North Douglas

A couple of months ago, while I was still living at a hotel in downtown Juneau, I picked a sunny and warm Sunday morning to ride my borrowed mountain bike over to Douglas Island.  I headed north along the island highway, looking forward to riding far enough out to enjoy the end of houses and duplexes, and to reach mountain views and open water.

As I continued to ride away from the city though, I rode into more and more dense fog and the air temperature continued to drop.  By the time I arrived at the North Douglas boat dock I was completely imbedded in heavy fog.  My outer fleece was covered in an icy film, and I stopped at the boat dock to put on more layers of clothing.  When I was done dressing, I was wearing two pairs of gloves, a fleece hat, a base layer on top as well as a lighter fleece and a heavy fleece, a pair of long tights and a pair of rain pants.  And I was still absolutely freezing.

The picture (above) was taken that day at the dock.  The fog was so thick it was like the world ended at the water line.  I could see nothing.  Hear nothing. 

The fog was so dense that very soon, in addition to being very cold, I was also becoming claustrophic. It felt like the fog was beginning to close in on me.

I had originally planned on riding much further along this highway and taking the full day to explore the area on two wheels.  But the cloak of fog and freezing cold turned me back at that point.  When I arrived back in Juneau I was again greeted with warm temperatures and cloudless blue skies.

Today, two months after that first visit to the N Douglas boat dock, on the spur of the moment I decided to take a drive out there after work this afternoon.  The picture (below) is the same boat dock as the one in the above picture.  Quite a different perspective the second time around!

I have really wanted to find out since I arrived, what this area of Douglas looks like.  I drove out here with my short-term room-mate a couple of weeks after I arrived in Juneau but did not remember much about the area since it was almost dark when we drove out that way to look at a potential duplex for rent.

Once you get beyond the turnoff that leads up the mountain to Eaglecrest Ski Resort there are no residences.  From that point on all you see is a fairly well-maintained highway, trails, and beautiful mountain and channel views.

Today, for the first time all week, it was a mostly dry day.  But the weather was very unsettled - dark and cloudy one minute and then sunny the next.  Rainy in the Valley and dry downtown.  And so the skies went all day long. 

It is difficult to see in this picture, but I was very surprised to see that the glacier is visible directly across the channel.  I took this picture while standing on the boat dock.

Taken from the boat dock looking back towards the road....my 91 Buick Regal (a small tank of a car) is on the left in the picture

I have seen these mounted lifejacket containers at a couple of boat docks in the area.  They are full of child-size PFD's, and the "lower 48 cynic" in me is astounded that anyone is unconditionally able to borrow a life jacket for their child before heading out on the water - and that people do actually borrow (and then return) these jackets. 

Taken at a pulloff just a mile or so from the boat dock

Another few miles down the road I pulled into a surprisingly busy parking lot.  The view was beautiful, and I knew that I had to take some pictures and take some time to walk on the rocky beach. 

As I walked down the small dirt trail to the beach, and as I got closer to the water, I saw fish (a lot of fish) jumping in the water.  I was surprised to see them jump, and I was VERY surprised to see how close these jumpers were to the shoreline.

There were a few noisy fisherman standing on the point trying their luck.  By this time, it was really beginning to turn into a pretty day, and I think there must be a trail around this area somewhere because there were a lot of cars and very few people in view.

As with most of my adventures big and small I really wished that my Mountain Boy was here to share this afternoon with me.  He would have loved to see the mountains and the water.  He would have gotten very excited seeing fish jump so close to shore.  He would have seen the fisherman, and begun planning his next fishing trip out here......

The first time we hiked on trails together it was at a state park in northern middle TN.  We set out and within just a few minutes I had put my head down, picked up the pace and without even realizing it, had put myself into race mode.  Cover the distance cover the distance cover the distance as quickly and as efficiently as possible.....

This man who was not much more than a stranger to me at that point slowed me down.  On purpose.  Because he understood my race mentality.  And he also understood that me pushing hard and not seeing anything along the way were symptoms of something else.

So he deliberately (and to my annoyance at the time) slowed me down.  We took pictures.  He pointed out things along the trail that I had blown by without even seeing.  He asked me to point things out to him.  

Eventually my brain slowed down enough that my body could follow suit.

My journey in Alaska in a continuation of that first walk with my Mountain Boy.  Every day I try to remind myself to slow my body and my brain down.

But I have also been thinking recently that it might be time to try and start running again.  I think my knee may hold up OK.  I guess I won't know for sure unless I give it a shot.....I think I might try it soon and see how it feels.

I drove a few more miles beyond this beach area.  The road veered away from the water, and I drove past two trailheads before turning around.  The residents of Juneau have been talking for a few years about building a bridge from N Douglas across the channel to the Valley.  They have been talking about it......but they have also been talking for years about building a road out of Juneau.  I don't think I will hold my breath for either one of those things to happen anytime soon.

In the meantime, I had to drive all the way back to Juneau and still drive home.  I was about 35 miles or so from home at that point, so decided that the rest of my drive and exploration of North Douglas will have to wait for another day. 

I am very glad that I had a chance to finally get to see some of the beautiful water views in N Douglas - views that I have always known were out there just waiting for me to find them.