Gold Cord Peak

 This was a fabulous hike. There was only one disappointment, it was so cloudy that we never did get to see most of the amazing view that we should have had up there. But in spite of the clouds and fog, it was still awesome. Even more so because Dan, who owns Gold Cord Mine gave us a lovely intro talk telling us much of the fascinating history and his life growing up there at the mine in its early days. When we finished our climb to the summit, he also took us on a tour of the mill building, which still has most of the equipment they used to extract the gold from the ore. The climb itself was quite steep. The higher we got the rougher the route became too. The peak is really mostly a giant pile of granite boulders. It was often a bit challenging to pick our way from rock to rock on our way to the summit. I was getting really short of breath from the step ascent. But I managed to find my way to the high point and join the others up there for a snack. We lingered for a while, all hoping the clouds would clear and give us the amazing panoramic view of the Talkeetna Mountains that we had all hoped for. But we never got our wish. Although we did get occasional patches of blue sky and nice glimpses of the surrounding peaks and the valley below. The descent was easier for me than the climb had been, mainly because I wasn't constantly trying to catch my breath. I'm still not in the shape that I really would like, or I wouldn't have so much trouble on these steep climbs. I'm sure I will have many bruises on my legs from bumping into the rocks. I twisted my ankles a few times, but nothing serious and with no lingering pain. By the time we were down to the parking lot, I felt pretty stiff. I could tell I got a good workout. The company was great with a nice group of 12 Valley Wanderers and Biscuit, our token canine hiking buddy. 

Gold Mint Trail

I was still a little tired from the Alyeska Cirque trip but wanted to do something simple with my friend Pam today. Our simple hike turned into a 10 mile hike on the Gold Mint Trail. But I must say, it was a beautiful hike. There were the usual muddy spots that got worse the closer we got to the 5 mile marker. But it was a lovely day. I sure do miss having Baby along with us. Pam's dog, Dahla was having a grand time. I think I'll sleep well tonight!

Alyeska Cirque Hike

 This route is actually part of a race series at various ski resorts. They are having the actual race at Mt Alyeska Ski Resort this coming Saturday, July 29, 2023. The race directors have already flagged the course for the participants, which made it much easier for us to follow the true course. In places along the route there are areas of technical rock climbing, but it was possible to climb them without an actual belay, however, there were fixed ropes in three of those places making it safer. I relied on them heavily! There was certainly possibility of injury if one were to fall. But there were good hand and footholds. I wouldn't recommend this hike for anyone with a fear of heights though. Along the ridge there were also many places with loose rocks and shale, and I had to take care not to slip or dislodge loose rocks onto my hiking companions. I did this trip with three of the Valley Wanderers group. We were so lucky to have perfect weather. It was 70 degrees down in Girdwood, but much cooler up on the mountain ridges. During the uphill and rock climbing parts I got very hot, but the cool breeze helped to cool me down once up on the high ridges. Our total route was a little over 6 miles with an elevation gain of 3,890 feet. After descending from the ridge we walked through a magical dense forest. It was a rainforest full of lush green plants, wildflowers and gnarled trees. It looked like a place out of the Lord of the Rings movies. It was a difficult but very beautiful and rewarding hike with spectacular views of Cook Inlet, and the town of Girdwood as well as the surrounding mountain peaks. I have tremendous respect for those who have registered to do the actual race on Saturday, because it would be a very difficult course to even try to walk fast, let alone run.

Rabbit Slough Exploration Paddle

 The water level is quite high right now on the Rabbit Slough, Palmer Slough area. In my kayak I was able to reach where Wasilla Creek enters Palmer Slough. But it was too narrow and brushy for my kayak to get through. I continued past the confluence into the wide swampy area searching for another route to Wasilla Creek with no luck. On my way back I paddled up the first branch of Spring Creek, hoping to reach Nelson Rd where it crosses and spits into two branches. But it was too hard to find the right channel because it had become so wide that it was almost more of a large swampy lake filled with water vegetation. There was no longer an obvious channel to follow. I was hoping to connect to the other branch of Spring Creek and float down. Next time I’ll head up that second branch instead and see if I can reach the place where it splits and maybe float down the branch I explored today. It was beautiful and wild out there with many birds and a single Eagle watching me from the top of a dead tree.

I spent a couple of hours and paddled over 3 1/2 miles.

Beyers Lake Paddle

 3.3 miles paddling around on Beyers Lake. I camped here last night after our hike on Curry Ridge. It was perfect with almost no one at the campground. I got the first open spot right by the cleanest restroom I've ever seen at a campground! When I first arrived I paddled about one mile but it was getting too windy so I stopped, but went out again late last night for a couple more hours until I hit wind once again. But this morning it was dead calm. I had locked my kayak at the boat launch so I didn't have to heft it up onto my car last night and pull it off when I got up this morning. I usually just paddle to the inlet creek when I come here, because it's very pleasant to paddle upstream for a while. But it was very buggy today and I wanted to try exploring in the other direction to the outlet creek. First, to escape the bugs, I paddled straight across the lake until I reached the far side. Then I just followed the shoreline until I got to the footbridge that crosses the outlet creek. It looked so pretty on the other side so I went under the bridge. I took a couple pictures with my phone and realized that this creek is very fast and I'd be wise to quickly turn around and paddle with everything I had, back under that bridge. Guess I won't try exploring that creek again. I worked my way back to the boat launch and headed back home. It was a lovely place to spend the early morning.

Curry Ridge Hike

 I've always wanted to do one of the hikes up on this or the Kusugi Ridge. Today I hiked 8 miles round trip with the Valley Wanderers from the trailhead at Kusugi Ken up and down the Curry Ridge Trail. We did the loop trail and took a side trip down to a nice lake so the two dogs with us could go for a swim and get a good drink. The greatest part of this area is the spectacular views of Denali. But at first there were clouds obscuring the mountain. Later they dissipated but it was very difficult to pick out the mountain because the sky is very hazy due to smoke from some Canadian wildfires. If you squint really hard, you can see the outline of Denali in a couple of my photos. So that was rather disappointing. But the hike itself, was a lovely gentle trip first through some woods then along low tundra. There were some interesting rock outcroppings and ancient stone hand tools could be found scattered around. I took one with me to remember this fascinating place. 

I camped at Beyers Lake and paddled my kayak around for a while before going to bed. I couldn't sleep so came out again around 10 pm and paddled for another hour. It was a little too windy for comfort so I didn't stay out for very long. I'll check it out in the morning though. I loved the hike. I hope to come back one day when the through hike is completed from Kusugi Ridge to Curry Ridge. I hear they are working on completing it. 

Rabbit Slough/Palmer Slough Kayak

 A beautiful sunny day kayaking 5.5 miles on the Rabbit Slough/Palmer Slough system. Over 70 degrees and mostly calm. First I paddled upstream as far as possible until, after using the map to identify the actual creek, it became too narrow and overgrown for my kayak. Then I paddled back downstream until the current started getting to strong for comfort, since I needed to paddle back to the boat launch. It was a perfect beautiful day.