Here is an assortment of observations from different places at different times during the month. This October must set some sort of record for sunny days and lack of rain. All of Juneau could hardly believe it — and those who feared and fled the typical October slatting rains really missed a treat.
However, the lack of rain meant that the streams held little water, and in some places the incoming coho probably had to wait before ascending to their spawning areas. At Steep Creek near the visitor center, foraging bears didn’t have a lot of fish to choose from but the fish that were there became easy pickings. Dolly Varden came in too, both to eat salmon eggs and to spawn. These late runs of anadromous fish are an important source of food for bears getting ready to hibernate. Two local mother bears have three cubs-of-the-year to feed and train — a big job! Bumper crops of berries this summer no doubt made the job easier.
Beavers prepare for winter by making caches of bark-covered sticks in front of a family’s lodge. But by the middle of October, only some occupied lodges in the Mendenhall Glacier Rec Area had caches. Perhaps the unusually benign weather encouraged some delay in putting up food for the winter. Winter caches are especially important for families with young kits, which need to keep growing all through the cold season.
Out at Eagle Beach one sunny day, a stiff north wind was whipping Lynn Canal into a froth. The tide had covered most of the sand bars, but one low ridge made a windbreak. Hundreds of gulls hunkered down there, packed together wing to wing in the lee of the only shelter available.
Parks and Rec hikers went to Sheep Creek Valley on another windy day. The wind was roaring on the surrounding ridgetops like seven freight trains. In the valley itself, the wind was strong enough to send whatever birds were left into cover (and make me worry about trees falling). By the time we reached the back of the valley, a blizzard was in progress and over two inches of snow lay on the ground. (The next day saw about six inches of wet snow at my house—very odd for mid-October). We remarked on the abundance of highbush cranberries still hanging on the bushes, despite the fact that two of us had already harvested over four gallons of them up there.
Toward the end of the month, Parks and Rec hiked the Treadwell Ditch trail from Eaglecrest, some hikers heading for the Blueberry Hills area but other choosing to go only partway. There has been considerable work on this trail, mostly by Trail Mix. The incipient washout at the bridge over Fish Creek has been repaired. Several rather rustic bridges now ease passage over small gullies and much of the trail itself has been smoothed for easier walking. About three miles down the trail is a nice stone bench, just right for taking a snack-break. Beyond the bench, in the middle section of the trail, there are some eroded areas and the Eagle Creek bridge is still gone (although there are rumors of plans to replace it). Until that happens, crossing that creek is best done at low water, of course, and may require some scrambling.
Along the way, we saw three sooty grouse up in the lower part of the tree canopy. After their first startled movement, they ‘froze’, no doubt hoping to be invisible. Even though they were backlit, and therefore just silhouettes, the rotund bodies and small heads made them readily identifiable. A few minutes later, we spotted a brown creeper doing its usual thing—hitching its way up one tree trunk, searching for spiders and insects in the bark crevices, then flying down to search up the nest tree. We don’t see them very often, so this was a treat.
I’ve saved the best fun for last: As I sat at my keyboard in front of a downstairs window, I looked up — and found myself face to face with a bear, nose to the glass, looking in. The cat that was helping me type (so to say) sprang to the defense, hissing and growling on his side of the window pane. The bear was unfazed. I stood up and looked out. This curious bear was one of three big cubs, with mama right behind. What fun! Eventually, all four ambled off through a neighbor’s yard. Sometimes one doesn’t have go very far in search of excitement.
• Mary F. Willson is a retired professor of ecology.
