Eklutna Lake

Yesterday it was nearly impossible to hike at Eklutna Lake because the parking lot was overflowing. So I gave up.  But today I left home a couple hours earlier and was able to find a parking spot easily.  There were still quite a few hikers, bikers and ATVers.  But I was able to hike without getting in their way.  I planned to just hike the 10 miles to Bold Creek and back.  But it was such a nice day that I decided to hike up the Bold Ridge Trail.  After about one mile heading up that trail I was getting a little nervous.  I was all alone and no hikers were heading up there.  The trail is narrow and steep, plus many small trees had fallen across it, making it difficult if I encountered a bear or moose and needed to make a quick escape. There is no cell phone service there either.  Now that the bears are out and the moose are having their calves, being on an isolated trail alone was a little disconcerting.  I had bear spray with me. I grabbed a couple of big sticks and also played music from my phone so I didn't startle any critters.  I wanted to hike the full 3.5 miles to the ridge but really didn't have enough time.  That would have been a 17 mile hike.  So I turned back and only hiked 13.5 miles.  I really want to find a partner and hike the whole way up to the ridge one of these days though.

The trail was free of snow and mostly dry with a few large puddles.  The lake is still covered with ice, but it looks too thin for walking now.  It should open up soon.

Pretty Little Hike

I had planned to go hiking up at Eklutna Lake.  But apparently so had everyone in Anchorage because it was so crowded up there that there was absolutely no place to park.  I turned back not knowing what my plan B was going to be.  I turned off at the Knik River Access road and parked there on the side of the road.  It was busy there too but at least I had a place to park.  I walked the nice Reflections Lake Trail.  It's only one mile long, but it's really a pretty place.  There were many others on the trail but I was able to keep a respectful distance.  After I circled the lake I wandered on down to the Knik River.  Lots of open water on the river now.  It won't be long before I'll be out in my canoe and kayak enjoying the water.

Butte Climb

It looked like rain but wasn't quite ready to start coming down.  So I decided to hike up the Butte. It was very muddy with wet snow patches.  I'd forgotten about all those steps.  Without them it would have been impossible to hike up through all of that mud.  The view wasn't quite what I had hoped for once I reached the top.  It was so cloudy that most of the mountain tops were obscured.  But I did have a good view of Knik Glacier.  I was surprised to see quite a few hikers on such a gloomy day. At times, since the trail and steps are so narrow, it was difficult to maintain that required 6 foot distance as we passed.

It was nice, but a little windy.  I didn't hang out up there very long.  I was very happy that it didn't start raining until after I got home.

5 Mile Ski at Archangel Valley

I took a long time motivating myself to even get out of the house.  It was a dreary looking day and forecast to rain.  First I took a drive up Buffalo Mine Road to try to figure out where the other Palmer Moose Trail Trailhead is.  I think I found it but probably won't know for sure until summer when the snow is gone.  There wasn't a trail sign there like there is at the Wendt Road Trailhead. There were a couple of snow machine tracks where Murphy Road was blocked by a snow berm. So I assume they were on the actual trail.

Since I was on the road and my skis were on the car, I just continued on up to Archangel Valley and went skiing. It was quite quiet up there with only a couple of other skiers. The snow was very wet but still good skiing in spite of the flat light. I just skied to the bridge and back beating the rain that was happening in the valley.

Independence Mine Ski

The snow is melting quickly and is becoming slush in most places.  But Hatcher Pass area is still hanging on and the Mat-Su Ski Club is still grooming Independence Mine and Archangel Valley for skiing. I planned on going to Archangel Valley but the trail head parking lot was so full that there wasn't even enough room to park.  So I went on up the hill and parked at the mine with only a couple other cars.  The disadvantage was that it was still a little foggy there and visibility wasn't the best with very flat light. But I didn't want to try to ski with too many people since we're still called to keep a distance of at least 6 feet from others. 

It was very peaceful and the snow quite soft.  It was obviously above freezing.  But the freshly groomed spring snow was wonderful for skiing.  I had to really watch where I was going while coming back down the hill though.  It was very difficult in places to see where the trail was headed.  But it was a pleasant ride down and an easy ski up.  I only did about 3 miles because people started arriving.  It gets tricky for me trying to avoid some of the faster skiers on the fairly narrow trail. 

But I'm glad I got out there and enjoyed what may be my last day to ski until next winter.

Crevasse Moraine Trails

It's been a long time since I've hiked or skied the Crevasse Moraine Trails.  I always seem to get lost there. I am registered for a series of virtual runs each month through August. They are all trails and we can run them any time during the given month.  The one for April is a course on the Crevasse Moraine Trail system.  They put a map of the course on Map My Runs, but the map doesn't list the trail names.  I had a hard time deciding which trails would make the actual route. I looked at my GPS tracing from my phone and can see where I missed an important turn. It's quite a quagmire of trails running through that place. I did cover the correct mileage distance though. The actual course is 3.65 miles. I covered 3.8 miles.  It was mostly slush, with areas of ice and occasional large puddles, plus very steep hills.  I wore my hiking boots with grippers because the conditions were not good for any kind of running shoes.

My Route

Their Route

It looks like I was correct to about the halfway point.  But I needed to make a right turn onto the Expressway Trail and rejoin the Outer Trail.  Instead, I kept going then joined the Big Bend Trail. I had to wander around a little to finally get back to the trailhead.  I think I'll try it again in a day or two now that I understand where it was supposed to go.

Virtual Aktive Valley Trail 5K

Today was the first of the AKtive Valley Trail Race series. The route was along the Crevasse Moraine Trail system.  it was mostly snow covered and also muddy with standing water in some places. I don't think I really did much actual running. it was a nice hike though! I got lost a couple of times, like I often do on this maze of trails. 

#EASTERWorldRun2020

Running all over the world virtually today.  Every time zone accounted for, I believe.  The goal was for everyone to run at 9 am today for one hour, then post on the Easter World Run 2020 Facebook page. Most of the world is locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so most races have been canceled. This way we can kind of run together though apart!

I ran in my usual area but not quite as far, so I could be done in one hour.  It was really cold out around the curve by the hay fields because it was only 25 degrees and windy out there.  I did just 4 miles, slow as usual.  But it was a nice way to start the day.

Heading out to run

Spectacular Hike at Gold Mint Trail

It's always beautiful on the Gold Mint Trail, but today was extra gorgeous.  The walking trail was narrow and very hard icy snow.  So I chose to walk it rather than try to ski.  The silence was wonderful.  Not a soul out there with me.  The epitome of social distancing!

I stayed on the hard packed walking trail until the 2 mile point, where it abruptly stopped.  I think whoever originally packed it, had no idea where the real summer trail is.  It basically stopped at a very steep cliff that overlooked the creek.  I could see a snow machine trail far below, but I think it was on the other side of the creek.  It does look like someone scrambled down the cliff side but I didn't want to chance a fall out there all alone.  Once I left the hard pack, I sank up to my knees. So I decided it was time to turn back.  I did leave the trail for a short time and followed the remnants of a trail made by someone on snowshoes.  But I ended up back on the main trail.  I got some beautiful photos out there today.  It was only 4 miles, but just what I needed to boost my spirits.

Ran to Wolverine Creek and Back

The last few days I haven't felt too well, with a sore throat and cough.  But today I felt better and decided to get out and run.  I was pretty slow and it was kind of cold, just above freezing, but tolerable. It's a really nice partly cloudy day though.  There were only a couple of cars that passed me.  We're all suppose to keep our distance from other people because of the COVID 19 pandemic. It certainly wasn't difficult to do that today.  I did see a couple of other people walking on the other side of the road though.  It's like a ghost town down in Palmer with most people just staying inside.  But it's important to get some exercise and since it isn't forbidden, I like to try to get outside a little.

The hills on Wolverine Road were killers as usual.

Valley Thaw Out Virtual Half Marathon

The Valley Thaw Out Races were supposed to be today.  They had several distances.  I had chosen the half Marathon since they didn't have the option of a full marathon.  But they were all canceled because of the Corona Virus pandemic.  Happy Malamute Runners sent us all our race bibs, and cute wooden hand made medal and a really nice hooded sweatshirt even though the races were canceled.

They suggested that we run our chosen distance alone, wherever we wanted, then post something about it on their Facebook page.  I have been dealing with a slight sore throat and cough for a few days and am hoping it's just a mild cold.  But I couldn't resist trying to run my half marathon distance.  There is so much snow in my yard so at first I tried to do loops around my yard along my trail using my snowshoes.  The trail is about a quarter mile long.  After taking nearly one hour to complete one mile, I decided I didn't feel like doing that for 13 hours!

So I changed to my running shoes and ran the next 12 miles along Wolverine Road.  I wasn't feeling my greatest and the hills on that road are killers. I was really struggling the last couple of miles.  But I made it and completed my 13.1 miles.  I sure look forward to the day when the pandemic is a thing of the past and life can get back to normal.