Sunday, September 6, 2009

mighty mighty yukon


We're done! After 50 days on the river and about 935 miles in the canoe, Jesse and I made it to the ocean on August 31. Against the advice of nearly everyone we met and despite a stern warning from a volunteer with the search and rescue squad in Emmonak, we paddled the last 11 miles to the Bering Sea in a fall storm that kicked up 30 mph winds and threatened to push the surf over the low ground. It took about 6 hours of paddling -- at times so hard we had to grunt -- and large quantities of chocolate, but we managed to get there through wind and waves and even stay dry at our ocean camp. Like most of the trip, the weather proved erratic, and we had a few moments of sun on the first day of September. The beach, if one can call it that, looked something like the Great Plains and something like the Serengeti, or so said Jesse.

2 comments:

Dina Silver Pokedoff said...

Stefan,

Sorry to reach you through your blog like this...I couldn't find an email address and wanted to run an idea by you.

Elizabeth Bluemink at the Anchorage Daily News suggested I contact you.

Peat bogs don't sound like a very sexy topic but they are vital to
climate control...and their impact is being studied in your back yard.

In in the foothills of Mt. Denali, where peat bogs are increasing in
numbers, Lehigh University researchers are studying the ability of peat
bogs (in glacierized watersheds) to potentially mediate the contribution
of meltwater to future sea-level rise.

There are several studies around peat bogs and their relationship to
global warming (the loss of them can be devastating as they are
considered "carbon sinks") and now there is one taking place in your
community that seeks to demonstrate their possible use in abating global
warming.

More details are available at:
http://www3.lehigh.edu/News/V2news_story.asp?iNewsID=3347

For more information, I can be reached at 6dis204@lehigh.edu

Let me know what you think....

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Regards,

-Dina

Dina Silver Pokedoff, APR
www.lehigh.edu

stefan said...

hi Dina,
thanks for the tip! sounds like interesting and important stuff. i'll try to learn more about it.