Gold Cord Lake

 Today was kind of cold, cloudy and boring. The tree service was supposed to come this morning to estimate removing the troublesome trees in my back yard, but they canceled at the last minute. I went to AkTive Soles and found the new mountain running shoes I needed, then came home with no plans for the day. I could tell that Bella was very bored. She kept whining and wanting walks. I took a brief nap, then had to get out of the house. Wasn't sure where I was going, just out! I ended up driving up to Hatcher Pass just to see how the trail to Gold Cord Lake looked now. The last time I looked it was totally snow-covered. But today it looked like the entire trail was open. So, wearing my brand-new light-colored Solomon Speedcross 6 trail running shoes, Bella and I took off up the hill to the trail. My big challenge was keeping my beautiful new shoes out of the mud. There are 2 very muddy places on this trail, below the old cabin. I tiptoed through the tundra around the big rocks and managed to avoid both of them. The whole trail was a little muddy and slippery, but my shoes have great tread, and I made my way up the short trail easily. It's only 2 miles round trip but can be a little challenging in the mud and slippery rocks. Happily, it didn't rain on us, even though it sure looked like it wanted to. The lake is still mostly frozen but there are some open areas. The creek out of the lake is running very fast though. There were quite few hikers up there, many struggling on the slippery sometimes difficult to find, rocky, muddy trail. Bella tried to start something with each of the other dogs but obeyed my shouts of "On by!" 

I like my new shoes and managed to keep them looking shiny and clean except for the mud embedded in the tread that I had to hose off when I got home.

Muktuk Trail and Rendezvous Ridge

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers along the Muktuk Trail to Hunter Pass, where we took a break for lunch after 4 miles. Michelle needed to get down to her car by 2:30 so she took off a little before the rest of the group. She has a huge 100-pound dog named Sasha, and Bella just loves hanging out with Sasha. So, of course, Bella took off up the ridge with them. I wasn't quite ready to head up but grabbed my pack and raced up the hill to catch Michelle and Sasha. Very soon we reached the clouds that had been hanging out on the mountains all morning. Michelle was pretty fast moving so I had to push a little more than usual to keep up with her. I actually enjoyed the faster pace. Bella and Sasha raced back and forth through the fog chasing ground squirrels or who knows what across the tundra. We knew the rest of the group was behind us somewhere, but we never saw them again. We took the lower trail that went around the back side of Rendezvous Peak rather than climb up and over it. I noticed at first, both dogs wanted to climb the peak. We called them back and they followed our trail. Once down on the saddle between, Rendezvous and Mt Gordon Lyon, Michelle was worried about the time and took off quickly. I had to stop and remove a jacket because I was too hot. I could see her and Sasha way ahead, and Bella was trying to catch them. Then I just went into full mountain running mode and ran all the way down, finally catching them near the bottom. I really enjoyed the running part. The trail was a little muddy, but I was able to negotiate the rocks and muddy spots without landing on my face. Bella was happy to be back with Sasha. They are a funny pair 100 pounds versus 11 pounds. It's really cute watching them together. We made it to the cars by 2:30. Michelle texted the others to let them know we were both down. This route has amazing views, but since we were totally in the clouds most of the way, we didn't see any of it. But we did see fields of beautiful wildflowers, especially along the Muktuk Trail part of the 8-mile hike. Bella slept all the way home!

Michelle & Bella

Curry Ridge

 My long-time best friend, Diane is moving to New York State and leaving on August 2nd. She was camping at Denali Park over the July 4th weekend and asked if I would like to meet her at the Kesugi Ken Campground as she heads home today so we could hike the Curry Ridge Trail that stats there. It's a 2-hour drive but well worth the effort, especially since I won't have much more time to spend with Diane since she's leaving so soon. This trail is very well maintained, although there is one spot where a tree fell requiring a short steep detour around it. On good weather days, the view of Denali is spectacular. Unfortunately, Denali was totally obscured by clouds today, so we didn't get that wonderful experience. But the trail is lovely and not very steep. It's just a steady gentle uphill for about 3 miles to a nice rocky viewpoint. It was warm but fairly windy up at the high point. There were wildflowers blooming everywhere. We did encounter a few other hikers, but it wasn't terribly crowded considering it is a holiday weekend. Bella enjoyed visiting with all of them plus their dogs. She was pretty good and didn't try to engage in major confrontations with any of them. We spent a lot of time visiting and having our lunch up on the rocky mound. We have 30 years of adventures to reminisce about. I will sure miss spending time with Diane. I just assumed she would live here in Alaska forever, just like I plan to do. But things always change. She plans to come back now and then to visit. I'm planning a little farewell dinner for her before she leaves, if she has time in between packing and getting ready to move. She will be working right up until the day she leaves. Her job was affected by the massive federal cuts by the Trump administration, so she chose to retire since she was eligible. Many of my friends have lost their jobs during this dreadful period in our nation's history. But I'm happy Diane was able to retire and live comfortably in spite of it all.

We enjoyed a beautiful 6-mile hike.

Diane on the trail

Bella acting as a wind gauge

Chulitna River in the distance with obscured Denali view

Bella and me

Lazy Mountain Climb

 We had  a pop up hike with the Valley Wanderers today. No official leader, just whoever shows up goes on the hike. We met at the end of Smith Road and hiked the Matanuska Peak Trail up Lazy Mountain. We had Michelle, Hilma, Erin, Lisa , Jo and Me and Bella plus Sasha, Michelle's gigantic beautiful dog to start. Virginia caught up with us at the wooden tripod. At Stonehenge, folks were mostly undecided, but I really wanted to climb to the top, and Erin decided to go with me. Virginia had to go back, but the others ended up following us to the top of Lazy. It had poured rain at my house last night and it was still very cloudy when we started. I hoped it wouldn't rain, and we got lucky, no rain. However, most of the view was obscured by low clouds. Matanuska Peak was totally obscured in clouds and never did pop out of the overcast. There were wildflowers everywhere and we did have a nice view of the valley below. Bella led us to the top as usual. I was really sad to see that the flag was missing on the summit. The pole is still there but the flag is missing. I hope it was taken down for a good reason. I thought that one had been replaced fairly recently too. Bella and I climbed up to the highest rocks, where Bella found a sweet golden dog named Mabel. They sniffed and happily, didn't get into an argument there on the steep rocks. I didn't bother with my usual 360 degree video from the summit because there was nothing much to see because of the low clouds. It was very windy as we started down and I was glad I had put on my windbreaker before reaching the top. Erin, Michelle and I and our dogs, were moving really fast and we headed right down to Stonehenge where we waited for the others. We all took a nice break and had some snacks, then down the same trail we had climbed. Erin, Michelle, and I took the Matanuska Peak Trail down instead of the shortcut to McRoberts Creek Trail. It's a little longer but not quite as steep. We got down before the others. I waited for a while, but the car was really hot so I went on home to feed Bella. She was looking pretty warm now that the sun had come out and heated up the car. Erin is a really fast hiker and somehow I managed to keep up with her. I suppose the others were taking a more leisurely pace. 

Once home, I pulled out my wood splitter and split the logs from the trees we cut down yesterday. Then I took advantage of the sunshine and mowed the lawn. I'm tired after the 6 mile hike and catching up on those chores. Bella is sound asleep. I would like to make a point of hiking up Lazy Mountain once a week this summer to help me stay in shape. It's a really good workout, regardless of the route taken.

Summit View

Note the flag pole but no flag

Government Peak Blueberry Knoll Traverse

 Rosemary was the leader of this hike. It was originally Virginia leading, with a destination of Microdot. But Virginia discovered that there was still too much snow for Microdot. So, she changed the destination to Government Peak and asked Rosemary to lead because she needed to get done early to help Dan who just had a knee replacement. Rosemary really doesn't like the Government Peak Race Trail and turned back in the first half mile. I was worried about Bella because she was really moving slowly at the start. I lagged behind with her until we reached the picnic table. Virgina left later and caught us at the picnic table. From there, Virginia, Erin and Chris took off speedily up the mountain. Bella was no longer feeling slow and took off after them. I had to call her back. I guess she wasn't tired from Lazy Mountain after all! Jane, Judith, Sarah, Machelle and I continued up from there. Jane and Judith had obligations at home, so turned back at the big rock prominence. Sarah, Michelle and I couldn't resist the urge to press on, in spite of the huge black cloud on the summit. We really didn't want to hike in the clouds, but we weren't ready to turn back. Bella tried to chase after runners who passed us heading up. Close to the top, we ran into Virginia, Erin and Chris heading down. They reported that it was clouded in at the top and they decided against the traverse down Blueberry Knoll Trail. I put Bella on her leash, so I didn't lose her in the fog. But I soon discovered the visibility was good enough to let her off, rather than have her trying to pull me off my feet over the steep rocks. This entire trail is very steep, and Bella tries to pull me up at her speed. No way can I travel at speedy dog pace. We pushed on through the fog to the summit. We had almost no view, but we could see the route down the ridge, so elected to head down to Blueberry Knoll. Actually, it was very beautiful with majestic views through the fog into the valley below. Bella bounced through the rock field, showing the three of us the best route. It was windy and I was glad I left my rain jacket on as a wind breaker. Then the rain finally caught us. First it was light, then it got harder. Bella ran faster; I moved faster. Then I looked back and couldn't see Sarah and Michelle anymore. I knew they had stopped to put on rain gear. Now it was pouring rain. Bella was soaked and dripping, and so was I. I tried to wait for them but realized there wasn't much point since they had each other, and I was getting worried about Bella. The rain got worse, and the steep trail narrowed. Through the brush it was only a foot wide, and Bella would disappear now and then. I'd call her back and she would reappear. We finally reached the actual Blueberry Knoll Trail. Then it all got worse. This part of the trail is much steeper, and the heavy rain had caused an actual creek to form on the usual muddy trail. I started to get a little worried, but figured Bella and I would find our way. She disappeared from time to time, avoiding the heavy flow, into the brush. But she would always reappear below me. She was quite the trooper, in water deeper than her body in places. But she was good at navigating through the vegetation. I passed some hikers who had turned back and were clinging to trees. Tree branches were our only salvation to prevent falls on the slick mud and rocks. I fell several times and was basically covered with mud when we finally found our way down past the steepest section. Once on the gravel path, Bella and I ran at my fastest running speed back to our car. We both looked like a couple of drowned rats after making our way through the deluge. I waited in my car with the heat on high for about 20 minutes until Sarah and Michelle finally appeared. It was a crazy adventure, but I sure preferred that route to coming down in the torrential downpour on the much steeper route we had climbed to the summit. It was a really fun adventure, but I'm not sure that's how Bella would describe it if she could speak!

Summit Photo

Bella back in her car bed

Lazy Mountain Climb

 My Facebook friend, Angie invited me to climb Lazy Mountain today with her friend Gloria. I had never actually met either of them, but I really enjoyed their company. We had a great time, climbing up the steep straight up Lazy Mountain Trail and going down the same way. It was a great weather day, not too hot or windy. Just enough breeze to keep from roasting in the sunshine. We took lots of nice breaks and stopped at the picnic tables for snacks. We spent a long time on the summit taking lots of pictures. I took my usual 360-degree video on the top.

I took another one that just showed our two dogs frolicking in the rocks on the summit.

I cut that one short because I almost tripped. That's not a good place to have a stumble. Both dogs had the time of their lives playing together. 

Me at the flag

Bella on top

Angie & Buzz on top

Angie & Gloria at the flag

Little O'Malley Peak

 This was a beautiful hike to celebrate Linda's Birthday. The trail is in perfect condition and has been greatly improved recently. The wettest marshy spots have been covered with a very nice boardwalk and there are wooden stairs up some of the steepest parts, plus a nice switchback route to replace the old straight up trail. It was very green with wildflowers everywhere. Most of the group just went to the top of Little O'Malley, but Rosemary wanted to cross the wide plateau called the Ballpark to the overlook above Williwaw Lakes. Charlie and I went with Rosemary and of course Bella bounced along, chasing ground squirrels across the tundra. There were a couple of wet spots, but it was mostly dry and easy to follow the trail. We spent a lot of time at the final viewpoint above Black Lake, taking pictures. Our hike was a little over 8 miles. It's possible to descend down to Williwaw Lakes from there but it's very steep. I'd like to take that loop one day. But we didn't have time for it today.

Black Lake