Harp Mountain Hike

This was a Valley Wanderers hike, but there weren't very many people wandering with us. I got to the trailhead 15 minutes early and saw Chris's car parked there. Diane was leading and she brought her friend, Linda. But no one else came. Chris was somewhere far ahead so it was just the 3 of us and Bella heading up the mountain. Diane is really speedy, but she did wait for us 2 slower people to catch up. When we reached the first of several false summits, Linda decided that she'd had enough of that trail. She chose to just wait there until we returned. She found the rocks and scree quite intimidating. It was getting kind of windy, so I ended up wearing my windbreaker even though at the start it was quite warm. The trail is very rocky and can be a bit on the treacherous side. Bella was always up ahead with Diane. We finally found Chris up on the summit. It was very beautiful and green across the valley and there were wildflowers everywhere. Since I was kind of slow, I didn't stop often enough to get very many good flower photos. We kept our break on the top kind of short so Linda didn't have too long to wait. On our way down, we encountered several other hikers. Plus, of course, a few dogs. Bella had to interact with most of the dogs, but nothing too serious. It was slow going on the descent because of the loose scree. We had to be very careful to avoid a bad fall, I did slip once and smacked my good elbow on a rock. But fortunately, it seems to be fine. I don't need another broken elbow. One of those is enough. We all made it back to the cars without incident or injury. Chris was much faster and was wearing ice grippers on his feet. I guess they would have helped, but I prefer not to wear them on rocks. I tend to catch them on rocks and make things worse. But he seems to have the technique down. A few runners wend screaming past us on their way down too. But we definitely took our time. It's a tough hike but well worth the effort.

Bella & Me on the summit

Chris & Diane

Seventeen Mile Lake Kayak

 I took Bella on 3-mile almost 3-hour kayak ride. She wasn't too happy about it most of the time, but she did finally settle down and stop whining. I really want her to get used to it because I sure don't want to have to kayak without her and leave her home. She did enjoy barking at the birds at least. We saw a mamma loon with a couple of chicks out on the lake. It was really fun watching them. I loved listening to her call to another loon somewhere in the distance. It was so beautiful and I think this may have been the only time I have paddled completely around this lake. It's a lovely place and I'm a little jealous of all the people who have their homes right on the lake. But I'm sure I couldn't afford to have my house right on a lake like that. But it does look like a nice lifestyle.

Government Peak Waterfall Hike

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers partway up the Government Peak Race Trail to the beautiful waterfall off the very overgrown side trail. It has rained a lot recently, so we had some very slippery sections on the main trail. I kept Bella on her leash most of the way up until it got too steep for me to hold onto her safely. She could pull me down on the steep muddy sections. She was very happy when I released her. The trail to the waterfall is quite overgrown and pretty slippery in places, but we made it to the picnic table at the end safely. The falls is very beautiful and flowing quite well right now. It was worth the struggle to get a good view of it. We started out with 4 of us, but Jo turned back before the falls. Jane, Meg and I made it to the falls overlook. Our original plan was to hike Marmot Mountain, but the clouds were so low that we would not have seen much of the view. The waterfall was a good alternative choice.

Me, Jane, Meg, and Bella taken by Jo when she turned back

Rabbit Slough / Palmer Slough Kayak

 It was raining in Wasilla but not here in Palmer. I have put some Velcro soft strips on the front of my kayak to help keep Bella's feet from slipping on the slick surface. I took it for its first test paddle since I added the Velcro. It did seem to work but I need to add a lot more. She reaches much farther along the boat so still slips off the surface. It was beautifully calm out on the creek, and I was really enjoying a peaceful paddle. But it didn't last long because Bella started barking at everything and nothing. She really went crazy when a bird flew over. She settles down in her dog bed for a while but then jumps up and starts barking again. I had paddled upstream so I could float back down to the dock. I ended up turning around sooner than planned because the rain finally caught up with us. I turned around and paddled hard. Happily, I did paddle out of it back into the calm water. I plan to add more Velcro when I get home and take Bella out again soon. She needs to start learning to enjoy it because I don't want to have to leave her home every time I go out in the boat. It was very relaxing in spite of her barking.

Gold Cord Lake

 Woke up to rain this morning and very cloudy skies. I met my friend Pam up at Independence Mine. We pondered whether to hike April Bowl or just take the short hike up to Gold Cord Lake. It looked like the pass was totally clouded in, so we chose the hike to the lake. It was a bit muddy, but I have definitely seen it worse. I managed not to get my feet submerged in mud. Bella and Pam's dog did their share of absorbing mud. Since it is July 4th, it was fairly busy up there at the mine. We encountered many people, kids and dogs. We ended up keeping the dogs leashed until we reached the lake. But once we found our spot on a nice big rock, we let them wander freely. The lake is mostly still frozen, though the creek is flowing freely. It was a bit chilly up there, but the sun started to peek through. We sat for a while enjoying the view and watching all the kids running around. It was only about 2 miles total, but still a nice steep little climb. We left the dogs off leash on the way down, so they didn't pull us off the rocks. It is a very rocky trail. It was nice to get out in nature even if it was a bit cloudy and cool. 

Gold Mint Trail

 It finally stopped raining, so Pam and I hiked about 7 miles along the Gold Mint Trail with our little dogs. It was cloudy and a little windy but mostly sunny and beautiful. It's so incredibly green compared to this winter when it was so white everywhere. A couple miles in we encountered the remnants of the huge avalanche from this past winter. There was a gigantic crevasse with a stream running through it, right in the middle of the avalanche debris. We had to do a little bit of strategic climbing to find a way across the snow without crossing the crevasse. After that the trail was in pretty good shape but there are some muddy spots from the last few days of rain. I enjoyed getting out on a hike after being so busy this last week with non-hiking responsibilities. I belong on the trails, not working in my yard!!!

Butte Hike

 It's been a very stressful week of helping my friend Mark buy a new truck and generally recovering from the marathon. I'm feeling more tired than usual after a race. But still so happy I made it with a much better time than last year. I needed a stress and anxiety relief hike today, so Bella and I climbed up the Butte. It was a perfect day for it, and it was just what I needed to relieve all the stress from the last few days. It was a little windy as usual, but not bad at all. I felt like I could have stayed up there for hours. There were lots of kids up there today. When I sat down just to relax and admire the view, Bella and I were soon surrounded by little girls, all admiring Bella. She got pets from all of them and gave kisses to all of them. It was really fun watching her interact with the children. She loves kids and I always know they are safe around her. Other dogs, though - well, not so much! She gets loud and aggressive even if the dog outweighs her by 100 pounds. I could tell Bella really enjoyed the little hike. She has most likely also been feeling a lot of my stress this week. But happily, Mark has a new truck, and he can drive places without expecting to end his day in a tow truck with a huge repair bill. It was time for that truck to go to the great parking lot in the sky. 

Mark's new Truck