Skyline Trail - Buffalo Mine Road

 Baby the chihuahua and I had a beautiful little hike up Skyline Trail, an ATV trail that comes off the end of Murphy Road at the Skybarite and Grecorieff intersection. We only had time to walk in about one mile because it was getting very late in the day.  But I would love to come back and follow this route all the way into the mountains of Hatcher Pass. I think I'd prefer to have a friend along because it was very desolate and the brush and fireweed were over my head, completely obscuring any view I might have of bears or moose that quite likely inhabit that area. It was kind of rough and muddy in places, like all ATV trails often are.  But I loved the views of the valley in the distance and the fields and fields of blooming fireweed.  I must go back again when I have more time.

Settlers Bay Coastal Trail

 This little trail turned out to be quite an adventure.  Not the trail itself, but navigating to find it.  My GPS took me to the wrong Settlers Bay Park.  Then my phone GPS took me to a dead end that I later discovered was simply a future entrance to the park.  A woman walking her dogs told me that Settlers Bay Drive actually has two branches and I had apparently stayed on the wrong one.  Backtracking, I discovered another Settlers Bay Drive and it turned into a bumpy dirt road that eventually ended at the correct trailhead parking lot.  The little park is quite small but has a nice collection of very improved trails.  Baby, my friend Alice, and I walked the 2 mile loop.  It looked like it might pour rain any minute, but luckily for us, it did not.  The trail is dense forest with lots of lovely lupine in full bloom. This trail is the route for the AKtive Valley Trail Run for August and I just wanted to figure out how to get to it.  I'm happy that I figured out the unusual directions when I wasn't in any kind of a hurry.  Now I know how to get there. It's not quite complete, but will certainly be a nice little hiking and likely skiing park soon.

Gold Mint Trail

 I just went for a very short walk along the Gold Mint Trail today.  It looked like rain was coming soon, but I just needed to get out of the house for a little while.  Beautiful wildflowers were everywhere.  The mountains were mostly covered with a low cloud ceiling, but the flowers were just delightful. 

Lion's Head Trail

 I have been staring at this huge rock outcropping for my entire time living in Alaska. I always say or think how it would be really nice to climb up there.  I was never sure there was even a possible route. But I learned that there is an actual trail but it is only accessed via a locked gate that states clearly, NO TRESPASSING. On day I looked a little closer at that sign and noticed that it includes a phone number to call for permission to access the trail. Today I had a little extra free time, so drove the 62 miles from my house to that gate. I called the number and crawled under the gate.  The first part is just a gravel road to several buildings owned by AT&T. but then a rough unmaintained foot path winds its way along the side of the mountain eventually reaching the top with an elevation gain of about 1000 feet.  I think the trail along with dozens of alternate side trails, was created not by man, but by a combination of moose, dall sheep, and maybe a mountain goat or two. Going down was complicated by my dog pulling and trying to run the whole way back to the car.  I didn't need to worry about startling bears because I was forever calling to her to slow down, since she has to be on the leash, and seemed to be trying her best to pull me off my feet.  

The view at the top is extraordinary, of the Matanuska Glacier and the river below. In all directions it is just amazing. Well worth the effort of scrambling from tree root to rock to tree root, always wondering if I was on the official trail or not.  I've decided there is really no official trail, all trails lead to the same place. I don't think it's possible to get lost as long as one is on something that closely resembles a trail.  I was so happy to finally get to the top of Lion's Head.  Now I can stop wondering what it would be like!

Twin Peaks Trail

 I think Twin Peaks Trail may be my favorite of all the trails I frequently hike. Today I went with the Walkabout hiking group. Several of us climbed up past the 2nd bench to the ridge above the lake for the spectacular view of Eklutna Lake.  Baby got a little tired on the way down and I actually had to carry her in my backpack.  I think it was just hotter than usual.  She does fine climbing but the heat does seem to bother her.  It was about 70 degrees.  But up on the ridge top it was breezy enough to still be comfortable. There is a lot of smoke in the air blowing over from Siberia due to wild fires burning over there.  There are also some fires in Alaska adding to the haziness.  Fortunately there wasn't a smoke smell to go along with it.  

It was a perfect day weather wise though.  Just beautiful and sunny.

Blueberry Knoll, Aktive Valley Trail Race - July

 What a gorgeous day for a hike up Blueberry Knoll Trail.  This is the course for the virtual Aktive Valley Trail Race for July. It's steep enough that there wasn't much actual running coming from me, except on the flatter parts on the way down.  My time wasn't very good since I spent at least 30 minutes up there admiring the view and having a snack.  Baby, on the other hand, was interested in sprinting in both directions.  I know she was annoyed that I wasn't capable of her speed. She growled at a lady just arriving at the top, and scared her half to death.  Even scared me.  I think we both immediately thought BEAR, but then realized it was just my chihuahua! But it was a beautiful 70 degree day with hardly a cloud in the sky.

Hatcher Pass Marathon

 Another wonderfully tough uphill Hatcher Pass Marathon.  So exhausting but so beautiful as usual.  Kind of cold, and very windy near the top of the pass, but maybe that was helpful. At least it wasn't hot and the wind did discourage some of the mosquitoes.  The last 6 miles were the hardest for me.  They are by far the steepest uphill, except for that delightful last mile down to the finish line.  But I think I was in survival mode from mile 20 on.  I finished last, but that wasn't a surprise.  I predicted that as I left the start line.  I got only a couple hours of sleep the night before and was exhausted before I even got started.  It was a really fun race though.  My friend Vicky from Arkansas ran with me for at least the first half.  After that I got sort of burned out because she is a bit faster than I am, and I was pushing to stay with her.  I finished about 30 minutes after her. I was by far the oldest runner doing the full marathon although I did see that one of the female relay runners was 79! At least she only had to do about half.  This was marathon number 158 for me.  With luck I'll do number 159 next month at Archangel then 160 in Fairbanks on the Equinox Marathon.  In between, lots and lots of amazing Alaska hiking.

July 4th Serenity Falls Hike

Finally my friend Alice, and I hiked all the way to Serenity Falls and reached our goal of walking to the end of the Eklutna Lakeside Trail. Nice 25 mile hike on a beautiful day.  It started out with a few clouds over the mountains but not a whisper of wind.  The lake was totally calm and the clouds quickly dissipated.  It was warm, in the 60s most of the day but never extremely hot. I was comfortable in my long sleeve shirt.  Baby the chihuahua did very well most of the way to the end.  At times she would slow down and I'd just pick her up and carry her in my arms.  We took a nice break at Bold Creek at the 5 mile point. 

On Sundays ATV's are permitted on the Lakeside Trail. The disadvantage of this is of course, the noise and also the dust they create.  But the big advantage is that they also contribute to scaring away the many black bears that inhabit that area.  We saw many piles of fresh bear scat, and found that a little unnerving. Around mile 9 a guy in an ATV stopped to tell us there was a bear right on the trail up ahead.  We carried our bear spray in our hands after that, in anticipation of having a possible encounter.  But the next ATV to pass told us they had not seen a bear and that there were several other ATVs and hikers up ahead.  We felt more relaxed after that.  

It was spectacular and green the entire way.  Happily it stayed sunny and clear with just enough breeze to blow some of the mosquitoes away.  They seemed to bother Alice more than they did me. I was fairly heavily doused in 100% Deet. I didn't get a single bite. Once in sight of the falls at mile 12.5 we found a smaller trail that took us right to the stream at the base of the falls.  It was spectacular with lush greenery all around it. I've heard about the falls for years but never made it all the way back to see it. The long hike was so worth it. Baby enjoyed a nice drink of the icy fresh water there. 

We took some nice breaks at the bridges over the east and west forks of the Eklutna River, and also hiked up to see the Serenity Falls hikers cabin. It would be a lovely place to spend the night and further explore the trail and maybe even reach the Eklutna Glacier. Baby was really slowing down so I put her in my backpack and carried her for a while.  At one point she started to squirm so I let her walk for a mile or so.  But she quickly tired and let me know she was done with walking.  She tried to climb up my leg, then just started barking at me.  It was easy to translate her barks into her demand that I put her back in my backpack.  I carried her the rest of the way.  She only weights about 8 pounds, but by the time we reached the 1 mile marker, my back was screaming that it had had enough.  That last mile was pretty agonizing but I didn't feel like taking the time to stop and see if she would walk the last mile.  I toughed it out and we made it the entire 25 miles.  It took us 13 hours and we reached the trailhead at 11:00 pm, about 40 minutes before sunset.  I love Alaska summers with its long days. 

Serenity Falls is spectacular!

Eklutna Lake

Me and Baby at the Falls

Eklutna Lake Sunset

Serenity Falls