This was probably the hardest hike I've done in recent years. I was with the Valley Wanderers. They are all a bit faster than I am, and although I was fine for the first half, I really started to lag behind. Lisa was leading this hike and she was so sweet and stayed with me. I had fallen the other day hiking on the ridge to Microdot, and struck my chest on a rock. It was hurting to take a deep breath. I'm not sure that was all that was slowing me down, but it sure wasn't helping! This trail is gorgeous but very steep. It is also terribly overgrown and often it wasn't even possible to see your feet because of the vegetation. There are also trees that have grown right over the trail and you need to step over them to pass through. There are also huge tree roots complicating your passage. Then there were the mud sections. It took some fancy footwork to pass around some of those muddy spots without getting my feet soaking wet. I always keep Baby on her leash so she doesn't take off after ground squirrels, moose, bears, or other dogs. She was pretty good, but there were times when she would take the low route under the many trees, roots and other barricades to smooth passage. It was always interesting trying to unhook and rehook her after she got herself totally entangled in branches. She did surprisingly well at jumping over places like that, and saving me from the untangling adventure. There were flowers in bloom everywhere and on one section in the first mile or so there was a huge field of blooming fireweed. We had amazing glimpses of the Knik River and Knik Glacier most of the way up to the ridge. It is possible to climb to the South Peak of Pioneer Peak on that trail, but our group of five had no intention of going to the summit. As it was our trip was over 10 miles round trip. We just went to the highest part of the Pioneer Ridge, just before the trail gets very steep and heads up through the rocks to the summit. One day I would like to do that, but today was definitely not that day. I did attempt it once many years ago but had to turn back near the summit due to a sudden heavy rain storm. That is no place to be in a storm. But we had perfect weather today, just enough wind to keep us cool and keep the bugs down. We had a nice rest on the top of the ridge and had some snacks and admired the views. So many beautiful mountains in all directions. I can imagine going from there over to Yudikench, Bold Peak, then down to Eklutna Lake. Up there I got a feel for the whole lay of the land and how all the mountains and rivers are connected. I'd love to take a week and just wander from peak to peak.
The trip down was slippery and I took a few tumbles, but nothing serious. Just a scraped knee and sprained finger. Baby managed to find the best routes even though the vegetation was so high sometimes I couldn't even see her. I just followed the leash! I used the AllTrails app that said we went 10.7 miles and the Nike app that said we went 12.7 miles. Either way, we still had an elevation gain of over 5200 feet. It was amazing and one day I'll do it again, with the South Peak as the final goal.
