The Perch

 Today I hiked with the Valley Wanderers to The Perch, a scenic overlook along the Crow Pass Trail from the Eagle River Nature Center. It was a bit drizzly and cloudy and a little foggy. But it was still a very pleasant hike in spite of slightly less than perfect weather. We did encounter some very muddy spots but for the most part the trail was just damp and covered with golden fallen leaves. The old trail to the Perch is starting to wash away so they have created a new trail. The new trail is a bit longer and climbs high above the river on a very rocky ridge. It offers a number of beautiful overlooks, similar to the official Perch. The aspen trees are gorgeous up there today, with brilliant yellow leaves. The autumn leaves and the misty fog along the mountains made for very beautiful pictures. The new trail finally descends to the official Perch which has a spectacular view of Eagle River and the surrounding mountains. We stopped there for lunch and a nice break. There was a bald eagle perched on the top of a tree observing us while we were also observing him. He looked quite majestic perched above us observing his domain. After our break we descended to the old trail that follows the riverbank. It was muddy and kind of rough in places. It is obviously no longer maintained. But it was a much shorter way to get back to the junction between the new and old trail. We decided to take the alternative trail to the top of the Dew Mound on our way back. It also offers some lovely views of the mountains and the river. We hiked about 9 miles total. Once again Bella had to have a bath as soon as we got home. She was a muddy mess. 

Bella and her buddy Dahla

Ptarmigan Valley Trail

 I had planned to hike today with the Valley Wanderers to Mt Eklutna and maybe do the loop trail to Bear Mountain. But there has been a lot of rain and snow for the last few days. Looking at most of the mountains, and particularly at Mt Eklutna and Bear Mountain, we knew there would be a lot of snow. So instead, Julia, who was leading today's hike, decided to do the Ptarmigan Valley Trail instead. We all figured there would be very little snow there because it is much lower than those 2 mountains. However, the snow level is only about 500 feet, so we hit snow almost immediately. But it was only a few inches and at most about 6 inches as we climbed higher. It was only about 32 degrees when we started so I kept my warm coat on for quite a while. We all ended up shedding a layer after a couple of miles though. It was very cloudy, but we could get a clear view of Denali and the Alaska Range in the distance. The sun was shining on those mountains far to the northwest of our trail. There is a fork in this trail with options of the winter trail and the summer trail. The winter trail is extremely wet and boggy at this time of year, so we chose the summer trail. It was fairly dry except for the few inches of snow. The summer trail had obviously been recently walked. We heard that the other hiking group from Anchorage were also planning to hike this trail today. They had left a little earlier and broke trail for us nicely. We finally caught up with them at about 3 miles as they had decided to turn back. They told us the trail was too wet past that point. We went on a little farther and found that water had nearly formed a creek that was running straight down the trail. My friend Pam, wanted to turn back, but Julia wanted to try to go a little farther. We all followed her for a short distance until Pam said she was heading back. My dog, Bella was soaking wet and shivering at that point and I had also lost interest. So, I decided to go back down with Pam. The others did go about a mile farther then eventually they also turned around because it was too wet to go on. On our return, we caught up with the Anchorage group and hiked out with them. Bella was always leading and at one point she went straight following the obvious trail. But the trail we wanted actually turned to the left at that spot. We had noted a fallen tree there and planned to remember to turn there. I was leading right behind Bella and was obviously looking at my feet and not my surroundings. I missed that tree. Our wrong trail didn't seem nearly as well packed as the one we had hiking in on, I looked at our route on my AllTrails app and saw that we had left the correct trail, we all backtracked to the right trail and made it out with no other mishaps. Our whole trip was about 6 miles. I'm glad I didn't let Pam hike back alone. It was easy to miss that subtle turn in the snow. It's always safer to hike with another person. It was a fun hike and even with the wet and cloudy conditions, it was still a lovely autumn hike with lots of golden trees. Bella got a much-needed bath as soon as we got home. She looked like she had just done the mud bucket challenge if there was such an event. 

Bella impatiently looking at us because we had stopped to talk

Denali in the distance through the trees

Lazy Mountain Via Stonehenge

 The Valley Wanderers had planned to hike the Pioneer Ridge Trail today, at least up to the ridge or 2nd picnic table. But the forecast was for rain so everyone planning to go decided to cancel. Jane wanted to at least hike up to Stonehenge, the rocky area on the back side of Lazy Mountain. Pam and I decided to join her and meet at Smith Road at noon. By the time we met, the weather was much better than forecast. It wasn't raining but was still very cloudy and threatening looking. But as we hiked the weather continually improved. The fall colors were really beautiful on the lower part of the trail. Once we left the Matanuska Peak Trail section, most of the leaves had already fallen. Clouds were mostly obscuring the view of Matanuska Peak, but once in a while the peak would show her face to us. We climbed together to the small hill above Stonehenge, but it was very windy there. Jane and Pam decided to go back down to Stonehenge for lunch then head home. I really hate to get all the way to Stonehenge and not go all the way to the summit. It's only about another 30-40 more minutes of climbing. Since the weather still looked good, I decided to continue on. Bella and I made the summit easily. The wind was very strong on the top, and the flag was blowing furiously. But it wasn't terribly cold, considering it was actually snowing a little. On the summit, Matanuska Peak was totally obscured by clouds and an obvious snow shower. But I quickly took my video and a few photos then Bella and I scrambled down to get out of the wind. I had worn my heavy hiking boots instead of my trail running shoes, anticipating lots of mud and maybe some ice. I wished I had worn the running shoes because I still managed to run a good bit of the way down. My knee is still a little sore but really didn't give me any trouble on the hike. It was a spectacular hike and a great 6 mile exercise.

The Lazy Mountain Summit Video

Matanuska Peak

Bella on the summit

Fairangel Lakes

 I have tried to hike this trail several times, but twice before I turned back at the creek crossing over Archangel Creek. In the past, the huge rock boulders have been mostly submerged beneath furiously raging waters. Today the water level was much lower, and we were able to fairly easily cross the boulders without getting wet feet or plunging into the creek. I was worried because of my past experiences on this creek, so put Bella into my backpack for the crossing. I found it to be pretty easy even though her weight tended to throw me off balance. There are several trails that access this route. But all of them first require either a ride in a big truck or a somewhat boring 2 mile walk up Archangel Road. As always, I did the walk. The road is extremely rocky, and my Subaru would risk getting high centered on a boulder. We chose the upper narrow trail past the road closure gate. Once across the creek, this trail becomes rather vague, but joins the main lower trail that is shown on the AllTrails iPhone app. The trails cross the creek at different places. I'd like to try the lower route just to see the difference. With the low water, I'm sure both were fairly easy to cross. The trail is mostly fairly narrow and wet in some places. It crosses a rocky valley then starts to climb through various boulder fields. Sometimes it's difficult to see the trail. I had the advantage of doing this hike with Chris, Erin and Jane, all of whom were very experienced at this trail. I'm not 100% sure I could have found my way by myself. But now, I do think I could find it, at least by using my own AllTrails phone track. Much of the trail involved very steep rock scrambles. We circumvented some of the worst spots by diverting through the brush and tundra. It was necessary to use both hands and feet at times when climbing on the rocks. Through the numerous boulder fields, it was fairly easy to figure out the correct route by walking on parts of the rock that were a little dirty from boots of previous hikers. The mountains surrounding us were extraordinary and the scenery was gorgeous. The upper lake was a beautiful deep turquoise, although it appeared to be at least partially frozen. The trail down was easier to see because we could see it below us when crossing over rocky sections. Erin and Chris were a bit ahead of me, and Bella was with them. I worried about the creek crossing, but when they started across, Bella jumped right behind them, bouncing from boulder to boulder. Erin had to lift her over the last jump because she hesitated there and started to turn back. But we all crossed safely. Bella is a better hiker than I am!!!

Once back on the road, Chris led us partway up the Lane Basin Trail to a narrow trail that parallels the road. It gave us a break for at least a little while from dodging big rigs while walking back down the road. I liked that I could still keep Bella off her leash instead of keeping her contained to avoid passing trucks. It was a delightful hike, and I was so happy to finally get across that crazy creek. My knee was still hurting from my fall last month and the hikes since, and the marathon. But it was tolerable pain and certainly worth enduring it for such a beautiful hike.

Lower Lake

Bella and me at the upper lake

Look closely and you can see tiny Bella on the trail
in front of Rosemary in the blue jacket

The Pinnacle from the back side

Jane, Chris, Erin, Rosemary, Kim,
and me with Kim's white dog Sylvia

Gold Cord Lake

 I was feeling so restless, not hiking today. My right knee is still hurting, but not nearly as badly as a couple of days ago. I also wanted to see if there were good fall colors up in the Hatcher Pass area. I was disappointed to see that most of the trees up there have either lost their leaves or have just turned brown without displaying the golden color characteristic of this season. The snow level is still pretty high up there and the gates over the pass and up to the mine are still open. I decided to just drive up to the mine and see how my knee feels trying to hike up to Gold Cord Lake. I took it slowly of course, but I found it really didn't seem to make the pain any worse. Honestly, it feels about the same as it did last week before the marathon. I think any stiffness from the marathon itself has dissipated but the bruising from the fall a few weeks ago still hasn't completely healed. I'm not ready to attempt a long hard climb yet, but this short 2-mile round trip was pretty comfortable. I did need to take Bella off her leash on the way down through the rocks and mud, so she didn't pull me off my feet and cause a new injury. She took off racing down the trail but did come back when I called her. She felt the need to go down and greet a lady who was far down the trail. Once she got the necessary pets from her, she was willing to come back up to me. Bella is a total muddy mess and will be going directly into the kitchen sink for a bath as soon as we walk into the front door. My knee feels pretty good right now.

The creek was barely flowing and there was a little ice here and there along the muddy trail. Up at the lake it was starting to snow so we didn't stay long.

Muddy muddy Bella

Equinox Marathon

I drove up to Fairbanks on Friday with Mark for the Equinox Marathon. Mark stayed with Bella and doggie sat while I ran the race. They would frown on me leaving my dog in the hotel room for the amount of time it takes me to run a marathon. Plus, Bella would be irate!  This was marathon #178 for me and also the 7th time for the Equinox Marathon. It's one of my favorite races even though it's probably the hardest one I ever do. There is an elevation gain of about 4000 feet, and it climbs Ester Dome in Fairbanks. The course is a combination of very steep narrow muddy trails, steep narrow switchbacks, and rocky climbs, while often dodging huge puddles from recent rains. I had the misfortune of falling a couple of weeks ago while crossing a creek out hiking. I landed in the rocks and badly bruised my right knee. It was mostly feeling back to normal. But by mile 10 of the race today, I felt more agony than ecstasy! At mile 15 I begged the volunteers at the water station for whatever over the counter medication they might happen to have. They treated me with 4 ibuprofen tablets along with some water. That bit of assistance got me to the finish line. After mile 20 there are some sections of paved road, which seem to make sore feet and knees scream even louder. I ran on the softer shoulder on those sections. It started out raining in the morning and I was pretty worried. But it quickly dissipated into nothing more than some misty foggy clouds and cool temperatures. The fog obscured the view at my favorite spot, the top of 'The Tunnel' a place where the view opens up displaying incredible autumn colors. They were mostly obscured in fog, unfortunately. But the whole course was still quite beautiful with golden autumn leaves everywhere. My time was a little slower than last year, likely due to my painful knee, but I finished over 1.5 hours before the time limit. I even had time to rush back to my hotel, shower, wash my hair, and look presentable before heading back to the awards banquet. I shared the podium for Female 80-89 with a really nice also, 80-year-old lady named Elaine Nelson. She beat me by about 40 minutes. So, this time I got the second-place medal and she got 1st place. I love seeing runners in the senior age groups out there running and staying fit instead of wasting away in retirement watching the world go by. Age is only a number and with the right attitude and mindset, anyone can stay active until well into their later years. I hope to still be hiking and running when I'm 100. I keep telling myself that, anyway.

Start Finish Line from the Nike+ iPhone app

Along the Trail

Top of The Tunnel

Me and my friend Alice before the race

Finishing

Looking ragged after the race!

2nd Place Medal Female 80-89

Finisher Patch

Elaine Nelson 1st, Me 2nd, - Female 80-89 

Lazy Moose Trail

The forecast for today was 100% rain all day. But it wasn't raining when I woke up. Julia texted me and asked if I'd like to hike the Lazy Moose Trail up to the picnic table halfway up Lazy Mountain. It's my least favorite way to climb Lazy Mountain because it's almost 3 miles just to the table. The other route is only 1 mile, but insanely steep. But knowing it might have some nice fall colors and that we'd likely get caught in the rain anyway, I said yes, lets do it. It was a bit slippery from yesterday's heavy rains but since it's not terribly steep, it was quite pleasant. We could see the clouds building but no rain as we hiked the long switchbacks and finally reached the picnic table. I had decided that if it wasn't raining when we reached the table, I'd go on to the summit. But Mother Nature apparently didn't like that idea, so it started to rain just as we got there. We took a nice snack break and fed and watered our 3 dogs, then added raingear and more layers then backtracked down the same trail we had climbed. If we had gone down the steep way, it would have been treacherous with the added rainfall over already wet steep trail. I had a couple of near misses tripping over wet roots but did make it all the way down unscathed. We got back to the cars with 3 very wet and muddy, but happy dogs. Little Bella was shivering and wet, so I wrapped her in her towel and blanket on the way home. It was a nice 6-mile workout with some lovely autumn foliage. It's nowhere near peak yet, but there is a lot of golden color starting to show. By the time we got down it was nearly a torrential downpour. I'm so glad I didn't venture on to the summit. It will still be there the next time I climb there.

Bella with Julia and dogs Trigger and Pumba behind her.