Gold Star Peak & POW/MIA Peak Hike

 I hiked up Gold Star Peak with the Valley Wanderers today. It looked like it may end up to be terrible weather, but we decided to take a chance and start our hike. It is very steep and pretty close to straight up the entire way. I wondered if I would be able to keep up with the others because generally, I think they are faster hikers than I am. But I found that I was able to stay with them this time. The clouds were swirling below and above us and it was starting to look rather ominous. Then the wind picked up and blew the low clouds away so we could at least see our destination peak. We found a nice spot about halfway to the ridge and took a break and had some snacks. Then continued on. At one point I thought I was getting too warm and considered taking off a layer. But I didn't want to take the time to stop, so just unzipped my jacket. I'm so glad I didn't because very soon after, the wind got much worse. Once on the saddle between Gold Star and its neighbor peak, the trail gets rougher. Now the trail got quite rocky and we had to take care not to kick rocks on each other as we climbed. The higher we went, the stronger the wind got. As we closed in on Gold Star Peak, we had areas of loose scree followed by rocky projections that we had to climb over. Once at the official summit we were able to huddle behind a big rock cliff and get out of the wind for a few minutes. We ate lunch, for me a Snickers candy bar, then I went over to take pictures of the monuments on the peak. 

  

This cross and plaque are right on the top

There is another area with a tall pole where Gold Star families hang dog tags of their lost loved ones, and also leave painted rocks and other mementos nearby on the ground. The wind was so ferocious at that point, that I took the following video. I love how you can hear the dog tags singing in the wind.

From there I moved on to the nice memorial of the military dogs of Vietnam. I picked up a small rock to bring home to place on my dog, Baby's grave. I have pictures of her by this spot from our previous climb here.

We continued on for about another 15 minutes along the rugged ridge to the secondary peak named POW/MIA. It has a large flagpole with a US flag and  POW flag, plus numerous mementos left by families and friends of the missing and lost. The view from there is really spectacular as well. We could continue down that steep ridge and climb Twin Peaks, but it looks a bit difficult. Also there is now a nice view of Eklutna Lake in the distance. It's a very majestic place to honor those who gave it all to give us the freedom to hike to this beautiful place.

We were all freezing from the icy wind and even a few snowflakes, so we hurried back down to the lower trail where it was much calmer and beautifully green. I practically ran down once we got to the saddle and away from the loose scree and rocks. It was a lovely hike with great company.