Eklutna Lake Dam, #19 of the Challenge

 I found another 5 of the Challenge waypoints. I had hoped to reach number 20, but after slogging my way up to the dam, it was getting late and my dog and I were tired. Plus I have a miserable cold. I'll wait for a sunny day to do my last waypoint of the challenge. Eklutna Lake and Twin Peaks Trail were very cloudy today. First I hiked to the two waypoints on the Matanuska Peak Trail/McRoberts Creek Trail system. The first was right at the spot where the Morgan Horse Trail intersects them. 

The next point was just above the spot where the Matanuska Peak Trail turns uphill from the McRoberts Trail. There is a trail marker that says 1400 right at the waypoint. These markers tell the hiker how many feet they've gone from the trailhead.

After I found those two, I drove to Government Peak Recreation Area because there were two more waypoints there. The first one was just a few feet from my car. It was the STOP sign as you exit the parking lot. The second one was about half a mile up the Blueberry Knoll Trail on a tiny snow-covered bridge that crosses a small creek. There was a giant dead spruce next to the bridge.

It was still fairly early so I drove up to Eklutna Lake because two more waypoints are in that area. One is obviously up the Twin Peaks Trail. The other looked to be on or near the Eklutna Dam. I figured the dam would be the easier of the two hikes, so went there. It's a pretty easy trek in the summer, but not quite so much in the winter. Baby and I were fine until we passed the Rainbow Trout Cabin. But from there, the trail wasn't as obvious. We followed the best option and for the most part it was well packed. But we had to climb up from the river, and that part was pretty rough in some places in deep snow. Snowshoes would have been nice, but I managed without them. Once up at the level of the dam, there were several options. I chose the widest packed trail and it took us right to the dam. Once on the dam itself, the snow got pretty deep and I did a fair amount of post holing. Baby wasn't terribly excited about that part and was happy when I reached the middle of the dam, the official waypoint according to my navigation app, then turned around. I hoped we could find our way back after a few twists and turns. But Baby knew exactly where to go and led us back the same way we came. We encountered a park ranger on a snow machine and had to step aside to let him pass. I sank to my knees in the soft snow. We made it back to the car a little tired but I was happy I had found the waypoint. It was too cloudy and I was too tired to consider pushing on to Twin Peaks. If the weather is better tomorrow, perhaps I'll give it a try to complete the 20 point challenge.