Out of the Office

Jake Dye's pair of second-hand snowshoes rest in a snowberm near Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Frozen by indecision

In video games, there’s often a defined pathway for progression — a direct, prescribed set of challenges meant to be tackled in a certain order… Continue reading

 

The setting sun casts the sky in gold over Kachemak Bay on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Early sunsets over Homer

It’s not much of a secret, I think, that winter is not my favorite season. Ironic, perhaps, considering I’ve made my home a place where… Continue reading

 

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Years of Homer ‘Nutcracker’ magic

I am in the back row of “Nutcracker 2023” warmups on the high school stage. My head is by the pre-set elaborate Christmas tree, decorated… Continue reading

 

An icy driveway in Kenai, Alaska, on Nov. 16, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: No column this week

I couldn’t write my Out of the Office column this week. Too hard. How is one supposed to settle on an appropriately outdoorsy topic amongst… Continue reading

An icy driveway in Kenai, Alaska, on Nov. 16, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
North Yuyanq’ Ch’ex rises through heavy cloud cover over hikers on the Rabbit Lake Trail near Anchorage, Alaska, on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. Jake Dye didn’t realize Rabbit Lake would be his last hike of the season, but in hindsight the hail should have been an indicator. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Looking for snow

For the last few weeks, I’ve poked my head out the window each morning hoping for signs of snow. It’s certainly been cold enough. Eagerly… Continue reading

North Yuyanq’ Ch’ex rises through heavy cloud cover over hikers on the Rabbit Lake Trail near Anchorage, Alaska, on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. Jake Dye didn’t realize Rabbit Lake would be his last hike of the season, but in hindsight the hail should have been an indicator. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A female moose sunbathes in October 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Take a breather

Sometimes I need a reminder to just breathe. It’s easy to get caught up in the day, with my workload or errands or the generally… Continue reading

A female moose sunbathes in October 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Me at Rabbit Lake on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 near Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Jake Dye).

Out of the Office: Risk and Reward

I sometimes find my love for being outdoors dampened by feelings of anxiety. I’ve always been what people may call a nervous individual, and that… Continue reading

Me at Rabbit Lake on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 near Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Jake Dye).
North Kenai Beach, Aug. 1, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: The Circle Game

I don’t feel like I’ve been outside much lately. The problem is I have been outside a lot lately. In “The Circle Game,” Joni Mitchell… Continue reading

North Kenai Beach, Aug. 1, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A very scary butterfly is seen at the side of a lake along Hidden Creek Trail near Cooper Landing, Alaska, on July 8, 2023. (Photo courtesy Ashley Every)

Out of the Office: Moments of joy

Sometimes I make a cup of coffee just to feel something. That is, holding a warm mug and sipping some delicious — caffeinated — beverage… Continue reading

A very scary butterfly is seen at the side of a lake along Hidden Creek Trail near Cooper Landing, Alaska, on July 8, 2023. (Photo courtesy Ashley Every)
The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Creek walking in cool summer

Growing up spending my summers in one outdoor activity camp or another, my favorite days of all were the ones when the instructor told us… Continue reading

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Hikers walk around the base of Byron Glacier on Sunday, June 18, 2023 near Girdwood, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Surveying the Chugach

The longer I live in Alaska, the more I worry that I’m taking it for granted. Like a lot of transplants, I spent the first… Continue reading

Hikers walk around the base of Byron Glacier on Sunday, June 18, 2023 near Girdwood, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Skyline Trail, June 25, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Mind game

Sunday at the Skyline Trail, a lost jacket gave me a chance for an endurance experiment. At about 6 p.m., I finished a three-mile climb… Continue reading

Skyline Trail, June 25, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Jake Dye looks out from the top of Gull Rock in Hope, Alaska, on Saturday, May 13, 2023. He does not yet know that the hike back is far more challenging than the hike out. (Photo courtesy Ashley Every)

Out of the Office: Off the map

All my life, I’ve been the member of the group who’s in charge of the map. Somewhere along the way, I began to conflate that… Continue reading

Jake Dye looks out from the top of Gull Rock in Hope, Alaska, on Saturday, May 13, 2023. He does not yet know that the hike back is far more challenging than the hike out. (Photo courtesy Ashley Every)
A wild hare stops for a rest in May 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Out of the Office: No work, all play

With the last of the snow patches finally melted away, it’s time to start spring cleanup. I get out my yard gloves, the rake, the… Continue reading

A wild hare stops for a rest in May 2023 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Braydon Niebuhr at the Anchor River on Tuesday May 9.  Emilie Springer/ Homer News

Out of the Office: The river no map can show

On Tuesday morning, May 9, sixth grade students in Carly Garay’s Fireweed Academy class are impatiently waiting to begin their end of the year trip… Continue reading

Braydon Niebuhr at the Anchor River on Tuesday May 9.  Emilie Springer/ Homer News
Canoe Lake on the Kenai Peninsula, April 23, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: When is the best time of the year to leave?

When is the best time of the year to leave the Kenai Peninsula? A friend recently chose April for an extended vacation. “April,” I asked.… Continue reading

Canoe Lake on the Kenai Peninsula, April 23, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Snow falls on tire tracks and puddles of water in the mud outside the home of Jake Dye in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Photo courtesy Sarah McMinn)

Out of the Office: Bring on summer

Though it may not look like it outside right now — snow is falling outside the window as I write this — spring is certainly… Continue reading

Snow falls on tire tracks and puddles of water in the mud outside the home of Jake Dye in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (Photo courtesy Sarah McMinn)
Snow falls on a fog-covered Beluga Lake on Thursday<ins>, March 30, 2023 in Homer, Alaska</ins>. (Photo by Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)

Out of the Office: Sometimes snow is not so bad

It’s nearly April, and with every two-or-more-day stretch of clear weather, I begin to hope that we’re done with the snow, that we’re a little… Continue reading

Snow falls on a fog-covered Beluga Lake on Thursday<ins>, March 30, 2023 in Homer, Alaska</ins>. (Photo by Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the office: Opening windows

“Maybe we should open the window,” my cabinmates said. “No,” I replied. It was late November 2021 and we were in the Engineer Lake Cabin.… Continue reading

Split spruce for firewood sits on the porch of the Dolly Varden Lake cabin on Feb. 5, 2023, in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
A pair of nearly pristine three-year-old workout shoes are placed in the backseat of Jake Dye’s mostly invincible car in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 8. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the office: ‘Stupid walks’

After more than three weeks of regularly hitting the gym — easily the longest stretch of any kind of exercise I’ve managed since leaving high… Continue reading

A pair of nearly pristine three-year-old workout shoes are placed in the backseat of Jake Dye’s mostly invincible car in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 8. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)