Eska Falls Trail Hike

 Today was a beautiful sunny day and Pam suggested the 2 of us with our dogs, hike to Eska Falls. Round trip it is a little over 12 miles. The actual trail is really only 10 miles round trip, but the road to the trailhead is not drivable unless you are in a huge truck or an ATV. Today I'm not sure any vehicle could drive it because it was flooded in so many places. So, I parked where the paved road ends and we walked the road to the hiking trail about a mile and a half, doing our best to avoid getting wet as we circumvented the flooded spots. We kept our feet dry, but our dogs did a bit of swimming. Once on the actual trail, conditions were pretty good. There were some small patches of snow from yesterday's big storm, but they just served as a good place for the dogs to get a tasty snow drink. The wind must have been horrendous recently because there were trees down all along the trail. In a few places it was a bit challenging getting around them. It really did look like a hurricane had swept through the area. We were very happy when we finally reached the flat plateau just above tree line. From there we could finally see the waterfall in the distance. It's only a little over a mile from there to the falls, but it's not the nicest trail to follow. It's really just a mass of ATV roads that meander up and down over steep hills until they finally end at the base of the falls. I told Pam it looks like they were made by a drunken ATV driver. I may not be wrong. They are a combination of steep rocky hills and steep muddy rutted hills. But were actually quite easy to follow. The falls were in view all the way through this part of the hike. The falls were flowing very strong, partly due to yesterday's huge rainstorm. It's always amazing to sit on the rocks just below the falls and marvel at the immense power of that falling water. The sound was almost deafening. From where we sat, Eska Creek flows downhill eventually reaching the Matanuska River. We had a nice lunch break there and our dogs got drinks in the icy water. We hated to finally leave but we did want to get back before it got dark. We had plenty of time because the sun doesn't set until almost 9 PM. We got down right at 6 PM. We wrapped both dogs in blankets and towels to keep them from turning our cars into mud puddles. But they didn't care. They both got much needed baths once back home.

Pam and Dahla

Portage Pass Trail

I hiked the Portage Pass Trail with my friend, Alice and of course, Bella. We got very lucky because we just caught the tunnel release with only seconds to spare. Otherwise, we would have had to wait another hour for the next release at 11 AM heading towards Whittier.  Alice has never been to Whittier or gone through the tunnel. and of course, never hiked the trail. It was kind of steep and rocky, but she handled it well. We went up the side trail to the overlook where we got the most amazing views of Portage Glacier. We enjoyed having our snacks while sitting on the rocks in the sunshine admiring the gorgeous view. Then we found our way back to the main trail and continued on down to the lake shore. This trail can be quite crowded on a weekend, but it wasn't too bad today. I was able to keep Bella off her leash most of the time. I did pick her up a couple of times when passing another dog. She tends to get a little boisterous when she sees another dog. That's embarrassing, especially when she is off leash, where technically she is not supposed to be. I prefer not having her pulling me on steep rocky trails. Alice loved the hike and was amazed at the beauty. I think it is one of the most beautiful hikes in Alaska, even though it's only about 5 miles round trip. We enjoyed listening to the creek running by the trail and did a couple of minor stream crossing before we reached the beach. The glacier used to reach all the way to the Visitor's Center on the road but has receded so far that the only way to see it is on this trail or by boat. In the old days, even when I moved to Alaska 40 years ago, icebergs used to float out on the lake by the road. But the glacier has now receded onto the rocks above the lake, so there are no longer icebergs floating out there. We enjoyed a nice long break down on the beach and chatted with a few other hikers down there. One couple said they had camped there last night and were kept awake by the calving glacier. Thet said it sounded like thunder. That would have been interesting and a bit weird. I'd love to camp on that beach sometime. Weather was starting to move in, so we lost our sunny day, but we got back before it started to rain. We had another close call with timing. Just before we reached the parking lot, I saw it was now 3 pm. We started running in hopes of catching the 3 pm tunnel release back to Portage. We just made it and ended up in the last line behind the busses and oversize vehicles. We were glad we didn't need to wait for the 4 pm release. We really enjoyed this fabulous hike, and I was happy that Bella was not too tired from yesterday's much harder hike to Crow Pass. She is a good sport. I think she preferred both hikes to the 2-hour drive each way from Palmer. She isn't crazy about riding in the car. But she does love her hikes. 

Alice & Me

Bella On The Beach

Alice In The Pass

Crow Pass & Raven Glacier Hike

 The Walkabouts Hiking Group were hiking Crow Pass today so I just had to jump in and join them. I have wanted to hike that trail from the Girdwood side for many years but never had the chance. It's a 2-hour drive to Girdwood from my house in Palmer, so that is one reason I don't routinely consider doing it. I met with the others in the Carr's Grocery store parking lot, and we took 2 cars to the trailhead. The 6 miles up the hugely pot-holed Crow Pass Road were almost as much of an adventure as the hike. But my Subaru handled it beautifully. The trail follows a long green valley up towards Crow Pass. A couple miles in we came to a wooden sign that points to mine ruins straight ahead and a trail to the right that heads up the ridge towards Eagle River and Raven Glacier. The trail is a long gradual pathway along the side of the ridge through gigantic piles of small rocks. I was glad I wore my sturdy hiking boots instead of my usual trail running shoes, because the rocks were rough walking. I wondered how Bella would handle them, but she didn't seem to have any trouble. One of the ladies with us said a lot of the rooks are from mining operations. It also looks like large landslides over the eons have also contributed to them. We encountered a couple of stream crossings. The first one wasn't too bad, but I still picked Bella up since it was fairly wide. The second one was an actual small waterfall. She would definitely not be able to cross that one safely if at all. I was a bit nervous crossing that one myself. Rather than chance the slippery rocks, I ended up stepping right into the water a couple of times for better footing. I did end up with one wet foot. But we got safely across. Shelly decided to stay and wait for us rather than cross the creek. We rejoined her on our way back. It was very windy and I ended up keeping both my jacket and raincoat on the whole time. Once in the actual pass, we had awesome views of the mountains and the many waterfalls plummeting down from them. We found a delightful grassy spot and settled down for our lunch break. Bella ran up and down the hill for drinks in the lake then enjoyed rolling in the grass, also going up and down that hill. She was having a great time. After our break we continued on to the Raven Glacier. We didn't go all the way to the ice, but we had a great view of it. If one continues on, they will finally reach Eagle River and the deep river crossing. Once across the river the trail continues on to the Eagle River Nature Center. I find the thought of crossing that river very intimidating. It is often waist deep and fast moving. I've heard it's best to cross it in early morning when it tends to be lower. The distance of the entire trail is about 23 miles and there is a race that is done on the route every year. I would be too slow to even think about doing that race. You need to reach the pass in 1 hour. I know it took us a couple of hours. But of course, we were not racing. I was impressed by a few hardy trail runners who flew by us bouncing along on those loose rocks. I was happy going at our normal hiking pace. Our whole route was 8 miles round-trip. It was fabulous and I really enjoyed the company of Meera, Madeline, Doug, Karen and Shelly. I liked that they like to hike at a reasonable pace and don't mind waiting for folks who are slower or who want to stop and take pictures. Bella enjoyed running along with her dog buddy, Biscuit. They are great trail friends. 

Crossing the Creek

Raven Glacier

Meera, Bella & Me

Shelly, Meera, Karen and Me

Bella rolling in the grass

Rae-Wallace Trail

 Today turned out to be a nice sunny day so I went hiking with my friend Pam and our dogs. I still wanted to try the Rae-Wallace Trail but from a different starting point that yesterday. I remembered a dry trail farther up the road, and we started up on that one. That trail is likely the best one to use if your destination is Microdot, a sharp peak that rises from Gold Cord Lake. If you stay on it as high as possible, then a cross-country trek to the left would take you up the ridge that leads to Microdot. But our destination was still Rae-Wallace, so we stayed on the trail itself. It started to disappear into little streams, so we ended up following our dogs, who seemed to find the best passage, that lead us to the main Rae-Wallace Trail. This trail leads to Rae-Wallace Peak high on the ridge above us. We kept following it up onto a couple of little hills until it seemed to simply disappear into a boulder field. The map shows the trail ending about where we decided to stop. It looks like the best route up to the peak might be across a small snowfield then a steep hike up a grassy tundra covered slope to the ridge. I would love to do that one day. But Pam doesn't like scrambling on rocks, so we decided against that today. I'd be comfortable coming back and doing it myself another day. It was delightful sitting in the tundra vegetation enjoying the sunshine un one of the hills where we turned back. We had a snack break while the dogs ran up and down to the creek below. I had only been up this trail once before and had turned back at approximately the same place due to a huge snowfield. But today I got a better look at the trail and can see where it actually goes. It was beautiful and green everywhere with a noisy gurgling stream flowing nearby. The dogs lead us back down by following the Rae-Wallace Trail all the way back to the stream crossing where I fell yesterday. We found a nicer place to cross it today. I love this trai and will for sure do it again. All the way to the peak or maybe to Microdot next time. I now have an Aorkuler GPS tracker on Bella so will be able to find her if she decides to wander out of sight. I did some practicing with it today and found it works quite well and is independent of my phone, using only a satellite tracker.

Gold Cord Lake

 I started trying to hike up the Rae-Wallace Trail. But from the parking area, there were so many trails leading that way that I had a hard time choosing which one to hike. They all lead to a nasty creek crossing. I picked up Bella and held my poles in my other hand and started across.  I slipped on a wet rock, and we both landed in the creek. I scraped my knees and decided it was just too wet and miserable to continue up that mess of wet trails. I got back in the car and drove up to Gold Cord Lake. I'd heard they had been doing some improvements on that trail, so wanted to check them out. I did find where they had made a nice rock trail over one of the worst swampy sections. It still needs a lot more work. I admire the volunteers who worked on it recently. Bella enjoyed barking at the birds, marmots and ground squirrels as we hiked up to the lake. I let her off her leash at the lake, and she made friends, after initial barking conversations, with a couple of other dogs. The water was so calm that the reflections were wonderful. It's just a short hike, but always very magical. I let her go unleashed all the way back down. 

Lane Basin Exploration Hike

 Pam and I started out hiking with a group of the Valley Wanderers. We hiked up the Archangel Road almost to the gate, then started up a steep hike on a narrow trail. Their destination was a place called Little Gem Mine. They were hiking quite quickly and left Pam and I behind, rarely waiting for us to catch up. Bella mostly took off and followed them, occasionally returning to check on me. I stayed ahead of Pam but behind the rest of the group, always trying to keep the fast group in sight, but not leaving Pam behind. Pam was having some trouble with her back which tended to slow her down. The lead group took off up a ridge and were soon completely out of sight. I only knew they were heading up the creek but didn't know which side or what the final destination was going to be. Pam and I descended to the creek, and Bella was no longer in view. It was obvious she was with the faster group. I started frantically calling her name. I had no idea where the other hikers were or where my dog had gone. Finally, after calling her for at least 5 minutes, Bella descended from high on the ridge above the creek. She crossed the fast-flowing creek, and I gave her a treat. Pam and I decided we should simply turn back since we had no idea where the rest of the group had gone. Then we couldn't find Bella again. We didn't know if she had crossed the creek again or which direction she had taken. We hollered for about 10 minutes. I tried to track her with my phone via her airtag but it wouldn't connect. I was extremely worried now and had no idea which way to go to find the others, where I assumed she had gone. She finally came bounding down the ridge on our side of the creek. I put her leash on her and we took both of our dogs and returned, now following our track on my AllTrails app. Bella led us back to the last trail we had followed and then I took her off her leash. Pam and I followed her and continued on that trail until it disappeared. We could see the Lane Basin Trail below us so turned towards it, also following the AllTrails app. We did a bit of bushwhacking and had to jump a few small streams but finally reached the Lane Basin Trail. It was a fun adventure and a beautiful hike in spite of how frustrated we had been earlier. We happily followed the trail back to the road and our cars. I have often said that I actually prefer to hike alone or with just one other person. Groups often abandon slower hikers. I'm not always the slowest, but if I am, I know this can happen. I don't mind if my dog sticks with the leader as long as I can still see them. But if the leader abandons me, then I know it's time to get her to return and make my exit from the hike. From now on I'll stick to either solo hikes or ones with friends willing to stick together. It can be dangerous leaving people behind in the Alaska wilderness, and I never want to lose my precious Bella. She is my soulmate and I will never abandon her.

Lazy Mountain from the Back Side

 I know I just climbed Lazy Mountain 2 days ago, but the Valley Wanderers decided to do it today from the back side up from Smith Road on the Matanuska Peak Trail. Their plan was to descend via the Lazy Moose Trail. To avoid the unnecessary 2 mile, walk from Smith Road to the Lazy Mountain Trailhead on Morgan Horse Trail, we left most of our cars at the Lazy Mountain Trailhead and piled into Jane's car to start from Smith Road. Bella kept stopping and holding me back, so I started out being the slowest and last person in our group of 6 as we started up the trail. Bella finally started moving and I gradually moved closer to the leader. Erin was ahead until we reached the wooden tripod that marks the Southside Trail that leads up through Stonehenge to the Lazy Mountain summit. Erin got distracted by some blueberries and kept stopping to pick them. Meanwhile, Janice took off at a quicker pace, immediately followed by Bella. I didn't want Bella to be far ahead of me, plus I wasn't interested in blueberries, so I quickened my pace and kept up with Janice. It was very cloudy and foggy, and we wondered if we would even have any view from the top. It was also getting a bit windy. Janice and I were getting chilly, so we kept up our fast pace, occasionally looking back to be sure the others were coming. Janice found a spot near the top and sat by the flag. Bella ran up the rocks to the highest point, and I followed her as I always do. I have a nice flat spot up there where I like to park and enjoy the view. I also like to take my 360-degree summit video from there. Today seemed kind of disappointing because Matanuska Peak was completely swallowed by clouds. But much of the view below was not obscured. I stood up and started my usual video and happily Matanuska Peak showed her face through the clouds long enough for me to capture it on the video and a couple of still photos. Meanwhile, Bella kept scaring me by galloping along the treacherous rocks and acting as sure footed as a mountain goat. I know she was never unsafe, but she always makes me nervous when she does that. I called her over and distracted her with treats until I decided to head down by the flag and wait for the rest of the group. Janice and I sat in the rocks and finally saw the tiny figures of our friends slowing coming through the clouds along the ridge. We all gathered near the top and had lunch and took our pictures. Janice and I decided to take the shorter but slippery and steep route straight down via the Lazy Mountain Trail. The others took the longer but more relaxed Lazy Moose Trail down. It wasn't too bad, and neither of us actually fell. I did have a few close calls and relied on a few tree branches to help me over the most slippery spots. Bella found the same mud hole she found on Wednesday, so once home, she was back in the kitchen sink for yet another bath. It was a very fun day and a much-needed workout for me. 

Matanuska Peak Summit through the clouds

Bella staring into the fog

Wolverine Lake

Janice, Bella and Me