Journal

3/9/2008

Most of Alaska is still undeveloped, roadless wilderness and the only way to get to many of the villages is by small plane. Since my flight home (on the big commercial jet) was not until 5pm, I asked about chartering a small plane to go on a photo flight in the morning. Two other PolarTREC teachers, Craig Beals from Montana and Cameo Slaybaugh from Virginia and I formed our own mini (one hour) expedition to explore the wilds of interior Alaska by air. The single engine plane lifted off at 9am and the compass needle on the pilot’s control panel pointed straight NORTH. We wanted to fly up to the Yukon River valley and we hoped to reach the Arctic Circle and back in one hour. After the pilot cleared the first set of hills he could see that the valley to the North was foggy so we (I mean the pilot) pointed the plane toward the beautiful, snow covered White Mountains to the East of Fairbanks.

Craig, Jeff & Cameo flying high!
Craig, Cameo & I took lots of photos during our 1 hour flight around Fairbanks

Cameo, Jeff & Craig are ready for takeoff!
Cameo Slaybaugh, Jeff Peneston & Craig Beals at Wright Air Service prepare for a flight aroung Fairbanks Alaska.

Along the way we saw endless forests of white birch and aspen trees on the hillsides and thicker forests of black spruce in the valleys. The trees were skinny and the forests were not as tall or dense as the ones back home. I was amazed by how few tree species there were. At least 90% of the forest consisted of just those three species. All three of these kinds of trees grow back home in Upstate New York but they are minor members of forests dominated by maples, oaks, beech and pine. Back home, the only place I find black spruce is in the hostile environments of peat bogs where no other tree can grow. Here in the interior of Alaska, the climate is so hard that only the toughest trees can grow. Here, black spruce rules!

A frozen meandering river near Fairbanks
The landscape in this part of Alaska is very flat and the rivers flow slowly. This causes the development of meanders and oxbow lakes.

Part of the White Mountains near Fairbanks
At 9:30am the sun was only high enough to light the top of this mountain ridge. The white patch in the valley is a frozen lake and the straight white line is a snowmobile trail into a vast roadless area.

During our one hour flight we saw areas where forest fires had burned the trees off of several of the mountains and we flew over a massive, open pit gold mine. The highlight of the flight was when Craig spotted a mother moose and her yearly calf walking on a frozen river. The pilot tilted the plane up on its wing and we circled back to take a closer look at the moose family.

Don't Step Here!
I thought the warning against stepping on the landing gear made sense when we were on the ground, but 1500 feet above the ground I looked out the window and the warning took on a whole new meaning. I followed directions and did not open the door and step on the landing gear while we were in the air.

During the entire flight I kept thinking about how fortunate I was to be able to be in such a wild and beautiful place. Exploring, experiencing and sharing life and new places with friends and family is so much more fun and meaningful to me than any material possessions. While I was 1500 feet above the Alaskan wilderness I kept thinking of my family and how I could never have this kind of adventure without their support. And, how much I wish I could have had them beside me at that moment.

My assignment for everyone today is: 1. Show your support and love for your family today. 2. Plan an adventure with them.

***Take care, have fun & make memories.

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