Eska Falls Hike

 I have wanted to hike to Eska Falls for a long time but wasn't sure the best way to access the trail. I've heard you need a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead and that it can be hard to find. Today the Walkabouts hiking group were planning to go there, but only part way because of the long length of the hike. I figured at least I could see how to get there. We just parked at the end of the paved road and walked 1.5 miles along the extremely rough ATV trail to the hiking trail. There were signs pointing to the hiking trail, which were very helpful. I learned that you will find it if you always take the fork to the left off the ATV trail as well. Once on that trail it was quite nice for the next 3 miles. There is obviously quite the potential for significant mud in many places. But not for us today because it was only at most 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It was chilly but that made the trail lovely. Since the leaves are all gone from the trees, it did have the somewhat bleak dry brown look of late fall. But that also made it easier to see the mountains through the empty trees branches. The trail is a steady climb, but mostly a gentle one. I never felt I was working very hard. The hiking trail stops on top of a flat ridge where the falls comes into view in the distance. At this point the 3 ladies who had come from Anchorage decided it was time for them to turn back. Pam and I had driven up from the Sutton General Store in my car, and we both wanted to continue to the falls. So we and our 2 dogs continued along the rough ATV trail that works its way another 1.5 miles to the base of the falls. It was rocky with some short steep sections, but not difficult to find. Bella ran ahead and usually found the best and quickest route. We reached the falls and enjoyed the amazing view and the loud rush of water still plunging from the top. Much of the falls was already frozen along with large portions of the pond and creek at the base. I didn't like either of our dogs venturing out onto that ice, although they both did give it a try. We called them back and took a nice snack break before starting our own trek back. There has been a lot of blowing dust lately and it was giving Pam some breathing trouble, so she was not able to move very quickly on the trek back. She tripped on the loose rocks in a couple of places, but only sustained a few minor bruises, we suspect. The sun was still high when we started back but we were a little concerned about reaching my car before 6:30, the official sunset. We arrived at 6:15 with enough time to spare. It doesn't really get dark for at least another hour, so we were not in any danger of getting into night conditions. It was a long 12 mile hike but were were both so happy that we reached the final destination and didn't turn back with the others.  

Bear Mountain

 Today was the coldest day of this season. At the Peters Creek Trailhead, my car's outside thermometer read 22 degrees. I worried that I had not brought mittens, only gloves. I put on both my light down jacket and my Gortex jacket over it, and hoped I would warm up on the steep uphill to Bear Mountain. Bella led the way, and I followed right behind her. Our small group really didn't want to climb at breakneck speed so everyone was content with me leading. But I pushed as hard as I could, partly to not slow down the group and partly to keep warm. My hands were freezing until we finally reached the sun nearly at the top. Bella wore her pink sweater again today. It keeps her warm and it also makes it much easier to see her against the brown trail. Once at the top of Bear Mountain, we were in several inches of snow. It was sunny now, but still quite chilly if we stopped moving. We were very surprised to see a bull moose standing in the snow on the top plateau of the mountain. I was happy that Bella didn't see him, and that he lingered long enough for a couple of photos but moved on quickly. Moose can be very dangerous, but he seemed pretty disinterested in us. We walked as far as we could along the ridge until we reached where it seemed to simply drop off, with no more sign of a trail. The view of the surrounding mountains were quite spectacular. Mt. Eklutna is now totally covered in snow. We had great views of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet and even a clear view of Denali off in the distance. We had a panoramic view of the Talkeetna and Chugach Mountains plus the towns in the distance below. Several of our little Valley Wanderers group lingered for a while to collect high bush cranberries. I found some of the sweetest most delicious blueberries that I've seen all summer. I didn't collect any but I did taste a few. Our steep hike up had been on frozen ground because of the cold temperatures. But on our way down, it was now in the sun and was quickly deteriorating to a combination of slick mud and ice. We all put on our microspikes and kept them on almost back to our cars. The climb was fairly short at only 4.3 miles, but we all felt the 2000 foot elevation gain. The trail up basically just followed the fall line. I suspect the original trail was created by dall sheep or other surefooted four legged creatures. Bella bounced her way down, mostly staying close to us.Occasionally she would find her own alternate route, but she always ended up on our same path. I could tell she really enjoyed the sunny day and all the interesting smells that fascinate our canine buddies.

Little O'Malley Peak

I hiked the Little O'Malley Peak Trail with the Valley Wanderers. We went all the way to the official summit, which did include some serious rock scrambling. I had to lift Bella up over one huge boulder before I could climb it. Someone has placed some Buddhist prayer flags on the top. Some people would find them offensive but I still kind of enjoy seeing them. It brought back fond memories of my hikes in Nepal where everything is covered with them. They're so colorful against the snowy backdrop. Some of the group had to turn back for various reasons but a few of us continued on across the area nicknamed the Ballfield. It is now snow-covered but not too deep to negotiate without snowshoes. Microspikes were very helpful though. Bella sometimes fell into deep footprints but managed to climb out on her own. She led the way as usual. We hiked farther along the ballfield than I have done in the past. Chris was up ahead and had climbed up a hill to get the best view of  Williwaw Lake and Black Lake down below. It was well worth the climb to reach his high spot. We settled down there in the sun to eat lunch. A young Dall Sheep wandered over to visit us. He didn't seem concerned about us at all. Bella let out one loud bark but obediently stopped when I gave her a stern NO! We all enjoyed the little visiter and of course, took lots of pictures. We followed our own footprints back to the ridge below Little O'Malley then found that the trail that had been frozen on the way up had now turned to mud. We kept our grippers on until the trail started to flatten out. Bella encountered a few other dogs but was friendly to all of them, instead of the crazy barking lunatic that she becomes when on her leash. As we got close to the parking lot, I put her back on her leash. This was a fabulous 8.4 mile hike with a 2300 elevation gain. The mountains are much more spectacular with the new snow on their tops now. 

Bella on top of Little O'Malley Peak

Gold Mint Trail

 Yesterday was so windy I didn't even leave the house, except for short dog walks. But it's cold and calm today. By noon I was bored and had to get out of the house. I didn't have a plan, and didn't even wear my hiking boots, just my snow boots for warmth. It looked pretty nice up towards Hatcher Pass so I drove up there, intending to just walk a mile or 2 on the Gold Mint Trail. But it was so pleasant that I just kept going and going. Normally around mile 4 or 5 it starts to get very muddy due to beaver ponds encroaching on the trail. I figured I would definitely turn back when I came to that area. But around mile 4 the trail was still mostly mud free. I finally turned back at mile 4.5 just because it was getting windy and also getting late. I let Bella off her leash and she ran ahead exploring everything. I used my Peak Viser app on my phone and identified several of the distant mountain peaks. I was surprised to see how both Souvenir Peak and Arkose Peaks looked from that side of the mountain range. It turned out to be a lovely day for pictures and an excellent solo 9 mile hike. 

Arkose Peak

Souvenir Peak

Blueberry Knoll Hike

 It's been snowing in the mountains and wind has been blowing, plus a big storm is coming later today. But it's Friday and I traditionally hike with Pam and our dogs every Friday. It's been a while since we've hiked up the steep Blueberry Knoll Trail, so we decided to give it a try. I have done a couple of traverses that ended with hiking down from the summit of Government Peak, but nothing leading up that trail lately. We were both worried that it would be a muddy mess, like so many of the local trails have been lately. But other than a couple of nasty spots, we found the trail to be in rather good condition. Round trip the hike is only about 3 miles with about 2000 feet of elevation gain. But it's still quite a tough workout negotiating tree roots that try to trip you and slippery steep wet sections of trail. But we made it up and back without any injuries. Our dogs had a wonderful time of course. I love how they run and play together on our hikes. I can tell Bella really enjoys the company of other dogs. If it wasn't completely impractical, I'd consider getting her a doggie companion. Then I'd have double trouble though! 

We could see the dust blowing off the rivers down below but for the most part, we were free of the high winds. That all changed just before we got to the picnic table on the top of Blueberry Knoll. We didn't stay there long. But we still enjoyed the view. There is a cylinder tied to the table that has a screw top. I wondered what might be inside. I expected to find a register logbook. But instead it was full of hand warmers and a few pencils. I suspect there was once a logbook but it has been removed. Hand warmers could come in handy for people hiking up there in winter. It was almost cold enough to need them while we were there. It was 34 degrees when I left home but it was in the low 40's during most of the hike. There were a few traces of snow near the top. Government Peak itself still appears to be clear of snow. Our hike down went quickly in spite of the steepness and slippery sections. It was an awesome choice for our Friday traditional trek.

Bella exploring

Blowing dust down below

On top of the knoll

Red Shirt Lake Trail

 I had a nice leisurely 6 mile hike along the gentle Red Shirt Lake Trail today with a group of the Valley Wanderers. Our two dogs, Bella and Chili pranced along mostly out front all the way to the lake. Sadly, all the autumn leaves have already fallen, leaving only bare trees. But there was a plus side to that. Now we were able to see the Alaska Range to the north and the Chugach Range to the south as we walked along the ridge to the lake. We also got to enjoy the sunshine, which was nice considering it was only about 30 degrees when we started out. It did warm up to close to 50 by the time we returned to our cars. The lake was calm and very beautiful. We enjoyed our lunch and snacks while sitting on some nice logs in the sunshine. No steep mountain climbs today, but still a nice few hours of exercise and peacefulness in the mountains and forest. 

Lazy Mountain

 I helped the Valley Wanderers flag the primitive winter trail that takes off from the Matanuska Peak Trail around marker 4200 and ends at the place nicknamed Stonehenge. It's very narrow and steep and a little difficult to find even in summer. But they like to snowshoe up there in winter so they flag it with flagging tape so it can be found in deep snow. It's probably only about one mile, but it took a long time to hike it because we were stopping frequently to add more flags. Once we get to Stonehenge, it's not very far to the summit of Lazy Mountain. I hate to get that far up the mountain and not go all the way to the top. The other four in our group weren't interested in going to the top, so we parted ways after our snack break. I continued on to the summit with Bella. It was a perfect day for it because the wind had stopped and there was even a little bit of sunshine. The snow level is coming down, making the mountains look more majestic. We got to the top in one hour and spent some time up there taking pictures and eating more snacks. Bella beat me to the summit as usual. She is quite the rock climber and scrambles up there like it's flat land. I like to leave my trekking poles below the rocks so I can use both hands and feet getting to the very top. The view up there today was spectacular, with the snowy mountains. I was back down to Stonehenge in 30 minutes and to the bottom in another hour. It was so worth the extra effort. 

Bella on the summit