Ptarmigan Valley Trail

 It snowed all night and was still snowing this morning when I woke up. I had decided to hike with the Walkabouts hiking group to the Ptarmigan Valley Trail. If you go the whole way it would be about 10 miles round trip. Our plan was to go as far as we wanted. The last time I hiked here we went 7.2 miles round trip but today we turned around early doing 5.2 miles instead. It was snowing the entire time we were hiking and still snowing the whole way driving home. The trail was covered in at least 5 or 6 inches of snow and got deeper as we went. A couple miles in we came to the junction of the summer and winter trails. The winter trail is usually well packed from snow machine activity. But since it is early in the season all we had was a single set of footprints that seemed to follow both options. Several of our group decided they were ready to turn back, and the rest of us continued on. First, we started on the winter trail. We came to a spot where there was some open water close to the surface, making it uncomfortable and a little dangerous. So, we turned back to the junction and took the summer trail instead. This trail was a lot steeper and narrower than the winter trail. It climbs up a couple of hills and winds through the trees. The snow was deep enough that it was becoming a little difficult, although it was still possible to walk without snowshoes. Both trails join together at some point, but we ended up being forced to turn back before that. A huge spruce tree had fallen and was lying across the trail. It would have been very difficult and not worth the trouble to try to find a way around it. So, we all made that our turning point and went back the way we came. Once we got back to the junction, the rest of the trip was fairly easy going. The 2 little dogs, Bella and Dahla were slowing down because they were starting to build up large snowballs on their legs and feet. Bella did a little better than Dahla because she was well covered in her snowsuit that covers most of her legs. But her long hair below the cuffs still collected a number of small ones. It was a very enjoyable hike with the peaceful beauty of snow falling on snow. I love hiking in a snowstorm because it is always so peaceful and silent. I look forward to coming back in the summer to see what this summer trail is like. I imagine it is very beautiful.

The fallen tree across the trail

Reflections Lake

 The fog was so thick it was almost hard to drive. But I like to do this little mile long walk around Reflections Lake whenever I go to town to shop. Today, with the ice fog, it was like a walk through an enchanted forest. It was only 9 degrees at home, but likely had warmed up to 10 Fahrenheit. The trees and brush and every blade of grass were coated with a layer of hoar frost. The sun peeking through the fog made them glisten and sparkle. It was so cold that I had to take my photos quickly because even a few seconds out of my gloves made my fingers go numb. Bella tended to pull on her leash, making each shot more difficult too. Patience is definitely not one of her virtues! She doesn't like to stop, unless for the purpose of focusing her nose on some random blade of grass. Today wasn't a significant aerobic workout, but it was a delightful pleasure for the senses. 

Independence Mine Snowshoe

 I met a group of the Valley Wanderers up at the Mine Parking lot today to snowshoe up to the mine. You can walk, ski or snowshoe straight up the closed road or take a walking trail through the snow. My dog, Bella was really cold, even with her heavy snowsuit and her little red booties. Once we all started up the road, she refused to walk. I had no choice but to load her into my backpack and carry her. It always takes a couple minutes to accomplish that task, because she turns into a jiggling bag of wiggling worms. Sometimes it's a lot like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. It was bitter cold up there and my hands were freezing through the whole process. I actually got her in and the pack back on my back pretty quickly. But by then the whole group was out of sight. I walked as fast as I could hoping to somehow catch up. I didn't see them anywhere up ahead. When I came to the junction of the walking trail, I decided to take that rather than track up the groomed ski trail. By the time I was halfway to the mine, I still didn't see them. I texted the leader who said they were now at the mine. I almost turned back, but it was so beautiful and sunny I decided to just continue at least to the mine itself. Once I got there, I finally saw them far above the mine and realized there was no way I could ever catch up at that point. I walked a little farther and took some pictures. Then decided to turn back the way I had come. It was a bit disappointing to be left behind, but I still enjoyed a 2 mile hike in the sunshine. Bella seemed fairly content wrapped up in all of her winter clothes, cozy in my backpack. 

Mile High Trail

 Our Saturday Valley Wanderers hike today was along the Mile High Trail out of Eagle River. Just getting to the trailhead is a bit of an adventure along the icy steep road heading straight up from Eagle River Road with a bunch of steep hairpin turns. I'd hate to live up there and have to negotiate that road very often in winter. There is only room for a couple of cars to park by the trailhead too. The trail itself starts out very steeply until you finally get up on the ridge. Then it is a lovely ridge walk, undulating up and down hills towards Mt. Magnificent and on as far into the Chugach Mountains as you would want to go. The trail was mostly snow-covered but also quite windblown It varied from bare rock to 8 inches deep and was very corniced on the downwind side. There was no need for snowshoes but we all wore our microspikes. It would have been quite treacherous without them. One person had to go back because of prior engagements, and the rest of us continued on. There isn't enough daylight to go all the way to Mt. Magnificent so we set our sites on Tucker Point, a steep rocky prominence on one side of the ridge. It's easy to avoid climbing it if one wants to go all the way to Mt. Magnificent, but since we certainly didn't have time to do that, we thought we would try for Tucker. A couple of our faster hikers got fairly close to the top, and the rest of us were about halfway up when a freak snowstorm happened along and completely obscured the peak blowing sideways snow making the otherwise comfortable temperature quite miserable. The trail had become very steep and slippery and I wasn't too disappointed that we elected to turn back. Bella had forged ahead and was up with the two leaders. We all turned around and picked our way carefully down the slippery steep snow slope. Bella bounced her way down and led us through the poor visibility to the saddle below. The snowstorm cleared as quickly as it had arrived, as if it just didn't want us climbing up there. The views were amazing in all directions, and the hike down the ridge was very pleasant. I was surprised at how steep the trek in had been when I found myself slipping and sliding most of the way back down. I'm sure happy I had those spikes on my boots. 

Tucker Point

South Fork Eagle River Trail

 Today was a spectacular day to be out in the mountains. I hiked with the Valley Wanderers. We had hoped to make it all the way to Symphony and Eagle Lakes. But after about 3 miles, we found that the trail was barely visible and the tracks we had been following through the snow were barely discernible. It was also getting rather late and some folks needed to head back anyway. The snow was about 8 inches deep but the first part of the trail was well packed down and snowshoes weren't needed. If we had continued much further, we would have needed them though. It was cold but mostly sunny so it felt a lot warmer than it was. It's always so beautiful out there, but with the sun bouncing off the snow-covered mountains, it took on a whole new dimension of gorgeousness. 

Wetlands Trail

 I often walk the 1 mile trail around Reflections Lake whenever I go shopping in Palmer. It's just a lovely place to go for a little walk. About halfway around the lake there is a primitive trail labeled Wetlands Trail that leads to the confluence of the Matanuska and Knik Rivers, the two main rivers that run through Palmer. In the summer it's usually too wet and swampy to actually walk on it. But today it was frozen pretty solid so Bella and I walked all the way to where it met the rivers. As usual, it was quite peaceful because I've never encountered anyone else walking out there. It's only about 1/2 mile long, but it doubles the length of our usual walk around the lake. There are lots of interesting huge dead driftwood trees that have gathered along the shorelines. It feels like a wilderness thousands of mile from civilization yet it's only about 1 mile from the highway. Bella enjoyed investigating all the strange new smells. 

Twin Peaks Trail

 Bella and I hiked the Twin Peaks Trail with my oldest and dearest friend, Diane today. It was the most beautiful morning. She had some obligations for the afternoon so we met up at the trailhead at 9am, before the actual sunrise. It was beautiful and mystical on Eklutna Lake in the early dawn, with mist drifting over the water and alpenglow reflecting in the water. Bella had not yet met Diane's big German Shepherd so we didn't know how they would interact. Bella barked at Tobi at first, but they seemed to be doing OK unless Bella got too close. Then they would bark at each other. Bella gets along fine with other dogs if she is off her leash. So I let her off and she ran ahead in her usual way, leading us all up the trail. There were no other cars in the parking lot so I wasn't too worried about her running into strange dogs on the trail. When we got to the first bench overlook, we took the usual pictures. It was spectacular because the sun was just starting to come over the top of Bold Peak. While I was taking my picture, I suddenly heard the dogs barking. Bella had come back and gotten too close to Tobi, who immediately grabbed her. Diane and I both screamed and Tobi let go. Bella rolled a couple of times and I grabbed her to comfort her. She was shaking horribly. Then I noticed there was blood coming from her right eye. I was so horrified that I nearly fainted. The white of her eye was bright red, indicating it had been injured. Once she stopped shaking and I didn't see any other injuries, we ran all the way down the mile and a half to the car and I raced to the emergency vet clinic. I was relieved to find the blood was from her eyelid and the white of her eye was simply bruised causing a small broken blood vessel. Her cornea was not damaged. They did discover she had some pain to her neck, so she had to spend the next week on light duty with antibiotics to her eye. But she is fine and I'm mostly mad at myself for having her off leash. I certainly can't blame Diane because Tobi was on her leash. I did recommend that she muzzle Tobi when interacting in public because she could have caused more serious damage to other small dogs or even a child. I plan to keep Bella leashed if there is any chance of meeting other dogs, which is what I usually do. I'm so glad she's OK. I would be lost without her. The incident brought back memories of how I lost Baby to other dogs, in this same area. I may not want to hike there for a little while.

Eska Falls Hike

 I have wanted to hike to Eska Falls for a long time but wasn't sure the best way to access the trail. I've heard you need a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead and that it can be hard to find. Today the Walkabouts hiking group were planning to go there, but only part way because of the long length of the hike. I figured at least I could see how to get there. We just parked at the end of the paved road and walked 1.5 miles along the extremely rough ATV trail to the hiking trail. There were signs pointing to the hiking trail, which were very helpful. I learned that you will find it if you always take the fork to the left off the ATV trail as well. Once on that trail it was quite nice for the next 3 miles. There is obviously quite the potential for significant mud in many places. But not for us today because it was only at most 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It was chilly but that made the trail lovely. Since the leaves are all gone from the trees, it did have the somewhat bleak dry brown look of late fall. But that also made it easier to see the mountains through the empty trees branches. The trail is a steady climb, but mostly a gentle one. I never felt I was working very hard. The hiking trail stops on top of a flat ridge where the falls comes into view in the distance. At this point the 3 ladies who had come from Anchorage decided it was time for them to turn back. Pam and I had driven up from the Sutton General Store in my car, and we both wanted to continue to the falls. So we and our 2 dogs continued along the rough ATV trail that works its way another 1.5 miles to the base of the falls. It was rocky with some short steep sections, but not difficult to find. Bella ran ahead and usually found the best and quickest route. We reached the falls and enjoyed the amazing view and the loud rush of water still plunging from the top. Much of the falls was already frozen along with large portions of the pond and creek at the base. I didn't like either of our dogs venturing out onto that ice, although they both did give it a try. We called them back and took a nice snack break before starting our own trek back. There has been a lot of blowing dust lately and it was giving Pam some breathing trouble, so she was not able to move very quickly on the trek back. She tripped on the loose rocks in a couple of places, but only sustained a few minor bruises, we suspect. The sun was still high when we started back but we were a little concerned about reaching my car before 6:30, the official sunset. We arrived at 6:15 with enough time to spare. It doesn't really get dark for at least another hour, so we were not in any danger of getting into night conditions. It was a long 12 mile hike but were were both so happy that we reached the final destination and didn't turn back with the others.  

Bear Mountain

 Today was the coldest day of this season. At the Peters Creek Trailhead, my car's outside thermometer read 22 degrees. I worried that I had not brought mittens, only gloves. I put on both my light down jacket and my Gortex jacket over it, and hoped I would warm up on the steep uphill to Bear Mountain. Bella led the way, and I followed right behind her. Our small group really didn't want to climb at breakneck speed so everyone was content with me leading. But I pushed as hard as I could, partly to not slow down the group and partly to keep warm. My hands were freezing until we finally reached the sun nearly at the top. Bella wore her pink sweater again today. It keeps her warm and it also makes it much easier to see her against the brown trail. Once at the top of Bear Mountain, we were in several inches of snow. It was sunny now, but still quite chilly if we stopped moving. We were very surprised to see a bull moose standing in the snow on the top plateau of the mountain. I was happy that Bella didn't see him, and that he lingered long enough for a couple of photos but moved on quickly. Moose can be very dangerous, but he seemed pretty disinterested in us. We walked as far as we could along the ridge until we reached where it seemed to simply drop off, with no more sign of a trail. The view of the surrounding mountains were quite spectacular. Mt. Eklutna is now totally covered in snow. We had great views of the Knik Arm of Cook Inlet and even a clear view of Denali off in the distance. We had a panoramic view of the Talkeetna and Chugach Mountains plus the towns in the distance below. Several of our little Valley Wanderers group lingered for a while to collect high bush cranberries. I found some of the sweetest most delicious blueberries that I've seen all summer. I didn't collect any but I did taste a few. Our steep hike up had been on frozen ground because of the cold temperatures. But on our way down, it was now in the sun and was quickly deteriorating to a combination of slick mud and ice. We all put on our microspikes and kept them on almost back to our cars. The climb was fairly short at only 4.3 miles, but we all felt the 2000 foot elevation gain. The trail up basically just followed the fall line. I suspect the original trail was created by dall sheep or other surefooted four legged creatures. Bella bounced her way down, mostly staying close to us.Occasionally she would find her own alternate route, but she always ended up on our same path. I could tell she really enjoyed the sunny day and all the interesting smells that fascinate our canine buddies.