Valdez to Fairbanks the Full Story

Happy 4th of July! We are in Fairbanks for the day before we turn south and make our way back to Anchorage with a 4-day, 3-night stop-over in Denali National Park, the Serengeti of the north! We have had a fabulous trip from Valdez to Fairbanks and the there are many highlights. Here is a quick overview of our schedule from the last 7 days, followed by the story in the students' words and of course some fabulous shots!

From Valdez we went north through Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass stopping at Bridal Veil Falls and Worthington Glacier. It was a beautiful evening drive. We made it to Squirrel Creek just before the rain. The next day we broke camp and continued north stopping along the way to look at some exposures of Glacial Lake Ahtna sediments, the Copper River, awesome vistas of the Wrangell/St. Elias Volcanoes and stopping for the next two nights at Grizzly Lake Campground. From here we staged our day-long hike up the Skookum Volcano Trail at the end of the Nabesna Road, that night at camp we had hilarious game of charades - don't worry I think Hollywood is safe. The next day made our way to Tangle Lakes via a circuitous route that included a discussion with a Mentasta Lake resident who experienced the 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake first-hand. This was a great precursor to this second segment of our trip - The Denali Fault System. After some rain at Tangle Lakes we spent the day hiking around the Landmark Gap Lake Trail looking at post-glacial landscapes and some permafrost landscape features. From Tangle Lakes we moved north again over the Denali Fault to Donnelly Creek Campground. We spent time looking at the impact of the 2002 fault rupture on the pipeline and looking at evidence of earlier ruptures. Yesterday we spent the day on Castner Glacier exploring stagnant glacial ice terrain and discussing the potential hazards associated with surging glaciers. Today we got an early start - maybe due to a little help from a moose visiting at 4am! and spent the day in Fairbanks. Here are some stories from the students. Thanks again for all your comments! We are glad you like the blog. If you are unsure about posting comments there are some instructions posted just before this update.

Student Updates


Brittany-
Hi Mom, Dad, Jeff and Hayley!
We’re suddenly having hot weather are blue skies with are great! Yesterday we hiked Castner Glacier. Ice pieces had been left behind by the glacier as it retreated which made a very muddy and hilly hike- really fun. We also ran across a few ice caves. Heading off to Denali Park tomorrow. Happy fourth of July!



Rosalba -
Since the last update the fishing situation has changed little. And by little, I mean that I have caught my first fish, of ~8inches in length (grayling)… I’m very pleased. Aside from this triumph I have to mention another of even greater importance, the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. After seeing such a structure in person I can truly say that it is a triumph of American engineering. It weaved underground, snaked above ground, and seemingly floated above waterways (all 1 million barrels/day) in other areas. Knowing what grief our country’s dependency on oil has caused the average American citizen and what a monstrous disruption of nature the pipeline is, I hesitated to appreciate it, but it was overwhelmingly impressive. I suppose I will hold reservations on forming an opinion about it just yet. On a more natural note I continue to be awed by Alaska’s beauty. Our last two day hikes up to Castner Glacier and around the rolling, tundra-vegetated hills surrounding Landmark Gap Lake have given me an opportunity to apply all that I have learned in the last 3 years to understanding the beautiful land. It has been a rewarding experience to look at an outcrop and figure out what it means before the teachers even explain it. With that said… It is also exciting to know how much more I have to learn.


Amanda –
Hey mom and dad! Sounds like the cruise is a blast. Mom, you’re right no one makes my bed in the morning. However, all I have to do is stuff my sleeping bag into a sac. We are now back in civilization for a night if you get a chance to call. Civilization also means showers, fresh vegetables and clean laundry! Our trip feels like its just getting going and we are really almost at the end. Reviewing today in the big white van, the realization hit of how much we have learned in these past few weeks. This outdoor classroom thing is amazing. Hello to the rest of my family. Thanks for writing blog notes, it is certainly one of the highlights of our week up here knowing that everyone at home is following along with our adventures. Love you all.

Jon
Clean! Showers and laundry after days camping out! We’ve watched Waterworld (great movie), searched for the elusive mud volcano and met Elton, an extra-friendly camp host who shared shelter in our van with us when the rain came. Hiking on the volcano was a blast and viewing the ice caves was pretty cool. We have also been seeing the pipeline on our trip the last few days, which did not match the impression I had in my head. I thought it would have a massive diameter and would be elevated high enough where people would not be able to touch it, but I was wrong on both accounts. The weather here in Fairbanks is very warm and sunny (contrary to what I hear from peeps in New York), but there won’t be any fireworks! The day should still be fun – We’ve already experienced the North Pole and had our first ‘real’ lunch for a while and are soon to explore the city!

Sam-

Lots of time since the last update, so hopefully I won’t forget anything major. One highlight has been getting stuck in “quickmud” near Child’s Glacier and Jackie getting stuck another time (and Jon video taping it). Yesterday we went on a great hike up Castner Glacier and we got to look at some pretty sweet stagnant ice deposits under sunny skies. We even got to demonstrate mass wasting by heaving rocks down the ice face. Some non-geo highlights include the card game politely known as “President”. The weather has been fabulous (little rain, but I would probably say the same with lots of rain) and sleeping while it is light out keeps getting easier. Its amazing to me that the pipeline can cross over the Denali fault and not spill a drop when it is displaced 18 feet, like it was in 2002. The foresight of the scientists and the willingness of the planners made this hazard much more manageable.

Sarah-

I am updating from the outside of a laundromat in the lovely city of Fairbanks, after taking about 10 minutes to figure out how to use the machines. I am enjoying being spoiled by the 90-degree weather after a few nights of rain at Tangle Lakes. Highlights from the last few days have been hanging out with Eldon, pesto and sausage dinner, and yesterday’s hike followed by the 12:30 sunset down by the river.

Kelly – We arrived in Fairbanks today which means time to shower and find the nearest laundromat. My clothes were definitely ready for a wash after the fabric softener debacle (as we now like to call it) in Valdez. As for highlights, the hike to the ice caves yesterday was one of the best sights I’ve seen yet on the trip. Who knew that throwing rocks into a melting glacier could be so entertaining? Surprisingly, seeing the Alaska Pipeline has been another highlight for me. While I thought I might just see it as an eye sore on the otherwise beautiful landscape, seeing the way the pipeline was engineered in order to be prepared for hazards like the earthquake in 2002 was pretty amazing. Based on the work of geologists, engineers have placed the pipeline on Teflon slides in areas where it crosses fault lines, like the Denali fault, to allow for the pipeline to move in case of an earthquake. It’s cool to see that after the 2002 earthquake all these precautions really did pay off.

Karen – Today we are in Fairbanks which is a cute little city. Since our last update we have traveled a lot and seen some great things. Some of my highlights were hiking along Skookum trail, seeing the salmon wheels, the waterfall and so many rainbows. Yesterday we saw some amazing ice caves. I have really liked the past couple of campgrounds we stayed at and playing games like pictionary and cards with the group. I am psyched that it is warm and sunny today! Even though we have had some rain, I always enjoy a good thunderstorm and the chance to wear my raingear. I am also looking forward to Denali!

Brandon – Fairbanks, like Valdez has been an unexpected and much welcomed chance to shower, launder, and “recharge the batteries”. The departure from Valdez into the volcanic arc ushered in some new and different types of terrain and geological opportunities like sorting through sediments deposited by lahars and hiking into the Skookum Volcano. I have especially enjoyed the extra-curricular aspects of our journey such as group charades, pictionary, and countless intellectual discussions. Even through the few days of rain we have experienced thus far, spectacular rainbows (and even double rainbows, which I never knew existed) have acted as the silver lining to our picture perfect cloud.