I woke up two weeks ago in Gustavus looking for some solitude and adventure. So I decided to run the survey cuts marking the boundary between Gustavus and Glacier Bay National Park. I thought it might take 3 or 4 hours and packed a little food, some iodine pills to refill my water bottle and took off around 10:15am.
Leaving the beach at the west end of Gustavus, near Pt. Gustavus.
You can see from these cuts that the line has been brushed within the last few years. Many of the survey monuments are from 1998, so that may be the first time the line was cleared.
The brushing crew left some things behind. In addition to these loppers, I found a small amount of trash and a few piles of extra orange NPS boundary stakes.
Those blurry white spots are funky little mushrooms pushing up through the duff. Not sure what kind.
There were some wet spots, especially when the line started cutting back east toward Gustavus. (see
google map).
One of the two roads I crossed all day. This one goes to the National Park. The other heads to the Falls Creek Hydroelectric project.
A moose hide drug around by wolves or coyotes? Or the sign of a moose shot in the park and drug back across the border? Kinda looks like the former, thankfully.
A sedge darner (type of Dragonfly). I finally got to use my new book "Dragonflies of Alaska" by John Hudson and Robert Armstrong to identify it.
The Salmon River.
The north end of the gravel pits. Supposedly, the pits were dug before the boundary was surveyed and no one knew they were digging in the park.
Found this algae growing on land (seemed very odd to me at the time) north of rink creek road. I photographed it on top of an old General Land Office (them's the homesteading folks) survey monument from 1920.
The most beautiful scenery of the trip. The tri-tone grass made me want to sit down and find my inner Andy Goldsworthy, but the hour was getting a bit late.
Finally made it to the beach. This is near the Bear Track Inn.
Running on home. I made it just after my parents started worrying, but before it was fully dark. In total, 31 miles in 8 hours and 46 minutes. I probably walked 18 miles of it due to wet conditions and the fact that I only brought six 120 calorie gel packs with me for food. The roasting moose that greeted me when I ran into our front yard was a welcome sight.
Leaving the beach at the west end of Gustavus, near Pt. Gustavus.
You can see from these cuts that the line has been brushed within the last few years. Many of the survey monuments are from 1998, so that may be the first time the line was cleared.
The brushing crew left some things behind. In addition to these loppers, I found a small amount of trash and a few piles of extra orange NPS boundary stakes.
Those blurry white spots are funky little mushrooms pushing up through the duff. Not sure what kind.
There were some wet spots, especially when the line started cutting back east toward Gustavus. (see google map).
One of the two roads I crossed all day. This one goes to the National Park. The other heads to the Falls Creek Hydroelectric project.
A moose hide drug around by wolves or coyotes? Or the sign of a moose shot in the park and drug back across the border? Kinda looks like the former, thankfully.
A sedge darner (type of Dragonfly). I finally got to use my new book "Dragonflies of Alaska" by John Hudson and Robert Armstrong to identify it.
The Salmon River.
The north end of the gravel pits. Supposedly, the pits were dug before the boundary was surveyed and no one knew they were digging in the park.
Found this algae growing on land (seemed very odd to me at the time) north of rink creek road. I photographed it on top of an old General Land Office (them's the homesteading folks) survey monument from 1920.
The most beautiful scenery of the trip. The tri-tone grass made me want to sit down and find my inner Andy Goldsworthy, but the hour was getting a bit late.
Finally made it to the beach. This is near the Bear Track Inn.
Running on home. I made it just after my parents started worrying, but before it was fully dark. In total, 31 miles in 8 hours and 46 minutes. I probably walked 18 miles of it due to wet conditions and the fact that I only brought six 120 calorie gel packs with me for food. The roasting moose that greeted me when I ran into our front yard was a welcome sight.