Archive for the 'AS' Category

Hello AS 2 families!

Hannah, Ramsey and AS 2 are in the midst of their nine-day trail service project, but Hannah hiked out to a trailhead to get cell phone reception and give us a ring to let us know how the group is doing and check their messages.

“Work with Alaska State Parks has been great!” says Hannah.  “We  re-stained the Cowee Meadow Cabin in Point Bridget State Park, debarked a bunch of big logs and then moved them for a bridge construction, and built a new deck onto the cabin.  Our main project has been filling in a turnpike trail (a type of trail construction using logs in a marshy area) with gravel.  It’s been so rewarding because we walk down the trail we’ve created at the end of the day.   We’ve been working with a bunch of guides with Alaska State Parks, who are great, and at the end of everyday we can see what we’ve done, which is awesome!”

The group has been cooking their own meals in the backcountry and did an “epic shopping trip” to prepare for their nine days away from a grocery store!   “Our favorite meal so far has been a homemade potato and veggie stew!” says Hannah.  ” I think the group was skeptical at the name, but it was awesome!”   The group has also seen hundreds of bald eagles!

The picture below is of their campsite and shows a few students napping in the afternoon following a long day of work – not a bad location for a nap – and a group photo!   Check  out our photo website for more pictures of the group when Hannah and Ramsey finish their trip.

-Liz

Hello from Alaska!

Hannah, Ramsey and their AS 2 crew called to check in before heading into the backcountry for their nine-day trail work project with Alaska State Parks!   It sounds like the group is off to a great start together – great meals, fun adventures and even some beautiful Alaskan sunshine!

The group finished up their two-night backcountry hike to Eagle glacier yesterday.  Ramsey says they had “amazing and beautiful views of the glacier from our cozy mountain hut”  – see the photo below!  A highlight from their backcoutntry trip was a hike to an amazing waterfall that was roaring from all the snow melt – “immense and totally impressive!”  They hiked back to the cabin where several students actually jumped into the chilly glacial waters from Eagle glacier – “unbelievably cold” but very funny to see everyone react to the temperature!

Despite a few days of rain early on, the sun finally came out yesterday and illuminated the beautiful snow-capped peaks in the distance!  Today they went on a massive grocery shopping trip for their upcoming nine days in the backcountry and they’re really looking forward to diving into their trail service project!  The three photos below are a candid shot of the group near the glacier, a picture of the cabin they stayed in, and the view from where they ate breakfast this morning!

As a heads up, since they’re in the backcountry for nine days, we won’t hear from the leaders until they return, so the next blog update will be Monday, August 1, instead of Saturday, July 30.  Stay tuned for more updates from Juneau!

-Liz