I met Frank Wall at his house and we drove over to the Kepler Lake trailhead intending to hike from there to the Crevasse Moraine Trailhead and back. The best way to do that is to get to the long trail called the Long Lake Connector and follow it to the Crevasse Moraine Trails. In the opposite direction, it leads to the Matanuska Lake Trail system. But, the trail markings are often very confusing out there. While watching our iPhone trail apps, we decided to try a trail called Bear Bottom, because it did give a mileage to the connector trail. It was a very winding steep trail. At one point we found a trail heading off to a bluff. I have walked it before and knew where it goes. It's pretty short and leads to a wide open area over a bluff, with great views of the mountains. The wind was ferocious there and nearly blew me right off my feet. I managed to get a few pictures out there though. We made one mistake on the way back from that trail by following a side trail pointing to the Connector Trail. It did eventually lead us to the connector, but that routine made our trip a bit longer. We finally ended up on the Connector Trail and made our way to the Crevasse Moraine trail system. There, we took the Expressway Trail which is the fastest way to the trailhead. But I think it was a bit more confusing to Frank, because all trail options point to that trailhead. Frank said he was very familiar with the area because 20 years ago he had snow-machined out there many times. But many of these trails didn't exist back then. And the ones that did, didn't have trail marking signs. After grabbing some snacks and taking a break at the picnic table we headed back along the lower trail, avoiding the big hills on the Expressway. We reached a picnic table and a trail junction to the Picnic Table Single Track Trail. The map indicated this would lead to a trail that Frank really wanted me to see. It was a lovely narrow trail along a steep ridge. When we came to a junction, I felt we would be best to head in the direction of Matanuska Lake. But Frank was sure we should detour through a field because he knew that area so well. That turned out to not be a good idea. We wandered around there far too long, trying to find a trail that would lead is in our correct direction. I finally convinced him to head back using my phone app, to the last place we saw a sign. Looking at my digital map, I realized our best bet was to retrace our way back to that picnic table and head for the Connector Trail. By now, I think Frank was totally twisted around, and who could blame him! We were definitely somewhat going around in circles. But I knew to keep the mountains to my left and head towards Matanuska Lake. Once on the connector, it seemed like we were headed correctly. Frank insisted we should head back down a trail called Bear Root Trail. I knew it was too soon to turn, but also knew it would take us where we wanted to go. We came to junctions that pointed in each direction to the Connector Trail again. One said .1 mile, the other said .3 miles. I knew we needed to take the ,1 mile option because of the direction. He was sure we needed the other one. It was close either way, so we took his route. Once back on the Connector, I definitely knew we needed to go left. Looking at both of our trail apps, I convinced him and we both knew which way. Now he was having serious pain to his feet from his shoes. I felt so sorry for him. But he's a trooper and kept on. I think he still wasn't sure if we were heading correctly. But once we passed the Long Lake Trailhead sign, we knew the Kepler Lake one was coming up. We finally got on it and made our way back to his truck. I think the trip should have been about 10 miles, but we did it in 12 miles. It was a fun adventure and a great lesson in navigation and route finding. We had 2 very muddy dogs and 2 tired hikers. Bella went directly into my kitchen sink for a much needed bath.
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