This past Sunday the weather started to break. It was still -28 but seemed like -10 after the long stint of very cold stuff we've had! I took the dogs for a walk out to the island; they love the open space to run. The view and the sunshine were glorious.
Cotton is most often found right behind my heels, keeping a close eye.
And here they are on our outgoing trail, except now on the way back to the mainland.
Things... they are a changing. The forest around my home this past summer demonstrated some odd behaviour. 
The majority of spruce in the surrounding area developed a large mass of cones at their top. After coming to maturity they dumped their seeds in large quantities atop of the surround trails and forest floor.
In later summer, upon being weighted down with too many cones to bear, the tops began to bow over. For as many tops that manage still in this position, the others broke off and fell to the floor.
Yesterday I went with my two very Lovelies on an adventure. One Lovely lives at the base of Haeckel Hill so myself and the other L gathered there. Upon arrival, as they were patiently waiting, we hopped on two snowmachines that were prepared and all ready for us to zoom off.
I love it up here. It is a place that feels peaceful, no matter whether the wind is howling or still.
On our day, there was not a breath of movement in the air. I don't recall it ever being so still on any of my previous excursions.
This picture is a view looking north where the Yukon River helps fill up Lake Laberge.
I have the good fortune to be involved with a group of very good people. We get together weekly for home made dinner, wine, and good fun. Sometimes the fun is so fun that we also get to enjoy breakfast together. ha. 
Each one of these friends is special to me and the group together has as much, or even more magic. Before 'them' it had been a while since I had laughed and felt so happy.
I'll save the commentary and just show the pictures. They speak more eloquently than any words I can offer.
Although I haven't been posting, I have been out and about. There are some absolutely incredible views that I would like to share, even if they are not quite so recent.
I will begin with a 3 hour hike up to the top of a trail that overlooks Tagish Lake's Windy Arm.
Too many weekends to count were spent traveling this road to Skagway as a young child up until teenage hood. Although I am sure that my parents would gladly have left my complaining and restless attitude behind, they carted me to the boat that was always docked in Skagway, Alaska.
Only as an adult (as adult as I hope I get) can I now appreciate this incredible drive with the mountains on one side and water on the other. Having taken this fall hike up where I could look out across the expanse gives me new admiration for this space. 
The next picture is of us crossing underneath the tram line. If you ask me, I call this mining project a feat of... phenomenol commitment! The planning, figuring, transportation issues, mechanics, manual labour, sheer will to construct a tram line up the side of a mountain?! Aluminum (lightweight metal) and helicopters hadn't been invented yet - we're talking forged buckets, heavy duty pully system, boats, donkeys, and hard human work to make this happen!
Along the way we discovered reminants of camp history... No artifacts were removed - I say this with emphasis. Not that the thought didn't cross a mind or two... but it helps to adhere to the 'rules' when traveling with a museum cureator! 
I would have to say that this is the best outhouse view that I have ever experienced! 
I shall continue shortly with scenes of the view from up up up...
A few weekends ago, at the start of September my friend and a few others decided it was time to take a trail that winds its way up above Fish Lake, on the West side. 
When I awoke that morning it felt very strange. The air was eerily warm from Chinook type winds that had blown all night. One beauty when hiking in the trees is that the wind doesn't really at you.
We arrived just above the tree line about an hour after we started on the trail. Together we enjoyed a little sitdown in the sunshine. It turns out there was an abundance of blue berries, moss berries, and cranberries in the area. Not only were they a nice snack, but also provided some good purple dye splotches all over my legs and pants.
After this rest some of our group returned back down the trail so they could be on time for other committments in the day, while the other half of us continued up to the top. ...where...it....was.......perhaps the most WINDY experience of my LIFE!!!!!!!!!!
Look at little Cotton. He is just hang'n on!
It is no wonder the other side of the ridge is quite sparce. 
After continuing along towards the 'summit' (yeah right!)... me and my friend waved bon voyage to the ones ahead. We had had enough of the wind and were turning around. 
The only summit I know is for real, probably is that of Mt. Everest. Every hike we have gone on, there has never been a 'real' summit. Once you get nearly there, there is yet another and another summit beyond!
Here are the big waves on Fish Lake as we drove by on our way back to town. Another great adventure comes to an end.
This past weekend Two weekends ago was one that I would call glorious. It is a word that I rarely use; I save it to describe only very specific circumstances.
The weekend was three days long; the weather was absolutely beautiful; I got out hiking and berry picking; experienced vista comparable to any in the world; picnicked on the shores of a hilltop lake with friends and dogs; traveled to Skagway, Alaska; ate exquisite food; hung out with great people, AND got my laundry done.
So up, up, up...... we went.....
After our picnic up at Fraser Lake, we went back down, got in our vehicles, and drove to the coveted Moss Berry Island. Beautiful! And a great walk along the way.
They are now at home in the freezer. I will post the muffins when they are fresh out of the oven...
And then we ate at a fabulous Thai restaurant in Skagway. The five of us tried to convince our waitress that they should move the joint to Whitehorse for the winter season. Most everything in Skagway closes up by the end of September. Come October there are no more cruise ships, no more tourists, no more shopping...
Then we drove home... returning at about 10:30 p.m. What a lovely day we had. 
Two weekends ago - the last one in August - a friend and I headed out to the Ibex Valley with dogs in tow. I had been out there a few years ago on a bike excursion with the Yukon Outdoors Club. The valley can be found when heading west towards Haines Junction, off the 'old' Alaska Highway, as it is called.
The day was beautiful. The sun was bright and warm and the sky clear. My friend invited me with the intention of looking for the boulders. Apparently there are large rocks that people 'boulder' on. Either way, it is nice to have some sort of destination to look forward to. 
We reviewed the directions before originally departing in our vehicles, and then again re-reading the map upon reaching the spot where we parked down the trail/road. In the true style of my friend, with one last glance at the page, which I believe was Yukon Hikes & Bikes, she closed the book and threw is on the passenger seat, locked and shut the door, and we were off. Note: the directions are in the car that we left behind.
We never did get to the boulders, but did have a marvelous walk for several hours. We wound up discovering a plethora of trails back in them there woods. Really, I think they were a cross between wood roads and hunting accesses. Also, the woods are not thick. The trees are only an inch or two in diametre and there is virtually no underbrush. So no matter what direction we went in, the going was pretty easy.
We walked, and walked and finally decided we should go off trail, and up onto the ridge to see where we had wound up. Somehow my binocs had made it into my pack and I managed to confirm where my friend thought our vehicles were parked.
When we had almost made it back to our starting point we encountered a body of water. It smelled strongly of sulfur a.k.a. rotten eggs. Although it looked like it had a fairly shallow bottom we sank in to our upper thigh as we found our way across. Fun! But a little smelly when we were done. AND the dogs drank from it, which acted just like rotten eggs in the next few hours! ewww! ha
Upon getting home I began warming up the canning pot of water I keep on my stove. The thought of having a bath/shower in my outdoor set-up was exciting. 
Two summers ago I made this outdoor shower. It doesn't look like much, but sure works well. I used two pallets for the floor, a gifted tin tub, a frame I constructed of 2x4 with a pulley at the top. I fill up the black shower bag with water warmed in the canning pot on my stove, hoist it up, pull the shower curtain around, and shower. It is amazing how a person can bath,... what a person can do with very little water.
I think every person in the civilized world should have to live one month without running water. Just think about it...
Here are some fresh shots from our field trip last Saturday morning. We showed up at 9:00a.m. sharp so that we could see the fish that had gathered over night, and before they let them through shortly after 9:00.
They hold the fish in order to count, identify male and female, identify hatchery fish and 'born wild' fish, and also take scale samples to figure out their age. Also, if there are salmon who hover and aren't making it up through the ladder to the lake, the fishery people will harvest the row (roe?) for the on-going hatchery.
Here are some images of the ladder itself and the viewing area beside the dam.
