Matanuska Lake Trails

 My intention was to hike the entire Long Lake Loop.  But the signs can be quite confusing on that series of trails.  Somehow I missed a turn that would have kept me on the loop.  I ended up at Johnson Lake.  At that point it was getting late and I had no choice but to retrace my steps back to the car.  The trail was almost all ice since we've had a few days of warming. Baby seemed to like walking on the ice, much more than on deep snow.  It was about 30 degrees, so fairly warm too. I didn't have to carry her at all.  She led us right back to the trailhead too.  Dogs have a much better sense of direction that some of us humans. It was a great little hike. Next time I come here I'm taking a map along!

Cross Country Ski on Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 The new snow was wonderful for skiing.  It was fairly warm too, so very pleasant. After the first mile, Baby, my little dog, got cold and I ended up putting her into my doggie backpack until it was time to turn around. Once she realized I was heading back, she started to squirm.  That's how she indicates that she's ready to get out and walk back.  She may have been partly inspired by a dog team that went racing by us.  I think the musher would have laughed to see a person skijoring with a chihuahua.  But she actually did really well.  She pulled so hard that I had to really push to keep up with her. She was giving me a bit of an assist also.  She ran all the way back to the car.  It's much nicer having a dog pull versus carrying an 8 pound dog on your back.

Snowy Hike on Gold Mint Trail

 Just a nice hike through the new snow on the Gold Mint Trail.  Baby wasn't sure how far she really wanted to go through all that snow, but we went out about one mile before she came to a screeching halt and made an about face, heading back to the car.  By then, it was also starting to snow.

But it was beautiful even if it wasn't a very long hike.

Archangel Road Ski

 It snowed here all night so I figured the skiing must be nice somewhere.  So Baby and I went up to Archangel Road to try the skiing.  She enjoyed watching me fight with my ski binding, which didn't seem to want to attach to my boot.  It was just a bunch of ice crammed into the bar on my boot.  I finally got my skis on.  Baby ran along for a while, but very soon decided she'd had enough and started heading back to the car.  It was such perfect snow and wonderful conditions that I didn't want to turn back.  So I tucked her into my backpack and she got to ride.  After some time, she started to squirm and let out a few squeals.  So I let her out. Now I was ready to turn back myself because daylight was fading fast. She ran all the way back, except for an encounter with another skier and a dog.  We had to deal with the usual dog argument, but we finally got past them.  They didn't go very far and ended up passing us heading back.  Baby started another argument but I managed to get her under control and headed in the right direction.  Once they passed us up, all was fine and she ran straight ahead all the way back to the car.  The conditions were perfect.  It was still snowing a little but not reducing the visibility at all.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail Hike

 Spectacular 6 mile hike at Eklutna Lake.  There is hardly any snow on the trail, not really enough to ski.  Only about an inch or two with a solid ice layer beneath it.  So I walked in my snow boots with my ice spikes.  Baby was doing great and I even let her off the leash for a while. But about one mile in she started climbing up my leg, her way of begging to be carried. So I put her in my backpack and she rode most of the way. She started squirming about a half mile from the car, so I let her out and she walked back to the start. The lighting was gorgeous today, with blue skies and dead calm water.  There are no signs of freeze up on the lake yet. The conditions made for amazing reflections. Plus the sky was already starting to have some hints of sunset with some pink and orange in the clouds. We got back to the car right at sunset, shortly after 3:30 pm.

Archangel Road Ski

 It was a bitter cold day but so beautiful and sunny once I got above the low fog down in the valley.  But it was only 4 degrees when I started out along Archangel Road on my skis.  Baby, my tiny dog would have no parts of it and was pulling hard to return to the car. But I scooped her up and put her into my doggie backpack inside of the three layer fleece liner bag inside of it.  Along with the coat she was already wearing, I'm sure she stayed pretty comfortable.  The snow was perfect and I stayed warm myself in the new down jacket I bought yesterday.  I did need some hand warmers inside of my mittens though because my hands were pretty cold, especially after struggling to squeeze a wiggling dog into a bag.  It was beautiful and sunny at first, but since it was getting late in the day, I lost the sun before I decided to turn around at the bridge over the Little Susitna River.  Sunset is at 3:35pm and it was after 4 by the time I got back to the car. But it was still light even though, technically the sun was down.  Now it was -1 degree Fahrenheit. Baby and I were both glad to be back in the car with the heater on. That 5 mile route is one of my favorite cross country ski treks.  It's always nicely groomed, not too crowded, not too steep, and always gorgeous.