Rippy Trail

 My hiking buddy Frank is having back surgery tomorrow, which will keep him grounded for a while. So, he wanted to go for a last hike before the surgery. Dan invited him to hike the Rippy Trail today and Frank invited me to go along. I started to hike this trail years ago but got turned around very quickly at the first creek crossing. Today, the creek was still pretty high, but we managed to find our way across without getting wet feet. Frank helped Bella across. On the 2nd creek crossing, Dan helped Bella across. On the way back, Bella crossed that 2nd creek by herself, and Dan carried her for the 1st one. Our whole hike was 7 miles round trip. We turned around at the end of the official Rippy Trail. But a small foot path continues along the edge of the mountains for a few miles farther. We walked out onto a little hill that gave us a great view of the many lakes out in the area. I have either kayaked or canoed most of them. It was interesting to see them from this direction. The trail was mostly frozen soil that would turn to mud if the temperature warmed up. The highest we got today was somewhere in the low 30's. I was starting to get really cold and was happy to finally turn back. We may have gone farther but Frank needed to get home to get ready for his surgery tomorrow. It was really a fun hike with 2 guys who have many wonderful hiking stories that they shared with me. I look forward to my next hike with Frank and Dan. Bella enjoyed running along with Frank's dog Maya too.

Jim Creek Bridge

Jim Creek from the Bridge

Dall Sheep

Dall Sheep

Frank Me and Dan

Bear Mountain Climb

 I hiked the Bear Mountain Trail today with the Valley Wanderers. It was just Pam, Jane, Erin and me and of course dogs, Bella and Dahla. It was pretty chilly and I was glad I sort of overdressed. Erin forgot to bring her micro spikes, but I had an extra pair in my pack, which saved the day for her. They were definitely needed on most of the hike. We had hoped to be able to do the traverse up Bear Mountain Trail, then over to at least the saddle between Mt Eklutna and the peak before you descend into the saddle. But we had no way of knowing if the Mt Eklutna Trail leading down from the saddle would be passable without snowshoes. We didn't plan to go all the way to the top of Mt Eklutna today. I think that would be better reached via the Mt Eklutna Trail itself. We got as high on the ridge as was obviously safe, then decided that going farther might put us into avalanche territory. But mainly, we didn't want to have to backtrack all the way up from the saddle if the trail down from there wasn't reasonably passable. Plus, a couple of us were starting to get cold. The view from where we turned around was spectacular and was well worth the effort to get up there. We had all kinds of different conditions from rock hard dirt to glare ice, to deep snow to solid snow and exposed rocks. It was quite overcast because a storm is moving in. But at least it didn't snow or rain on us. It was a fabulous 4-mile hike with an elevation gain of over 2000 feet.

Bella & Me

Bella

Bella

Bella

Pam & Dahla

Archangel Road Hike

 The Anchorage hiking group is hoping to ski at Archangel Road this weekend, so I decided to check it out and give them a report. I decided that skiing was not a good option by the time I reached the other side of the closed gate. Nothing has been groomed for skiing yet. Plus, the trail is very rough from dozens of people walking and chewing up the trail with deep footprints. I met a nice group of 3 ladies, in the area of my age group, also hiking up the road. They even found it difficult for walking. I'll admit that it was even a little rough for that. But not nearly as bad as it would have been on skis. Bella and I walked the 2.3 miles to the bridge then turned around making our hike a little over 4 miles. It was beautiful in bright sunshine and by the time we got back to the car it was actually starting to feel warm. I'll let the Anchorage folks know they'd be better off elsewhere. But the views were lovely.

Twin Peaks Trail

 I usually hike with the Valley Wanderers on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Today we met at Eklutna Lake for the Twin Peaks Trail. The plan was to go to the upper overlook where we get a fantastic view of Eklutna Lake. It was really dark ad overcast and not the best day for pictures. The trail to the first overlook with the bench was completely dry. The clouds were obscuring most of Bold Peak and the surrounding mountains. But it was still very pleasant. It was really cold back in town, 30 degrees with strong winds. But in the parking lot it was 46 degrees. I was dressed very warmly and worried I would be too hot. But even though the trail is steep I stayed nice and cool. I think the temperature got lower as we climbed. About halfway to the second bench, we started to encounter first ice, then snow. We had to put on our micro spikes to keep from falling. We took a nice break at the 2nd bench and then Chris suddenly appeared, walking down from the snow-covered trail up to the upper overlook. He had started long before we did, as he so often does. Jane decided she didn't want to go up to the overlook. I kind of wanted to, but the rest of the group decided to go back down with her. It was starting to snow, and Chris said the view wasn't any better up there than it had been at the first bench, so I decided to go down with the group rather than continue up alone. It was nice to chat with Jane, Peeroosa, Shelly, Meg and Chris on the way down. I really enjoyed going on a nice hike rather than stressing over the results of today's midterm elections. I voted last week to avoid the crowds at the polls. I'll spend tonight hoping for a blue wave as the election returns come in on TV.

Long Lake Loop Trail

 I met my friend Jennifer at the Matanuska Lake Trails for a nice 4.5-mile hike. As soon as we started out on the trail we ran into Jo from the Valley Wanderers. We ended up walking together because she had also planned to walk the Long Lake Loop. The trails are very confusing in that area, plus the Borough has removed all of the very informative intersection signs. So, we like to hike the trails that we already know. Even then, I still like to follow along with the AllTrails phone app to keep from getting lost and confused. The trail is in excellent condition. I was ready for mud, ice and maybe even a little snow. But the conditions were dry and perfect. Bella seemed to have a lot of fun running ahead with Lola, Jennifer's dog. In the summer you don't have much of a view on these trails because it is heavily forested and the leaves obscure the view of the many lakes in the area. But today the bare trees really opened up the view down to the lakes. On the far side of Long Lake, we traversed some old hay fields that are very wide open. The views of the surrounding mountains were gorgeous today in the nice weather we had. It was nice finally catching up with Jennifer since we had not gotten together since last winter. Now it's almost winter again! 

Government Peak Race Trail

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers today to the 2nd picnic table on the Government Peak Race Trail. Sandy and Sarah only went along to the first table but Jane, Kim and I went to the 2nd table. Sarah and Sandy are recovering from injuries so didn't want to climb any higher. Our whole trip was only 2.6 miles anyway. The trail was a combination of ice and mud with small patches of icy snow. The upper mountain looks pretty covered with snow but were did fine with just hiking boots and micro spikes. Our original plan involved snowshoes, but we sure didn't need them for the part that we hiked. It was raining lightly in the parking lot, so I had wished I had worn my raincoat. But by the time we started hiking the rain had stopped. It was still a bit of a dreary cloudy kind of ugly day. But turned out to be beautiful in its own way. The distant views of the mountains and glacier were as spectacular as ever. Last night I gave Bella a bath, but with all the mud on the trail, she got another one as soon as we got home. It was a short and sweet hike but still a nice little climbing workout with fun friends. The dogs had a grand time. Sylvia was racing back and forth like a bull in a China shop, which finally made Kim hook her to her leash. She kept leaping right over Bella. Kim was worried she would take us all down on one of her wild passes. I think she weighs considerably more than any of us hikers. 

Jane & Kim & Dogs, Bella & Sylvia

Knik Glacier

Twin Peaks

Pioneer Peak

Bella

A patch of blue sky

View through the trees

Hike to Dan's House

 Our plan today was to snowshoe up to Dan's house above Independence Mine in Hatcher Pass with the Valley Wanderers. Dan is 87, has lived up there all of his life and his family owned many of the gold mines in the area. We really didn't need snowshoes because the road up there was plowed, but the snow on it was still fairly deep. Some of the group did wear snowshoes, but Pam and I just wore our hiking boots.  I carried my snowshoes in case they were needed. When we arrived, Dan and Virginia greeted us with the most delicious hot tea I've ever had the pleasure of drinking. Peeooza brought some delicious cookies and Jane contributed some chocolate. Dan entertained us with some amazing stories of the history of the area. He could write a book about the gold mining history of Alaska and particularly of the Hatcher Pass area. I love his delightful little home there on the mountain. It's just my style, very small and cozy with only the bare necessities. The view is extraordinary to say the very least. It is a bit of a challenge getting up there in the winter. 

Virginia in the doorway

Dan's house on the right and the original home on the left

Dahla and Bella enjoying the snow

Along the road