The Frozen Swamp "Trail" Expedition

So yesterday we decided to take our neighbor's advice and go for a nature walk through the woods into town. Our neighbor, Nantia, lives just down the street from us and has a large spread with a great view of the mountains (we seem to be the only people in Homer who don't have a view of the mountains). Nantia also has several animals on her property, including goats, roosters, a pair of surly geese and a legion of noisy ducks who follow the geese like cult worshippers. 

We put on our boots and warm clothes and loaded Otto, bundled up in his snowsuit, into the baby backpack before we set off on  our adventure. First, we went to Nantia's house, where we ran into her and her son. Nantia gave us general directions on how to take the trail leading away from her house into town.

Maybe we should've taken the "No Trespassing" sign as a ... um ... sign.

The duck zealots and their geese dictators are aggressive and must be warded off with a spruce branch (Nova took care of this while I cowered in fear behind her).

We stopped briefly to say hi to the goats before heading into the unknown.

"Just follow the sewer line trail," said Nantia.

So we did, and learned pretty quickly how swampy the terrain was. It would be impassable in the summer (unless one were to employ hipwaders, maybe) but was frozen enough to have a stable, walkable crust of ice on top of standing water. I would soon find out just how deep the water was.

This abandoned minibike kind of seemed like a bad omen, too.

After following the sewer line path for awhile, it just sort of petered out and we had to start choosing from a selection of game trails. We tried to stick close to the woodline (we were getting closer to Beluga Lake, which we could see in the distance) and maintain a west by northwesterly direction.

Although we weren't carrying a compass, we were never in danger of becoming lost in the thick woods and swampland, as we could see the bright Sun to our left and the Homer bench to our right. When we started to catch glimpses of Beluga Lake, we decided to head in it's direction, with the thought that we could travel more easily on the lake than we could on the increasingly unstable swamp ice.

When we came out of the woods and into the marsh surrounding Beluga Lake (pictured above) the view improved and the footing worsened. Right at the moment I was warning Nova to be careful of thin ice, my right foot broke through and Kersploosh! ... I was in the ice cold water up to my knee.

Awesome.

We decided to turn back and go the way we came, with the hopes of finding an alternate trail into town. My foot was wet but not too cold so I decided I could make it into town and maybe pick up a pair of dry socks at Ulmer's. After about an hour of trying various trails through all kinds of terrain, we ended up at Paul Banks Elementary School.

So we decided to play on the swings for a little while.

And the slide.

And then we said "screw it" and took the road back home, where we took naps and had Hamburger Helper for dinner. 

So we didn't complete our goal of taking the backwoods into town on a Saturday afternoon, but we did see our friend Nantia, played with some goats, walked through a quiet forest and saw some terrific scenery on the shores of Beluga Lake. 

Homer News roundup, 10/30

In this week’s Homer News …

Friends pay loving tribute to Homer's Julie Cessarini

It seemed like at least 100 people there, and it was a great mix of Homeroids. I haven't seen so many tie-dyed outfits together in one sitting since the 1960s … (read more)

Council looks at options: Instead of rate hike, officials to consider proposal to subsidize water, sewer system

After receiving a mostly negative reaction from members of the public and the Homer City Council about proposed 2009 increases in the city's water and sewer rates, city manager Walt Wrede decided it was time to go back to the drawing board … (read more)

Cirque du Ritz brings magic and mayhem to Pratt

With last week's Wearable Arts show inspiring Homer to dress up, what better time to put on those fancy duds than the Pratt Museum's annual Ritz fund-raiser? Over the decades, the Pratt has had "license to Ritz," "Chez Ritz," "from rags to Ritz" and been "simply black and white," some of the themes to inspire people to go all out for a gala night, Kachemak Bay style … (read more)

Museum fights city proposal to cut funding by 25 percent

If the Homer City Council follows through with a proposed plan to cut 25 percent of city funding -- or about $22,500 -- from the Pratt Museum, the city may have to take over operation of the museum itself, said Heather Beggs, the Pratt's director, to the council at their Monday regular meeting … (read more)

Editorial: Sen. Stevens has served Alaska well, but he needs to step down

Not surprisingly, Alaskans are divided on what should happen. Many continue to stand by him. Others say they can no longer support him. A growing list is calling on him to step down.

And that's exactly what should happen … (read more)

More than volleyball served: Nikolaevsk tourney spotlights sports, community's culture

The Nikolaevsk gym was just like any other for a home volleyball match -- filled with excited, pumped-up fans, homemade signs rooting on the home team and mothers with Camcorders capturing all the action. There was only one noticeable difference between the bleachers there and those of any other small Alaska school -- these fans cheered on their team, the Nikolaevsk Lady Warriors, in Russian ... (read more)

And, of course, there's much more at homernews.com.

Volleyball in Nikolaevsk

One of my sports assignments this week was to cover a volleyball tournament in Nikolaevsk, one of the Russian Old Believer villages in the Homer area (it's actually about halfway between Homer and Anchor Point on North Fork Road).

The Old Believers have been in this area for decades and Nikolaevsk is the oldest of their settlements on the Kenai Peninsula. They are a relatively small group of Russian Orthodox adherents who practice a version of their religion that existed before Russian Orthodoxy merged with Greek Orthodoxy in 1652. They have been persecuted ever since, finding only temporary homes in Siberia and South America before settling in the U.S., in Oregon and here on the Kenai. 

Around here, the Old Believers are noticeable primarily because of their appearance - the men wear long beards and the women dress in bonnets and long, homemade dresses. Other than that, they live life pretty much in the 21st Century - they drive cars, shop at the Safeway, go to the movies and have jobs in town (many of the men are commercial fishermen).

They also love volleyball.

The Nikolaevsk School, in fact, fields a volleyball team - the Nikolaevsk Lady Warriors - in their beautiful gym at the school. Below are some photos of their Friday evening match against Tok, which they lost in four games. Every year, they hold a four-day volleyball tournament where teams from all over Alaska come to play. The people of the village put the players up in the school and in their homes, show them around the village and share with them their unique culture.

I have found in my few meetings with Old Believers, that they are a warm and hospitable group of people. They are friendly and gracious and willing to share their stories. I talked with many of the village women Friday and found out they are huge volleyball fans. It was a lot of fun.

There will be a full story on the tournament, including interviews with some of the players and parents, in next week's Homer News. I'll post a link here when it's available.

In the meantime, you can view the full set of photos at my Flickr page.