Why?

I wanted the gold, and I got it -
Came out with a fortune last fall, -
Yet somehow life's not what I thought it,
And somehow the gold isn't all.

No! There's the land. (Have you seen it?)
It's the cussedest land that I know,
From the big, dizzy mountains that screen it.
To the deep, deathlike valleys below.
Some say God was tired when He made it;
Some say it's a fine land to shun;
Maybe; but there's some as would trade it
For no land on earth - and I'm one.

(Excerpt from "The Spell of the Yukon", by Robert Service)

Whenever I have the privilege of standing spell-bound in the vast alone, this passage echos through my thoughts, and I find myself wishing I were a poet so I could capture the experience so eloquently as Robert Service. I took this picture yesterday. See what I mean? (I think if you left-click on the thumbnail, you'll get an enlarged view.)

They say the best thing about living in Anchorage is you're only 45 minutes from Alaska. The Chugach Mountains rake the sky just behind my house. I hike back there when time and circumstances allow. Never often enough. Almost always, alone.

Alas, I'm no poet. But I do take a camera with me. I'll pass on a few of my experiences, thoughts, and photos to you here from my solo treks out the back yard.

best regards,
tn