A Little Cross Country Skiing

 I've mostly been digging out after all of the big snowstorms from last week. 30 to 40 inches in my yard still. I have been skijoring up and down the roads with Baby pulling and making me go faster. We do most of our walks on skis lately. Today they finally opened up the road to Hatcher Pass after closing it for a week due to avalanche danger. So even though it was 10 degrees below zero in town, I wanted to see if it might be a little warmer up there.  It was as warm as plus 5 in some places due to the usual temperature inversion typical for this time of year. But it was still really cold up by Independence Mine due to some pretty strong wind. So we went down and tried skiing on Archangel Road, a little farther down the hill. It was still cold there but at least there was no wind. It was rather poor skiing conditions because it had not been groomed and the snow is several feet deep. I was able to stay in some ski tracks and snowmachine tracks made by others for a while. But most of them turned off the trail so I followed a snowshoe trail, which was not as rough, but also was pretty deep and not much better than simply breaking trail. Baby gave up very soon after we started because her feet were cold. She rode most of the way in my backpack. We only covered about a mile total, but it was gorgeous out there and nice to be out in nature. 

Mirror Lake Trails Hike

 Another beautiful winter hike today with the Walkabouts. It was still pretty cold, 11 degrees when we started. The sun never did reach us. Baby was doing great for a while. But once we got out on Edmonds Lake, she started to get cold. The snow was not packed down like it had been on the actual trail, so I finally had to put her in my pack. I don't like her being cold and uncomfortable. See seems to enjoy riding in the pack. I think she stays quite warm because I first put her into a homemade bag made from 3 layers of warm fleece. Then I put her into the pack. She always seems quite comfortable there. We ended up walking the entire perimiter of Edmonds Lake. We were looking for a trail some of the others had walked before, that came off the lake. But we only found one that lead back to the road. So we ended up back on the trail where we had first entered the lake. There are many trails and loops in that trail system so we followed a couple of others then went back to the trailhead. It was quite beautiful with the snow covered trees. I think it would have been wonderful to be out there on the lake on skis too.

Twin Peaks Trail

 Fantastic hike on Twin Peaks Trail to the second bench with the Valley Wanderers. The trees were loaded with snow and even the drive up the road was amazing. Baby did fine until about halfway to the first bench when she started letting me know I needed to carry her. The snow was a little too deep for her tiny legs. She rode the rest of the way on my back, warm and cozy in her doggie backpack. The extra weight slowed me down, but I also got a better workout, I suppose. The lake is still open and I feel tempted to take my kayak out for a final ride of the year. But I'd probably regret it because it would be very cold out on that lake.

Archangel Road Ski

 Beautiful day cross country skiing on Archangel Road with Pam and our dogs. It was only 6 degrees at home, but up there, it was 25 degrees! It almost felt balmy. I was actually warm for a change. Baby ran and walked the whole way without being carried even once. That was so much nicer than when she has to ride in my pack. She likes running with her doggie friends. The snow conditions were absolutely perfect and recently groomed. 

Eklutna Lakeside Trail Ski

 Cross country skiing today up at Eklutna Lake with my friend Diane. It was very cold, only 8 degrees at home and in Palmer. I wore four layers of coats. Baby wore her warmest coat, but she was still cold. She ended up riding in my backpack where she could stay warm and cozy. Diane's huge black German Shepherd, Tobi was totally indifferent to the cold and kept Diane far ahead of me most of the way. The snow was wonderful powder, but not quite as deep as I would have liked. The rocks often had very light coverage and we had to be careful not to catch a ski and topple over as we skied over them. Happily, I remained standing. On Thursday I woke up to 8 inches of snow, and it looks like this area got about the same amount. At those temperatures, it was very light powder. The lake is still open and reflected the beautiful golden sunrise that continued through to nearly sunset during this short Alaskan winter day. The trees were heavily coated with snow, making the whole scene look like a Christmas card in every direction.

Eklutna Lakeside Trail

 We've had several recent snowfalls, so I decided to grab my cross country skis and see how the snow conditions are at Eklutna Lake. What a disappointment! There is practically no snow anywhere up there. Just a few small piles in the trees, but the Lakeside Trail is about 90 percent ice. Not nice ice that you could ice skate on either, but rutted, rough lumpy ice. Even with my micro spikes on my boots, it was at times, difficult walking. I was wearing my snow boots because I had planned to wear my ski boots. But I found that the spikes worked well with them so I figured I would just walk, in spite of the ice. But, Baby my dog, quickly got tired of dealing with the ice. It seemed a little odd because she doesn't seem to have problems walking on snow. Maybe the ice was sharp on her feet. I ended up carrying her in my backpack. She seemed pretty comfortable with that idea. I only walked to the one mile marker and back. It was beautiful as usual, but the sun never reached us even though it was a totally cloudless day. I guess I will need to go elsewhere if I want to ski.

Matanuska Peak Trail

 I hiked today with the Valley Wanderers. Our original plan had been a snowshoe hike at Independence Mine. But they changed it due to freezing rain. Instead we hiked the Matanuska Peak Trail intending to go to Stonehenge. The trail was in great condition, with hard packed snow. I had been feeling exhausted all week and considered passing on this hike. But since the trail is so close and I felt I really needed the exercise, I decided to go. All was well for the first mile, but as it got steeper, I found I wasn't able to keep up with the other three ladies. I am generally slower than most of them normally, but today I was really dragging. I was very glad that Baby was happily running ahead and it didn't look like I would need to carry her. That really slows me down. When we got to the 9000 foot marker, the others decided to hike along the trail to check out a large landslide instead of heading up to Stonehenge. That part of the trail was deeper snow and not packed down. I could see right away that Baby was having trouble and I would need to carry her. At that point I decided there wasn't much point in continuing, so I let them know I was going to head back. It was pleasant descending and Baby was still doing fine. It wasn't the best day to be out there anyway because it was overcast and obscuring the mountain peaks, plus it was snowing lightly. I'm really glad I went and I hope I can get a little faster and in better shape because I love hiking with those folks. But I don't like being too slow, because I feel like I'm dragging them down. I think I'm just not quite in the winter mode yet. It's so much more complicated than summer hikes. But I really love the snow covered scenery.

Mount Baldy Loop Trail

 A lovely snowy climb up Mt Baldy on the steep trail then down the more gentle other trail. It was cold, in the low 20's with occasional wind. Just a small amount of snow on the lower portion but several inches the higher we went. It finally started getting a little too deep for the dog, so occasionally I would just scoop her up and carry her in one arm for a while. On the top, I finally decided that she looked too cold, so I put her in my pack for the ride down. The view was amazing in all directions. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy so the camera didn't really capture the full beauty. There are mountains in all directions except for looking down on Knik Arm of Cook Inlet, and Eagle River. We were celebrating Jo's 75th birthday, and since it is Halloween, we all showed up in Halloween masks. 

Lisa was hilarious with her dog mask. 

Some of us went to lunch to celebrate with Jo

The views were spectacular.

Baby was all tuckered out!

Twin Peaks Trail

 Once again I was planning a short hie on Eklutna Lakeside Trail, this time with my friend Alice. But Baby seemed to want to hike up Twin Peaks again. The weather was really nice so we decided to follow her lead and do the climbing hike instead. It started out very cold but we quickly warmed up. There were a few areas of a small amount of snow, but for the most part, the trail was frozen ground and snow-free. By the time we got to the first bench at the overlook it had started to snow lightly. It was getting kind of late and we could see the weather was changing, so we headed back down. It's always a nice short climb and the view from the overlook is always amazing. 

 

Bear Mountain to Mt Eklutna

 This was a fabulous hike with the Valley Wanderers and also my friend, Pam. The trail is very steep and we did need micro-spikes because it was frozen ground and icy in spots. Once on the ridge we were in several inches of snow. It was somewhat windblown but still pretty soft. It started to get a bit too deep for my dog, so I stopped and put her in my backpack. The rest of the group pushed on ahead. By the time I caught up they were working their way down a rocky outcropping on the side of the ridge. Pam said it looked a little scary from where she was standing. In the distance I saw that a couple of the others had gone on down that ridge and were heading up another very steep slope in the snow. There was no visible trail at this point, so they were making one based on their past experience on this route. Pam said she felt kind of uncomfortable. I admitted I felt the same way. There really wasn't enough snow that I felt we were in avalanche danger, but I was somewhat concerned with the steepness of the sidehill they were planning to traverse. It didn't look like a good place to slip and fall, without the comfort of actual crampons and ice axe. I'm quite sure it was perfectly safe and I later heard all made it down safely. But Pam and I decided it was a bit beyond our comfort levels so we decided to turn back and go back the trail we had climbed. I never have quite the same balance when I'm carrying the dog on my back, which also figured into my decision. Since Pam came with me, I definitely wanted to stay with her. It was a gorgeous hike and we can't wait to come back and do that loop once all the snow is gone. I want to climb to the top of Mt Eklutna next time I'm up there. It's a beautiful peak and the views up there are extraordinary. I let Baby off her leash part of the way down just because it was so steep and icy and rocky that I didn't want her pulling me over. She was pretty good about staying with us.

Crevasse Moraine Trail

 Nice short little hike with my friend, Pam and our two dogs. It was really cold this morning, 14 F at my house and only 8 F at Pam's house. At the trailhead it had warmed up to 19, so not quite so frigid. The ground was frozen, so we didn't encounter any mud, just the pleasant rolling hills of that trail system. No snow on the ground there yet. This trail system is right next to the Mat-Su Landfill, so it tends to attract eagles.  I saw three in a tree right where I parked my car. I only had my phone as a camera so didn't get an extraordinary closeup picture. But I did get to catch a quick iPhone photo. After the hike I went to Anchorage to buy my new backcountry ski setup. I wanted something that would get me into the mountains off the groomed trails, with the ability to lock down my heel for steeper downhill skiing. Now we just need some snow so I can use them. 

Pioneer Ridge Trail

 Hiked up the Pioneer Ridge Trail today with the Valley Wanderers. The ground was frozen but with very little snow, although it was still quite rough. There were deep ruts where not long ago there was obviously fairly deep mud. So glad it was frozen today. Baby did great for the first mile and a half. But then it got colder and the snow was deeper. We all stopped to put on our micro-spikes and I had to put Baby into my backpack. She was shivering and trying to climb up my leg, her signal for "carry me!" The trail got pretty tricky in places after that, with streams and frozen overflow to deal with. The view across the valley was beautiful but it was still a bit too cloudy to get a view of Knik Glacier. But it was a great workout with 2380 feet of elevation gain and 5 miles total distance. I needed all of my clothing layers because it was only about 25 degrees. At least there was no wind. We all kept our spikes on for the descent because even with them on it got quite slippery. I had a couple of short falls myself. Baby didn't seem too concerned inside of her backpack and neither of us got hurt. She seems to enjoy riding back there and just staying warm and looking around.

Twin Peaks Trail

 I just wanted to drive up to Eklutna Lake and see how the snow conditions are. I didn't even change into my hiking boots, bring my pack, or food and water. I just planned to walk a short distance on the Lakeside Trail. But once we crossed the bridge, Baby refused to take another step along the Lakeside Trail. Instead, she turned towards the Twin Peaks Trail and pulled me in that direction. Figuring we wouldn't go very far, I decided not to drag her back to the car and change my shoes, get my grippers, and more appropriate gear. But even though there was an inch or more of snow, Baby headed non-stop up the trail. I did find the conditions were still ok with the shoes I had on, but I kept wishing I had my hiking boots. We made it up to the bench at the overlook, to my astonishment! The view was so amazing, that Baby and I just sat on the bench for a while, staring at the lake below. It was chilly, 27 degrees, but the sun made it feel much warmer. I felt like I'd be happy to stay right there forever. Normally, Baby is quite ready to head back down, but she wanted to continue. I knew the snow would likely be deeper as we climbed, but it still seemed ok. We made it about halfway to the second bench when she decided she'd had enough. She turned around and we went on back down to the car. It turned out to be such a wonderful little hike, that I thanked her frequently for making me go there instead of the flatter trail along the lake. 

Ski Independence Mine Trails

 I heard the trail to the mine was groomed, so on a gorgeous day like this, of course I had to grab my cross country skis and go. It was really nice snow and well packed but for some reason, Baby just wasn't interested.  I ended up putting her in my backpack and skiing the entire route with her as a passenger. It was a little cold, but not terribly. 24 when I started but quickly warmed up. There were lots of people, dogs, hikers, and skiers. Maybe just the shear number of other dogs made Baby uncomfortable. I didn't mind carrying her. But on the steeper downhill sections, the weight on my back made me feel a little off balance. I'll have to grow accustomed to having her on my back because she does tend to like to be carried if the weather gets too cold. Maybe I'll try again later this week and see if she feels better with less weekend traffic. It looked like the trail up to Gold Cord Lake was well defined, so maybe we'll try just hiking up there this week. What a beautiful day to be out!