Ptarmigan Valley

 Bella and I joined the Valley Wanderers today to hike 8 miles round trip to the Ptarmigan Valley Bridge over Little Peters Creek. It has finally warmed up to the low 20's, so Bella didn't need booties and her coat. She happily ran the whole way. The trail was covered with snow but well packed down, so easy walking with only grippers. No snowshoes needed. I had forgotten how long this trail was and wondered if we would ever get to that bridge. When we finally got there, I saw Bella on the other side of the bridge, visiting with Chris who had gone ahead. We had our lunch on the other side. I was comfortably seated on a fallen tree branch. Bella was busy begging for food from each of the hikers. Madeline's dog, Biscuit was busy begging for Bella's food from my little bag of treats. We took the well-packed Winter Trail on the way up, but the group decided to take the Summer Trail on the way back. It wasn't quite as well packed, and Bella got pretty wet, bounding through the deeper snow. But it had a nice view of the valley in the distance. We had to detour around several fallen trees on that section too. It may have been slightly longer but was still a nice route. I was hurrying because I needed to get down in time to make it to Tiffany's house for her family Thanksgiving dinner. I made it with plenty of time to spare. Bella was soaking wet but didn't seem to mind as she fell asleep in the car on the way home.

McRoberts Creek Trail Matanuska Peak Trail Loop

 It was a bone-chilling morning, of 9 degrees at home. Even to take Bella for her morning walk, I wore my heaviest down coat and dressed her in botties and a winter coat. I kept all of her warm stuff on her until we drove down to the Smith Road Trailhead. It was only 6 degrees when we arrived. I was really having second thoughts about joining the Valley Wanderers for this hike, but I figured I could always turn back if conditions were too abominable. I kept Bella on her leash most of the way up to the metal tripod at the junction of the 2 trails, because I didn't want her to lose one of her booties if she got into the deep snow. They stayed on amazingly well until soon after I took her off her leash, her left bootie fell off. She didn't seem to be particularly bothered by it though. We had to cross several small streams, and her booties got really wet. When we got to the junction of the Matanuska Peak Trail, it seemed to have warmed up. I tried replacing her bootie, but it was frozen solid, and I couldn't get it on. I noticed the others were also frozen solid. Since it was now warmer, I decided to remove the others. They were almost frozen to her feet, and it was hard to remove them. I hoped she would be able to walk without them, but almost immediately she started lifting up her feet one after the other showing that they were too cold on the snow. So, I put her in my backpack and carried her. Once we finally reached sunshine, I tried letting her walk again, but it was still too cold for her. I put her back in the pack for the rest of the trip down. I must have dropped her leash on the trail when I put her in the pack the second time, because it was missing when we reached the bottom. She rode happily back there as we descended on the winding trail. My back wasn't quite as happy as she was, but it wasn't too bad. She was bundled into a thick fleece bag inside the backpack, so I'm sure was quite warm. Today was gorgeous with bright blue skies and distant fog down in the valley. I was so happy to be back hiking with the Valley Wanderers again. I have really missed our hikes. But at least our month off has enabled Bella to heal. She did great except for the extreme cold. Back at the car, it had only warmed up to 12 degrees Fahrenheit. At least I stayed warm with all of my many layers. We hiked a little over 5 miles and close to 2000 feet of elevation gain. 

Lazy Mountain Climb

 It has warmed up to a respectable hiking temperature, so Pam and I took our 2 dogs and decided to climb Lazy Mountain. We had heard trail conditions were pretty good, so we decided to go for the 4.5-mile trip up through the snow. I worried that my feet would be cold again, but they felt toasty warm the whole way. Bella was happy to have her buddy Dahla along again. The 2 dogs had a grand time running back and forth up and down the trail. I felt a little out of shape from a month of no big hikes. Pam also wanted to take it fairly slow. So, we just sauntered up, not trying to break any speed records. It was overcast, so not quite the amazing view we often get on this trail. But at least it was in the 20's and calm, making for great hiking conditions. We definitely needed our micro spikes on our shoes though. The trail was well packed snow from the many runners who like to train on the mountain. Above the first picnic table, the snow was a little deeper, but not so bad that snowshoes were needed. We met a few runners and a couple of dogs but mostly had the trail to ourselves. Meg, one of the most amazing athletes I know, ran past us on our way up and quickly disappeared, passing us again on her way down from the top. But we made our way comfortably to the top. Pam had a little fall on the summit ridge, hurting her arm slightly. So, she stayed there while Bella and I climbed the final rocks to the summit. I like to take my usual 360-degree video from the top. It's always a little sketchy climbing up that last rocky precipice, but I found the packed snow actually made it feel less treacherous. I remind myself not to trip as I climb up and down that last part. The overcast and clouds made the view a little mysterious, but in spite of the gray skies, it was still a beautiful view. We did have a few snowflakes on the top, but the storm waited until we were safely down before it really started to snow seriously. Bella did great and I feel that she is back to her old self. I think she was really happy to get out on a real hike again. I know Pam and I really enjoyed it too.

Bella on the summit

Settlers Bay Coastal Park

 Today is Friday and finally, I can resume my Friday walks with my friend Pam and her dog Dahla. But today, Dahla had her appointment with the groomer, so it was just Bella and us ladies hiking along the trail. We only did one loop of less than 2 miles because it was so cold. I was dressed in many layers, but my feet were frozen. It was starting to get very painful. Bella was sporting her bright red booties and ran ahead the whole way. The vet said I should not take her on anything too difficult at first since she is just now recovering from her month-long ordeal. She seemed like her old self again though. It was pretty out there with some frost and snow on the trees. We kept our hike short due to the 10-degree temperature. I was happy to get my feet back in the warm car. But it was great to get out hiking with Pam again. I have missed our Friday hikes.

Reflections Lake

This is just a short little 1-mile loop trail that I frequently like to take Bella for a little walk. It has been very cold and foggy the last few days, and the fog has beautifully decorated the trees all around the lake. The lake is now frozen, but I'm not sure the ice is thick enough for walking yet. We just walked around the lake while I stopped constantly to take pictures, and Bella stopped to sniff all the many different smells, as dogs like to do. There isn't a lot of snow on the ground yet, so it was easy walking. Bella seems completely healed of whatever her problem was a month ago. The views of the mountains were spectacular along with the frosty trees. 

Pioneer Peak

Pioneer Peak

Matanuska Peak

Twin Peaks

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 I haven't been able to do any hiking for the last month because my dog, Bella has been having some painful episodes, possibly connected to her vertebral discs. So, she has been on limited exercise and lots of medications while she recovers. I wasn't even supposed to leave her alone during that period. But the vet has released her to start to resume normal activities. It was very cold today, 8 degrees Fahrenheit at my house and about the same everywhere. I met my friend, Alice at Eklutna Lake for Bella's first hike after her month of rest. At first, Bella refused to walk. I decided she just wasn't happy wearing her heavy snowsuit, so I removed that. She was much more active after that. But I did notice after our 3.5-mile hike, she was starting to shiver. She did seem happy to wear her bright red booties though. I even let her off her leash since there wasn't much activity on the icy cold trail today. I did worry a little every time she plunged into the deep snow off the trail, if her booties would still be on her feet. Happily, they stayed on the whole way. Alice had to be back to her car by 2:30 so we had to keep that time limit in mind. I didn't want to push Bella too far on her first hike after such a long rest, anyway. Plus, we were all getting a little chilly. My feet were pretty numb. There was enough snow on the trail to make for excellent skiing conditions, if we had chosen to ski. But we were only hiking this time. The lake is open, with no ice yet. There was a layer of very interesting fog rolling along the lake, occasionally obscuring the view of Bold Peak. Fortunately, on our return, it lifted enough to get some nice pictures. The fog made the view very mysterious and picturesque. It was just a short hike, but I think all 3 of us really enjoyed it. We are now ready to start indulging in the full Alaska winter experience.