Alaska Man Monday - Rasperries, Glacier Water and Impromptu Submarines

The last week was spent wandering the woods with my loyal sidekick Rat, and while we did come out of the week mooseless, we saw some fine bird covers and some gorgeous country, of which Alaska has a surfeit. Not least of these places was the famous Kenai Peninsula, which has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world – more on that in a bit.

Unfortunately, somewhere in our travels, we picked up a mild upper respiratory bug, so my wife and I have been dealing with a mild cough for the last couple of days. Such is life. But we had great fun, as Rat puts it, “walking in the woods with guns.”

Now then – who would take health advice from a rapper? Nobody with enough sense to pound sand, but there are plenty of people who lack that much intelligence. Hint: Don’t drink water off of a glacier unless it’s directly off the ice.

Professor Martin Truffer, who studies glaciers for a living, said there is no danger of the water sickening Ludacris.
“The water that’s on top of the glaciers is often extremely clean,” Professor Martin Truffer said via Zoom on Thursday.
While admitting that glaciers host a range of microorganisms like ice worms, “none of them are really of any sort of health concern.”
“As soon as you go off ice, sort of, all bets are off,” Truffer said. “All sorts of things are growing and some of them you might not really want in your water.
“But on the ice surface, the biological activity relative to what you see outside the glacier, biologically, would be extremely small.”

I wouldn’t have guessed this to be safe, but the ice surface would indeed be pretty hostile to most pathogens. But the clear, cold water further down may be carrying all sorts of nasty bugs, so don’t drink that! Also, don’t take health advice from rappers. School choice, maybe.

Alaska Man Score: 3 out of 5 moose nuggets. Demerits for anyone taking health advice from whoever Ludacris is.

In case you weren't aware of it, semi-trucks don't make good submarines. A Kenai Peninsula man learned this the hard way. This one is interesting because we passed through the area just after the event; the highway right in this stretch of the Turnagain is narrow and runs right along the inlet. We saw the truck in the water, and the emergency equipment was already gathering to (presumably) try to drag the truck out. You can see what a moment’s inattention can cause.

The family of Soldotna resident Travis Corgan confirmed with Alaska’s News Source on Wednesday that Corgan was the driver of the truck that went into the water. His family said that Corgan has been driving trucks for close to seven years and that weather and rain may have caused the crash.
They said that Corgan is at home resting in Kenai after spending time in an Anchorage hospital.
Anchorage police said the truck was headed southbound on the highway when Corgan lost control and “veered offroad into the Inlet.” Police said Anchorage investigators are still determining the cause of the incident
APD also said no charges or citations have been filed, and there were no hazardous materials inside the trailer when it ran off-road.

What caused a semi truck to veer off the highway and into Turnagain Arm remains under investigation, police say.

Officials say the truck was carrying empty fish totes and no fuel was released when it crashed.https://t.co/FsCtZ9lfcZ
— Alaska Public Media News (@AKpublicnews) September 4, 2024

Mr. Corgan was fortunate here in not getting stuck in the bottom of that stretch of the Turnagain. When the tide is out, this area is one colossal mud flat, and if you get stuck in that slimy, silty morass you may never get out again. Fortunately for Mr. Corgan and his family, it looks like he got out quickly and will be OK.

Alaska Man Score: 2.5 of 5 moose nuggets. Points for keeping his head and getting out safely; demerits for going off the road in the first place. I suspect Mr. Corgan will be looking for a new line of work. Regardless of that, we're happy he's OK.

Finally: A raspberry update, and some views of the Kenai Peninsula.