It's getting so warn now that in order to avoid slushy wet snow, we chose to climb Lazy Mountain early in the morning while the trail was still icy. It was very icy and kind of cold because the sun didn't hit us until we reached the picnic table at the halfway point. I hiked with my friend Jodi and of course, Baby the chihuahua. Baby got cold just before the picnic table so I was about to put her in my pack when Jodi suggested she just carry her in her arms that short distance. Her leash was still hooked to me, so we felt a little like climbers who were roped together for safety. Once we hit the picnic table, the sun hit us and we were all suddenly very warm, including Baby. The hiking conditions were a lot better too. Instead of the steep icy snow, we found nice hard packed powder that was well packed down by previous hikers. We made the top fairly easily. I was feeling kind of drained today since I have been out hiking almost daily since April 1st. But we both made it to the top. I was tracking one of the waypoints from the navigation challenge, and on the way to the summit, it suddenly showed we had passed it. On the way back down, the GPS was fluctuating wildly so I wasn't able to pinpoint it withint just a few feet. But it was obviously somewhere just below the rocks before you start the final ascent to the flag at the top, and the junction of the Lazy Mountain and Southside Trails. So I noted that area as the location of the waypoint. The Gaia GPS app is pretty accurate but not as precise as the ones used by commercial airliners on instrument flight plans and approaches. 10 or 20 feet error using Gaia, is well within the margin of error. This climb marks waypoint number 36 so I only need 4 more to complete finding all 40 of the waypoints on the list. I'm hoping to locate the other ones tomorrow. My hiking boots were killing my feet today because they are not waterproof. So I plan to go to Anchorage in search of better ones and pick up the last 4 waypoints, since they are all in the Anchorage area.
You couldn't pick a better day to climb Lazy Mountain. It was gorgeous and sunny the whole time. We went up the steep original trail and I split with Jodi and took the Lazy Moose Trail down. She needed to hurry and I was slower, as usual. I took my time and slogged through the slushy snow on the trail that is 2 miles longer, but less icy and steep.
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| Baby & me |
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| Baby & me |
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| Jodi, Baby & me |
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| Jodi on the summit ridge |
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