Rabbit Slough

Today was a perfect day to finally try to see how far we could ski on Rabbit Slough. The ice was still firm and the trail had a little fresh snow on it, making ski conditions ideal. I was with my friend Pam, and our two dogs. We followed the old tracks from some previous skier. We went nearly 7 miles round trip. Looking at the map, I think we still had at least another mile to actually reach the inlet. But as we got farther out, the snow became more and more sparse, and the ice was getting pretty rotten. At one point, Pam was able to break through the ice with her ski pole. The creek is very shallow as it gets closer to the inlet, plus it's very open out there, with no more trees to block the sun. It is melting quickly. At one point we were actually skiing partially on grass through the marsh. It was time to turn around before one of us got wet! I think the trail won't be skiable much longer. My next trip there will be in my kayak.

Independence Mine Back Country Ski

A fantastic little ski trip up at Independence Mine today. I only skied about 3 miles, and Baby ran along with me. The snow was wonderful powder and I managed to not run over my dog on the trip down, with my heels locked down. I had originally hoped to find my way up the closed road to Summit Lake, but still couldn't find the right place to access it. After I got back to the car, I finally figured out where I needed to go. By then it was too late in the day. But if I get some nice days in the next week, I know I will be able to finally ski up there. Today was so beautiful that I am still very happy I came up here. 

Twin Peaks Trail Hike

Today has been pretty gloomy but at least it's not raining or snowing. I wanted to do something that involved hill climbing so decided to drive up to Eklutna Lake and hike the Twin Peaks Trail. It was fairly warm at 32 degrees and very calm. The trail was hard packed snow and very easy hiking with micro spikes on my boots. Baby really likes this trail and much prefers it to the flatter Lakeside Trail and the frozen lake itself. I guess there are more interesting doggie smells along that trail. She was very happy to race all the way up, stopping at every tree and bare spot to sniff. I think it was almost easier climbing on the snow than on the bare trail in the summer. We started pretty late in the day so realistically only had time to go to the first bench with the beautiful lookout over the lake. I considered continuing on to the second bench, but it looked like the trail might not be quite as hard packed. The first part is the most traveled, so was in excellent condition. We turned back and ran the whole way back down to the car. In the parking lot we ran into the park ranger and he enthusiastically thanked me for having my dog on a leash. Loose dogs can be quite a problem on some of the most popular trails. I do always keep Baby on a leash. She is very small, and has a tendency to run off after the first person, squirrel, dog or moose she happens to see. Also, if she gets tired, she would likely make a sudden about face and run back to the car. 
Twin Peaks Trail is one of my favorite trails and I love the views from the overlook and from the ridge above the second bench. It's also great hill training.

Run to Wolverine Creek and Back

 I was still a little tired from yesterday's rather exhausting trek up McRobert's Creek Trail. So didn't figure I would do anything too strenuous today. It was also kind of cool and snowing lightly on my morning dog walk. I went to Walmart with my friend, Mark, then while we waited for his photos to be printed, we took the one mile hike around Reflections Lake. The Wetlands side trail looked fairly solid so we walked out there as far as the trail was walkable. It eventually reaches the confluence of the Knik and Matanuska Rivers. But today the packed snow had deteriorated before reaching that point. When we got back to the car, we drove over to the Wasilla Creek Boardwalk Trail because I wanted to show it to Mark. A few weeks ago I skied from Rabbit Slough to the platform at the end of the boardwalk and thought he would enjoy seeing it. It is elevated because it is very marshy in that area. It's less than a mile round trip.

Later when I got home, I felt like I now had a second wind and wanted to get in a run down to Wolverine Creek. Baby didn't seem quite as enthusiastic, but she reluctantly ran along with me. I need to get in more actual running in addition to hiking and skiing, since I do have a few upcoming marathons later this year. It was nice and warm at 45 degrees and I felt quite comfortable. Baby was anxious to turn around so once we got to the creek I turned back instead of running up the hill to the big carrot sign. I noticed she ran a lot faster in the direction towards home. We ran 4.75 miles, just short of the usual 5 miles up to the carrot sign. It felt great.

McRoberts Creek Trail to the Tripod

 Interesting snowshoe trek up the McRoberts Creek Trail with the Valley Wanderers to the tripod that marks the halfway point to Matanuska Peak. The snow was fairly hard packed until the point where the trail starts steeply up the mountainside. At this point we switched from our ice grippers to snowshoes. At first, my dog, Baby wasn't interested in walking through the deeper snow. I took a few minutes packing her into my backpack. The extra weight and the time consuming effort to get her in the pack, made me fall behind the rest of the group. This group is always faster then I am, so now I was really behind. After a few minutes, my back started to really hurt from the extra weight. I decided to just stop and take her out of the pack. I figured if she was then willing to proceed up the trail, I would continue. If not, I would simply turn back. To my delight, she started to bound right up the trail. I wasn't able to catch the others but figured I could just follow their tracks. Holly called me on the phone and told me about a spot where they had diverted from the original route, and had marked it with a couple of sticks. Very soon, I was at that spot, so knew I wasn't terribly far behind them. They had turned up a ravine to avoid unstable snow, a ravine they call the chute. It was steep but very straightforward. At the top of the chute, I saw them far up the hill working at the tripod. The goal was to replace a weather beaten flag on top of it. I was so happy that they stayed up there long enough for me to reach the tripod. Soon we started back down after a brief rest and a few photos. I have always loved the view at this spot between Lazy Mountain and Matanuska Peak. I made it all the way to the bottom, still with Baby running along, and I didn't even stop to take off the snowshoes. I'm hoping in time I can improve my speed so I can keep up with the rest of the group. They are quite a hardy bunch. But they're keeping me in shape plus introducing me to some magical places.

Eklutna Lake Ski

Such a beautiful day. I met my friend Alice at the bottom of the road and we drove up together. I loaned her my cross country skis and used my backcountry skis. The conditions were perfect for skiing. Baby didn't want to walk at first so I did have to carry her. But once we turned back, she was suddenly fine with the idea of running. I always love being out on the frozen lake because it shows the surrounding mountains from a whole different perspective. Many are not even visible from the Lakeside trail. I love being out there on warm days like today. But it won't be too long before I'll be out there in my kayak instead of my skis. Alice discovered that she really likes skiing and will likely get some skis of her own for next winter. 

 

Archangel Road Ski

 I woke up fully intending to try doing a little skiing on the trail people have been using to bike out to the Knik Glacier. I discovered where it was yesterday. However, when I looked at the sky in that direction it looked like the world was about to come to an end over there. It was blowing and foggy and likely snowing and I could hardly see the mountains. So with both sets of skis in the back of my car I turned toward the sun and drove up to Hatcher Pass where it was gorgeous with blue skies and sunshine. My next goal was to use my backcountry skis and ski up the closed road to Summit Lake at the top of the pass. When I got to the parking area I found the snow removal folks had plowed gigantic 10 foot high snow piles in front of every reasonable access to that road. I tried both possible parking lots but never found a place where I felt I could climb over all that mess and get to the road. I just gave up and drove back down to Archangel Road. It was quite icy and hard packed but at least it was a beautiful day. I used my backcountry skis even though my classic Nordic skis would have also been fine. I just love those backcountry skis and seem to use every excuse to use them. It was great conditions, although very fast and icy. Baby was in her obstinate mood and didn't want to walk, so I had to put her in my backpack. That makes me work a little harder, but she's only about 9 pounds. It's a good workout, and she can relax. I don't want her to ever be unhappy on our little excursions. I want her to look forward to going places with me and not be horrified that I'm going to put her through torture! About halfway to the bridge, she started to get really restless, so I let her back out. Then she was happy to run along and seemed to be enjoying herself. It was nice and warm, right around freezing and not windy. 
It was a perfect day up there on Archangel Road, we didn't even see any noisy snowmachines and the trail was still OK even all the way to the bridge. It's usually all torn up after the ski grooming ends.

We had a nice fast ride all the way back to the car with Baby running at full speed.

5 Mile Run On Wolverine Road

 I've been doing lots of hiking, climbing and skiing, but have really been neglecting actual running. I have several marathons coming up in the next few months, so I need to get out and run. I found an extra burst of energy after climbing the Butte, so decided to turn my afternoon dog walk into a run to Wolverine Creek. That's my typical 5 mile training run. When I got down to the creek, I continued on up the other side of the canyon to the bottom of the giant carrot sign for Wolverine Farm. That makes the run a little over 5 miles. It was really windy running by the hay fields, and Baby was indicating that she wasn't sure how much she really wanted to continue. I did pick her up and run with her in my arms for a very short distance. But she got too restless and from then on, she was happy to run the rest of the way in spite of the wind. As usual, I had a really hard time running up from the canyon in both directions from the creek. Typically I find myself walking a bit of that steep hill. But it's always a great little hill workout to toss into a relatively level run. Sometimes I can run the whole hills, but today I mostly had to walk them. They're very steep. I wore my icebug running shoes, but there was so little snow and ice on the road that I really didn't need them for traction. I'm glad I got in a good run for a change. It certainly is a scenic route.

Wolverine Creek

Wolverine Creek

Bodenburg Butte Climb

I can feel a slight stiffness to my legs after yesterday's climb up Lazy Mountain, but I felt a restless urge to keep on climbing. I talked my friend Mark into hiking up the Butte today. It's a short little climb compared to Lazy Mountain, but it's still quite a workout. It's only about 3 miles out and back, but half of it is really steep. It's an interesting trail because the top half is a set of wooden stairs. Fortunately they have hand rails or nylon covered wire ropes to hang onto. There are solid piles of ice on all of the steps and even with spikes on my boots, it's pretty slippery. I was clinging to those ropes like my life depended on it. I had the disadvantage of holding onto the leash of my dog who thinks she must run up or down all trails. In a couple of places even she was slipping and I had to pick her up and move her over the slippery parts. It was windy down along the river, so we knew we would be greeted by that same wind when we got to the top. Yes, it was quite the wintry blast up there, but at least it was fairly warm. It was in the low 30's so not terrible. The views were lovely as always. I really love that little climb.

Hairstyle by the East Wind

Knik Glacier View

Pioneer Peak