Between Every Two Pines

Between every two pine trees is a door to a new world......John Muir

After spending a few hours walking, exploring and picture taking around the harbors of Auke Bay yesterday I finally made it to the Auke Nu Trail.  I didn't know anything about the trail aside from the fact that someone had told me that it was not very long.

When I first entered the trail it was completely ice and snow free, and it looked like a beautiful, quiet and wide open trail. The trail had a very gradual incline, and within just a few minutes (even though I had not climbed in elevation very much at all) it became very icy. 

I precariously made it through the first lengthy and icy section of trail before finding a stump to sit on and put on my Yak Trax.  Those cheap pieces of rubber, metal and velcro are worth their weight in gold, and whoever invented them is a genius in the same vein that those who invented the frisbee, hula hoop and the skipping rope are geniuses - a simple and cheap concept that probably made the inventors a small (or large) fortune.

Within just another few minutes the trail quickly turned into a combination of snow and ice.  I have been constantly amazed since I arrived in Juneau at how isolated  weather fronts can be here - dirt, ice then snow filled trail all within a few minutes of each other........

Eventually I came to an intersection, and since I had no idea where I was or where the trails led, I non-committedly followed the trail to the left, following an arrow that indicated John Muir cabin.  John Muir cabin??  Hey, that's the name of the naturalist and preservationist I had been quoting off and on since I arrived in Alaska and started this blog. 

It was obvious that I was just wandering on trails knowing absolutely nothing about anything aside from putting one foot in front of the other.....

It didn't matter.  I was outside.  I was on trails.  I was in the most beautiful place I had ever lived in.  It was sunny and the air was crisp but not cold.  It was obvious that I had been misinformed as to the length of this trail, but life was good anyway.

I had no intention of going too far, exploring too far off the beaten path - most of my synthetic outdoor clothing is still in Tennessee, I did not have a first aid  kit or a compass or a space blanket with me.  No-one knew where I was.  No.  when it became obvious that the trail was a whole lot more trail that I had been told, I planned on exploring for just a while and then turning back until I was better equipped and better supplied for such an adventure.

After being on this beautiful quiet pine tree filled trail for about an hour (a trail that began with wide open dirt ground double track, and gradually developed into snow and ice filled switchbacks and up and downs), I finally decided to turn back at the bridge.  It was good that I did I think.  On the way back to the trailhead I ran into three couples - a young couple with cross-country skis on their backs, a father and son with snow shoes on their backs, and an older couple with trekking poles and oversized overnight packs.  It was obvious that this was going to turn into a serious trail up ahead somewhere.

I want very much to check out this trail again - when I am better prepared gear-wise and information wise.

Walking back to the condo after leaving the moss-filled bottom section of the trail I ran into what I can only describe as a small boat graveyard.  When the tide is in these boats are underwater.  When the tide is out (which seems like a good portion of each day) these boats sit along the shoreline abandoned and forgotten.