Fireweed
Spires of the Fireweed
by Ian Emberson
Spires of the fireweed on the fretted sky –
Tints of magenta on tranquility,
Do you feel nurture for the life within,
The burst of bloom that yields your progeny.
Do you have sense of flowering’s fleeting glow,
Bearing its part in continuity
To charge the seed and rip its casing wall
And float its fluff upon the autumn wind?
(The above excerpt is from the novel-in-verse “Pirouette of Earth”. You can find more of Ian Emberson’s paintings and poems on his website: www.ianemberson.co.uk )
As I wrote in my last entry, Lisa and I planned to drive out past Eagle Summit in search of the magnificent fields of fireweed that I remember from a couple of years ago. Magnificent doesn’t even begin to describe the stunning beauty of the magenta hills along the Steese Hwy.
We started our drive at around 9:15am. We saw large pockets of fireweed along the highway, but the larger fields of color didn’t appear until we passed Chatanika Lodge, thirty miles up the road. We were both enthralled by the bright pinkish purple of the fireweed where it contrasted to the darker colors of burned trees, but I knew that what we were seeing was merely a teasing glimpse of what lay ahead.
We stopped at Eagle Summit to hike to the top. The last time I was there, I couldn’t make the climb to the top (not enough stamina). That day, I handed off my camera to Steve and asked him to finish the hike up and take some photos for me. This time, I had my camera case - which was fully loaded - as well as a full water bottle clipped to the case. I estimate that my camera bag weighs about 30lbs. I seriously didn’t think I’d make it to the top of the hill - especially with all that weight on my back. I had to stop and rest a few times, but I made it!
The view from the summit was spectacular! From Wikipedia: Eagle Summit is a 3,652′ tall gap through the White Mountains of central Alaska. Its high-latitude location means that it is one of a handful of places on Earth where the sun can be seen at midnight by an observer standing south of the Arctic Circle or north of the Antarctic Circle. The trail of the annual Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race also passes over Eagle Summit. The area’s high winds, drifting snow, and steep terrain make it the most difficult section of trail in the race, and some competitors have called it the most difficult section of trail in any sled dog race in the world.
From Eagle Summit, you can really see the expanse of hills off in the distance - in all directions. The hills north of the summit had a purple tint to them, and I just knew that we were going to find the fireweed a few miles further down the highway.
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