March 30, 2008 Thanks to All!

Greetings Everyone Willie here, It feels great to be back! I must admit that it is a bit strange to be typing away at the computer after the experience i was so fortunate to have had. There is so much to share and i plan on doing just that.

First of all however i need to thank everyone who is associated with the Denali Education Center. The Trustees and Staff supported this trip from the get go and i am humbled by their belief in the value of the trip and their hard work each and every day to connect people to Denali.

Thank You to the Staff of the National Park Service here in Denali who supported this trip in countless ways, i am thankful to you all and proud to be a Park Partner. Thank you to Karen and her amazing staff of Dog Mushers, Carmen, Sarah and Krusty for your companionship, hard work and the kindness you displayed to those wonderful dogs.

Thank you to all, family, friends and new friends who visited the blog, kept me in your thoughts and threw your energy my way, i needed it.

Most of all thank you to Christine for your upkeep of the blog, steadfast support and most of all your unconditional love…i am a lucky soul in endless ways, i love you soooo much.

The photo above is from when i first arrived and Christine and i saw each other for the first time, March 21, 2008. Taken at Christines workplace, 229 Parks Restaurant, the home of Fantastic Service and Unbelievable Food! That night i ate the best fish and chips ever at 229 (thanks Jillll) and visited with lots of friends, so good to be home again.

Related posts

• Some Answers to Questions about the Trip, April 2, 2008

Saturday March 22, 2008 – WILLIE IS HOME!!!!!!

Hello Everyone! Willie made it to the Sanctuary Cabin yesterday at about 1:15 pm. He could hear the Park Service road crew up ahead. We chatted on the satellite phone and I told him, “hitch a ride & come on HOME! I called Tim at the Park Service & made sure it was okay for Willie to ride out with the road crew. Tim gave the okay and that was that… THANK YOU TIM & BRAD for all your help with Park road information! Willie took the ride out of the Park and showed up at my work at about 5:30 pm. I knew he was going to take the ride, but I didn’t expect to see him until later. He surprised me outside by the back door, I could not believe he was standing there. It was great to see his face again! YEAH! He has long unruly hair, and a beard & mustache that have taken over his face. He is SKINNY TOO! He is 20 pounds lighter! He has a weather-worn look happening (like someone who just spent 61 days out in the backcountry of Denali!). His backpack had to weigh at least 55 pounds that he had been hauling out with him. It is great to see him! Anyway, I just want to THANK YOU for following along with me. And now, I am going to sign-out and turn this blog back over to Willie. He will soon be writing his own story here…so stay tuned! I look forward to his stories too! Cheers, Christine

PS. last night when Willie & I left my work the full moon was shining down in a clear night sky. It was the same moon & kind of clear sky that we had 2 months ago (3 lunar cycles) on January 21, when we skiied out to Savage together to start this adventure…very cool timing to have him home!

Related posts

• 3 Lunar Cycles
• Thursday March 20, 2008 – Day 60
• Thursday March 6, 2008 – Day 46

Thursday March 20, 2008 – Day 60

HAPPY 1st DAY OF SPRING!
This morning it was 4 below zero here, not feeling like spring to me… But, as the day continued it was as warm as 33 above zero, a bright and clear day. Beautiful!

Willie called today. He decided to spend another day out at Igloo to give his body a chance to recover from Tuesday & Wednesday’s trek. At some point last night/early this morning, he woke up to a shrew in his hair! “Dude, not cool” is what he had to say to his little friend. Turns out he had gotten into Willie’s bag of rice & then decided to snuggle up with him…I talked to Willie this morning- so I’m not sure how his day went out there. He is planning on calling me later tonight. His plan was to head out from Igloo tomorrow/Friday morning and snowshoe/walk to the Sanctuary area (about 12 miles). The park service road crew has started work on clearing the road, and they should get out to the Sanctuary area tomorrow too. Willie will be seeing those folks at some point it would seem tomorrow or the next day. This is all I know for now…

Related posts

• Saturday March 22, 2008 – WILLIE IS HOME!!!!!!

Wednesday March 19, 2008 – Day 59

Willie left Toklat yesterday- Tuesday, March 18, 2008. He traveled (snowshoeing) the 9 & 1/2 to 10 miles from Toklat up over Polychrome Pass to the Murie Cabin. He took the dog mushers trail out. Today he continued on (about 10 miles) up over Sable Pass and is now at Igloo. He got to the top of Sable Pass in about 3 hours. He then took his time on the way down. He stopped to film, and take photos. He said it was a perfect day out there. No wind, except at the very top of Sable Pass. He saw another dead Dall sheep in the snow. This one appeared to be a 10 year old ram. Willie saw over 70 snowshoe hares today, “the hare’s were everywhere.” Out at Igloo, there are wolf tracks “all over, the biggest tracks that I’ve seen are here. It must be the alpha male tracks.” There are also quite a few wolverine tracks around too. While we were talking on the phone a owl started to hoot…lot’s of activity out at Igloo! Next up for Willie is the snowshoe/walk from Igloo to Sanctuary area, this is about 12 miles. I will keep you posted as I hear from him. The temperatures have been from zero to about 7 above.

Related posts

• Tuesday, February 26, 2008- Day 37
• February 13 & 14 – Days 24 & 25
• 40 Days In The Wilderness! – February 29, 2008
• Journal Entry From March 1, 2008 – Day 41

Sunday March 16, 2006 – Day 56

Willie called to check in. He went camping the past few nights out at Stoney Hill/Highway Pass area, out on the west branch. I missed his call, but he said he is back at the Pearson Cabin today. He is going to finish the process of getting ready to leave the Toklat area, and start to head back out of the park. If he gets it all together he will be leaving Tuesday, March 18th. Since I missed his call I do not have better details. I will be heading to Fairbanks today returning to Denali on Wednesday March 19th. I will not be updating the blog until I return. I will give new information on Willie’s progress out of the park at that time. Thanks again for reading…

Also, the mushers Krusty, Carmen, and Sarah are out at the Wonder Lake area of the park. Wonder Lake is mile 85 on the west end of the park road. I also have a report that the area out at Toklat now has snow again. I’m not sure, but this might change Willie’s route out of the park, he might go along the dog mushers trail or he might stay on the park road???

Related posts

• Tuesday, February 26, 2008- Day 37
• Sunday March 2, 2008 – Day 42
• March 11, 2008
• March 1, 2008 – Day 41
• Thursday, February 28, 2008 – Day 39