End of week one

Alaska: home of epic rainbows

As week one of training comes to an end, so too does the beautiful sunny weather we had all week. Gone are the crisp, blue skies and glimmering sunlight that bathed the snowcapped mountains in luminous warmth. For the next week it looks like it will be all cloudy and drizzly, though as I sit at the library to type this, the cloud ceiling is still high enough to see the distant peaks. So maybe it won't be so bad.

Evenings are my favorite :)

My bunkhouse in the rare sunlight

The rest of my week of training involved safety and interpretive sessions, intermixed with some cultural workshops. On Thursday during OL, we took a hike along the unsanctioned "social trails" out in the back of the park, which was very eye opening. These are trails through unmanaged areas of the park that people create by frequently cutting through for partying, hanging out, drinking, or drug use. There's not much the park does to mitigate the use of these trails, other than making sure the rangers have a strong presence there and that we're checking frequently to keep it clean of trash and reporting any incidents we find.

Interestingly enough, while we were there, we sighted a man prowling about off-trail with a bag. The chief ranger had us stay behind while she went to go check out the situation. At first he tried to pretend he was trying to identify a mushroom or something, but after a couple minutes of talking to him, she found out he was illegally harvesting Devil's Club (a native medicinal plant) for a Chinese place in town. He was let off with a verbal warning.

Just another day in the life.

This woman is amazing.

With that excitement aside, in the afternoon we attended a presentation by a local Ravenstail weaver named Teri.  I wasn't particularly looking forward to this session, but it turned out to be one of the coolest things I've ever learned about.

Ravenstail weaving is a pre-Russian contact style of Tlingit fiber arts, characterized by its precise geometric designs. In fact, Teri explained that the entire design is made up of mathematical patterns, specifically a binary code, which dictates the placement of the colors and shapes of the weave. There is something like only 15 left in the world, and we got to see 2 of them. She explained that the process is so complex -- from harvesting the hair, to spinning it, to weaving it without a loom, to the finished product -- that few people have the time or know-how to do it anymore.

Teri was an amazing story teller. In fact, her whole persona was in this beautiful storytelling style with a big warm smile on her face. She is a basket weaver as well, using similar traditional methods to recreate historic Tlingit baskets that have been excavated.

We all had to try on the robe

The one robe, pictured above, is woven completely from mountain goat hair. Still in the making, it has taken her 17 years to collect enough hair to spin for the robe! She also integrated a DNA pattern along the side that mimics the DNA of a mountain goat, and there is an even more subtle pattern in the white part of the weave that mimics the slime trail of a snail, because Teri is a member of the Snail clan. Clever way to sign your work! There were so many small details and meanings woven into the robes, it's almost too much to fathom. Listening to Teri talk about her work really brought the robes to life and gave me a completely different way of looking at this type of native artwork.

My favorite view from the Totem Trail (Mt. Edgecumbe)

Yesterday we began transitioning more into preparing for our upcoming visitor programs. I shadowed a tour of the totem trail and began writing my program outlines, of which there will be roughly half a dozen throughout the summer. I'll be giving totem trail tours, Russian Bishop's House tours, discovery talks, battle walks, and possibly a couple evening programs and informal talks as well.

Become a Junior Ranger today!

In the afternoon we were back in uniform again to help out with the Sitka Parade of Species. I'm beginning to find that Sitka loves parades. They seem to have one at least once a month all summer! Fortunately, at this one all I had to do with staff a booth at the end of the parade to help  kids become Junior Rangers. They were all dressed up as different species. It was pretty adorable. :-)

I haven't quite decided what I'll do this weekend. Hopefully get out to explore a new trail, but I think this time I'll try to go with someone else now that I've refreshed my bear safety knowledge. I spent a little bit of time exploring downtown again today. I wandered to some of the farther fishing docks, an area of town that reminds me a little more of Nome, and then went to a little cafe that someone recommended for a snack before the library opened. They have the BEST cookies ever, no joke.

Needless to say, I'm stoked for next week. We have more interpretive training coming up, plus a trip to an island, hopefully some whale and puffin sightings, and a place called Fortress of the Bear. What wonders to look forward to!