Bear Point Climb

Bella and I hiked the trail up to Bear Point with the Valley Wanderers. There were only 4 of us on the hike. It's very steep and mostly straight up. But we were lucky because it was well packed down and not terribly icy. we did wear micro spikes of course. It was much more slippery on the descent though. Once on the top we were able to walk easily out to the actual Bear Point. The wind has blown most of the snow off the ridge, so it was really easy walking. We had great views to the north and could even see the Alaska Range and Mount Susitna.  We encountered a small flock of ptarmigan and they didn't seem too concerned about us. they usually fly away once I aim my camera in their direction. But I was able to at least document that I saw them. Bella was awesome. She didn't need booties and never got cold. It was much warmer on top that it had been on the bottom. It was probably even slightly above freezing up there. It was very comfortable there in the bright sunshine.

Palmer Moose Range Trails

 The road up to Hatcher Pass is in bad condition so I didn't want to chance trying to drive up there. I stopped to see how the Moose Range Trail looks instead. I was surprise to see that the snow was well packed down from snow machine traffic and not icy at all. I did wear my micro spikes but could have walked or skied just fine without them. Bella and I walked the main trail out to the swamp. Then we followed a snow machine trail way out almost to the trees on the other side. Once we lost that trail the snow was too deep. But we took a nice loop around the frozen swamp and then followed the main trail back to the trailhead for a nice 3 mile walk. 

West Bodenburg Butte Trail

 I was feeling too sedentary this morning, so after taking care of the usual chores, I took Bella and we hiked up the West Butte Trail. I thought it might be really cold but it was perfect temperature for the climb. I really wanted to hike with a climb rather than just wander along a flat trail. It was extremely icy though. I wore my micro spikes and would not have made it without them. It does amaze me how the dog can race up and down on the ice and rarely do any slipping and sliding. The wooden stairs were really obnoxiously icy, with rounded mounds of clear ice piled on top of each step. I was clinging to the handrail ropes for dear life. On the way down I slipped on the little rocky cliff area and swung down it holding onto the rope for dear life. I was glad no one saw that! Bella raced down that like it was dry land. It was gorgeous on the top, with bright sunshine and very little hard ice. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed some treats. I could see the glacier in the distance really well. It was so nice that I almost hated to leave. We had the place all to ourselves. I let Bella off her leash on the way down because it would have been treacherous to have her pulling me down those stairs. Once below the stairs we mostly ran down the rest of the way.  It's only 3 miles, but it is certainly a good little uphill workout.

Reflections Lake

 It's been verry foggy and the ice fog has painted the trees beautifully. I didn't feel like doing a long hike today but did want to walk the 1 mile trail around Reflections Lake. Bella really loves it when we go there. There are so many interesting smells because so many people take their dogs there. She did have to stop and investigate every single interesting smell, thus turning this very short walk into a much longer one. But it was gorgeous out there today. It's one of my favorite places too.

Crevasse Moraine Trails via Glenn Massey Theater

 Jo from Valley Wanderers wanted to check out this trail to maybe use it for a hike she is leading next week. We decided to leave the snowshoes behind and just wear micro spikes. It was a good decision because the trail was well packed down. I was able to bring Bella this time because it has warmed up quite a bit. It was very icy and spikes were essential. The trail had lots of steep little hills and many fallen trees from the recent wind storm. Part of the trail no longer exists because the landfill had taken over part of it. We were able to navigate around on a new trail that Virginia knew about and we ended up on the powerline trail. At that point, we decided it probably wasn't the best option for Jo's hike next week. But it was an interesting route. On our ay back we detoured to a nice wooden platform where we had some nice views out towards the mountains. To avoid the steep hills we took the Snodgrass Loop back and walked through some of the halls in the college, then through the parking lot back to the theater. We covered 4 miles. It was interesting, and a new trail for me. But the ice was pretty nasty. I think I'll wait for more snow or maybe summer to try it again.

Matanuska Peak Trail to 9200 Marker

 Our original plan was to snowshoe up to Stonehenge. But for some reason I just wasn't feeling very well. I was really starting to drag behind the others. In addition, Bella kept losing her booties. The velcro on them stopped working because they kept getting packed with snow. That added to my slowness and general frustration. She was also starting to get cold, and I sure didn't feel up to carrying her on my back. So, Bella and I turned back at the 9200 marker where the trail climbs up to Stonehenge. I think we were both equally happy to get back to the car. The rest of the group did get to Stonehenge and they came down the more difficult way back to the main trail. When I heard that, I was really glad I turned back. The snow is deeper there and would have been deeper than Bella, so for sure I would have been carrying her. I have a slight fever now, so I'm happy to just go the 3.6 miles that we hiked. As usual, it was very beautiful out there. When I'm feeling good, I love hiking back there. 

Crevasse Moraine to High Ridge Trail

 We tried this route yesterday with the Valley Wanderers and I had to turn back because it was too cold and the snow was too deep for Bella. So today we tried again and after we reached the little blue chair, we took a different route back, following the Bottom Loop then Subway to College Connector then followed the fence line route back to the Crevasse Moraine parking lot. I was glad I didn't have to carry Bella in my pack like yesterday, trudging though the snow with snowshoes. We still did about 4 miles. We saw lots of bald eagles in the trees along the fence line, because that fence borders the landfill. They were waiting for good morsels of leftover garbage from the dump. They didn't seem too concerned about us. 

Eklutna Lake Cross Country Ski

 It was still very cold today, below zero but a lot warmer than a few days ago. But still below zero. We skied right on the frozen lake in several inches of fresh snow. We were the only people on the lake and made the first tracks in all the new snow. It was really perfect conditions. However, I have been having trouble with cold feet. So, the other day I purchased some electric socks and couldn't wait to try them out today. What a disappointment they were. They not only didn't keep my feet warm, I doubt they were even heating up at all. When back in the house they didn't even seem to warm up. My toes were so cold that I was a little concerned that I had sustained a little frostbite. But they did warm up on the way home, so no actual damage was done. But those socks are now in the trash! It was really beautiful out there and I was enjoying that part of the ski trek with Pam and our 2 dogs. We decided to turn around because my dog, Bella was frequently stopping and acting like she had already had enough no matter how beautiful it was. I ended up carrying her back for at least 1mile in my backpack. Our total mileage was 4.5 miles. When we got back to the cars, Pam and I were both quite cold. I think I'd like to wait until warmer weather before attempting that trip again. We did encounter a young couple pulling a sled with a young child heading out to one of the cabins for the night. I also saw one biker off in the distance, but our paths never did cross. We left a nice trail for the next person wanting to ski or walk out there. 

Pam & Both Dogs

Bella

Bella

Twin Peaks Trail

 This was a bone-chilling hike up the Twin Peaks Trail with Pam. She had to leave her dog home, because she was having her monthly grooming. I was worried Bella would miss her and not want to walk with us. I was even more worried when our car temperatures said it was -17 Fahrenheit in the parking lot at Eklutna Lake. I tried hiking the Eklutna Lakeside Trail a week ago and Bella refused to walk. It wasn't nearly as cold that day, so I was prepared to carry her in my pack. But she surprised us both by running on up the trail like it was the middle of summer. She was dressed in her coat and bright red booties though. It was a gorgeous day in spite of the cold. Once we got to the first bench, we were all pretty cold. My feet and thumbs were numb even though I was wearing foot and hand warmers. Sometimes it's just too cold to be comfortable. So, we elected to not move on to the second bench. Bella was trying to continue on though. But by the time we got back to the car she was shivering and seemed quite happy to be back with the car heater. The lake is now frozen so we can look forward to skiing on the lake soon. The trail didn't have a lot of snow and was well traveled and hard packed. We did need our micro spikes on our shoes though.

Independence Mine

 First hike of the new year to watch the first light of the new year with the Valley Wanderers. We would need to spend a few more hours to actually see the sun itself, but we did see the first light of dawn. We met at 8 am and hiked up the closed road to the mine buildings in the icy cold and dark conditions. The temperature varied between -5 and zero on the hike but had warmed up to +11 by the time we got back to our cars. Since we started out in the dark, we all wore headlamps and some even wore Christmas lights. Bella wore her lighted harness. That was a good thing too, because she tended to run far ahead and would have totally disappeared except for her flashing multi-colored blinking harness. At least we always knew where she was. I did have to take a couple minutes out 3 times to replace escaping booties. But for the most part, they did stay on. She was mostly the leader and seemed to know exactly where we wanted to go. It was like the wise men following yonder star because we just followed her lead up the trail. I was so glad I didn't need to put her in my backpack. For being as cold as it was, she was a real trooper and did really well all the way. But she was shaking pretty hard and very happy when we got back to the car. It was only about a 2 1/2-mile hike, but in those temperatures and the dark, it was long enough. 

Happy New Year!