You Can't Read Loss, Only Feel It

 I lost my precious little dog Baby on Sunday, May 28, 2023 on the Eklutna Lakeside Trail. We were hiking like we always do, when two big dogs lunged at her and immediately killed her. It was the worst day of my life. The owners had their dogs on leashes and had moved to the side of the trail to let us pass. Baby barked as she always did, but she was of course on her leash. The dogs were so strong that they almost pulled their owners right over as they leaped to grab her. It was over in seconds. My friend Alice, the two owners, and I tried everything to get the dogs to let go of her, but it was just too late. I knelt over her screaming and crying out, "my Baby, my poor Baby," while Alice and one of the dog owners ran for help as I continued to hold her tiny lifeless body, and cry. The other poor woman held onto her dogs to keep them from harming anyone else. She kept apologizing and showed that she was just as horrified as I was, repeating over and over that she would put the dogs down. We were there for quite a while as the others sought help from passing ATV's on the upper trail. 

I wrapped Baby in my jacket and hiked to the upper trail because I knew ATV's would be too big for the pedestrian/bike trail that we were on. We finally connected with several drivers who took us all to the ranger station. The ranger took our report and they drove us to my car in the parking lot. Alice drove me in my car down to the bottom of the road where we had left her car. I put my poor little bundle in her doggie car seat and forced myself to drive home.

The last few days have been dreadful, with me crying and feeling devastated, unable to sleep or eat.
How could this awful thing happen to my sweet little Wonder Dog? 

My friend Mark, and I created a grave for her in my backyard and I wrapped her in her little pink blanket and placed her in her velvet doggie bed, with her toys and favorite treats. I placed it all in the car seat. Then yesterday, Memorial Day, we placed her in the ground behind my house beneath the lilac bush. I ordered a beautiful granite headstone for her and will place it on the grave when it arrives. My neighbor, Cheryl brought over some Forget-Me-Not and Shooting Star plants and we planted them along the edges. Today I placed a beautiful fairy statue among the plants. The fairy is sitting with a white wolf. I felt that the wolf was very symbolic of Baby the tiny chihuahua who had the spirit of the wolf. She could climb any mountain and hike endlessly. Everyone called her Baby the Wonder Dog, because she was so amazing. She was just about to turn 13, but seemed like a puppy. All of my hikes and climbs and adventures of the last 3 years included her, whether on bare trails, rocky mountains or on snow. 

Baby was my life, my everything, my soulmate, my reason to get up in the morning, my reason for living and breathing. I don't know how I will continue to do those things without her. But I'll try my best because I know she would want that. Her name tag and the butterfly from her Halloween costume will go with me on all future hikes. I'll sleep with her little pink winter jacket that still smells like her. I feel like her tiny spirit is here in my house and is right here by my side. But I miss her dear little body with every inch of my being.

Rest in Peace my dear little Baby.

My Wonder Dog

My tiny Mountaineer

Government Peak

I hiked up the Government Peak Race Trail today with the Valley Wanderers. That is a very steep long climb. I was worried that I would lag too far behind them to have any chance of reaching the top. But even though I did fall back a bit when I stopped to take off my jacket, I wasn't terribly far behind. I ended up hiking with Jo and Charlie when the others had gone on ahead.  The trail was in excellent condition. My previous memory of it from the only time I did it in the past, about 16 years ago, was that it was very wet and muddy. But today it was nice and dry. There is still fairly deep snow near the top. When we got to those long snow patches, my companions decided they were tired of snow. But those who had gone ahead were just started to descend. So Baby and I pushed to the top. I found the snow was almost easier to walk on than the loose scree and rocks and the bouldering in the dry areas. The wind was blowing very hard so we didn't stay long. I took a few pictures and some other climbers took some pictures of Baby and me. I took one of Baby at the summit marker. The view of the surrounding mountains was just amazing, since they are still mostly snow-covered. I could see right away our only choice of descent was the way we came up. In summer the route down the Blueberry Knoll Trail is gentler, but right now it is all deep snow, and likely a possible avalanche threat. So we all hiked down together along the race trail. It was a great hike of about 8 miles round trip. I'm glad I got to do it again under such ideal conditions. I usually climb Government Peak via the April Bowl Hatch Peak traverse from the Hatcher Pass side. It's longer but certainly not nearly as steep that way. This trail was challenging and a terrific workout as well.

Mt Baldy

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers today to Mt Baldy. We had hoped to also climb Blacktail Rocks but there was far too much snow to do that safely. But the trail up Baldy was quite nice with only a few short muddy and snowy sections. However, we took the Homestead Trail down and very shortly into our descent we encountered a whole lot of slushy snow. It was quite the expedition working our way down through all that snow. Baby would sometimes fall into the postholes and have to scramble to get back out. It was a relief when we finally got low enough that we left the snow behind. Our route was about 4 1/2 miles. This hike was to celebrate Sarah's retirement. It was a beautiful way to celebrate. I hope to get all the way up to Blacktail Rocks once the snow is gone. It's beautiful with views of towering mountains in all directions.

Matanuska Lake Trails

 I hiked with the Valley Wanderers hiking group today. We were celebrating Rosemary's new knee replacement. I could see very quickly that her new knee was doing quite well! This is a nice local hike along the Long Lake Loop plus a short extra piece of trail. It's a very pleasant place to hike, with gently rolling hills and lots of lakes. No high mountains to test our endurance, just a nice 5 miles plus through the woods with nice views of the local mountains. 

Lazy Mountain Climb

I climbed Lazy Mountain again with Pam and our two dogs today. The conditions were much better than the previous time that we climbed it together. The first half was still fairly muddy but better than the previous time. There was still quite a bit of snow above the picnic bench but not so deep that it was not worth the effort. About halfway up from the picnic table the conditions were quite dry and the summit ridge was completely snow free. It was mostly a sunny day and a very pleasant climb. Lazy Mountain is always one of my favorite local hikes.

Wetlands Trail

 Today Baby and I took our usual little afternoon walk around Reflections Lake. But today was so nice and warm and everything looked so beautiful, that we took the little extra trek out the Wetlands Trail to the confluence of the Knik and Matanuska Rivers. The lake is finally open but is quite low. I hope to get my kayak out there soon, but the water is still too low. The Wetlands Trail was nice and dry, instead of marshy and wet. There are huge fallen trees that have washed up on the river banks. I think they look like giant driftwood. Baby really enjoys all the interesting smells on this little trail.

Twin Peaks Trail

 I met the Walkabouts hiking group up at the Eklutna Lake parking lot and we took off for the Twin Peaks Trail. It was a beautiful sunny day. I noticed that the lake was still frozen but the ice is looking very thin. I don't think it would be safe to step out there right now. The trail was quite dry most of the way up to the first bench. There was one fairly short area that is shaded and still had some snow. But it was possible to avoid it by walking along the side of the trail. There were also a few muddy sections, but overall the trail was in good condition. A couple of our group decided to stop at the first bench, but about half of us continued on towards the second bench. I noticed that the trail straight up from the bench towards Pepper Peak and the high ridge looked dry and snow-free. I really wanted to go up that way because I love the view from the upper ridge. But no one in the group seemed interested in trying that very steep route. So we continued on the main trail. The first half of that route was nice and dry, but then it gradually became snow-covered again. The farther we went, the deeper it got, until folks decided it really wasn't worth the discomfort. They all turned back. I continued on to the second bench. After they turned back, the trail gets much steeper but the snow stayed about the same depth. It really wasn't difficult walking. I hoped to climb up to the ridge, but at the bench I could see the snow was deeper and less packed above me. Some descending hikers told me they had tried to go higher but turned back because they were post holing. So I was satisfied with the second bench as a final destination. Two young men wearing shorts did start up the deep snow towards the ridge, but they didn't seem to be making much progress and were sinking up to their knees. Baby and I turned around and hiked down. Next time I go up there, I'm heading up from the first bench, hopefully to Pepper Peak. 

The second bench

The two guys heading up through the deep snow in shorts

Blueberry Knoll

 Pam and I had planned to hike the Twin Peaks Trail today. But just before we left to meet, we got an email from the Walkabouts hiking group saying they were hiking that trail tomorrow. Pam was planning to go with them, and I figured I would as well. So we changed our plans and decided to give the Blueberry Knoll Trail a try. I had not been there for at least a month and the last time, it was completely snow-covered. With the recent warmer temperatures, we were not sure what we would find. The lower trail was pretty good. Snow-free but a little muddy in places. But once we reached the halfway point, we started getting into significant snow. At first it wasn't too bad and even without grippers we were able to make our way through it. The higher we got though, the deeper it got. At first we were able to simply step in deep footprints of previous hikers and make our way without sinking in ourselves. But after a while, we started sinking in up to our knees. We were getting very close to the top but Pam's feet were cold and wet. My boots are new and waterproof, and although it was getting to be quite a chore to keep moving, I would have continued. But this trip was supposed to be fun, not an expedition to suffer for. So, close to the high point, we elected to turn around. I think even our dogs were happy with that decision. Dahla kept sinking into the snow and Baby kept falling into the post holes we were making. We put on grippers for the descent because as the day wore on the snow got softer and softer and the mud got slicker and slicker. We kept the spikes on all the way to the car. It was a little disappointing to not reach our goal, but it will always be there and we can try again in a few weeks. At least it was a beautiful sunny calm day. 

Bodenburg Butte

I mostly took care of things round the yard for a couple of days, but today I took a nice short hike up the Butte with my friend, Mark. It was very windy in the parking lot but fairly nice and comfortable along the trail. Once we got to the top though, it was insanely windy. We didn't hang around up there very long. Just long enough to take few pictures. It's only a couple of miles but with all those stairs, it is quite a workout. I needed to get some exercise after taking a couple of days off. It's always very beautiful up there and even with the wind, it was well worth it. Today there were dozens of school kids on some sort of local school outing. We were lucky that they were mostly on their way down as we climbed up We spent some time waiting at small landings while they passed. Of course, they all wanted to pet Baby, which slowed their progress even more. There were just a few of them left when we got to the top. Baby hates wind and was very anxious to make her way back down. She tried to make me run the whole way back to the car.