Sharry Miller

Snowshoeing Bad Ass

Scout and I took our first winter snowshoe up to the Solomon Gulch reservoir. It never fails to amaze me that you only gain about 600 feet on that hike - so much of it seems straight up! I think I've only been up there once before in the winter, and that time the trail had been packed by snowmobiles. Today I got to break trail through about 8 inches of wet snow. Not bad,... Read more →

All Hail Ra!

All hail Ra! All hail Ra! BOB* is great! I love BOB! Ah, spring is in the air and I can't help but indulge in a wee bit of sun worship. If there isn't a Native Alaskan sun god or spirit or something, there should be. It's always seemed to me that the ones who should most worship the sun are those who get to see it the least, but as a result appreciate it... Read more →

-65

In the spirit of living in the present (and giving into the inevitable), I did my best to embrace being back home from Maui today, even if I was suffering from a 65 degree drop in temperature. It was 17 F and the sun hadn't quite made it over the mountains when I forced myself out of the hot tub and left the house just before noon this morning to go snowshoeing. It really was... Read more →

Season Firsts

There's just something special about the first time I do something each season, even if they're firsts I have every year. First bike ride in the spring when the highway is just barely dry enough to ride safely. First hike of summer when the trails aren't yet overgrown with nettles and cow parsnip. First blueberry picking trip to Thompson Pass in the fall when the tundra is crimson and smells of autumn. Today, it was... Read more →

To Valdez Glacier

The echo of the shot rumbled across the face of the mountain. I stopped and watched, sure I would see an avalanche roaring down, but no such luck. Apparently even large-bore handgun fire wasn't enough to set off avalanches under the current snow conditions. The conditions were perfect for snowshoeing, however. It was a beautiful day, which, according to the low standards Valdez residents must adopt, meant that it wasn't dismal and gloomy. Actually, the... Read more →

New Year's Snowshoe

What better way to kick off the new year than spending it outdoors? With snow falling (it was nearly rain, but we'll ignore that part) and moderate temperatures (almost too warm) it seemed like a great day to make my first winter trek up Solomon Gulch to the reservoir. I've done this hike several times in the summer, but never in the winter. The "trail" follows a gravel road for the first long hill, and... Read more →

Panic

Panic: any behavior that is sudden, extreme, and results from fear. (Cambridge Dictionaries Online) Thankfully, I haven't had many reasons to panic in my life. I'm sure my friends and family would attest that I've acted irrationally quite often, but not usually in a panic. One time, however, stands out in my mind. Thirteen years ago. I know this quite certainly because I was six months pregnant with Rowan at the time. Thane and I... Read more →

Happy Thanksgiving

I have all of the usual reasons to be thankful on this day and everyday: a loving family, a comfortable lifestyle, enough money, yadda yadda. Today, I am particularly thankful that we have the ability to expand our food and our table to accomodate eight more people. We'll be dining with old friends and new this evening, and that is a wonderful thing. I am also thankful that I had enough time after most of... Read more →

Back to Winter

For all that it's always nice to come back home, it was really hard to leave spring behind in Vancouver, especially since we came home to over four feet of new snow. We ended up getting home a day later than planned because a late arrival in Anchorage was worsened by snow and bad roads there. Happily, we made it in good order today. In a completely equitable division of labor, I handled groceries and... Read more →

Winter Saturday Reprise

The brilliant sunshine finally overwhelmed the virus- and bacteria-induced inertia of this morning, and I could no longer resist the urge to be outside. A short snowshoe was in order. I followed my tracks from last weekend across the yard and into the woods behind the house. After just a week of above-freezing daytime temperatures, the snow was noticeably softer, verging on rotten. The water dripping from the spruce boughs carried enough tannins to make... Read more →