Alaska 2023 in Review

[AK hiker]

It has been a busy past year for me and realized I had not posted some trips from last year so will post a few pictures from my travels.  

 

The 2023 spring trip for beach combing down the Alaska Penninsula did not disappoint with glass floats recently washed out by winter storms ready to pickup. There still are glass floats present there that get exposed from past burial by storms, just need to be the next plane by to find and pick them up. 

 

 

The Alaska Geographical Society had another field trip in Denali National Park hosted by Dr. Pat Druckenmiller on dinosaur tracks. I previously posted the trip so will share just one picture. 

 

 

 

My wife and 3 dogs made a road trip to the end of the Kenia Penninsula to look for plant fossils. I made acquaintances with @Sjfriend getting some tips on where to look, THANKS!

 

 

 

 

We ended up hiking northwest about 2 miles during low tide from Bishop’s Beach, seeing lots of coal and plant fossils eroding out of the beach cliff face. 

 

 

Kilo in the foreground with 11 year old Kobuk back from checking out a Bald Eagle, Cook Inlet by Homer, AK.

 

Kilo tagging along on the first trip fossil hunting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got three trips into the Talkeetna Mountains hiking last summer. 

 

 

Finding this intact Pseudophyllites indure was worthy of preparation.

 

 

 

 

 

I took the local rock club president on the second trip as a thank you for cutting a flat surface on the bottom of the P. indure. He was pleased with finding several nice ammonites.

 

 

Gaudryceras tenduiliratum. One of the few ribbed ammonites present that make it easy to identify. 

 

 

Inoceramus with most large ones in worse shape than this one. 
 

As it turns out you don’t have to go far to find fossils around here. Some have shown up in my wife’s flower garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third trip was fantastic in that I found another prep worthy ammonite.
Not this one, too big for my desk.  

 

 

This beauty, a combo of ammonite and bivalve clams with petrified wood and worm tubes present. 

Tentative ID Pachydiscus sp. with Inoceramus sp. associated on the ammonite.

Difficult for me to get the species as there are subtle differences among the multiple Pachydiscus ammonites in Alaska. 

 

 

 

Now to the Brooks Range on a sheep hunt which I had previously posted a photo essay on the trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coral fossils were abundant, almost everywhere you looked. 

l

 

 

 

 

 

Dall sheep left to grow older. 

 

 

 

Trip into the western Alaska Range with Kilo. 

Fall colors in the mountains, blink and you will miss it. Lasts only 2 weeks in early September. 

 

 

Kilo with ptarmigan catch of the day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Last trip before freeze up in middle October was shared with one other fishermen evidenced by the tracks. 
Many of my trips include fishing and hunting with bonus fossil hunting depending on the geology of the areas I’m in. 
Hope you enjoyed as I have big fingers and have little patience with typing this on my phone where the pictures are and spell check changing the ammo names. Uggh!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Winter just around the corner. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 13 by AK hiker
Correct typos and remove extra photos.

[Notidanodon]

How stunning! Makes me want to move there  

[Newbie_1971]

So you have not finished your trip yet?

[Nimravis]

Great report as usual.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Very good report. Thank you for sharing.

 

What are glass floats ? Can we see one or two closer please ? Thank you.

 

Coco

[Yoda]

Fantastic scenery and some amazing finds too 

[AK hiker]

19 hours ago, Coco said:

What are glass floats ? Can we see one or two closer please ? Thank you.

 

Coco

 

Japanese commercial fishing boats used to make these on their boats from sand collected on beaches. They were used as floats for nets and many ended up on the beaches of western Alaska. 

Edited March 14 by AK hiker

[Coco]

Thanks @AK hiker I thought it could be that without being sure. But I didn’t know they were made with sand from the beaches.  It’s always good to ask a question

 

Coco

[PFOOLEY]

Great report, @AK hiker! I really enjoyed all the photos...I feel like the picture with your three dogs really shows their personalities. I am going to have to get a couple of packs for Red and Quita after seeing Kilo's...they need to help carry some water.   Good stuff.

[jpc]

Thanks for the cool tour. I feel like I just flew allover the state.  

[Tidgy's Dad]

Unbelievable scenery and some super fossils.

Life's Good!

[AK hiker]

On 3/12/2024 at 7:14 PM, Notidanodon said:

How stunning! Makes me want to move there  

Every day in Alaska can have panoramic views, just look around. This time of the year during the spring and also fall equinox we get some nice weather to enjoy the scenery.

On 3/12/2024 at 7:35 PM, Newbie_1971 said:

So you have not finished your trip yet?

I edited out some pictures that did not fit the title which you likely viewed before making the correction. 

On 3/12/2024 at 8:18 PM, Nimravis said:

Great report as usual.

Thanks. Fun to look back and relive the adventures.

[AK hiker]

7 hours ago, PFOOLEY said:

Great report, @AK hiker! I really enjoyed all the photos...I feel like the picture with your three dogs really shows their personalities. I am going to have to get a couple of packs for Red and Quita after seeing Kilo's...they need to help carry some water.   Good stuff.

Make sure there is room left in their packs for an ammonite or two

6 hours ago, jpc said:

Thanks for the cool tour. I feel like I just flew allover the state.  

It would be better in person sometime. Let me  know if you come this way.

8 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Unbelievable scenery and some super fossils.

Life's Good!

So True! Only 10 more weeks until the snow melts at 5,000' to go again. 

[SPrice]

Fantastic thread and pics. Love those big Ammos!

I've made 25 trips to Prince of Wales Island and once to Icy Straits west of Juneau. Last year was my first time missing a trip due to carpal tunnel syndrome and a busy fall workload. 

Got the surgery last week, the hand is recovering nicely.  AK here I come, the fish are calling. 

 

The glass floats make their way down to Prince of Wales Island as well on the outside.   I'm only there for a week of fishing each trip. 

[AK hiker]

On 3/14/2024 at 10:27 PM, SPrice said:

 

The glass floats make their way down to Prince of Wales Island as well on the outside.   I'm only there for a week of fishing each trip. 

 

This is from a slide picture I took some 30 years ago while beach combing the same stretch along the Alaska Peninsula in the spring after a big storm. They are not this abundant now with seeing 100 eroded out of the beach dunes more typical. 

 

 

[Darktooth]

Great report and stunning pictures! Thank-you for sharing this with everyone!

[Sjfriend]

Great report. Had a great visit. Love that rainbow! The colors are so much brighter here than outside. Unfortunately the floats never show up on my beach lol.

[Top Trilo]

Stunning mountain views!