Lazy Mountain Southside Trail

 I hiked today with the Valley Wanderers up the back side of Lazy Mountain. The fall colors are really getting beautiful back there. This route is a little longer than the regular Lazy Mountain Trail, but in many ways it is more scenic and interesting. There are actually several trails on this side of the mountain. We started up the McRoberts Creek Trail then took the steep cutoff up to the Matanuska Peak Trail. Then at the wooden tripod, we turned up towards Lazy Mountain through the rocky area we've nicknamed Stonehenge. So named due to piles of rock cairns people have placed there over the years. We had a snack and a short break then continued on up the steep hill to the summit. It was a little windy but not too bad. It was in the high 30's when I left home and likely about the same up there at 3700 feet. On top we had our official lunch, took our photos then started down intending to take the same route back. But at Stonehenge, there is another steep trail that takes a more direct route down to the Matanuska Peak Trail. We took that one. It was rather overgrown and difficult to follow at times. We managed to lose that trail and had an interesting diversion walk through brush and thick alders before finally being reunited with the official trail. I was tracking us with the AllTrails iPhone app and we used its GPS to point us in the right direction. It was very helpful. We had been walking parallel to the main trail and could see the direction we needed to go to get back on the trail. We had to fight the alders for a short distance but likely didn't go too far out of our way before we were back on the Matanuska Peak Trail. When we got to the steep connector that goes down to the McRoberts Creek Trail we decided to just stay on the Matanuska Peak Trail for a change. It may be slightly longer, but wasn't as steep. We covered about 6 miles total. It was a great workout with a great group of ladies.

Lunch Break on Top

Me at the top

Matanuska Peak View

Matanuska Peak from the summit of Lazy

Matanuska Peak and the ridge leading to it from Lazy Mountain summit

Colorful Devils Club

Valley View

Long Lake Loop Hike

 It was pouring rain when I woke up, but by noon it was a beautiful sunny day. I met my friend Pam at Matanuska Lake and we hiked the 4.5 mile Long Lake Loop. The fall colors are really starting to show. We met several nice ladies with lots of nice dogs. I really miss Baby on little hikes like this. She would have loved being there today. Of course she was with me in spirit the whole way. We did walk down to Long Lake to see if there is a good spot where I can set up my kayak. There is a perfect little flat spot just before the trail drops down to the water. The next sunny day, I'll consider hiking up the short trail and visiting Long Lake from the water side. But for today, we just stayed on the shore.

Reflections Lake Paddle

 It hasn't rained for several days but is forecast to start raining again tomorrow. My lawn had so many leaves on it that in many places you couldn't even tell there was grass at all. Generally I prefer to just mow over the leaves and turn them to mulch rather that rake them up. But they were so dry and so thick that I decided it might be best to rake them up while they were still dry. It look a couple of hours but I raked them all up into piles out in the woods. I also used my leaf blower and cleaned most of them out of my rock garden. The trees still have a lot of leaves on them, and they were still falling as I raked. Now there will be a more reasonable amount for the next time I mow. After all that work I had to get out of the house. So I drove down to Reflections Lake and went for an hour long peaceful paddle all around the lake and into the marshy section beyond the foot bridge. It was just what I needed to unwind after the hard work. The fall colors are still not quite at peak, but they are a nice contrast to the now snow-covered peaks. It was dead calm and there were some nice reflections of the mountains on the water. I sure am enjoying my little Oru folding kayak.

Gold Cord Lake Paddle

 I was ready for at least a short hike, feeling recovered from the marathon. Mark came along and we went up to Gold Cord Lake. Independence Mine already has some snow and the road over Hatcher Pass is already closed for the winter. I figured it wouldn't be very long, maybe just a few days, before the road to the mine also closes. So we decided this might be our last chance to hike to the lake without adding an extra mile or two to get to the trailhead. I remembered that I still had my kayak in my car. I'd been fantasizing about carrying it up to Gold Cord Lake, even though it seemed like a ridiculously difficult thing to do. It only weights 17 pounds but the trail goes up a mountain and is a little over one mile long. Now it has a lot of mud and also some snow. I always wanted to be sure there was someone to take my picture if I ever actually decided to do it. Well, today was my chance. I'm sure Mark thought I was quite insane, but he followed along. Some people advise that I use the actual backpack that I bought for it, but I find that very uncomfortable. It pulls me backwards, probably because I'm so short and it seems top heavy. I found that it wasn't too bad to just put the shoulder strap over one shoulder and hold the handle with the opposite hand. I did need to switch sides a couple of times, but I was able to move at almost my normal hiking pace all the way up through the slippery mud and snow, and scramble over the rocks to the top. I found a flat spot in the snow and quickly assembled the boat and was able to easily put it in and hop in without even getting my feet wet. It was amazing! The water was crystal clear and dead calm. It was cold, about 40 degrees, but it was also nice and sunny, with only some high clouds. I paddled all the way around the lake. It was so interesting to see the shoreline from this different perspective. I did walk all the way around the lake earlier this summer, but from the kayak, I really got to see the view of the boulders we had climbed over to hike around the lake that time. The snow on the shore really added to the beauty. I'm so glad I jumped at the chance to finally do this. I'm not sure I'll do it again, but it might be fun to do next summer when the trail is dry. It was an awesome day and a great workout in many ways.
The pictures of me were all taken by Mark Simpson with my phone.

Amazing shot of tiny me in the kayak and a curious onlooker on shore

Tern Lake Paddle

 The drive home from Kenai was a little disappointing at first because it was foggy everywhere. I had to scrape ice from my windows this morning too. I was happy that I was able to accomplish one wonderful task I had planned for the trip home, a paddle on Tern Lake. This is the most lovely lake right at the junction of Sterling and Seward Highways. Everyone stops there to admire it and take pictures. I did paddle there once this summer and hoped to do so today. I was delighted that the fog was gone when I got there. I was the only car at the little parking area, so unfolded my kayak and put in the lake right in front of my car. It was dead calm and the water was like glass. It was just 32 degrees out but actually felt quite warm with the bright sunshine. I paddled to the far end of the lake and wandered in between the grassy spots. I saw a small group of swans but they were too far away for a phone photo. I took some with my camera. If I got a good one, I will update and include it here. Mostly the views were just spectacular as they always are there. It was such a peaceful relaxing hour of wandering around this little paradise. When I got back to my car, there were some other tourists, some of whom were fascinated by my interesting folding canoe. One nice man even grabbed my hand to help me get out onto the shore. Several watched the folding process as I put the boat back to bed in the back of my Subaru. 

The marathon was nice, but I think this little kayak ride was the best part of the weekend.

The Swans, from my camera

Kenai River Marathon

I've been tired all week from last Saturday's Equinox Marathon and have seriously considering just staying home and not bothering to do this one, even though I am registered for it. But then I decided it might just be a nice little weekend trip to Kenai, so why not? The drive here was lovely and they had a delightful spaghetti dinner last night for all the runners. My hotel was less than half a mile from the start/finish which is also the bib pickup and dinner place. So I didn't need to drive anywhere before or after the diner or the race. It was a very small race, with about 200 participants, including the half marathon, 5K, and relay races. Only 30 did the full marathon, only 9 of them were women and I of course won first place in the 70-79 female age group. But I was also the last finisher! The conditions were nearly perfect, not too hot, quite cool but not really cold. I did need to keep my windbreaker on most of the time. The course is mostly flat with just some small hills, and mostly along a paved bike trail. I found it to be a little noisy since so much of it was just along two main roads to and from Soldotna. But it was a pleasant race. I was still really tired and nearly decided to quit at about mile 18. I was worried that I would be over the time limit, even though they assured me they were not strict about it. I was a little over at the finish but they still counted my time and I got my medal. So marathon #167 is now complete. I'll sleep well tonight!

Bodenburg Butte Hike

 I'm taking it kind of easy today because I'm driving down to Keni tomorrow for the Kenai River Marathon on Sunday. I'm still a little tired from the Equinox Marathon last weekend, so didn't want to do a serious climb today. I hiked up the Butte with Pam and Mark, which is only about 2 miles and 800 feet elevation gain. It's fun, relaxing and has great views of the valley. It is such a beautiful day today also. Nice sunshine and interesting clouds around the mountains. 

Eklutna Lake Kayak

 I've been wanting to try my new kayak out on Eklutna Lake ever since I got it. But it's a huge lake and prone to high winds, especially in the afternoon. It's been raining for several days but finally stopped. So I drove up there to see how the fall colors were coming along. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the lake was dead calm and glassy. The lake is so high right now that it's a very short trek down to it, instead of the long haul during most of the spring and summer. It was so nice on the lake that I just couldn't stop paddling. I initially figured I would just go a short distance so I didn't end up dealing with the typical afternoon winds. Besides, it was already afternoon when I put in. I just kept staying near the shoreline in case of a wind change because the trail is right there and I can always just hike my boat back out if I needed to. It stayed really calm so I aimed for the spot on the trail where Yuditnu Creen empties into the lake. It's about 3 1/2 miles along the Lakeside Trail. When I started getting close, I felt a little wind to my back, but I was determined to get there at that point. I finally rounded the last point and so did the wind. It wasn't horrible, but I knew it would be a tough paddle back. The fall colors are starting to come out but it's not quite peak. But it was gorgeous if you looked in the right direction. There were so many clouds that I never got a clear look at Bold Peak, although it did show its summit a couple of times. I turned around as soon as I got a couple shots of the creek. It was really hard to paddle at that point. I went for a while then decided it might just be too hard. I pulled out, folded the boat and tried walking. I could see that would take a very long time and although the boat isn't heavy, it was uncomfortable. The wind seemed to die down a bit so I put it back in the water. I found I was at least making progress although getting quite an arm workout in the process. It seemed like it took a long time, but I did make it back to the boat ramp. It was much nicer on the water than on the trail. It was so beautiful that I didn't care how long it took me. It was a little chilly although it had warmed up to 50 degrees from the 45 when I first started. I'm so glad I decided to do it and felt completely blessed to have that lovely paddle when the water was calm.

Bold Peak

Yuditnu Creek

Palmer Rail Trail

 Today I took a lovely but short little hike along the Palmer Rail Trail with my friend Mark. He wasn't sure how to access the trail so I just went there to show him the trailhead. It was such a nice sunny day that we decided to walk it for a while. There are some large washouts along the trail and I had heard recent rains had made them much worse. So with that in mind we walked to them to have a look. The first one wasn't too bad, but the second one was significantly damaged. It would not have been a problem to cross it today, but in heavy rain, it could be a bit dangerous. I had heard someone fell down it last week. We turned back at that point. The fall colors are starting to show, but it will still be a while before they are at peak color. It was a lovely little 3 mile hike in the sunshine, with nice views of the Matanuska River and the snow on Matanuska Peak.