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“从明天起,做一个幸福的人 / 喂马,劈柴,周游世界…… / 我有一所房子,面朝大海,春暖花开……”
诗人海子的这首《面朝大海,春暖花开》所描述的内容令无数人向往。是啊,有一间面朝大海的小木屋,划船、劈柴、听雨、摘蓝莓,远离一切尘嚣,尽情享受属于自己的一片安宁,那是何等的惬意!呵呵,告诉你,这一切在阿拉斯加可以实现!欲知详情?那就跟随本文的作者一起去阿拉斯加找寻久违的闲适和恬静吧!
——Maisie
As I lifted my 3)kayak paddle out of the waters of Thomas Bay in Southeast Alaska, I paused for a moment to listen to the soft 4)susurration of rain on the surface of the water. 5)Gossamer veils of fog lay over the dark 6)spruce and 7)hemlock hills that disappeared in the mist above me. In the background, the roar of Cascade Creek provided a constant8)backbeat, a reminder that this part of Alaska really is a rain forest, getting more than 100 inches of rain annually. Back at our cabin, perched on the pebbled beach of the bay, I watched a line of 9)waterfowl10)paddle by, diving under the water then coming up with fish in their beaks. 11)Tilting their heads back, they slid their catch down their long necks.
My husband, my son, and I had arrived at the cabin earlier that day on a water taxi out of Petersburg, a fishing town on the northern tip of Mitkoff Island in Alaska. Air or boat was the only way to get there, which was just the way we wanted it. In planning my family’s trip, I had been looking to get off the 12)grid, somewhere without roads or electricity or other tourists, so that we might really experience Alaska 13)on its own terms.
Like hotels, cabins have check-in times, and we14)pulled into Thomas Bay well before our scheduled noon arrival. As we 15)motored up, we could see the 16)trim brown cabin sitting at one end of a half moon of pebble beach; at the other end, Cascade Creek 17)tumbled into the 18)glacial gray waters of the bay. A 19)skiff was 20)moored in the water out front, and smoke curled from the chimney. The previous night’s guests were still in possession, so we dropped our bags outside and decided to check out the Cascade Creek Trail at the opposite end of the beach.
We happily made our way along, first on a softly padded trail that led past moss- and21)lichen-covered tree trunks, and then on a series of 22)boardwalks installed by the 23)Forest Service. It was raining by that point, and the trail alternated between steep sets of log stairs—the Forest Service seems to have been conducting a contest on how many ways you can turn logs into steps. According to the trail description, about two and a half miles in we would reach a 24)junction that would take us to Falls Lake. There we’d find a 25)rowboat that we could take to yet another trail, which would eventually lead us to Swan Lake. But, with the rain coming down harder, we decided to turn back.
By the time we made it back down to the beach, it was a little after noon. The cabin was ours. We quickly 26)reconnoitered the place: Inside were two sets of 27)bunks—one single, one double—a table and benches, a work counter, and a wood stove. A small 28)cache box on the exterior wall provided safe storage for food. The front porch looked out over Thomas Bay and the beach. An29)outhouse and a 30)woodshed stocked with logs and axes were out back, connected to the cabin by a boardwalk. Blueberry bushes surrounded us. A small stream rushed along to the bay.
We settled in, getting the wood stove going. Earlier tenants had left behind a miscellany of items, among which we discovered a trivia game called Alaska Wild Card. Over lunch, the three of us competed to answer questions about the 49th state and its flora and fauna. A key source of entertainment was the guest register, which had 31)entries dating back decades. 32)Flipping through it, we soon learned that we were hardly the only people to find the Swan Lake trail too 33)daunting. And, as the rain kept coming, varying from a fine mist that barely kissed our faces to a downpour that turned the nearby streams into 34)gushing 35)faucets, we discovered that we weren’t the first to experience that aspect of the Alaskan climate 36)firsthand either. “Rained every day,” wrote one correspondent, who had visited the cabin 20 years ago.
After our afternoon paddle we cooked dinner, 37)grilling our fresh 38)halibut 39)fillets over a wood fire that we battled to keep going in the rain. As the long, Alaskan summer evening 40)waned—we were getting about 16 hours of daylight—we 41)retreated to our bunks. Things were so quiet in fact that we slept in the next morning, then 42)foraged for blueberries in the bushes around the cabin to make blueberry- 43)studded pancakes. The boys chopped wood, splitting the enormous logs in the woodshed into 44)manageable pieces. If the previous day had been rainy, this one seemed record-breaking, with water falling straight out of the sky and the pure, 45)aquatic rush down mountains providing a constant soundtrack.
The last morning after breakfast the skies lightened, so we went out for a paddle to Ruth’s Island nearby. As we approached the rocky point at the island’s southern tip, a group of curious seals appeared, popping their heads out of the water just feet away from the kayaks and then making a big show of splashing into the bay behind us. As we were loading our kayaks onto the boat for the trip back to Petersburg, a floatplane suddenly came roaring overhead, skimming above the treetops as it came in for a landing on a nearby bay. Moments later it reappeared and 46)taxied up to the cruise ship, no doubt letting off a new group of guests for an Alaskan adventure. That was fine, I thought, but it really didn’t 47)beat a cabin and a wood stove and the soft sound of rain on the roof.
在阿拉斯加东南部的托马斯湾,我举起船桨时稍微停顿了一下,让自己倾听落在水面上的淅淅雨声。轻纱般的薄雾笼罩着长满云杉和铁杉那阴郁的山峦,我抬起头已看不清其容颜。背后的瀑布溪水声轰鸣,形成持续的背景节奏,提醒人们阿拉斯加这地方是真正的雨林,每年的雨量超过100英寸(2540毫米)。在海湾卵石滩上我们租住的小木屋背后,我看见一排水鸟戏水游过,它们先是潜入水中,出来时嘴上叼着鱼,歪着头把鱼咽进自己那长长的脖颈里。
当天的早些时候,我和丈夫还有儿子乘水上的士从彼得斯堡来到小木屋。彼得斯堡是阿拉斯加米特考夫岛上北端的一个渔业城镇。到彼得斯堡只能乘飞机或者坐船,这正是我们想要的。在计划这次家庭旅行时,我就想找一个能完全逃离烦嚣尘网的地方,一个没有道路、电力,也没有其他游客的地方,这样,我们才可以真正体验阿拉斯加的原始风貌。
小木屋也像旅馆一样有入住时间,我们到达托马斯湾的时间大大早于我们预定的中午入住时间。随着我们乘船前行,我们可以看见那整洁的棕色小木屋坐落在半月形卵石海滩的尽头。在海滩的另一端,瀑布溪奔涌流入冰冷的灰色海水中。一艘快艇停泊在前方水面上,有烟从烟囱中冒出。由于昨夜的住客还没有退房,我们只好把行李放在屋外,决定先去位于海滩尽头对面的瀑布溪小径走走。
我们快活地沿着小径朝前走,先是走过了铺着柔软树叶的路面,两边是长满青苔地衣的大树,然后到了一条条由林务局铺设的木栈道。这时天开始下雨了,小径一段接一段全是陡峭的木台阶——好像林务局在举行关于木台阶样式的比赛似的。根据有关小径的说明,大约走到2.5英里(约4公里)处,我们会来到一个可以通向瀑布湖的岔路口。在那里我们可以找到一条划艇前往另外一条小径,沿着那条小径,我们最后可以到达天鹅湖。但是,由于雨越下越大,我们还是决定返回。
等我们回到海滩上,时间刚过了午后。那间小木屋是我们的了。我们很快查看了一下小木屋:里面有两张床——一张单人的,一张双人的——还有一张桌子、一些板凳、一个工作台和一个木柴炉。外墙上有一个小储藏柜,可以在那安全地存放食物。前门廊可以眺望托马斯湾和海滩。后面有一个厕所和一间存放木柴以及斧子的棚屋,由一条木栈道将其与小木屋连接。四周是蓝莓丛,一条小溪奔涌着流入海湾。
我们安顿下来,生起木柴炉。以前的住客们留下了各种各样的东西,我们找到了一种叫“阿拉斯加荒原”的纸牌小游戏。吃午饭的时候,我们三人争相回答有关美国第49个州——阿拉斯加州的问题,如它的动植物等。最好玩的事情莫过于看住客记录,最早的记录可追溯到几十年前。翻看着记录我们很快就知道,觉得天鹅湖小径太难走的游客不只我们。这里一直有雨,从轻吻脸颊的毛毛细雨到让附近溪流水急湍涌的倾盆大雨都有。从记录上我们发现,我们也不是第一批亲身体验阿拉斯加气候的游客。“每天都在下雨。”一位二十年前到访小木屋的记者写道。
下午去划了船以后,我们开始烹饪晚餐,在柴火上烤大比目鱼的鱼片。在雨中我们拼命设法不让柴火熄灭。随着阿拉斯加那漫长的夏日黄昏渐入黑夜——这儿大约有16小时的白昼——我们躺回到自己的铺位上。四周安静极了,事实上,我们一觉睡到了第二天早上。然后,我们到小屋四周的蓝莓丛中大肆采摘蓝莓来做用蓝莓点缀的薄煎饼。丈夫和儿子在劈柴,他们把木棚里的巨大原木劈成方便燃烧的小块。假如昨天是雨天,今天则更是打破记录,雨水直接从天空倾泻而下,形成山洪冲下山来,水声隆隆。
最后一天早上吃完早餐后,天色发亮了,所以我们划船到附近的露丝岛去。当我们接近露丝岛南端的礁石时,一群好奇的海豹出现了,它们在与小艇咫尺之遥的地方冒出头来,跳出水面表演喷水“好戏”后潜入我们身后的海湾。当我们把小艇装上船准备回彼得斯堡时,突然有一架水上飞机轰鸣着飞过我们头顶,掠过树林降落在附近海面上。过了一会儿,飞机又出现了,在水面上朝观光游船滑行,无疑,这是放下新一批参加阿拉斯加探险的游客。我想,这样玩也很好,但是怎么也不如小木屋、木柴炉和倾听打在屋顶上柔柔的雨声来得精彩。
诗人海子的这首《面朝大海,春暖花开》所描述的内容令无数人向往。是啊,有一间面朝大海的小木屋,划船、劈柴、听雨、摘蓝莓,远离一切尘嚣,尽情享受属于自己的一片安宁,那是何等的惬意!呵呵,告诉你,这一切在阿拉斯加可以实现!欲知详情?那就跟随本文的作者一起去阿拉斯加找寻久违的闲适和恬静吧!
——Maisie
As I lifted my 3)kayak paddle out of the waters of Thomas Bay in Southeast Alaska, I paused for a moment to listen to the soft 4)susurration of rain on the surface of the water. 5)Gossamer veils of fog lay over the dark 6)spruce and 7)hemlock hills that disappeared in the mist above me. In the background, the roar of Cascade Creek provided a constant8)backbeat, a reminder that this part of Alaska really is a rain forest, getting more than 100 inches of rain annually. Back at our cabin, perched on the pebbled beach of the bay, I watched a line of 9)waterfowl10)paddle by, diving under the water then coming up with fish in their beaks. 11)Tilting their heads back, they slid their catch down their long necks.
My husband, my son, and I had arrived at the cabin earlier that day on a water taxi out of Petersburg, a fishing town on the northern tip of Mitkoff Island in Alaska. Air or boat was the only way to get there, which was just the way we wanted it. In planning my family’s trip, I had been looking to get off the 12)grid, somewhere without roads or electricity or other tourists, so that we might really experience Alaska 13)on its own terms.
Like hotels, cabins have check-in times, and we14)pulled into Thomas Bay well before our scheduled noon arrival. As we 15)motored up, we could see the 16)trim brown cabin sitting at one end of a half moon of pebble beach; at the other end, Cascade Creek 17)tumbled into the 18)glacial gray waters of the bay. A 19)skiff was 20)moored in the water out front, and smoke curled from the chimney. The previous night’s guests were still in possession, so we dropped our bags outside and decided to check out the Cascade Creek Trail at the opposite end of the beach.
We happily made our way along, first on a softly padded trail that led past moss- and21)lichen-covered tree trunks, and then on a series of 22)boardwalks installed by the 23)Forest Service. It was raining by that point, and the trail alternated between steep sets of log stairs—the Forest Service seems to have been conducting a contest on how many ways you can turn logs into steps. According to the trail description, about two and a half miles in we would reach a 24)junction that would take us to Falls Lake. There we’d find a 25)rowboat that we could take to yet another trail, which would eventually lead us to Swan Lake. But, with the rain coming down harder, we decided to turn back.
By the time we made it back down to the beach, it was a little after noon. The cabin was ours. We quickly 26)reconnoitered the place: Inside were two sets of 27)bunks—one single, one double—a table and benches, a work counter, and a wood stove. A small 28)cache box on the exterior wall provided safe storage for food. The front porch looked out over Thomas Bay and the beach. An29)outhouse and a 30)woodshed stocked with logs and axes were out back, connected to the cabin by a boardwalk. Blueberry bushes surrounded us. A small stream rushed along to the bay.
We settled in, getting the wood stove going. Earlier tenants had left behind a miscellany of items, among which we discovered a trivia game called Alaska Wild Card. Over lunch, the three of us competed to answer questions about the 49th state and its flora and fauna. A key source of entertainment was the guest register, which had 31)entries dating back decades. 32)Flipping through it, we soon learned that we were hardly the only people to find the Swan Lake trail too 33)daunting. And, as the rain kept coming, varying from a fine mist that barely kissed our faces to a downpour that turned the nearby streams into 34)gushing 35)faucets, we discovered that we weren’t the first to experience that aspect of the Alaskan climate 36)firsthand either. “Rained every day,” wrote one correspondent, who had visited the cabin 20 years ago.
After our afternoon paddle we cooked dinner, 37)grilling our fresh 38)halibut 39)fillets over a wood fire that we battled to keep going in the rain. As the long, Alaskan summer evening 40)waned—we were getting about 16 hours of daylight—we 41)retreated to our bunks. Things were so quiet in fact that we slept in the next morning, then 42)foraged for blueberries in the bushes around the cabin to make blueberry- 43)studded pancakes. The boys chopped wood, splitting the enormous logs in the woodshed into 44)manageable pieces. If the previous day had been rainy, this one seemed record-breaking, with water falling straight out of the sky and the pure, 45)aquatic rush down mountains providing a constant soundtrack.
The last morning after breakfast the skies lightened, so we went out for a paddle to Ruth’s Island nearby. As we approached the rocky point at the island’s southern tip, a group of curious seals appeared, popping their heads out of the water just feet away from the kayaks and then making a big show of splashing into the bay behind us. As we were loading our kayaks onto the boat for the trip back to Petersburg, a floatplane suddenly came roaring overhead, skimming above the treetops as it came in for a landing on a nearby bay. Moments later it reappeared and 46)taxied up to the cruise ship, no doubt letting off a new group of guests for an Alaskan adventure. That was fine, I thought, but it really didn’t 47)beat a cabin and a wood stove and the soft sound of rain on the roof.
在阿拉斯加东南部的托马斯湾,我举起船桨时稍微停顿了一下,让自己倾听落在水面上的淅淅雨声。轻纱般的薄雾笼罩着长满云杉和铁杉那阴郁的山峦,我抬起头已看不清其容颜。背后的瀑布溪水声轰鸣,形成持续的背景节奏,提醒人们阿拉斯加这地方是真正的雨林,每年的雨量超过100英寸(2540毫米)。在海湾卵石滩上我们租住的小木屋背后,我看见一排水鸟戏水游过,它们先是潜入水中,出来时嘴上叼着鱼,歪着头把鱼咽进自己那长长的脖颈里。
当天的早些时候,我和丈夫还有儿子乘水上的士从彼得斯堡来到小木屋。彼得斯堡是阿拉斯加米特考夫岛上北端的一个渔业城镇。到彼得斯堡只能乘飞机或者坐船,这正是我们想要的。在计划这次家庭旅行时,我就想找一个能完全逃离烦嚣尘网的地方,一个没有道路、电力,也没有其他游客的地方,这样,我们才可以真正体验阿拉斯加的原始风貌。
小木屋也像旅馆一样有入住时间,我们到达托马斯湾的时间大大早于我们预定的中午入住时间。随着我们乘船前行,我们可以看见那整洁的棕色小木屋坐落在半月形卵石海滩的尽头。在海滩的另一端,瀑布溪奔涌流入冰冷的灰色海水中。一艘快艇停泊在前方水面上,有烟从烟囱中冒出。由于昨夜的住客还没有退房,我们只好把行李放在屋外,决定先去位于海滩尽头对面的瀑布溪小径走走。
我们快活地沿着小径朝前走,先是走过了铺着柔软树叶的路面,两边是长满青苔地衣的大树,然后到了一条条由林务局铺设的木栈道。这时天开始下雨了,小径一段接一段全是陡峭的木台阶——好像林务局在举行关于木台阶样式的比赛似的。根据有关小径的说明,大约走到2.5英里(约4公里)处,我们会来到一个可以通向瀑布湖的岔路口。在那里我们可以找到一条划艇前往另外一条小径,沿着那条小径,我们最后可以到达天鹅湖。但是,由于雨越下越大,我们还是决定返回。
等我们回到海滩上,时间刚过了午后。那间小木屋是我们的了。我们很快查看了一下小木屋:里面有两张床——一张单人的,一张双人的——还有一张桌子、一些板凳、一个工作台和一个木柴炉。外墙上有一个小储藏柜,可以在那安全地存放食物。前门廊可以眺望托马斯湾和海滩。后面有一个厕所和一间存放木柴以及斧子的棚屋,由一条木栈道将其与小木屋连接。四周是蓝莓丛,一条小溪奔涌着流入海湾。
我们安顿下来,生起木柴炉。以前的住客们留下了各种各样的东西,我们找到了一种叫“阿拉斯加荒原”的纸牌小游戏。吃午饭的时候,我们三人争相回答有关美国第49个州——阿拉斯加州的问题,如它的动植物等。最好玩的事情莫过于看住客记录,最早的记录可追溯到几十年前。翻看着记录我们很快就知道,觉得天鹅湖小径太难走的游客不只我们。这里一直有雨,从轻吻脸颊的毛毛细雨到让附近溪流水急湍涌的倾盆大雨都有。从记录上我们发现,我们也不是第一批亲身体验阿拉斯加气候的游客。“每天都在下雨。”一位二十年前到访小木屋的记者写道。
下午去划了船以后,我们开始烹饪晚餐,在柴火上烤大比目鱼的鱼片。在雨中我们拼命设法不让柴火熄灭。随着阿拉斯加那漫长的夏日黄昏渐入黑夜——这儿大约有16小时的白昼——我们躺回到自己的铺位上。四周安静极了,事实上,我们一觉睡到了第二天早上。然后,我们到小屋四周的蓝莓丛中大肆采摘蓝莓来做用蓝莓点缀的薄煎饼。丈夫和儿子在劈柴,他们把木棚里的巨大原木劈成方便燃烧的小块。假如昨天是雨天,今天则更是打破记录,雨水直接从天空倾泻而下,形成山洪冲下山来,水声隆隆。
最后一天早上吃完早餐后,天色发亮了,所以我们划船到附近的露丝岛去。当我们接近露丝岛南端的礁石时,一群好奇的海豹出现了,它们在与小艇咫尺之遥的地方冒出头来,跳出水面表演喷水“好戏”后潜入我们身后的海湾。当我们把小艇装上船准备回彼得斯堡时,突然有一架水上飞机轰鸣着飞过我们头顶,掠过树林降落在附近海面上。过了一会儿,飞机又出现了,在水面上朝观光游船滑行,无疑,这是放下新一批参加阿拉斯加探险的游客。我想,这样玩也很好,但是怎么也不如小木屋、木柴炉和倾听打在屋顶上柔柔的雨声来得精彩。