Gold Mint Trail

 We have so few hours of daylight right now that I knew I couldn't plan anything very long. It was so dark this morning that I wondered if I would even get out of bed. I didn't leave the house until after noon. Today is officially the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year. The wind is blowing about 30 to 50 mph at my house, and also down in Palmer. I knew I didn't want to hang around outdoors anywhere near either of those places. I drove up to Hatcher Pass. For some reason, that area seems to miss the extreme north winds when they blow. The wind blowing across Fishhook Road was so strong that I almost had trouble controlling my car. But once into the park area, it calmed right down. There were only a couple of cars in the Gold Mint Trail parking lot, so as soon as we got away from the trailhead, I turned Bella loose and let her lead the way. She seemed quite delighted. The trail was in great condition, with soft snow that was well packed. I wore my spikes but really didn't need them. We had to jump over a couple of little creeks that crossed our path, but they were easy to cross. We ran into a couple of dogs and I just picked Bella up and let them pass while she barked her head off like a raving lunatic. I notice that all other dogs simply pass buy quietly while she turns into a Tasmanian Devil. About mile 1.7 we came upon an elderly man who had been just standing on the trail for a few minutes. He was just leaning onto his hiking pole and his shoe was untied. We talked a little and he enjoyed visiting with Bella. But I thought he looked really tired. I asked if he was ok and he said he was, but I felt a little concerned so took note of our location. We went on for another half mile then turned back to avoid losing daylight. I was happy to see we didn't run into that man again, so I knew he was probably not in any distress. He got to his car just seconds before I got back to mine and found he was parked right next to me. I always pay attention to other hikers in case anyone is in any trouble. I was glad to see he looked fine and had made it back safely. That trail is pretty isolated and it was getting late. We only walked a total of 4 miles. But it was a lovely little hike. 

Bella with a beard of snowballs!