Hard Rain

Yeah I know, this photo does not depict hard rain - it's difficult to take a good hard rain photo. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give it a try. The photo depicts the harbor a mere 2 days ago. Hard to believe it was so nice when now it is so bad. I bet we'll get 2.5 inches of rain today with temps in the high 30s. Serious pineapple express. We are losing snow all the way up to at least 1500 feet on the mountains. Not to gloat on the misfortune of others, but it is worse elsewhere and even reached 43 degrees at the Birch Hill ski area in Fairbanks! Yes you read correctly, where last week it was 40 below is now warmer than Kodiak. And Anchorage is losing its snow quick too. My big hope is that the warm temperatures and rain will consolidate the snow pack, and when it does finally freeze up again I'll be able to skate ski anywhere I want in Kodiak's backcountry. Normally we do not get those snow conditions until March (see blog archives for last March). Perhaps I'll have a chance to do some serious crust cruising on the old cross country skiis a little early this year. Patrick