. I ended up getting only three hours during the day, and that was even after I had to drug myself with tylenol PM. It didn't help that the sun was shining and it was super beautiful outside. My mind just wont let me sleep when there are fun things happening outside. So for the first two nights I was extremely sleep deprived and I realized this fact when I took a load of laundry out at work and just stuck my face in the warm towels. I sat there for at least ten minutes with my face in the warm sea otter laundry before I realized that this was a very strange thing to be doing. After two shifts running on no sleep I was finally able to sleep during the day. It was unavoidable and I basically was sleeping before I hit the bed after my second shift. I only slept for six hours or so but it felt so much better than three. I'm glad that my week of overnights is over and I can stop being in zombie mode and adopt a more normal sleeping schedule. 

Last night was unexpectedly awesome. I spontaneously went ice climbing on exit glacier with a guy who works at a guide shop! It was amazing and the weather was perfect. he had all the gear ready for me and we hiked up and onto the glacier! It took me a while to get over the fact that I was actually standing on the glacier! so awesome. After a quick crash course on ice climbing we went right to it. I learned how to set up an anchor and some knots. We did three climbs. Theres nothing comparable to being lowered into a glacier crevasse. The ice gets bluer as you get deeper in to it and the walls are dripping. In one I had to flatten myself to get down inbetween a slab of ice. So awesome. Ice climbing was not as difficult as I imagined, its all about getting good foot holds by kicking your spikes into the glacier edge, also the ice picks. Then its just pulling yourself up from there. Its so exhilarating. I loved it. to get to a really good climb we had to walk over this TINY ice slab with deep crevices on either side. A little terrifying. we drank from a little glacier stream, some of the coldest and most delicious water I have ever had. We walked down the front of the glacier instead of taking the trail back to get to the car which is totally illegal because someone died doing it last year. As we were walking down he casually mentioned that he could lose his job if he was caught. oops. Midway down the glacier by a small glacial river, he dug into his bag and got out a water bottle. Margaritas! We hacked into the ice a little and put a handful of glacier ice into some cups and had ourselfs delicious glacieritas sitting on a glacier over looking the mountains and resurrection river below. Coolest moment of my life. Yesterday I touched a glacier, climbed into its crevasses, drank glacier water,  had glacier margaritas, and walked the whole length of it to the bottom. So successful. 

standing under an ice bridge

Setting up an anchor

So there you have it! My week of endless adventures! There is no way that I will ever be able to top this so you might just wanted to stop reading this blog now. haha. 

I lost the lake but then I found it

I am currently sitting in the library in Seward staring out the window into the torrential downpour. It has been raining non-stop since I woke up this morning and the forecast shows no signs of letting up any time soon. Seward weather is finally here. I had a good run with the sun for a while, but it seems to be taking a permanent vacation. I played outside in the sun, got burnt a couple of times, and actually wore shorts on two different occasions. I am pleased with the amount of time I got to spend in the sun and while I'm sad to see it go I'm also excited to see the real Seward weather! Speaking of real Seward weather, I feel like I'm becoming more and more of a real resident of this town. I know all the good coffee spots, got a library card, know how to show you on my hand where In Alaska I live, got a safeway card (with an outline of alaska on it) and actually gave an Australian couple directions the other day. If you know anything about me and my sense of direction you probably know that I most likely sent them in the entirely wrong direction, but It still felt good to say that I actually live here.
 Time passes strangely here, the halfway point of my internship came and went without me realizing and now I have only five weeks left here. It baffles me how fast the weeks fly by now. I didn't even realize at work yesterday that it was my friday until I was leaving the shift. This weekend will be a lot more subdued than last with all the rain. Last weekend I had lots of adventures in the sunny Alaskan wilderness. Monday me and my roommate Sophia drove to Exit Glacier (the only entrance to Kenai Fjords national park accessible by road). We hiked up the mountain a little ways until we came to a great view of the glacier and we sat on a nice rock together and just soaked up the beautiful view. We could see tiny humans down below trekking along the ice, which is still something I would like to try. The view was just 360 degrees of raw wilderness and mountains. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I can honestly say that I am the absolute happiest when I am hiking, especially in such a gorgeous place as this. I always feel like i'm just filling up with happiness like a balloon and soon i'll just float away into the blue sky and wispy clouds over the mountains and trees. such a great feeling.
Tuesday I did an awesome hiking trail called Lost Lake! It was 14miles round trip and covered all sorts of different landscapes. It started out in forest then came above the tree line exposing an expanse of snow capped peaks and many waterfalls running down them from the snow melt. Later the scene changed again to trekking through evergreen forests and mosses. Lost lake was nestled in the middle of a circle of mountains and was fed by snow melt.

Just as we broke the tree line

The flowers here are awesome

Sitting and enjoying the awesome scenery

Taking a well deserved rest mid-trek.

Here is lost lake!!

When we reached the lake It was still half frozen even though the air around us was hot and humid. I immediately pulled off my socks and shoes and waded in. Instantly, all the heat in my feet evacuated and was replaced with an awful stabbing pain. it was SO COLD. I couldn't keep my feet submerged for more than 30 seconds with agonizing pain. So i guess I couldn't go swimming. That is another thing I miss about Michigan. I love swimming so much, and it just kills me that I live next to a gigantic body of water that I can't swim in. Every time I see it I get the urge to just jump in. I know this would be a horrible idea, so I refrain. But I do miss lake Michigan, and swimming EVERYDAY in the summer back home. 

Us at lost Lake!

Maybe you can't tell but im in excruciating pain here.

Us- dirty, sweaty, and exhausted after we completed the hike! (left to right: Eric, Kaitie, Me, Cheryl and Emily)

It was such a perfect day for the hike and I am really glad we were able to do it in such good weather. 

Lets talk about work! I had the coolest weekend. It started off with a rather unfortunate event. Our most recent seal intake- 06 (due to press issues and doners being able to name animals, we were not allowed to come up with names for our seals) had been diagnosed with Megaesophagus. Its a congenital disease where the esophagus swells and the animal experiences extreme gas and regurgitation. It can be treated with antibiotics and we had to be extremely careful when tubing the seal, but it is not something that can be cured.  We guessed that this is the reason why the seal was abandoned by his mother in the first place. Its just survival of the fittest and he was not worth the energy the mother would need to invest in him. Its a sad truth but it happens more often than you would think. Saturday 06 had an acute aspiration event and suffocated and passed away. It was really sad but he had been in really bad shape. Everytime he regurgitated a little would trickle into his lungs and he was slowly drowning in his own vomit. At least he is no longer suffering and there was nothing else we could do for him. After a somber Dr. Elizabeth told us the news we had a moment of silence for the poor seal. Later we had the opportunity to practice exams on him and learned to take blood. For seals the best place to extract blood is through the spinal column inbetween vertebrae. So it was really helpful to be able to practice drawing blood on him. The next day I got to assist with his necropsy to further test and know for sure the reason for his death. We did end up finding fluid in the lungs so most likely this was the ultimate cause of death. I was in there for three hours with Dr. Elizabeth helping to take tissue samples and often holding back large pieces of flesh for her so she could cut out organs and weigh them and section them into pieces. This may sound revolting to some of you but it was the coolest thing I have done here so far. I love learning about the anatomy and seeing how everything fits together. I was even allowed to cut some of the organs out and do some of the dissecting. It was a really great learning opportunity. It was wonderful also how Dr. Elizabeth explained everything she was doing and why. She is a really good teacher and I learned a lot while I was doing it. I was definitally covered from head to toe in blood at the end, so I had to shower to come back into the rehab room and resume caring for the otters. Speaking of the otters, I am in love with our little girl otter. She is the most cuddly and affectionate little girl. Also her coat is coming along very nicely so she is so soft. I love her so much!! 

Mountain climbing and forest frolicking

It is Saturday night and me and Maggie just returned from the Solstice Festival in Moose Pass! Moose Pass is a tiny little town about 20 miles outside of Seward. And when I say tiny, i mean microscopic. Seward is tiny. We were afraid we had driven right through the town it is so small. But their one known event is their annual Solstice Festival, where they have live bands, music, arts and crafts and beer to celebrate the almost 24 hours of daylight! It was nice to get out of Seward for a change of pace and sceneary. But we didn't realize until we got there that nobody took credit cards and we had no cash. So basically we were just wandering around and listening to the music, but it was still very nice.
The past couple of days at work have been long. I am ready for my weekend, which starts tomorrow at 5pm after work. Last week I jump started my weekend by climbing Mt. Marathon with Katie. It is the mountain that is right outside my window! It was a hot sunny day and perfect for a hike. Periodically up the mountain we would scream "Hey BEAR" to warn any bears nearby. We got a little more creative, singing songs to the bears and making up loud stories as well. The sceneary was breathtaking, as always here in alaska. For a little bit we lost the trail and were basically bushwhacking, trying to avoid Devils club and other nasty plants. The really hard part of the trek was right near the summit where the landscape took a sharp turn toward vertical. I was huffing and puffing and was not sure if I was going to make it up. We passed a patch of snow and I made Katie stop so I could roll in it, I was so hot. That was another bizzare thing about the hike, it was like 75 degrees and sunny and we were wearing shorts, but for a portion of the hike we were hiking through snow patches. It was the strangest feeling.
Reaching the top was the best, we could see for miles even out of the bay into open ocean. And Seward and the marina looked like tiny dots from above.

The view out of the bay into open ocean

Made it to the top!

sittin at the top

Tiny Seward!

We look awkwardly tall

We ate our dinner at the top of the mountain and just sat there, soaking in the view. Mountain tops are my favorite place to be. So we came up this trail on the jeep trail, the switch back, slightly less steep trail. The runners trail is how they run up for the Mt. Marathon race each year on fourth of July. This one is literally straight down. I don't know how they do it. At the top me and Katie both agreed that we definitely did not want to take that route down and we would do the slower winding one. So we were chatting and walking down a trail on the mountain, basically looking at our feet to make sure we didn't trip. A few minutes later we looked up, and there we were. going down the runners trail. Somehow we missed the other trail and we were too far along to walk back up, so we decided to go for it. This was a quite treacherous way. The first stretch down was basically us skiing down on our feet trying to avoid huge avalanches and losing our balance. When we finally reached the trees we thought things would get easier. Not so. The path dipped down at an even more impressive angle and we were forced to take a million tiny baby steps to ensure that we didn't fall. (This was not 100% efficient, as I spent a lot of time falling). At one point we sort of gave up as did our legs and we scooted down on our butts for an impossibly long amount of time. We had a great time laughing at the situation and working our way slowly down the mountain. My legs gave out several times and when we finally reached the bottom they were complete Jelly.
The very next morning me and Maggie when Hiking to Tonsina point! Luckily it wasn't as vertical of a challenge but we did have to bike three miles to get to the trail. A lot of the trail was along the beach which was really beautiful. We had our lunch on the beach and then had to head back to town because Maggie had to go to work. Later, I was unexpectedly called back into work to go on an Eider pick up (a shore bird). I don't really know why they needed me because all I did was ride along, assist slightly with tubing the bird and then came back. Me and Hannah (the bird employee I went with) had an awesome time and at one point we were laughing so hard that she was having the orange she was eating come out of her nose. It was a very fun trip afterall. I guess we'll talk about work. I am not sure if I have said it yet, but its worth mentioning that I have learned to tube feed seals now! It is very exciting and not as hard as it looks.
Ok it is actually getting dark out which must mean its very late because this is the longest day of the year. I am going to get some sleep so I can be in at work at 7am! Goodnight world!

Watching whales

Alaska has started redecorating. On the trail I run daily the forest has decided to lay down a vibrant lime green carpet with purple and pink flower accents. The mountain outside my window has reduced its snow cover and begun to look distinctly like a large chia pet, sprouting trees and shrubs and coloring the view. Everything around here has seemed to get brighter and more vibrant.

On Tuesday I took a nine hour boat cruise deep into the Kenai Fjords national park, which is pretty much only accessible by water. It was a fantastic day with sunny skies. Without even leaving the bay we saw a sea otter floating on its back. The wildlife was abundant and captain said it was one of the best tours they had had ever launched. Not ten minutes later we saw a pod of orcas swimming by the boat. Mostly you could just see their tall fins but every so often their black and white faces would peer out of the water. I was completely awestruck. free willy in real life! I took out my camera and blindly took pictures, resulting in about 30 extra shots of just crooked ocean.

Orca fins! the only semi good picture I got of them

Next on our wildlife checklist we have humback whales! These were literally everywhere. I saw at least 15 on the whole tour. We saw a mom and calf, blowing spray into the air. we also saw one whale breech unexpectedly which is really rare. Bubble feeding is another behavior we observed where the whales work together to create bubbles which round the fish up. Then one by one they dive deep and come up straight through the school of fish. The boat was crowded with photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. Every time there was a sighting people would push and shove to the front and there would be comeplete silence except for the clicking of cameras. It got a little ridiculous, it was like a bunch of children in a candy store trying to find willy wonka's golden ticket. If something was spotted on the left side of the boat the entire cruise would rush over to that side. When, say five minutes later, that same animal had migrated to the other side, there was a frantic scrambling to change locations to the other side of the boat. The ferry was rocking so violently that a few times I;m sure we were going to tip over. When the whale breeched out of the water everyone FREAKED out. people were climbing on the deck and shoving to get a better view even though it happened way to fast for anyone to get a decent picture of it. but we stayed and stared at the same spot for 20 mintues, everyone had their cameras ready and focused. I thought it was even cooler that way, nobody got a picture of it, but every single person on that boat will remember that breeching whale forever. It was so magnificent when it thrust its whole body out of the water and just so huge. Its way more special that we got to witness that moment and only have it in our memory. 

While all this craziness was happening about 4 porpoises swam right next to and under the boat. Everybody ignored them, searching for the humpback. I thought the porpoises were awesome though! It is one of the fastest of the marine mammals being able to reach speeds of 25miles per hour. So they get a special segment in this post and a nice picture I captured of them. 

The entire boat ride was gorgeous, filled with mountain views and so much wildlife. I spent pretty much the whole nine hours outside. And the 15 minutes inside I spent eating lunch I just felt incredibly guilty that I wasn’t outside. Through the remainder of the trip we saw harbor seals, sea lions, mountain goats on shore, puffins, eagles, and lots of different shorebirds. Our halfway stop was at Northwestern Glacier. We broke through the field of ice to come up close to the glacier and parked to boat there for a half hour to watch for falling glacier ice. So. Awesome.

It was an overall spectacular adventure day. I can’t wait for what tomorrow has in store. 

Kaitie, Emily, Me and Sarah. And some mountains

Us at Northwestern Glacier

Big fat sea Lion

Also If you would like me to help decorate my walls and make me very very happy mail me things at

P.O. Box 1329, Seward AK, 99664!!!

help decorate my walls!

A rescue adventure

Today was the first day of my weekend. I was ready to sleep in and enjoy a relaxing mornng ing after working about ten hours each day (we really have gotten much busier, hence the lack of writing.).
Last night at around 10:30 pm I got a call that was I was needed at the sealife center at 7am the next morning for a seal pick up.  A stranded seal was spotted out in Homer, AK and needed immediate care. We arranged for a volunteer in the area to gather the seal up and meet us halfway in a town called Soldotna. The arranged meeting spot was the parking lot of a Fred Myers (kind of like walmart). The drive me and Halley, my boss, had to make was about two hours long through GORGEOUS sceneary.

We arrived at the parking lot about 45 minutes too soon, anticipating more traffic than we encountered. So we wandered around the store and spent at least 20 minutes deciding what we wanted to eat for lunch. we sat outside in the parking lot trying too look inconspicuous sitting next to a ginormous truck with MARINE MAMMAL RESCUE plastered all over it. We got approached by many and a small crowd had gathered to watch the seal transfer.

The volunteer rolled up and we carefully took the seal out of the carrier. He was small and the left half of his jaw was severely swollen. I could see puncture wounds littering his tiny face and one eye stared up at me sadly as he mustered a small moan. His other eye was crusted shut and discharging heavily. My heart went out to the little guy instantly. We did a quick exam in the parking lot, checking for broken flippers and more lacerations. People loitered nearby and snapped photos while we heated up his fluids and gave him a quick tube feed. His flippers were very warm so we knew his temperature was elevated. Seals flippers are a good way to tell if the animal is too hot or too cold. If they feel hot to the touch their temperature is probably too high and if the flippers are curled up under each other it’s a good indication that the animal is too cold. The journey home was interrupted every hour to check on him and take another temperature, it was hot in the back of the truck and with the combined stress of moving, his temperature was still rising. We put some ice on his back flippers to cool him down. I was more aware of every turn and bump on the way home, worried about how it was affecting him in back.

The vet was ready for us when we got back to the sealife center. I got to restrain the seal while she drew blood, took fecal and nasal samples, flushed all of his puncture wounds and administered the antibiotic injections. Dr. Pam thinks he was picked up by his head by something and chewed on a little bit. For the next 24 hours he will be on a fluid diet and subcutaneous fluids trying to rehydrate him and then we will slowly transition him onto formula. The first few nights are the most critical, I really hope he makes it!  I got really attached to his sad little face.

It has gotten loads busier at the rehab center, we are now caring for 4 seals and two otters. With stranded animal calls coming every other day. The shifts have slowly been increasing from 8 hours and now we work about 10 hour shifts every day. Today was supposed to be my day off and I was at work for most of it. I feel that as it gets busier I will be spending less and less time at my apartment and more with the animals who need 24 hour care.  But this is why I am here, and I had an exciting day rescuing the seal and awesome days taking care of the other animals there. I can't wait to help more animals admited!

seals the deal

Such an exciting week! First and foremost, we got a seal!! The call came midday on wednesday and I was scheduled to work 4 to midnight. It didn't arrive in the rescue truck until around 11:30 but as soon as he arrived the vet performed the exam, weighed him, and took fecal and blood samples. His temperature was only 95 when he came in so we administered some warm subcutaneous fluids and stuck a heating pad in his bin with him. Rehabilitating a seal is completely different than an otter. Since otters can't be returned to the wild and have to go to a zoo/aquarium we are encouraged to talk to them, play with them, and get them used to human interactions. Seals, on the other hand, should not have any positive interactions with humans, they have to remain wild so they can be released. So our interactions with them are brief and concise. We tube feed them instead of suckling them so they don't get attached to us, and we are not allowed to talk to them or near them. Now that the seal has arrived we are back on full quarantine. if you are on seal shift you work only with the seal, same goes with otter shifts for otters. There can be no cross contamination of laundry, dishes or anything else. In order to enter the main part of the building you have to shower and completely change your clothes. Any time you work with the seal you wear full rubber suits and gloves then have to scrub yourself with chlorhexadine after completing a task.
 I have learned to restrain the seal for tubes and have assisted in sub-Q fluids. In a few short weeks I will be trained to do both of these things as the rehab center gets more crowded with animals. There is something so breath taking about being so close to such a beautiful animal. Those huge black eyes seem to stare directly into your soul.

This is not our seal, as we are not allowed to take pictures. but you get the idea.

As the seal pups progress in their rehabilitation (ours was about a week old when we picked it up) they have to gradually progress from formula to hunting fish. Seals are usually successful at learning to catch fish on their own by instinct. Right now, our little seal is on a mix of formula and oralyte just to make sure he is fully hydrated.

So apparently it rains a lot in Seward, which I still don't believe because it has been sunny and warm pretty much the whole two weeks I have been here. Monday and Tuesday are my new weekend and this week me and my roommates Katie and Maggie went out to dinner and had some wine down by the beach. We saw some dhalls porpoises in the water and an eagle flying over head. 

Thursday we went kayaking! Sunny cove kayaking offered us a free 3 hour kayak trip for working at the sealife center. It was a perfect day for it. The sun was shining and it was relatively warm out. It was the most amazing feeling to be on the ocean with snow-capped mountains to our left and uncharted expanse of forest and trees to our right. We came out of the water to do a short hike. It was an absolutely gorgeous view and I could have stared at it for literally hours. The sky was blue with a spattering of clouds and there was a 3rd year juvenile bald eagle circling our heads. It is seriously the most beautiful place, and I don't think I could ever get used to or bored of the mountain views. 

From the left: Maggie, Me, Katie, and her boyfriend John

Mountain bliss