First big snowfall of the season made for great cross country skiing.

It was an interesting ride home.

 Welcome to Alaska!!  More like, Welcome Winter!!

As Alaska  embarks upon the 20th of December, we also embark upon Solstice.   The time of year we love to celebrate, not because it’s Christmas, but because its the shortest day of the year which means we begin to gain light again.

Sure, its only a few seconds a day that we gain at first, but then those seconds turn to minutes and by May we are gaining almost five minutes of daylight a day.

We have much to be happy for!  The light makes for longer ski days without having to use a headlamp to make sure you are going down the right trail and not into a tree.  Or, a headlamp works the same way as in for biking in the snow.   But some of us do not let that get us down.  Its wisdom to use a headlamp and studded tires in the snow on a bike just as it is wise to use the right kind of wax on our skis for the right snow conditions.

Snow conditions..  rapidly changing  snow can make a person snowblind and we are not careful, can get lost in the snow.  Its always a good idea to be prepared for whatever conditions one may encounter.  Usually if one looks to the clouds they can tell if  the weather is going to turn.  But, that takes some time to learn but usuall anone knows that a massive storm is heading their way if a mass of clouds is in the area.  It just takes time to watch which direction they are going, how fast they are moving and, if they are moisture ridden or not.   Common sense will tell a person to get out of the area if they are not prepared for what lies ahead. 

 However, biking in the winter is a wonderful way to experince the backcountry if one has either studded or fat tires.   It has been recommended to me to let some air out of my regular tires in order to ride on the snow without having the expense of a new set of tires.   My defense to this was ” what if I slip around and fall?”.  Then I recalled last year how I slid on the ice with my studded tires and was bruised and had a few cuts.  Guess that theory just got  shot down.

The part of cycling in the winter that makes life bearable is the amazing beauty that one can encounter and get up close and personal to.  Its nothing like being in a car and looking though the front window in order to get a great view.  Feeling the cold, crisp air and letting it rip through your face thats uncovered is like a cold shower that wakes one senses up and allows all the feelings of  nature become real to you.  Sometimes, the part that really gets your adrenaline going is when unexpectedly, you have a moose encounter!!

Moose are usually very big, unless they are newborn, but that is unlikely in the winter time.   Moose will usually ignore the person they are close to unless something startles them or appears to be a threat.   The best thing is to stay at least fift feet away from the animal. 

I have several times, been up close and personal with a moose. Not by accident, however, sometimes, it just cant be avoided like when I was walking on the sidewalk of a busy street.   The moose was on the same side of the sidewalk as me, I had no choice but to step close to it.  The moose was eating and, if he did notice me, did not even flinch.  He was too interested in eating.  This is a good thing, when a moose is eating, they are usually not interested in anything else.

The other day I came out of my work office and was surprised to see two moose galavanting across the yard.  One was a baby, perhaps the same one born on the lawn earlier that summer.  The mother saw me, I grabbed my camera to take photos, the mother watched to see how close I was getting, since I did not venture anyy further or even towards the baby, she left me alone and they ventured off into the woods together.

One day I was walking at a normal pace on a trail when I saw a young moose laying in the woods.  All of a sudden the moose jumped up and trotted quite fast towards me.  I looked that moose right in the eye and thought I was going to get trampled.  He stopped just inches away from me, let me further down the trail before he crossed the trail I was on and took off to wherever.   I was shaken up, thought I was going to have some serious injuries that day.  It was crazy!!

Moose are a beautiful aspect of Alaska, but one must err on the side of caution with these amazing animals.  They are wonderful and amazing to look at. however, they can and will stomp a person to death if they feel there is any fear.  Luckily, these events are far and few between in this land of Alaska.  It does help when we can see where we are going. And having more natural light helps out a whole lot.

Now that Solstice has passed, we are not only celebrating Christmas and New Years but also the return of light.  So you see, this time of year gives people in the Northern Hemisphere a lot to be happy about. 

Take time to celbrate those little things in life!