Rae-Wallace Trail

 Another amazing adventure.  Just me and Baby this time.  I really wasn't sure what I would find on this trail.  I had not been there before.  I knew Rae-Wallace Peak was at the end but didn't know how difficult that might be.  At first we hiked through lots of mud and crossed small streams.  Baby got pretty good at leaping across those.  She was always afraid of any water, but seems to have overcome that fear. She's probably never going to be the kind of dog that chases sticks out into the ocean, but at least I don't have to carry her over tiny trickles of water crossing the trail anymore.  It was lush and green everywhere along the trail. It climbs up on several small ridges into a bowl surrounded by Marmot Mountain, Microdot and the Rae-Wallace Peak.  There was a huge amount of snow still in the bowl beneath Rae-Wallace, even though it was likely possible to climb it, I wasn't about to head up through that snow, scree, and boulders by myself. We investigated some of the ruins of the old mine that was the actual destination of this trail. Looking up at Marmot Mountain, I think the best way to climb Rae-Wallace may be to simply continue down the rocks from Marmot. I've heard it is done either way.  But I was quite satisfied just getting to the snowfield. It was a lovely walk.

Gold Cord Lake

 Today I was still a little tired from Marmot yesterday, but just wanted to get back to the same area.  We've had such warm weather, I hate to stay down in the valley where it's too hot, by Alaska standards, anyway.  I took Baby and we went up to Gold Cord lake, just a little 2 mile stroll. Lovely as always.  Still a bit of snow and ice on the lake, but it's mostly open now.

Marmot Mountain

 Such a beautiful hike! Once again with the Valley Wanderers.  They find such amazing places. I have hiked partway up this trail in the past, but had no idea how far it was to the actual top. It's a spectacular hike with amazing views of Hatcher Pass and the mountains on all sides as you climb up the ridge. It's fairly steep, especially in the beginning, but is really more of a gentle ridge walk with numerous rocky false summits until you get to the point where it then becomes a rather steep rocky descent to join the ridge to Rae-Wallace Peak. Once up there, it was so peaceful and lovely that I didn't want to ever come down.  My hiking buddies all needed to get home to various obligations, but I had none.  So I decided to just stay up there for another hour and enjoy the peaceful majesty of the views in all directions.  Baby relaxed on a rock beside me and we just chilled. This was one of the most enjoyable hikes I've ever done, partly because I didn't feel the rush to head back down and meet any imaginary time constraints.  Baby and I finally took our time and wandered slowly back down the ridge to the trailhead.  It was a perfect sunny summer day.

 

Harp Mountain

 Another wonderful hike up a steep mountain with the Valley Wanderers. I'm starting to think all the mountain trails in Alaska were created by dall sheep or mountain goats. They all have one thing in common - straight up! I had never heard of Harp Mountain so this was another real treat for me with the Valley Wanderers.  I love hiking with them because they show me so many new places.  This trail head is at the very end of Hiland Road in Eagle River.  It was only about 4 miles round trip but with nearly 3000 feet of elevation gain, it felt a lot longer.  The trail was really nice and easy to find. Lots of wildflowers everywhere.  I'm not good at flower identification so can't say what they were though. The top was huge boulders and a lovely place to sit and admire the view of the South Fork of Eagle River Valley below.  If we were to continue along the summit ridge you can wander all the way down to that valley.  I can imagine a beautiful traverse and even wandering for many days through that beautiful wild country.  I hated to leave when it was finally time to head down.  Baby ran the whole way down, trying to pull me off my feet the entire way. That dog has endless energy.

Gold Star Peak & POW/MIA

Oh what a spectacular and steep hike this was.  I went with the Valley Wanderers. Those ladies are hard core hikers and I had a really hard time keeping up with them.  I think I was the last one to reach the top of Gold Star Peak. But I wasn't too far behind.  I've wanted to do this hike for several years, but was a little unsure about attempting it alone.  During week days I rarely see a car parked here, so was quite surprised to see the tiny turnout parking spot overloaded with cars.  There was a large youth group also climbing today, which accounted for so many vehicles.  The trail is mostly straight up and there seemed to be multiple options, but all eventually go to the same place.  There is a fixed rope somewhere, but we managed to find a trail that missed it altogether.  But we did reach the top with its many monuments to our fallen and missing soldiers.  It's a very special place. The views were spectacular and it looks possible to wander on over to the West Twin Peak or even down through the valley and join the Twin Peaks Trail.  But I know that would involve some serious climbing of exposed rocks.  So of course we returned the way we came. The youth group was involved in the plan to improve the trail so that it would be less of a straight up climb, with switchbacks. A nice parking area will be essential if it is ever to be a well used trail.  As it is, you really have to just know where the trailhead is, because it's 1/2 mile past the small turnout where most people park.  Its not marked, but you can see marks in the road cut where people have scrambled up. It's right by the 5 mile marker of Eklutna Lake Road.

Dog Tags from the Gold Star Fallen

Monument to the Military Canines with Me & Baby

Summit of God Star Peak

The Valley Wanderers

Beautiful Monument on top

Palmer Happy Run

 I've been totally exhausted all day, partly from waking up at 4 am for absolutely no reason, and partly due to lots of heavy work from yesterday.  Of course the marathon the day before yesterday has also left me quite drained.  In the morning I attempted a bike ride on the dirt trails with my friend, Mark.  That was pretty much a complete disaster. I had my 9 pound dog in my basket, which made riding very uncomfortable even on the smoothest of surfaces.  I haven't ridden my bike at all while carrying her. I'm not crazy about rough rocky loose dirt trails even without a wiggling load in my basket. It didn't take long for me to topple over and land in the dirt.  Fortunately neither I or Baby got hurt.  We walked the bikes for a short distance, and even that was difficult for me.  I was tired and the bike felt really heavy.  Mark traded bikes with me and tried riding mine.  It wasn't very long before he also toppled over.  My dog was starting to wonder whether she might have done well to simply stay home. Soon after I decided that I need to practice riding with a passenger on the paved trails before attacking rocky dirt trails.  We turned back.  I went home and took an hour and a half nap. 

When I woke up I felt much better, and since it is Monday, I decided to try running the 5 mile course on the Palmer Happy Run, an event taking place every Monday night.  I left early as I always do because I'm slow to begin with. Plus, I take the dog and like most dogs, she needs to stop and investigate every new smell, and leave her own mark. half a mile from the end, I heard a crash.  I turned around and saw a man and a bike, in a pile on the trail. He had a large husky on a leash who had crossed his path causing his bike crash.  I ran to him to be sure he was ok. Baby started barking at his dog. The two dogs chased each other around my legs until I had two leashes wrapped tightly around me at least 4 times.  Fortunately the man was uninjured, but I wasn't sure how this was going to end for me.  We both spent a bit of time unwinding me from the collection of dog leashes and dogs.  Then I was finally on my way.  I got to the Happy Run finish just after 7 pm, in time to get my non-winning raffle ticket. I'm still really tired but enjoyed the little 5 mile run.  Time to get a good night's sleep.

Anchorage Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon

It was almost perfect weather for a marathon today.  A little light rain at the start and just enough wind to keep the mosquitoes at bay. I probably wasn't really in marathon shape.  I've been so wrapped up in hiking and yard work that I've hardly done any actual running.  I was a little worried that I would find a full marathon to be too much.  But I was actually pretty comfortable all day.  I was still very slow, much slower than I really wanted. But I still beat the time limit of 7:30  by about 22 minutes. I was first in my age group of 75-99. It seems they weren't very optimistic about the potential number of elderly females though. Most age groups only consist of 5 numbers.  They kind of lumped all of us older ladies together. I was the only woman over 75. I felt quite good the whole day in spite of what I feel was totally inadequate training. 

Official Finisher Photo

Such a gorgeous medal!

 

The Butte

Just a nice little climb with my friend, Mark and of course, Baby up Bodenburg Butte.  Always a nice little workout and an amazing view of Pioneer Peak, Knik Glacier and the valley below.  For a change it wasn't windy and we enjoyed a nice rest on the top admiring the view and watching a couple of eagles fly.  

Twin Peaks Trail

Today I hiked with my friend Pam and our dogs, Baby and Dahla.  It was a perfect day for this trail, just cool enough but not too cold.  There were a lot of clouds and some low fog so we did worry that we might find ourselves in the clouds as we climbed.  But we got lucky and reached the upper ridge above the second bench, still clear of the fog that was just above us, obscuring Pepper Peak.  This would not have been the day to continue on up there.  We also didn't have enough time because Pam had other commitments.  It was a great workout as it always is.  Our dogs thoroughly enjoyed it as well. I really want to come back and climb all the way up Pepper Peak, but that will have to be another day.

View From The First Bench

On The Ridge Overlooking Eklutna Lake

Peak 4199

 This was a really interesting hike. First we started up the Matanuska Peak Trail, then soon after the junction of the Lazy Mountain Southside Trail, we turned left and followed a narrow trail marked with reflectors up to the saddle between Lazy Mountain and the ridge that leads to Matanuska Peak. It was a lot of climbing but I had no trouble keeping up with the others most of the time. When we reached one hill that seemed to go on forever, I did start to fall a little behind.  I think I was just getting tired. Then we went down for a little while then back up to our destination peak with no name but the elevation of 4199 feet.  It did offer amazing views of Matanuska Peak and the mountains on the other side of the ridge, including Red Mountain.  Baby amazed everyone by not only keeping up but at times actually dragging me impatiently to the various summits.  After that peak, we continued on for a few more ups and downs, then started down cross country to finally intersect the Matanuska Peak Trail to return down to our cars parked at the Smith Road Trailhead.  This hike was also with the Valley Wanderers.  They are a hardy group and if I continue to hike with them, I will surely end up in superb physical shape.  

Dew Mound and The Perch

 Lovely hike along the Iditarod Trail from the Eagle River Nature Center to The Perch lookout over Eagle River, with the Valley Wanderers. I haven't walked on that trail for many years.  It was spectacular and a very peaceful rather easy hike. After The Perch, we doubled back and took the Dew Mound Trail, stopping at Dew Lake and the Dew Mound itself. It's just a little high spot on the trail overlooking the little Dew Lake. This was my second hike with the Valley Wanderers and I found them to be a very nice group of hikers. Looking forward to doing more adventures with them.

View From The Perch