McRoberts Creek & Matanuska Peak Trails

 There were only 4 of us today for our Saturday Valley Wanderers hike, Jane. Judith, Sarah and me. It was a cold frosty morning, so we all started with our warm coats. Bella led the way as usual. We hiked up the McRoberts Creek Trail to the tripod that marks the junction of the Matanuska Peak Trail. Someone has damaged the tripod so that now it only has 2 legs, plus the red flag has been removed. I can't understand why anyone would want to destroy this important trail marker. I suppose we will hike up again soon and at least replace the flag. The trail had some significantly muddy places, but I mostly managed to avoid getting my feet muddy. Bella was quite muddy and ended the day with a bath. In quite a few places, streams were running right down the trail. But it was always passable. McRoberts Creek was running very full due to recent rains. The snow up higher has mostly melted, with only a light amount up on Matanuska Peak. I believe it would still be easy to climb it. But that was not our plan today. Once at the trail junction, we hiked down the Matanuska Peak Trail back to our cars for a total of 5 miles. That trail was much drier. Judith and Jane wore their micro spikes, but I didn't bother putting mine on. I didn't find myself slipping, even though it was a little damp and slippery in spots. On our way down, Karen and John who I had seen up on Matanuska Peak, came through with their big dogs. They recognized Bella even before they recognized me. She stands out in her bright pink raincoat. I so often run into friends along the trails. Today was a good day to be out enjoying the last few days of fall.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 I didn't have a lot of time to hike today because I was going to Cearsten & Brandon's wedding with Mark. I usually hike with Pam on Fridays, so we left a little early and hiked the Eklutna Lakeside Trail. We only went to mile 3 and visited the Yuditnu Cabin for a snack. It was very cloudy and cool but the clouds and the sun breaking through made for some interesting reflections on the lake. Our 2 dogs had a great time exploring the trail. We didn't see any wildlife, only a couple of other hikers and a few bikers. No snow or ice here so far. But it won't be much longer before we are exploring here on skis. 

Lane Basin

The original plan was to try to reach the Lane Glacier like we did with the Valley Wanderers last year. But we very quickly scratched that idea once we reached fairly deep snow at the end of Archangel Road.  The road itself was clear, but once we left it and started up a side trail leading to the very muddy official Lane Basin Trail, we found ourselves in snow. Initially it was just very wet snow but there was substantial water flowing beneath that snow. We crossed a couple of small creeks and then joined the actual Lane Basin Trail. We had to hop over a few streams on that trail as well. As we climbed, the snow got deeper. By the time we got to the lake just past the Monolith, the snow was over my ankles. I knew I should have worn gaiters. But my feet still stayed dry. We went a little past the lake but settled on a nice group of snow-covered rocks to take our lunch/snack break. It was obvious that it would be pointless to post-hole up through Lane Basin and attempt the steep climb though the snow-covered boulders to the remnant of the Lane Glacier. Snowshoes would have been necessary if we ventured any farther than our lunch spot. We climbed partway up a steep mound through the deep snow to look at the view. I dragged my feet through our footprints to help Bella along, since she was needing to hop from footprint to footprint. I decided to go back to our lunch spot and forgo the deep snow to that mound. A couple of the others also went back down. Then as soon as we were all together again, we started back down the route we had taken up. The whole hike was about 6 miles. Winter has definitely arrived in that area. The lake is even ice covered now. But I doubt it was safe to venture out onto it. It was warm enough that the snow on the trail was wetter than on our way up. Bella hopped along jumping the creeks and running up ahead with Bigby, Nan's big dog who was also with us. Bella loves when there is another dog along. She likes to run with the big boys!!! The mountains look so much more spectacular now with the snow on them. It won't be long before Archangel Road will close for the season, and this trip will only be accessible via skis or snowshoes.

Me and Bella sitting between our snow lady and our snow bunny

Pepper Peak

 There is a really silly rule here in Alaska. South of Anchorage and north of Anchorage you can put on studded tires September 15th. But in the Municipality of Anchorage, they can't go on until October 1st. I needed to put them on to go to Fairbanks last week because there has been snow through the passes. 

Today our Valley Wanderers had planned to hike the Twin Peaks Trail with a possibility of going all the way up to Pepper Peak. Since my studded tires are already on, I needed to carpool from the park-and-ride since the trail is in the Municipality. Jane drove and I went with her, Judith and Sandy. They were not able to hike all the way to Pepper Peak due to personal time constraints. Chris, Meg, and Madeline from Anchorage also met us up at the trailhead. Chris had gone ahead, and we figured he was up on top of Pepper long before we even got to the upper overlook after the 2nd bench. I was disappointed to find that even the two ladies from Anchorage didn't want to climb Pepper. Up on the high ridge overlook, Bella suddenly took off uphill towards a hiker descending. That was Chris. He had not gone to the summit but had just hiked partway up. I mentioned how I wish I could hike up Pepper, and he said he would like to go. Of course, my car was back in Palmer at the park-and-ride. There is cell service up on the ridge, so I called my friend Mark and asked if he would be willing to meet me at the bottom of the road and take me to my car in a few hours so I could climb up with Chris. He said sure, since I am so often taking him to car appointments etc. We waved goodby to the others and Chris, Bella and I took off uphill to the top. Bella of course ran ahead and was always far above us. I was worried that I would be too slow for Chris but we both kept a good pace, and I don't think he had to slow down much for me. I had forgotten how difficult the top part of the climb is, but it was quite fun and challenging. There are long sections of steep rock and loose scree to negotiate. But none of it is really technical, although one needs to exercise care to avoid nasty falls. We had amazing views of Eklutna Lake and the surrounding peaks all the way to the top. We did find some snow on the top, but only a few inches. Bella enjoyed eating the snow. We took lots of pictures and ate some snacks. I called Mark to update our location. Then we picked our way carefully down through the rocks and scree. I worried that the descent would be too nasty, but it really wasn't bad at all. For me, it is better and easier simply because I'm no longer out of breath like on the steep uphill. Once back on the upper ridge above the 2nd bench, I called Mark with an update. We chose the faster steeper straight down trail to the 1st bench. I had on my ice bug studded shoes, but although they were mostly great on the damp slippery trail, I did fall a couple of times. But nothing serious. That steep trail cuts off at least a mile of the descent, but it is very steep. Once at the bench, it was easy sailing down the Twin Peaks Trail to the parking lot. Chris drove me down to the turnout at the bottom of the road where Mark was waiting. I'm so happy that I got the chance to hike this amazing trail once again. It is so beautiful and wonderfully challenging.

Chris & Bella on the summit

Bella giving me kisses on the summit

Video on the summit

Gold Cord Lake

 I heard that Independence Mine will be closing on September 30th. They plan to close the gate up to the mine for the winter that evening. I heard there has been some snow up there, so thought I would take advantage of the open gate and make a quick run up there to hike to the lake. Once the gate closes you have to walk at least another mile to the trailhead. This is a fun hike for Bella because it's very interesting and there are lots of other dogs. She finds lots of fascinating things to sniff all the way up to the lake. The trail is only about one mile long, but it is steep, muddy, rocky and sometimes very slippery. I used my ice bug studded shoes to see how they would work on the slippery trail. I found that they were wonderful. No slipping at all even on the worst sections. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the blue sky and bright sunshine made for a very pleasant little hike. There is a little snow up there, but it's too early for the lake to be frozen. We walked partway around the lake and took a nice snack break on a big rock. Then we walked on down, and Bella happily greeted all the other hikers and dogs on our way down. It's such a beautiful place. I love taking a little time to hike up there. 

Red Shirt Lake Hike

 It was pretty cool this morning but no actual frost. Only about 38 degrees when I left home. I hiked with a group of the Valley Wanderers along the Red Shirt Lake Trail to the lake. Lots of beautiful fallen leaves are on the trail. But along the lakeshore, most of the leaves have already fallen. There were still some very pretty spots along the trail where the golden leaves are still on the trees. It clouded up a lot more by the time we got back to our cars, but fortunately we didn't get any rain. Bella had 2 dog friends, Pam's dog Dahla and Michele's big dog Sasha were along. Bella mostly ran ahead on our way to the lake, but she stayed with me on the way back. A few hikers passed us carrying paddles because you can rent canoes there on the lake at the end of the trail. It's a very big lake so a person could spend quite a lot of time exploring the several islands and many little inlets and peninsulas along the lake shore. But we just walked the 6.2 miles out and back. I'd love to explore the lake with my kayak someday.

Lazy Mountain Climb

 I'm all rested up and recovered from the marathon so decided it's time to get out and keep on hiking. Bella and I climbed up Lazy Mountain along the steep Lazy Mountain Trail. It was kind of slippery but mostly dry.  I didn't try to push myself very hard but just did a steady saunter to the picnic table. There, I gave Bella a snack and myself a granola bar. We didn't linger long but continued on to the top. I felt much better after the food. Bella always stayed ahead of me. I had no need of bear bells because if I couldn't see her, I would find myself yelling her name. They say talking alerts bears to scramble away. So, that was my talking, since I was hiking alone. Quite frequently, I might add because she was constantly racing out of sight. One man passed us heading down while we were stopped at the picnic table and we had the rest of the mountain all to ourselves all the way to the top. It was so nice and calm, and a good temperature for climbing. I had worried that I might be cold since it was only 34 degrees when I woke up this morning. But it did warm up nicely. The light wasn't the best for photography because of the partial cloud cover. But there were some nice fall colors along the trail and scattered across the tundra. I took my usual 360-degree video on the top.

 

It was a little slippery due to the loose rocks and damp trail so once back down at the picnic table I put on my micro spikes. They were extremely helpful because I was now able to run almost the entire way down, even on the steepest sections. At least it wasn't muddy. That trail is horrid if it is muddy, but it was just damp hard packed dirt. I passed a couple of guys on their way up, who stopped to visit with Bella. She always makes a hit with everyone. She loves everyone. I ran into Meg Inokuma, one of my running hero friends. I often run into her on this trail. In fact, the first time I met her was on this trail. She's an amazing athlete who wins most of the races and climbs all the mountains. Bella managed to wade through the only muddy spot on the mountain and got to have a nice bath when we got home. 

I love the Lazy Mountain Trail because it is a tough workout but only about 4 miles long, giving me good mountain training without taking all day. Plus, it's so beautiful and just a couple miles from my house.