McRoberts Creek Trail

 I had some reservations about this hike today after hearing the forecast for 50 mph winds. The Valley Wanderers intention was to snowshoe from the Smith Road Trailhead, up the McRoberts Creek Trail to the tripod where it joins the Matanuska Peak Trail, then on to the picnic table, returning the same way. About 8 miles round trip and 2700 foot elevation gain. We just used micro spikes for about 3/4 mile then switched to snowshoes because we were starting to sink in badly. Snowshoes made life much easier. At about mile 1 we encountered a dead moose sprawled right across the middle of the trail. This was quite disconcerting because word has it that bears have been seen out in various places. Conditions were pretty rough and there were no previous tracks to follow. I stayed behind the leaders of our little group of 5 because they seemed to know where the actual trail was. It's not one that is frequently traveled, but it is sort of a shortcut up Matanuska Peak. We crossed some questionable snow bridges across creeks but no one managed to get wet. We took the steep shortcut up the steep gully they all call 'The Chute'. My dog, Bella did really well until about 3/4 of the way up the chute. She started walking behind me and making frequent stops. I fell slightly behind the others but caught up with them shortly before the tripod. It's up on a ridge and the wind was furiously blowing so they sat down for some food and a break. I gobbled down my candy bar and Bella gobbled down my little baggie of dog food. We were all freezing and made the command decision to turn around and go back down. I took off my backpack ad stuffed Bella into her three layer thick fleece bag that I made for her, and zipped her into my pack. She was shivering and obviously too tired to continue this silly expedition. I carried her all the way back to the car. She was comfortably curled up and warm and I'm sure, quite happy to be riding instead of stumbling through the deep snow in the high winds that had caught up with us. Our total mileage was only 4.6 miles, but it was quite the workout. I didn't take very many pictures, just a few to document that I actually went there. When I got home, I quickly printed out a Caution sign warning future hikers about the moose carcass on the trail, and taped it on the bulletin board at the trailhead. Bear spray will be important until that is gone.