Portage Pass Trail

 I was quite sick of working in my yard and I jumped at Mark's suggestion to drive down to Whittier. It's a beautiful drive down along the inlet, to Portage, then the trip through the tunnel to Whittier. We decided to check out the Portage Pass Trail just to see if the parking mess had improved. I was delighted to see that they now have a huge parking lot. Mark has never hiked any of this trail. I have done it to the overlook several times but have never done the whole 2 miles down to Portage Lake. I knew we wouldn't even have time for that but did hope we could hike up to the overlook. Mark needed to rest a bit but we both made it to the high point where we could see the glacier and down to the lake in the distance. That is about the halfway point of the trail. Bella had to stay on her leash because there were a lot of people also on the trail. It was 75 degrees and mostly calm, which is very unusual for Whittier. Last week it was snowing there. It is usually foggy and raining or snowing. So, we picked the most perfect day ever to give it a try. Mark loved it and was so happy we had decided to hike up there. We had time to grab a nice salmon burger for lunch and catch the 6pm tunnel opening to drive back to Portage. What a spectacular place that is. Maybe next time I can get there early enough to hike all the way to the lake. But I was really happy to make it to the overlook. It's amazing up there. 

Gold Star and POW/MIA Peaks

 Today was a spectacular climb up Gold Star then on to POW/MIA. The weather was perfect; the trail was perfect. It was the best time I've ever hiked up there. Pam went with us and was worried she would not be able to keep up with the group. She really didn't have any trouble at all and really enjoyed the beautiful hike. It seems like a very long hike because it's quite steep. But in reality, it's only about 4 miles round trip. But the trail has very few switchbacks and basically follows the fall line all the way to the top. We were very fortunate to have the entire trail all to ourselves too. There is only room for about 5 cars at the little turnout where we have to park. But the 5 of us drove up in 3 cars and had it all to ourselves. We did run into a couple of other hikers on our way down, but no one else was on the upper mountain with us. It was 70 degrees out with nonly a light breeze. Typically, it is a howling wind on top but today the light breeze was a welcome addition. We took a nice long lunch break under the POW and US Flags. I hiked down the ridge until I reached the steep drop off so I could get the closest photos of Twin Peaks. Bella went with me of course. Instead of following the ridgeline back to Gold Star, we hiked over to the far ridge where we could look out over the valley below. I love that part of the hike because the ridge is full of interesting rock formations. Bella took off on her own at one point, and I had to yell "Treats" loudly to finally get her to catch up with me. She likes to explore up there just as much as we do. The trip down through the rocks and scree was a bit slow going, but we were soon back down to the saddle where we took another break. The lower trail was nice and dry. We took another nice long break in a soft meadow on the lower trail in the sunshine. We all wanted to just stay there and sunbathe for the rest of the day. But of course, we did need to go home. It was an awesome hike as always. Plus, it's a great way to pay tribute to our fallen heroes who made it possible to have the freedom we have to do such a hike.

Mount Baldy

 Today I hiked Mount Baldy with the Valley Wanderers. It was raining at home, but I hoped it would improve. Well, it wasn't raining when we got to the trailhead, so that was a plus. However, it was totally fogged in all the way to the top of Baldy. At that point, we abandoned any thoughts of heading up to Blacktail Rocks, our original destination. We turned back and took the same route down we had taken up. There was a lot of snow on the upper ridge, so we couldn't even see Blacktail for the fog or find our way there through the deep snow. Everyone was soaking wet because it did snow a bit and sometimes it was closer to rain than snow. Bella was dripping wet when we finally made it back through the fog to the cars. But it was at least a good climbing workout! 

Lazy Mountain Birthday Hike

 I finally reached 80. I honestly don't feel any different. However, this hike was so grueling, that I felt more like 90 than 80! This is a very steep straight up hike on a good day. Today looked like a beautiful day but the trail was a real horror. It was mostly very slippery slimy mud. Pam and her dog went along with Bella and me. I had hoped conditions would be good to climb Matanuska Peak like last year. But this winter has been much colder with a lot more snow. That just wasn't an option and may not be for at least another month. But Lazy Mountain with its muddy trail was plenty of challenge for both of us. Our dogs likely enjoyed playing in the mud. By the time we reached the halfway picnic table, we were both relieved to be there and hopeful that the rest would be better. It usually is the easier half. But not so much today. The first half of the upper trail was just as bad as the lower trail. I kept saying to myself - "Don't quit, you can do it!" I'm not sure what Pam was saying, probably more like "Why?"

We did reach the top and the rain we could see in every direction, stayed out in the valley. Although, we did see an occasional snowflake. Bella and I climbed up the final rock face so I could take my usual 360-degree video from the summit. It was a bit windy but not too cold. We lingered up there for a short time, then rejoined Pam and Dahla down by the flag. The trek down through the scree wasn't too bad, but the muddy sections on the upper trail were even more treacherous on the way down. At the picnic table we, and mostly everyone else we met on the mountain, elected to take the longer, but less steep Lazy Moose Trail down to the parking lot. It was worth the additional 2.5 miles to avoid that miserable lower steep trail. We covered 6.5 miles total and managed to beat the rain. It was a tough hike, but a fabulous way to show the world that age is only a number. So many folks my age are using walkers or living in assisted living homes. But if you have the desire, you can still be climbing mountains at 80. I hope I can do something similar when I turn 90 or even 100. 

I have the muddiest dog I have ever seen. She will get a nice bath tonight.

Summit Video

The Perch

 I hiked to the Perch along the Crow Pass Trail with the Valley Wanderers today. Pam and her dog joined us. Another dog friend of Bella's, Biscuit also joined us. The trail was almost completely dry except for a few small spots. There is a new section of the trail that starts shortly after Echo Bend, and we used it today. It is a bit more difficult than the old trail because of many ups and downs and lots of rocks to negotiate. But I think it is a bit more beautiful. It offers several nice overlooks where we have great views of the Eagle River and the mountains. It was a nice partly cloudy day, but the wind was really strong, especially when we were close to the river. We didn't linger for very long on the perch mainly because of the icy wind. On our return, a passing runner advised us that he had just seen a black bear with 3 cubs 1/4 mile ahead of us. That was our sign to put our dogs back on their leashes. We never did see the bears, and they had moved on before we reached that spot. I was getting tired by the time we reached our cars, after the 9.3-mile hike. But it really felt good to get out for a long hike. Especially without dealing with snow and muddy conditions for a change. Spring is finally on its way.

Twin Peaks Trail

 After dragging gigantic log rounds through the woods for several hours yesterday, I took another rest day from the wood pile. I hiked with Pam and our dogs up the Twin Peaks Trail to the second bench, we were both pleasantly surprised that there was almost no snow or mud along the trail. We did find a small section of snow just below the second bench, and a little bit of mud just below that. But I'd heard it was all post holing through snow just last week. It was very cloudy but at least we didn't encounter any rain. I always love the view of Eklutna Lake from the first bench overlook. There was still too much snow to continue past the second bench to the ridge, so we turned back at the second bench. The dogs had a great time running ahead and exploring all the interesting smells along the trail. I enjoyed being far away from the wood pile!

Long Lake Loop Hike

I took a break from cutting and splitting fallen trees and went for the 4.5-mile hike around the Long Lake Loop at Matanuska Lakes with my friend Pam and our dogs.  It was a really nice day, and we managed to avoid any rain. Most of the trail was clear of mud, but we did find a few muddy spots we had to avoid. I really enjoyed getting a workout for my legs instead of just my arms and my aching back. I could tell that our dogs were very happy to go along with us too. Especially Bella. She's not been very happy with me for spending so much time out in the yard doing spring chores. We're both ready to start doing our typical summer hiking and running schedule.