Winter Solstice

December 21, 2010 winter officially begins in North America.  Snow has been on the ground for weeks and temperatures today are up to a balmy 23 degrees, tropical compared to the weekend temperatures of 8 degrees.  I always look forward to the winter solstice knowing that here in Alaska it means that the days are going to start getting a few more seconds of light each day.  Today, Juneau will have 6 hours and 22 minutes of daylight with the sun coming up at 8:46 and setting at 3:08 pm.   A lot warmer and more daylight than the northern part of the state where temperatures have been below freezing and the sun only peaks above the horizon for an hour or so, or in Barrow Alaska where the sun set in mid November and will not rise again until mid January. 

My neighbor,before relocating use to have a Winter Solstice celebration.  A great idea if you're looking for another idea to have a party this time of year.  The Winter Solstice has been celebrated in world cultures for over 1000s of years and in such places as  Stonehenge in Britain, Newgrange in Ireland even as far as Machu Picchu, Peru.  I'm all for celebrating the rebirth of the sun so I thought I'd google Winter solstice celebrations and see what sort of world wide customs there were.  Celebrations are there from Amaterasu in Japan to Zagmuk in ancient Mesopotamia.  Everything from costume parties, drying wreaths, lighting candles, decorating trees, gift giving, using the colors of red, green and white to partying for days on end and feasting.  Easy to see where our traditional December Holidays are derived from.

I like the idea of the Inti Raymi or Festival of the Sun but since I don't live in the Southern Hemisphere or have a hitching post to tie the sun to  I might have to pass on that one.  For those interested in celebrating two Winter solstices you  can visit Sacsayhuaman near Cusco on June 24 and see a theatrical representation of the Inti Raymi.

 
Beiwe Festival which is celebrated by the Saami, the indigenous people of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia worship Beiwe the sun goddess of fertility and sanity.  She travels through the sky in a structure made of reindeer bones to bring back greenery for the reindeer to eat.  Must be their answer to SAD.

Of course we have our Christmas celebrations which are derived from a mix of early pagan holidays from several European countries and the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ which Christianity celebrates on the Roman winter solstice.

I've read that even in Antarctica that parties are given on the Winter Solstice since it marks the 1/2 way point of duty  for those working.  Remember winter solstice occurs in June there.  So  if a winter solstice party sometime sounds like a great idea, choose a theme   and   time and go for it.  You'll have A to Z to choose from!  As for me,  I'm looking forward to those longer days of sunlight!



 

Juneau Icefield Tour

The Juneau Ice field is located in the Coast Mountain Range and is North America's 5th largest ice field with over 1,500 square miles of land.  Covering nearly 100 miles North to South and 45 miles East to West, the Ice field feeds over 38 large glaciers including the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska and the Taku Glacier.  According to the Tongass Forest Service the ice field stretches from upper Taku Inlet north nearly to Skagway and from the coastal waters of the Taku Inlet, east across the borders of the United States into Canada.  

On a very warm and sunny day here in Juneau we decided to take a tour of the Juneau Ice fields.  Twice previously we had attempted the trip and had it canceled due to low visibility and poor weather conditions.  Our trip was a 2.5 hour flight called "Pilots Choice".  You don't know which glaciers you will be able to visit until you are in the air.  Below you will find a map  published by the US Forest service showing our flight.

We left the Juneau airport by helicopter and could see the Mendenhall Glacier in the distance.  Then over the Herbert Glacier , Thiel Glacier and set down at the confluence of the Gilkey and Bucher Glaciers.  It is rare that most trips make it this far but due to the perfect weather conditions we were able to fly as far north as our pilot goes.  We were able to spend about 15 minutes on the ground looking at the crevasses, melting ice and for those who were adventurous even taste the cold water.





Helicopter landing at Gilkey Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier from the air

Tongess National Forest   

Moss on ice

Rhino Peak





Approach to landing on Glacier




 

  Snow and ice depths can vary on the ice field from 800 feet to 4,500 feet with the massive accumulations of ice and snow stretching from the upper Taku Inlet north to Skagway.  Those who are adventurous can even take a dog sled ride on the ice field.

Mountain Goat



 Devil's Paw is the highest peak on the Juneau Ice field and is the international boundary between Canada and Alaska.  The West side of the peak is in the Alaska and the East side is in British Columbia.  Devil's Paw is 8,585 feet high but the ice field elevation base is at 5,000 feet.  The peaks on the ice field have such names as Little Matterhorn, Guardian Mountain, Organ Pipes,and Slanting Peak. Flying past the various peaks you can often tell how they came by their  names.  I was hoping to see a few Mountain Goats along the ridges, but alas that did not happen.  The only wild life we saw was a few hikers sitting along the ridge of Mt. Juneau.  Perhaps another time.  I must say that the flight viewing the Mountains and Juneau Ice fields was spectacular!

End of the World Train

The Ferrocarril Austral Fueguino is a 500 mm (1 ft 7 3/4 in ) narrow-gauge steam railway that was originally built as a convict train.  Pat being a train fan of course had to check out what is considered to be the southernmost functioning railway in the World!

Towards the last half of the 19th century the area around Ushuaia was established as a penal colony with prisoners arriving in 1884.  Originally oxen pulled wagons along the narrow gauge rails transporting local rock, sand and timber.  Between 1909 and 1910 the line was upgraded to use steam locomotives, connecting the prison camp with the forestry camp and passing along the shoreline in front of the growing town of Ushuaia.  Although back then the prisoners rode on flat cars with armed guards.  The railway was gradually extended further into the forest and into more remote areas as wood was exhausted.  It followed the valley of the Pipo River into the higher terrain.  Constant bulding allowed expansion of the prison and the town, with prisoners providing many services and goods.

The prisoners were used to construct the streets, bridges and buildings of the town of Ushuaia.  Their printing shops, photography, tailoring, carpentry and medical workshops took care of the immediate needs of the population of the town as well as providing work and a trade for the inmates.  The prison functioned until 1947 when it was shut down and the railroad was turned over to the Navy.   In 1952 a earthquake struck the area and the railway was shut down due to damage from the earthquake.

.                                                  In 1994 The End of the World Train was refurbished and began services again.   A new 2-6-2T Steam Locomotive (Camila) was brought from England in 1995 and another made in Argentina at the same time the Engineer Porta a 4-4-0, providing locomotive power.  For those of you who are not train buffs those numbers have to do with steam locamotive wheel arrangement.  Today there are at least 6 engines some steam and a few diesel along with an impressive roster of coaches all of which you can check out in the web site below.

Although the railroad now serves as a tourist attraction, it still follows along some of the same route as the convict train. When we rode the train, to our knowledge, there were no known convicts on the  train.  The passengers of today ride in luxurious compartments compared to the open aired flat cars of the convict's days.   The cars have been enclosed, heated and have spacious windows for viewing the scenery and taking photos.    We happened to luck out and board the train that was being pulled by the Ingeniero Porta 2.  The web site pictures remind me of my garden railway trains perhaps because it is narrow guage. Maybe we stepped into  Gullivers Travels instead of Hartmans Travels.

 The departure of the Train started by a bronze bell, originaly from the Southern Buenos Aires Railway.  The conductor explained in both English and Spanish a bit of the history of our train ride.  We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the National Park.    We traveled along the Pico Valley to Cascada de la Macarena Station were we  visited the water fall or ventured down to see "huts" of the Yamana people during the 15 minute stop.  I took pictures of the other trains!  Then "All Aboard"! The train then entered Terra del Fuego National Park and the forest, traveling through the valley below the mountains, we see where the forest has been logged  many years before, finally reaching El Parque station.   We continue on to see more of the park but if you visit you can take the train back for a return trip.  If you'd like to learn more about the train or see the route it follows check out  http://www.trendelfindelmundo.com.ar/

Perhaps we will make it to the White Pass and Yukon in 2010.   Alaska is only 17,818 Km.   Just have to make it to Skagway!