Bella's Anniversary Hike

 Today Bella and I are celebrating one whole year of her being part of my family, and my adventure buddy. Together we have tried to climb every mountain and hike every trail. She is the best of the best in hiking buddies. To commemorate this special day we hiked one of my favorite trails, The Twin Peaks Trail at Eklutna Lake. It was so beautiful at the lake with frosty trees all along the road. The lake finally has its first thin layer of ice. I doubt it is thick enough to walk on yet. The Twin Peaks Trail looked so inviting with a nice layer of snow. But after just a few steps, I found that the 1 or 2 inches of snow were just disguising a much thicker layer of solid ice. My micro spikes are very dull and they were of very little help in negotiating that underlying ice. But we pressed on and with care I was able to keep from slipping. A couple of other hikers passed us as they descended and warned us that above the first bench, the ice was much worse. I had hoped to make it to the second bench, but decided we might be just fine only reaching the first bench overlook. The last hundred feet to the first bench is very steep and I was beginning to wonder if I would even make it to the overlook. I ended up grabbing onto branches and walking off the trail on rocks and bushes to finally reach the bench. I can't imagine it being much worse, so called that our final destination. It's always a beautiful view up there but today was extra gorgeous. The sun was so low that there were touches of sunset color in the few clouds. I spent some time relaxing on the bench just enjoying the view. We had a couple of snacks then Bella started to head up the trail. I called her back and we started our slippery descent. In some places I was even able to run, but most of the way I took my time and was able to remain standing all the way back to the car. I kept Bella off her leash the whole time, and she ran ahead and back, likely covering twice the distance of my 3.5 miles. It's been a wonderful year with Bella!