Harp Mountain

I joined the Valley Wanderers today for a nice climb up 5000 ft Harp Mountain. I have done this hike before but didn't remember much of the details. It's steeper than I had remembered. I was feeling a bit tired from the Mt Eklutna hike yesterday and had a little trouble keeping up with the rest of the group. But I was only a couple minutes behind when we got to the top. Chris and Erin were always in the lead so we were a little spread out anyway.  Harp, like Eklutna, has several false summit teasers. Although at least on this one, it was easy to tell that they were false, because the real summit was pretty obvious most of the way up. This trail is mostly straight up, but there are a couple of nice flat spots between the several false summits. We did have to climb up one area of deeply tracked wet snow. Grippers might have been helpful, but we were all able to kick easily into the deep tracks made by previous climbers without any real danger of falling. The views toward the South Fork of Eagle River were gorgeous. Everything down in the valley was so green and the river itself a brilliant glacier blue. I'm looking forward to hiking the South Fork Trail to Symphony and Eagle Lakes on Monday, also with the Valley Wanderers. This hike gave me a nice bird's eye view of what that trip will be like. It was pretty windy and even though I had been too warm for the first half of the climb, I ended up needing to put my extra layer back on just because of the wind. Clouds were rolling around and at times the summit would disappear into the clouds. When we arrived at the top, we found comfortable rocks and took a nice break for lunch. Most of our time on the summit, our view was obscured by the clouds. But I did get a few good glimpses of the view as the fog rolled in and out. It was a little tricky descending for the first half because of loose rocks and scree. Once down from the rocky sections we were able to move quickly. I got my best pictures on the way down becuase instead of looking at my feet, I could look out at the South Fork of Eagle River and the mountains on the other side of the valley. The sun started peeking through and we warmed up and could finally shed those extra layers of clothing. While high in the rocks, a passing hiker pointed out a ptarmigan that was sitting in the rocks. Its camouflage was so good that even when only a few inches from the bird, it was hard to see it. I suspect she was guarding a nest because she didn't move and seemed to assume we couldn't really see her. I was able to take a few nice photos up close with my phone and she posed nicely for me. I really enjoyed this hike but was glad to finally get down because I was really tired. I think two steep climbs in a row had worn me down a bit. I don't plan on climbing any mountains tomorrow. Time for a little rest. 
As I do these hikes, I find myself mentally talking to my dog, Baby who was taken from me 4 weeks ago. I know in my mind that she is really gone, but I feel her spirit bouncing along beside me, encouraging me when I get tired. She would have loved this hike because she loved to climb. I remember that she loved it last summer when we hiked it. I miss her so much. I still haven't fully accepted that she is really gone. She should have been here with me today. My poor little angel dog, Baby.

Harp Mountain from the parking area

Can you see the ptarmigan?

View from the summit