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

Archangel Road Ski

 I heard that Archangel Road has been closed to vehicle traffic due to the recent snowfall. So, Pam and I decided to see how it was for skiing. They have not groomed it for skiing yet, mostly because the snow coverage is still not sufficient. However, once we passed the short, plowed area and reached the unplowed snow, we found wonderful soft powder. There were some tracks from other walkers and skiers, but the snow was so soft and powdery that it didn't matter if there were tracks or not. I found my skis went right through the snow as if it had just fallen this morning. It was cold, about 21 degrees when we started, but it did warm up quite a bit by the time we were back to our cars after 4 and a half miles. We went all the way to the bridge over Archangel Creek and back. Someone had built 3 cute snowmen right by the bridge. It looked like a little snow family. Initially I put booties on Bella. But very soon, I found one lying in the snow. I took the rest off, and hoped for the best. She did just fine the rest of the way without them. But by the time we were back she did have quite a collection of tiny snowballs on her legs and chin, plus even a couple on her eyebrows. On our return, Bella got tired of walking near me and took off running. I spent a lot of time calling her to no avail. I didn't want her to run all the way back to the road, so took off skiing as fast as I could, still yelling her name, in hopes of catching up with her. It took a while, but she finally stopped long enough for me to hook her up to her leash. From that point on, we were skijoring. She really didn't seem to mind being hooked up again. I liked it because she pulls hard enough that it made my ride a little faster. Pam prefers the groomed trails but we both agreed that it was spectacularly gorgeous out there today in the bright sunshine and blue skies. 

Reflections Lake

 I almost can't really call this a hike, since it's only 1 mile around the lake and I hike it several times a week just to give Bella a little variety to her daily walks. But it was so gorgeous there today that I have to remember today. It has been snowing at home for 2 days and it was still coming down hard when I got tired of digging out and decided to go to town. I got about 8 inches of snow from the storm. But to my surprise, there wasn't any snow left at Reflections Lake. It is several degrees warmer there than at my house up at 500 feet. I was delighted to see a little group of Trumpeter swans resting on the lake near the far shore. I was able to get a few pictures of them, even though Bella felt it necessary to bark at them. Her barks didn't seem to bother them at all. I guess they were resting while waiting for the bad weather to clear so they can continue their journey to warmer places far to the south. It was delightful to see some blue sky after 2 days of snow and fog.

Whittier

 I drove down to Portage then through the tunnel to Whittier with Mark today. It was cloudy but for a change, not raining. We went down to our usual spot to walk on the beach. The nice overlook platform is gone now. I wonder why, since it was so nice. We walked along the shore because the tide was really low. Bella got her feet wet and so did I since I was not wearing hiking shoes. Then we drove out the Shotgun Cove Road until it ended. It has been completely closed the last few times we have gone there. Apparently, they plan to extend the road all the way to Shotgun Cove. The old Emerald Cove Trail is now also gone. We found a sign for Dragon Back Trail so parked at that trailhead and hiked the trail. It was really quite short but led us all the way down to the ocean. It was a beautiful well-maintained brand-new trail. So much nicer than the old extremely muddy Emerald Cove Trail. I'm not sure if the cove we reached was actually Emerald Cove, but it quite likely was. We enjoyed exploring there. On our way back, we took another fork in the trail that led to a nice waterfall. I'm looking forward to someday in the future when they finish the extension of the road. There is potential there for many nice similar trails. Whittier is always a beautiful place with nice ocean and glacier views.