Prospect Heights, South Rim Trail

 This was a tough trek with the Walkabouts. Amelia let the 6 of us, with two dogs. Baby was a backpack rider the entire time though. There were times when I wished someone could haul me in a backpack! The trail is quite narrow and had not been packed down much.  In most places it wasn't too deep, but we encountered more and more deep drifts as we climbed higher.  It got so bad that at times my entire leg would get buried. It was quite a challenge pulling myself out of the postholes when my other leg would try to bury itself just as deeply.  The added weight of the 8 pound dog on my back wasn't too helpful either.  We all worked up quite a sweat.  The original plan was to take a longer way back down but after all the struggling, we took the faster, more packed route down the Powerline Trail.  This whole hike was new to me.  I have done a few hikes out of Anchorage but this was one I had not done.  I loved the route and can't wait to do it in the summer.  It's really beautiful.  I'm going to try to always go on the Walkabouts hikes when I can.  I missed out on so many due to my pre-retirement work schedule and all the marathon travel I was doing prior to the pandemic.  Now I'm finally getting to adventure here in Alaska.   

Moose Range Boycott Black Friday Trail

 Last year, the Happy Malamutes marked a 2.6 mile loop through the moose range and held an 8 hour ultra from 8am to 8pm each of the three days following Thanksgiving. This event was called Boycott Black Friday Ultra.  Due to the pandemic, they canceled this event for this year. But they decided to go ahead and mark the loop trail for anyone who wanted to run, hike, snowshoe, or ski it unofficially.  First I tried to drive up to Hatcher Pass, hoping to ski Archangel Road. But I was quickly turned around when I found that the road had about a foot of snow on it, and it wasn't plowed.  I'm sure my Subaru could have made it up there, but it didn't seen worth the trouble.  Instead, I chose to try skiing the marked Moose Range Trail.  At first, Baby was wrapping herself around my skis and barking crazily at other hikers, skiers, and Christmas tree gatherers we encountered along the trail.  I quickly gave up and loaded her into my backpack.  About halfway around the loop, we lost most of the other people, and I let her out on her leash.  She did quite well in spite of the fairly deep snow.  It was really fun working our way along the trail and the markers were pretty easy to find.  By the time we got back to the start, we were both ready to get warmed up.  But I'm so glad I decided to do it.  It would have been very difficult to try to actually run it.  Some of the other runners tried a loop or two then finished up by running back on the road.  The snow was much deeper than last year. Baby does quite well leading when I'm skiing, but the conditions have to be good and it can't be too cold. 

Government Peak Trails

This hike was a bit of an adventure.  Initially I planned to go up to Hatcher Pass but I found that it was very windy and uncomfortable up there. Out of curiosity I decided to check out Government Peak.  I know there are nicely groomed ski trails there, most of which do not allow dogs. But I wasn't sure what other trails might be there.  I found a series of single track trails that did allow walkers, bikes and dogs.  so we headed up the Fireweed Trail, then came to a fork called the Connector, and took that one rather than continue the longer route along the Fireweed Trail.  There are maps of the routes at each of the junctions to keep people like me, who aren't familiar with the area, from getting lost.  Connector leads to the Fiddlehead Trail which ultimately leads back to the parking lot. These trails were really fun, with lots of small hills through the trees. They occasionally cross the bigger ski trails so you need to be careful not to interfere with fast skiers as you cross them.  Baby stayed on the leash the whole time, but looked quite worried because she could probably tell that I didn't know what might lie ahead any more than she did. There was quite a bit of snow, but not enough to make it impossible to walk with just my snow boots. Next time, though, I will wear my winter hiking boots and use spikes in case it gets icy. I loved this interesting trail.  Next time, I want to hike the entire longer Fireweed Trail. 

Matanuska Lake Trail

 Pam led this hike, with the Walkabouts hiking group. There were only 4 of us, and two dogs.  Baby was kind of intimidated by the fairly deep snow at first, so she rode in my backpack for the first mile.  But then she got kind of squirmy, so I decided to see if she would hike for a while, and give my back a rest.  Since the gate to the park was locked, there weren't any other hikers along the route. So I tried actually letting Baby off the leash for the first time, hoping it didn't turn out to be a gigantic mistake.  But she surprised me and did very well.  She preferred to be the lead dog and did run up ahead, but not too far.  She kept turning around to make sure we were still following her.  It was a really nice hike even though the weather was kind of dreary and cloudy.  It wasn't the best day for taking pictures. But it was mild temperatures and nice to hike with the other ladies. We maintained social distancing and wore our face masks just in case one of us was carrying the Covid-19 virus.  I'm getting comfortable hiking with a mask, although it was uncomfortable the first time I did it. In cold weather, it's almost nice because it keeps my face warm. 

Twin Peaks Trail

 Today didn't look very promising at first. The valley was totally fogged in but I was hoping I could drive above the fog and hike the Eklutna Lakeside Trail.  Once I got there, I found that the lake and that trail were also totally fogged in.  But I could see that there were spots of blue sky peeking through the fog up higher.  So instead of the Lakeside trail, Baby and I climbed up the Twin Peaks Trail.  The conditions above the first bench were not too good, so we turned around at that point.  I was glad I had my spikes on my boots because they were definitely needed.  It was a lovely hike and the clouds down on the lake made for some spectacular views.  Baby did really well and didn't need to be carried at all.  We hiked up, but ran the entire way down. I think Twin Peaks Trail is probably my favorite of all the local trails. It's hard to beat that view from the overlook. 

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 Sometimes, I drive to town with no idea of where I plan to go. Once I visit the gas station and the post office, I just kind of let my car take me wherever it wants to go.  Today was one of those days where my Subaru decided it needed to go up to Eklutna Lake.  It seems to pick that place quite often.  I didn't even have my hiking boots, but decided the conditions were fine for just walking along in my snow boots.  Baby, the chihuahua and I trekked along for about 3 miles round trip.  It was spectacular weather with the usual gorgeous views. The lighting on Bold Peak was just amazing.

Archangel Road Ski

 First time this winter on my cross country skis.  I found it to be quite interesting skijoring with a chihuahua. She was good for about 1/2 mile then she was trying to climb up my leg, her way of asking to be carried.  So into the backpack she went.  She rode quite comfortably there.  The snow was excellent.  Such a gorgeous day to be out in nature. Now I'm looking forward to many nice days of skiing this winter.