Lazy Mountain

 The Valley Wanderers hike for today was to Stonehenge, which is simply a flat spot with a lot of rocks and rock cairns along the trail from the Matanuska Peak Trail to the summit of Lazy Mountain. That stretch of trail is officially called the Lazy Mountain Southside Trail on the borough brochure. It was raining this morning, and we even considered scrapping the idea of hiking altogether. But it had improved by 8 am so we decided to go ahead and do the hike just to Stonehenge. It was just the 4 of us, Jane, Judith, Rabecca and me, plus Rebecca's dog and Bella. By the time we met at the end of Smith Road the sky was bright blue with just a few scattered clouds. It was chilly but perfect temperature for hiking. We walked up the McRoberts Creek Trail to the shortcut that leads up to the Matanuska Peak Trail then on to the wood tripod at the 9200-marker leading to the Southside Trail up to Stonehenge. We took a nice break on the rocks at Stonehenge and the others decided to head back down. I hate to stop at Stonehenge because it's only a 30-minute walk to go all the way to the summit of Lazy Mountain. I chose to continue. Bella and I reached the summit right at 12:30 and we had it all to ourselves. We spent a little time on the very top and I recorded a 360-degree video of the summit view. Then we headed back down. The best part of the view is that of Matanuska Peak, but clouds rolled in and obscured it. A little disappointing but it was still a lovely view of the surrounding mountains. Bella and I scurried back down through a bit of loose scree and a few muddy spots and were back to the car by 2:30. It was a perfect day and as always, a great 7-mile workout. 

Harp Mountain Traverse

It was forecast to be a nice day, but Mother Nature didn't look at the forecast apparently. It was very cloudy and drizzly with low clouds and fog banks obscuring most of the mountain peaks. Our Valley Wanderers had planned to do the Harp Traverse today, leaving some cars at the South Fork Eagle River Trailhead then carpooling to the Harp Trailhead. I had forgotten how steep Harp Mountain was. It was so straight up and unrelenting with no little flat spots to catch my breath. I had trouble keeping up with the speedy leader. Bella was usually up with Chris, the leader as usual. But she came back to check on me occasionally. It was kind of chilly and misty most of the way to the summit, with fog banks obscuring most of the normally amazing views along the way. We all took a snack break at the summit then started our trek along the extremely rocky ridge towards the spot where we intended to head down and join the South Fork Trail. The ridge was kind of treacherous, and I worried that Bella might either tumble off one of the rocks, or cause Chris, our leader to trip over her. She stayed right by his feet, and I followed close behind. In some places the rocks are nearly technical and can be a little intimidating to some of us. We came to one very nasty rock pile and even Chris decided to avoid it. He started down a bit through the tundra. I followed him and Bella, since he was the leader. We started getting a little too low and were now in very steep loose rocks and scree. Chris started to traverse straight back over to the ridge, across a huge boulder pile. Jane and another lady named Jane were still much higher on the ridge and decided to stay up there. They urged the 4 of us who had followed Chris to climb back up to them. We looked at each other and said NOPE! Not going back up through that scree field. In retrospect, I think we should have followed Chris through the boulder field, but instead, we just continued straight down over the tundra to the trail a couple thousand feet below that we could see in the distance. It wasn't a terrible route, but it did keep us from doing the official traverse. The closer we got to that trail and the fast-moving creek before it, the thicker the brush became. It was quite the struggle pushing through the brush. Bella had stayed with me, or I likely would have followed her and gone with Chris. Once we got the creek, we had a new dilemma, how to cross that creek. It was deep and moving very fast with steep banks on either side. We walked upstream then downstream a couple of times, then resigned ourselves to fording the creek. Elizabeth took off her pack and marched across the creek, totally submerging her feet. Then we tossed her pack to her. The others did the same. I only had my running vest on so didn't bother to remove it. My problem was how to get Bella across. There was no way she could have crossed it. I ended up handing her to Elizabeth then crossing like the others had done. We had to grab onto brush to pull ourselves up the steep embankment but then we were in smaller brush, and it was a fairly short walk to join the Hanging Valley Trail, which eventually joined the South Fork Trail. Now it was just the long trek down a nice wide and mostly flat trail through the valley back to my car at the trailhead. Chris and the 2 Janes had their cars at the trailhead, so we didn't need to wait for them when we finally got there. They would have been far behind since they did continue along the long ridge. I took Janice and Elizabeth back to their car at the Harp Trailhead and took Sarah back to Palmer where she had left her car to carpool with Jane. It was a fun and interesting adventure in route finding. Plus, even in the fog and mist, the fall colors were beautiful. Next time I go, I hope I can do the whole ridge. I did do it a year or so ago, but don't remember all of the details. Although, I do remember encountering lots of brush after descending the ridge. It started to rain as we walked out but my raincoat kept me dry. My boots, however, may be wet forever. I plan to buy a boot dryer tomorrow! Bella needs a bath.

Gold Cord Lake

It was raining all morning and had turned into a very boring day. I left in the car just to see if I could find a place with better weather, or at least not raining. I saw a tiny spot of blue sky over the Talkeetna Mountains so drove up to Hatcher Pass. There was quite a bit of sunshine in spots up there. No rain either. I did drive all the way up to the pass and Bella and I took a short walk on the little trail by the monument. I never even noticed that trail before. It wasn't very long and didn't really go anywhere. I considered hiking April Bowl Trail, but it was pretty cloudy and foggy, and I didn't feel quite that ambitious. So, I drove back down to Independence Mine and decided to hike up to Gold Cord Lake. It's rather short, only 2 miles round trip, but a lovely spot. The mountains were all obscured by clouds and fog, but the clouds were moving in and out, making for an interesting mysterious scene. I was surprised that it wasn't nearly as muddy as I expected. I didn't even need to create my own path around the big rock to keep from getting into mud up to my ankles. When we reached the lake, I just sat on my favorite rock and watched the clouds and fog roll around. There were several little birds taking turns sitting on the rocks out in the water. Bella enjoyed barking at them, thus causing them to fly away. It was just a peaceful and pleasant little steep hike to the beautiful little mountain lake. It's always nice to get away from just hanging out at home, even if it wasn't a huge ambitious hike.

Jim Lake & Jim Creek Kayak

 It's a beautiful sunny day and I have only taken my kayak out a couple of times all summer. I've wanted to go paddle Jim Creek but keep waiting for someone to do it with me. It's September! Summer is officially over in Alaska. So, guess I'll have to go alone. I took Bella of course. The road is in great condition. The place where you put a boat into Jim Lake is extremely muddy though. The lake level is pretty low, and the smell of rotting salmon wasn't too pleasant. But I managed to get into the boat without getting muddy or wet. I took off straight across the lake towards Pioneer Peak as usual but ended up wandering around trying to find the portage. I usually head for the tall spruce trees. But I didn't find it near the few spruce trees I saw. It was hard to get very close to the shore due to the low water level. The shore was full of fallen trees and logs, so I had to keep my distance to avoid getting stuck or turned over. I finally decided that somehow, I had missed it after going quite a distance to the left side. I then went a much longer distance in the opposite direction hoping to maybe find the little stream that actually connects with Jim Creek. I wasn't able to find that either. Disappointed, I elected to just paddle back and go all around the lake. I was surprised when I finally did come upon the portage. There were no spruce trees nearby and it was farther east than I had remembered. I pulled in and carried the boat the short distance to Jim Creek. It was so nice and peaceful on the creek. No wind, and calm water. Bella had been pretty restless while out on the lake, but she seemed to calm down on the creek. I think she prefers being closer to the shore. She got really hot, so I dipped her in the water to cool off. Now we were both wet, but she stopped panting. We drifted downstream gently, listening to a few cackling ravens, watching a couple of fish jump and an eagle fly by. I had hoped to go to the spot where the creek from Swan Lake joins the main creek, but I noticed that clouds were moving in, and it was starting to get windy and cooler. I turned around and had to paddle harder upwind and upstream. I think Bella sensed that we were now heading back and I think she was happy about it. She got a bit anxious and kept shuffling around in the boat, making it harder to paddle. She was delighted when we got back to the portage, and she leaped right of the boat onto the shore. I was a little worried about the wind out on the big lake, but it wasn't too bad. I did have to work a bit harder to keep straight because it was quite a crosswind from the left. But we got to the parking lot fairly quickly. Bella got very excited when she spotted the cars and nearly fell out of the boat. I keep her leash attached to both her harness and her life jacket and she is also connected to me, just in case she does fall in or jump in. Back at the boat ramp the mud seemed much worse than when we left. I had no choice but to get out still in about a foot of deep soft black mud. Bella jumped out and I stepped out into the mud. My left foot stuck and forced me to my knees. Now I was a soaking wet muddy mess, just like Bella. I managed to drag the boat and everything else to the car. I wrapped Bella in a blanket and strapped her into her car seat. I put a towel on my seat to try to protect my car. The boat was quite a mess. I quickly folded it up and tossed it into the back of the car. My boots were full of mud and water, so I didn't even try to take them off. I didn't want my muddy feet in my clean shoes. Back home I hosed off Bella's feet, then took off my pants and hosed my own legs off. It took a while, but I finally got the mud off of everything. Then it started to rain. Looks like I timed my turn around just right.

The Portage from Jim Lake 

Gold Star and POW/MIA Peaks Climb

Today I went with the Valley Wanderers to climb Gold Star Peak and POW/MIA Peak just down the ridge from Gold Star. We usually park at mile 4.5 of Eklutna Lake Road then walk 1/2 mile to the official trailhead at mile 5. But there is an obvious narrow trail directly across the street from the parking pullout. We did walk it last year and found that it disappears into the brush and eventually brings you to a nice ridge, which will lead to the peak. But we remembered that it was pretty difficult last time. However, we couldn't resist giving it another try. It turned out to be just as brushy or maybe even worse this time. About halfway to the ridge, it seems to vanish, then we all took off in somewhat different directions looking for the trail. I found that part a little frustrating, especially when I lost sight of the others. Bella seemed to find her own way, mostly trying to stay close to whoever was the farthest up the mountain. Sometimes she would come back to check on me and I followed her back uphill until I lost her again. We all eventually linked up again when we reached the ridge, but it was very frustrating and involved lots of bushwhacking. It was very tiring. But the ridge walk itself was gorgeous and very easy walking along a well-defined trail. There was no obvious place to cut over to join the actual trail somewhere off to the left side of the ridge. I remember last time how it was a horrendous mess of brush and alders and very difficult to finally reach the main trail. Chris seemed to want to climb higher, but the others decided to head to the right because they felt it looked better. I honestly wasn't sure. However, now, I think if I try this again, I want to climb as high as I possibly can on that ridge before crossing over. It was really difficult scrambling through all that brush. Some people climbed higher through it while a couple went lower. I couldn't decide who to follow because I tended to be the farthest behind. Bella is a great little mountain climber, but she was having lots of trouble navigating the lower brush that was over her head. I ended up carrying her in my arms for a while, and that process made me even slower. I finally lost sight of everyone else until I suddenly saw Jane and Julia waiting for me on the actual trail. It was such a relief to see them. Even Julia's big dogs had been struggling through that brush. But once on the trail again, it was very steep, and a little slippery, but basically easy sailing. We all took a nice snack break at the saddle before starting up the rock and scree to the summit. Bella of course, beat most of us to the top. She was waiting for me when I got there. She took many side trips on her way though, racing up and down through the tundra chasing squirrels and running with the 2 big dogs. At the top of Gold Star, we took the usual amazing photos and admired the monuments. Then walked along the narrow ridge to POW/MIA Peak. Now we had a clear view of Eklutna Lake and the Mat-Su Valley on either side of the narrow ridge. The trail mostly ends just past the actual marked POW/MIA peak with its tattered American flag. Sadly, the black and white POW flag must have blown away because it was missing. We've had tremendous winds lately, so it didn't surprise me that it didn't survive, so exposed up on that mountain. The view of Twin Peaks is extraordinary from the end of the obvious trail. I couldn't stop taking pictures there. One could continue down the steep ridge and climb the West Twin or even venture across the valley and reach the Twin Peaks Trail. But that would be quite an adventure. Someone had built a little bench where we stopped, and Erin sat down to eat her sandwich there. Bella, in her usual fashion, sat next to her trying to mooch some of her food.  We lingered there for a while then took the alternate route on the west side of the mountain, along the dramatic cliffs that plunge down into the valley. The dogs made us all a little nervous because they loved to run much too close and way too far down towards the cliff edges. I did a substantial amount of screaming at Bella to get back here, because I didn't want to have to climb down some rock face to retrieve her. Fortunately, she was very obedient and sensed I meant business. She always came running right back. We descended along the official trail, which was a bit muddy and slippery. I fell a couple of times then finally put on my grippers like a couple of the others had already done. That was very helpful. That trail is tough enough, but it was a whole lot easier than the way we had come up. Next time, if we choose to go to the ridge, I hope we find a better way to traverse to the main trail. But even with the hardships, it was a fabulous hike, and I love how it honors our fallen soldiers. The hardships of the climb are nothing compared to the sacrifice they have made to make it possible for us to climb so freely to such a beautiful place.

Along the ridge

Twin Peaks

Eklutna Lake

Gold Star Monument

Monument to the Military Dogs of the Viet Nam War

School Connector Trail

 Virginia asked if I wanted to check out the School Connector Trail that intersects the loop trail that we took around High Ridge and Baird Lakes the other day. I always wondered where that actually went myself. So, I said of course, and we met at the Crevasse Moraine Trailhead. Before we met, I drove to the school that is at the end of the trail to see if I could see where the trail reaches the school. I drove all around the parking lots but never saw the trail. We met then walked the Crevasse Moraine Outer Loop Trail to the Bottom Loop where we found the unmarked School Connector Trail take off to the left. It's pretty narrow and doesn't look like it is used a lot. But it was fairly easy to follow. There were a couple of other vague trails leading off of it and we relied on our phone apps to stay on the right one. It deteriorated into a grassy ATV trail but was still the obvious correct way. It did in fact lead down a steep hill to the parking lot of the school, but it had not been very obvious from the school when I drove right by it. Instead of retracing our steps, we saw the powerline across the street that leads directly in a very straight line back to the Crevasse Moraine Trailhead. It was definitely a straight line and had a nice trail beneath it. But the trail itself was anything but straight. It was one steep hill after another because powerlines don't follow the contour of the land. They just go directly to their destination. It was kind of fun and a very nice hill climbing workout, although only a little less than 3 miles. We were both glad we hiked it and vowed to never bother to do it again!!! But our curiosity was totally satisfied.

That straight line is the powerline

Matanuska Lake to High Ridge Lake

 Our Valley Wanderers plan for today was to hike the trails up at Skeetawk maybe up to Government Peak. But when we arrived at Skeetawk, we were greeted by rain and a solid overcast and fog. Several of the group just said farewell, but Virginia, Jane, Erin and I decided to find an alternate hike in better weather. We met again at Matanuska Lake and started hiking the Long Lake Loop. Virginia led us down the tiny trail that warns us to keep out, caretaker's residence. I never dared to violate that sign. But she knew it was totally abandoned. So, we visited the boarded-up house. Then we followed the trail, which turned out to be a continuation of the Old Cat Trail. I mentioned that I had hiked that trail to High Ridge Lake before. So suddenly we all decided to follow it all the way to High Ridge and Biard Lakes. I had never realized that trail extended to that boarded-up cabin. It was very pleasant conditions, just cloudy but with no rain or wind. The trail gets very steep in spots and also quite narrow. Virginia had been to the lakes before but not from that direction. I had used that route in the past so ended up being sort of the leader. There is very little traffic on that trail, and we had it completely to ourselves. I pointed out the intersection that leads to the Crevasse Moraine trailhead, where I had first hiked to the lakes. Soon after, we passed the cute little blue chair that has been sitting there overlooking Biard Lake long enough to appear on the Gaia iPhone app map! Of course, we all took turns sitting in the chair. Rather than retrace our stops on the Old Cat Trail, we turned off the loop and took the Rooty Trail and joined the Long Lake Connector. This eventually led us back to the Matanuska Lake trail system and crossed the hay fields back to our cars at Matanuska Lake. It was a delightful 9-mile hike in lovely weather. Bella enjoyed mostly leading us the whole way.