Pioneer Ridge

 Today the Valley Wanderers had planned to hike the Pioneer Ridge Trail as far as we could comfortably go. The reviews said from the first picnic table to the second was horribly overgrown, so we didn't know if we would tackle that part or not. I hoped we could make it all the way to the ridge, but since it's a very long and very steep trail, I wasn't so sure I could even make it after the longs hikes of this past week. We started with 6 then Virginia caught up with us. She tends to leave later and catch us because she is an amazing athlete, and we're just happy hikers. It was a little slippery but not too muddy to the first table. The trail is in excellent condition on that section. We took a break there then started up through the heavy brush which was quite wet from yesterday's rain. It was also fairly muddy. Some of the group put on grippers, but I didn't. They certainly would have been helpful but I was doing fine. We got to the 2nd table which was almost covered with brush. I couldn't even see it until Diane pointed it out to me, on a little trail slightly below the main trail, Too my surprise, I saw Bella standing on top of it. She had no trouble finding it. That was pretty funny. I had worried she might have trouble, but she out hiked us all, except for maybe Virginia. We all went a bit higher to a nice overlook where we all took another break. From there several decided to head on down. Virginia, Diane, and Erin wanted to continue to the ridge. I joined them. In fact they even insisted that I lead. I am a bit slower on the uphill than any of those ladies. But they were content to follow my steady pace. I felt pretty good and we did move at a reasonable pace. Now above the tree line, Bella was running in every direction, chasing squirrels and leaping from rock to rock. I'm sure she walked twice the distance the rest of us did. The views toward Knik Glacier were incredible. There were some clouds floating in and out but Pioneer Peak itself was always mostly in view. We could see a few sheep or goats in the distance along the peak. Happily, we all made it to the ridge where we took a nice long break and had some food. It was kind of chilly and I had to put my coat back on. There was some wind adding to the chill. But it was still quite nice. Virginia decided that she wanted to climb to the top of Pioneer Peak. She is a much faster hiker than the rest of us, plus it was a bit late in the day. So, she took off on her own up the peak. We explored a little and looked toward the peaks across the valley to the other side of the ridge. We could see where the Eklutna High Ridge Traverse would go from Pepper Peak to Yudikench, and to Pioneer Ridge. It looks like a very long trip but I sure would love to do it someday. I'm not so sure I could do it in one day like some of the faster hikers do. But it does look like an amazing trip. Bella ran up and down the mountainsides and I had to keep calling her back. I almost felt she wanted to spend the rest of her life out there chasing ground squirrels. We made our way down along the long ridge through rocks and scree until we came to the place where the others had turned back. Soon after that we put on our gripers for the long muddy steep trip back down to the cars. I don't know how I would have made it still standing, without those grippers. It's so muddy and steep, plus you can't see your feet through the brushy overgrowth. We mostly stayed together on our way down, but Erin was a bit faster. She waited for me when I lagged a bit behind. Bella ran from the leader to the last one and back, through the mud all the way to the car. We hiked just under 10 miles and had an elevation gain of over 5200 feet. I'm sure Virginia had a terrific climb, and she did text me later so I knew she made it back down. Our whole group is a bit in awe of her ability to climb anything. She must have been a mountain goat in some past life. But we were all delighted that we made it to the ridge. That was my goal for today. Although, with an earlier start and the right preparations, I do want to climb to the Pioneer Peak South Peak someday.

Knik Glacier

View on the back side of Pioneer Ridge

Pioneer Peak

Reed Lakes Trail

 I started this hike with the Valley Wanderers with a bit of hesitation. I was really worried that it might be too much for my dog, Bella. She hiked Snowbird on Monday, Matanuska Peak on Wednesday, and 10 miles at Gold Mint yesterday. I was still tired myself, but it's harder to tell how she feels. I brought my dog carrying backpack just in case things got too tough for her. Well, it only took a few minutes to realize she was not going to have any trouble. I had to scramble to keep up with the leader because Bella was up front with them. She was right at home on the trail as usual. The first 2 miles of this trail are the same as the Snowbird Trail. But instead of splitting and heading straight up where that trail appears, we continued straight ahead across the bridges and on up through the beautiful valley. There is a lot of water and marshy land out there. But the trail sticks mostly to the higher dry areas until it climbs fairly steeply up through granite and loose rocks. The views across the valley are wonderful and are dotted with wildflowers. The rocks get progressively larger and more abundant until we reach the dreaded boulder field for which Reed Lakes Trail is well known. Several of the group considered turning back once reaching the boulders. But we were making fairly good progress, so we all crossed them with a reasonable amount of ease. I had a few complicated extra adventures when reaching gigantic boulders too high for Bella's little legs. It was interesting at times, scrambling up 4 feet on a slippery rock with my trekking poles in one hand and Bella in the other. There were a number of times that I had to give her a lift assist. She often chose her own route and surprised us all by finding ways better than what we had chosen. One time she scared me as she did a giant leap up a huge boulder and was literally hanging by her front toenails and managed to kick herself to the top! I tried to stay as close as possible to her after that. The Reed Creek is running furiously beneath most of those boulders, so it is important to be careful not to slip into the water. Bella stopped every time I yelled at her to wait, after that. If she looked perplexed, I went to her and scooped her up and over the biggest boulders. For the most part though, Bella did a better job on the boulders than I did. We had to cross the creek via boulder scrambles 3 times. The last crossing had the biggest boulders. We had an interesting time getting over those. Once we reached the lower lake, we were mostly free of boulders. That was a great place to take a short lunch break. Some of our group of 13 preferred to hike on up to the beautiful waterfall to eat. Of course, Bella followed them, so I quickly decided I needed to join them. It was worth it because that's a fantastic spot to sit and enjoy the wonders of nature. Jo and Charlie soon joined us at the waterfall but decided they didn't want to continue to the Upper Reed Lake. It was raining slightly, and they were concerned about crossing the boulders in the rain. So, they turned back and the rest of us went on another mile or so to the Upper Lake. That was very worth the trip. I had only been there once before so was quite excited when we arrived. It is a totally majestic lake, surrounded by towering mountains on 3 sides. The steep pass at the far end leads to the Bomber Glacier and is part of the Bomber Traverse that I dream of doing someday. I've been to 3 of the passes that lead to that route, but so far, I only dream of going the rest of the way. I'm kind of doing it in pieces! We had a nice break there then reluctantly turned back. With thoughts of crossing those gnarly boulders haunting my mind, I figured that since we made it one way, we'd make it in the other direction. The descent was fairly easy until we came to the first crossing with the gigantic boulders. We all had our problems crossing the largest rock. It was definitely easier from the other direction. In order to cross it we had to somehow get on top and straddle it, then slip down the other side to a single foothold just above the water. I had Bella in one hand and my poles in the other. That was quite the dilemma. A young woman crossing from the opposite direction climbed up to help by first taking Bella then taking my poles. I managed to reach the foot hold and get myself to the other side with dry feet. I watched the rest of our group as they struggled with that particular part of the crossing. A couple of them did slip into the water but there were only a few scrapes and wet feet, but no injuries. We saw some other hikers crossing at a lower point and I'm taking note of that point for next time. It looked a lot easier.   There are some comical photos others took of some of us negotiating that giant rock. I likely looked the craziest of all with my need for two sets of arms. We continued on through piles of giant rocks, with me elevating Bella from time to time.  She still beat me across the last 2 creek crossings. We were all very happy to once again, be back on a regular trail as we wound our way up out of the upper creek bed to the ridge above the vast lower valley. The creek drops into that valley via another spectacular waterfall. We found lots of slippery, muddy spots but all found our way easily back across the bridges and down the last 2-mile section of trail to the trailhead. We were all a little muddy and wet but totally elated that we made it to the Upper Reed Lake. Its a very tough trail but a challenging and interesting hike to one of the most beautiful places on earth, at least in my opinion.

Bella and me at Upper Reed Lake

Lower Reed Lake

The waterfall between Upper and Lower Reed Lakes

Upper Reed Lake

Gold Mint Trail

 I usually hike with my friend Pam on Fridays. Today she wanted to hike at Gold Mint because we haven't been up there since winter. It looked like rain and was even raining a little at home. But we figured since it's a fairly flat trail, we could easily turn back if the weather turned bad. Or, if Bella or I got too tired from climbing Matanuska Peak 2 days ago. But we all felt great. Our dogs charged ahead as always, and we kept on going until we reached the beaver ponds. The trail sort of disappears into water at mile 5 because of the beaver's handiwork. We always turn back there rather than try to pick our way around the water. I really want to go the whole 9 miles out to the Mint Hut someday and camp. But today was certainly not going to be that day. Especially since I plan to hike Reed Lakes with the Valley Wanderers tomorrow. But every time I go out this trail, I start daydreaming of how I really want to either go out to that hut or better yet, do the Bomber Traverse. Maybe someday. I'd prefer to do that longer hike with another person, but I never seem to have any takers when I toss the idea out to my friends. If it wasn't for the beaver pond problem, I'd probably have gone for it solo. Maybe next year. I say that every year! So, we did our usual 5-mile turnaround point and headed back before the rain caught up with us. It's so beautiful out there any time of the year. But right now, it is very green with wildflowers everywhere. I'm not sure if a 10-mile hike was the wisest thing for me to do with a big hike scheduled for tomorrow and still recovering from the marathon, Snowbird and Matanuska Peak. But oh well, I sure didn't want to turn around until we had to.

Matanuska Peak Climb

 Michele Kamilos from Valley Wanderers had asked me a couple days ago if I would like to climb Matanuska Peak Wednesday. I pondered for a minute, since I knew I had the marathon on Saturday and planned to hike to Snowbird Hut on Monday. I felt I might be pushing my luck, throwing in another brutal event without enough time to recover from the first of the 3. But I love climbing Matanuska Peak, so of course, I said "Sure, meet me at 7 at Smith Road." I was still exhausted but managed to get there by 7. We had a wonderful hike up the Matanuska Peak Trail. I'd heard the McRoberts Creek Trail was terribly overgrown, so we chose the longer of the 2. We got to the picnic table fairly quickly and took a nice break. Then up the trail we went. Bella was doing great. We started to slow down some when we hit the slippery sliding scree field, but it wasn't too bad. The scree turns to rocks which turn to progressively larger boulders as you climb. The trail, if there actually is one, disappears into the boulders. There are occasional stakes marking the route, but they're not always terribly helpful. It became quite a struggle finding a good way up through the rocks. Bella tried to lead, but sometimes got separated, then tried to get back to us. She's pretty amazing, but some of those rocks were too big for her to jump. I found myself occasionally picking my way back to her to give her a boost up to the next rock. This activity was really tiring but Michele and I steadily made our way to the summit. We had the entire summit to ourselves and were relaxing and enjoying the extraordinary view. Then suddenly a dog appeared. We both recognized that dog, and then the second dog and Karen and her guy friend John. Karen was shocked to see me up there. She and her 2 dogs had been with us on the Snowbird hike. She was surprised I had gone on that one so soon after the marathon. You just never know who you might find at the top of a mountain. We had a nice visit with them, then we reluctantly left our magnificent perch on top of the peak and started our harrowing rock jumping descent. Bella kept trying to take a direct route straight over the north face, causing me to scream out her name and yell "get over here!" She did pretty well, jumping from boulder to boulder, often finding her own route and avoiding what we had chosen. Then we hit the scree. It wasn't nearly as bad on the way up, but with a gravity assist, it is very easy to slip out of control on the way down. We got very tired negotiating that section. I got a little ahead of Michele and found a big rock outcropping to wait a couple of minutes for her. I could tell then that Bella was getting very tired. That's a lot of work for a tiny dog. We took a short break when Michele joined us, and we continued down through somewhat better conditions. But Bella was now really slowing down. I put her in my backpack, and we worked our way towards the creek. I had given her the rest of my water but knew she probably needed more. She started squirming, so I let her walk some more and once at the creek she got a big drink. After that, Bella was able to make it on her own. We took our last big rest at the picnic table. Then we made good time to the end of the trail and our cars. Bella slept all the way home. It was a fabulous hike in every way. Even the struggles and the challenge added to the delightful experience. I know I'll be doing it again one day soon. It was Michele's first time up there and she's not so sure she'll repeat it. But that's what everyone says until they reflect on the amazing experience. I bet she'll be back. I know I will!

Snowbird Hut Hike

The long and strenuous hike to the Snowbird Hut is one my favorite hikes of all. The Valley Wanderers had planned to hike there today and there was no way I could sit this one out, regardless of how tired I might still be. I was really tired when I woke up but the thought of getting to go back there, kept me alert enough to drive to the trailhead. I could tell I was dragging, but I was mostly sticking with the rest of the group. Once we leave the main Reed Lakes Trail, we take a left turn and head straight up a very steep narrow brushy trail to the top of a ridge to some ruins of the old Snowbird Mine. The rocky trail meanders for a while over rocks and scree to the main mine ruins, then it starts to climb. There is officially a trail there, but one needs to rely on their imagination with the help of the AllTrails iPhone app to actually follow it. It isn't marked except in a couple of spots. There are gigantic boulders to negotiate and it's very easy to get completely off the trail. That happened to us a few times. Then we just head towards the steep Glacier Pass at the far end of the valley and hope we find our way there. Bella was amazing, hopping from boulder to boulder. I got pretty tired and was starting to lag behind a little. A couple of times I couldn't even see the others in our group, but Bella would come running back down through the rocks to show me the way. There were also a couple of huge snowfields to cross that obscured whatever trail really does exist there. I arrived at Glacier Pass shortly after the rest of our group. We took a nice break there and admired the fantastic view down onto the glacier. After some snacks, and my much-appreciated Tootsie Roll emergency ration, we put on our micro spikes and slipped and slid down through the snow and rocks to the actual glacier below. It was not covered in snow like the last time I went there. Instead, it was more like solid ice and frozen mud. Bella took off straight down to it, leaving all of our group behind. But once on the ice, she got a little more hesitant. The ice was kind of sharp, and I wondered if it would bother her paws. But she did seem to do ok with it, although moved a bit slower. After a long icy trek down nearly the full length of the glacier, we came to the huge rock that is the marker for the trail up to the hut. Off with the spikes, then we climbed mostly straight up the rocks and scree, following remnants of what is probably an official trail. A gigantic boulder has a red arrow painted on it, that points the way to the hut. We turned that way and climbed a few boulders and finally could see the hut perched on top of the ridge. It was such a relief to finally reach it and stop rock scrambling. Bella was waiting for me at the top, ready for the treats she had certainly earned. We spent some time there and had some more lunch. The view there is otherworldly. I could imagine living in that tiny hut forever, just to see that view out my window every day. I went inside to check it out. It's very primitive but quite nice. There are bunk beds plus more beds in a half loft. I read that it can actually sleep up to 12 people. But they would need to be close buddies!

We reluctantly had to leave and start the long trek back down. It was easier than the trek in because most of it is downhill. The glacier walk though, is slightly uphill and there is the last steep snow slope to negotiate up to the top of Glacier Pass. Bella seemed to be having a little trouble on the ice, so I picked her up and carried her in my arms a couple of times to give her a rest. Once we got to the snowfield, she raced up it like it was dry land. We took a last big break in the pass and removed our spikes again. From there down it was a combination of long snowfields and gigantic boulder scrambles with a few creek crossings thrown in. Giant cumulous clouds were forming but the sun stayed with us for the most part. The lower we got, the more sunshine we had. We didn't get any rain from those clouds, thank goodness. Once down to the Reed Lakes Trail, Bella was starting to look tired. I picked her up a couple more times, but she walked on her own most of the way. 

I felt a little insane to take on such a tough 10-mile hike on my wobbly marathon legs, but it was so extraordinary that I'm glad I went for it. 

Cottonwood Lake Kayak

 It took me quite some time to finally drag myself out of bed this morning just to eat breakfast and take Bella for a walk. I know she really wanted to go on a nice hike and make up for being indoors all day yesterday. But I didn't have a speck of energy left after that marathon. Instead, I took my kayak out to Cottonwood Lake and enjoyed a peaceful paddle for a couple of hours. I'm not so sure Bella really enjoys being in the boat though. She acts like she is trying to find a good place to leap out most of the time. She did like barking at dogs on shore and ducks and grebes floating on the water though. It was really warm and sunny, and she was panting hard. To cool her off, I picked her up by her lifejacket handle and dipped her in the water for a quick swim. Not so sure she liked that very much, but she did stop panting and seemed more comfortable once I pulled her back in the boat. We only went a couple of miles then I took us home and went to bed early to catch up on my rest.