McRoberts Creek & Matanuska Peak Trails

 There were only 4 of us today for our Saturday Valley Wanderers hike, Jane. Judith, Sarah and me. It was a cold frosty morning, so we all started with our warm coats. Bella led the way as usual. We hiked up the McRoberts Creek Trail to the tripod that marks the junction of the Matanuska Peak Trail. Someone has damaged the tripod so that now it only has 2 legs, plus the red flag has been removed. I can't understand why anyone would want to destroy this important trail marker. I suppose we will hike up again soon and at least replace the flag. The trail had some significantly muddy places, but I mostly managed to avoid getting my feet muddy. Bella was quite muddy and ended the day with a bath. In quite a few places, streams were running right down the trail. But it was always passable. McRoberts Creek was running very full due to recent rains. The snow up higher has mostly melted, with only a light amount up on Matanuska Peak. I believe it would still be easy to climb it. But that was not our plan today. Once at the trail junction, we hiked down the Matanuska Peak Trail back to our cars for a total of 5 miles. That trail was much drier. Judith and Jane wore their micro spikes, but I didn't bother putting mine on. I didn't find myself slipping, even though it was a little damp and slippery in spots. On our way down, Karen and John who I had seen up on Matanuska Peak, came through with their big dogs. They recognized Bella even before they recognized me. She stands out in her bright pink raincoat. I so often run into friends along the trails. Today was a good day to be out enjoying the last few days of fall.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 I didn't have a lot of time to hike today because I was going to Cearsten & Brandon's wedding with Mark. I usually hike with Pam on Fridays, so we left a little early and hiked the Eklutna Lakeside Trail. We only went to mile 3 and visited the Yuditnu Cabin for a snack. It was very cloudy and cool but the clouds and the sun breaking through made for some interesting reflections on the lake. Our 2 dogs had a great time exploring the trail. We didn't see any wildlife, only a couple of other hikers and a few bikers. No snow or ice here so far. But it won't be much longer before we are exploring here on skis. 

Lane Basin

The original plan was to try to reach the Lane Glacier like we did with the Valley Wanderers last year. But we very quickly scratched that idea once we reached fairly deep snow at the end of Archangel Road.  The road itself was clear, but once we left it and started up a side trail leading to the very muddy official Lane Basin Trail, we found ourselves in snow. Initially it was just very wet snow but there was substantial water flowing beneath that snow. We crossed a couple of small creeks and then joined the actual Lane Basin Trail. We had to hop over a few streams on that trail as well. As we climbed, the snow got deeper. By the time we got to the lake just past the Monolith, the snow was over my ankles. I knew I should have worn gaiters. But my feet still stayed dry. We went a little past the lake but settled on a nice group of snow-covered rocks to take our lunch/snack break. It was obvious that it would be pointless to post-hole up through Lane Basin and attempt the steep climb though the snow-covered boulders to the remnant of the Lane Glacier. Snowshoes would have been necessary if we ventured any farther than our lunch spot. We climbed partway up a steep mound through the deep snow to look at the view. I dragged my feet through our footprints to help Bella along, since she was needing to hop from footprint to footprint. I decided to go back to our lunch spot and forgo the deep snow to that mound. A couple of the others also went back down. Then as soon as we were all together again, we started back down the route we had taken up. The whole hike was about 6 miles. Winter has definitely arrived in that area. The lake is even ice covered now. But I doubt it was safe to venture out onto it. It was warm enough that the snow on the trail was wetter than on our way up. Bella hopped along jumping the creeks and running up ahead with Bigby, Nan's big dog who was also with us. Bella loves when there is another dog along. She likes to run with the big boys!!! The mountains look so much more spectacular now with the snow on them. It won't be long before Archangel Road will close for the season, and this trip will only be accessible via skis or snowshoes.

Me and Bella sitting between our snow lady and our snow bunny