The Return to Soulstice

 

Mt Hood with balsam root in the forefront

“ Live your life by a compass, not a clock” Stephen Covey

Once again, Stephen and I packed up our lives in Nevada to head out for another adventure. We left at the end of April and started the drive up north to Blaine, Washington, where Soulstice awaits our return. She has been sitting in a slip in the Blaine Harbor anxious also to get some splashes on her hull and wind in her sails. 

I left a few days before Stephen and then we met up in Hood River to visit with a sailing buddy, Mike Jacoby, whom we met in Hawaii. I love the friendships you make in sailing because they are so genuine. You get to spend so much quality time with people that you can hardly see each other for months and easily arrive on their front doorstep like you never skipped a beat in time. Mike had just moved back into his house in Hood River after renting it out for several years while he had a 5-year single-handed sailing journey to include French Polynesia. 

His house is in a lovely spot up on a bluff with incredible views of Mt. Hood and the Hood River. Dinner on his deck included panoramic glorious views and coffee in the morning could not be more scenic. We had a great time with him and his girlfriend, Fiona. 

Our next stops in Washington included: Wenatchee, Orondo, Chelan, Cashmere, and Leavenworth. This detour was more of an exploration of a potential new land location upon our return from this next sailing journey.  Ideally, we are looking for a place with multiple options for outdoor activities close by, sunnier/drier weather, and a shorter drive to Soulstice.  If we plan to keep Soulstice for continued sailing enjoyment,  then we desire to be closer to Blaine where we have the slip. Keeping her in the PNW,  we feel is a great option as there are innumerable options for sailing itineraries in a magnificent location for scenery, fishing, and friendship. 

I did make an additional solo stop up to Quesnel, British Columbia to see Carol and Dave Giesbrecht. I had spent many visits to their lovely home in the past. They remain dear to my heart and it meant a lot to me to be able to see them again! 

Luckily, we have a tinier laundry list of items to accomplish before we embark on our Inside Passage to Alaska adventure and hope to be ready before May 14. This date is arbitrary and imparted by Stephen but when people ask, “When are you leaving?” This is helpful to say that we plan to leave before then. Invariably, the next question is, “ How long will it take you to get there?” 

Usually, we never have a timeline as it is about the journey and not the destination necessarily in sailing, but in this case, based on the experienced sailors who have made this passage, it is recommended to make a beeline to Glacier Bay ( our final destination) and then have all the meandering and exploration on the return. We will hit the major cities of Ketchikan, Juneau, and Sitka just to include the well-known names but all the inlets and fingers of the waterways that extend up into the coastline will be more whimsically chosen based on searching for solitude, enjoying craggy and majestic peaks that remind us how tiny we are and safety of course. 

 The reason for this is “ Mother Nature”, our one and only boss! The typical climate for the summer in southeast Alaska we are told has a short weather window in Summer despite the incredibly gracious amount of hours of sunlight provided at that latitude at that time of year. So…. “Foggest” is a phrase for August in southeast AK. But as you can see below it can be several months. With all the crazy weather lately and the unpredictability of Mother Nature across the globe, we will just be gracious with our expectations and give appreciation for the time spent on this journey. 

From the internet

What is the foggiest month in Alaska?

Fog occurs frequently in the summer season, with the foggy period extending from mid-July to mid-September.

Some pics from hikes along the casual drive back to Soulstice

Drive up to see Mike - Mt Hood in background

View off Mike's deck

Mike, Fiona, Fiona's friend Peg and me

Not a bad place for morning coffee:)

Yep, view right off the deck:)

Mike and I did his early morning hike routine! Damn, I wish he was really my neighbor because I dig having an early morning hike with a friend. 

I did this hike one day while Mike has some work to do - The trailhead is just down the road a bit from his house. 

Summit of Dog Mtn Trail - it was a Friday and quite busy. You had a hard route up - which I did but you can take a more gentle slope down with fewer people also, which I chose for my return. The wildflowers were fantastic and so many different kinds. Some I labeled below and some not sure of proper name...

Mt Saint Helens in the background of Dog Mtn Hike - can see from the summit

Hood River

Trillium 

Yellow Canadian Violet

type of violet?

Ladies slipper orchid

Slender toothwart?

Western Hounds tongue

Aster? 

Wild Strawberry blossom

Sagebrush violet or Larkspur? 

Dinner on Mike's deck

Fiona and Mike

Lake Chelan

Visitor on the trail. this was the second snake I had crossed my path in 2 days. The other guy was much smaller and with a yellow stripe down his back on the Dog Mtn Trail. 

Carol and Dave Giesbrecht 

Carol, Dave, and I scored some books at the book fair

I still need help with wildflower identification so the book on the left was perfect and the book on the right has so many cool tips/tricks and info for gardening. For example, did you know that one water molecule out of 6000 is a heavy water molecule. It turns out that snow contains around 40% less heavy water than normal water. And some research in Siberia suggests that plants watered with melted snow grow twice as fast as those watered with normal water. So the book suggests in the winter to use snow melt for your indoor plants to help them grow better and faster.  Cool !!!