Lazy Mountain Climb

 I climbed up Lazy Mountain from the back side along the Matanuska Peak Trail and the Lazy Mountain Southside Trail with friends, Frank and Katie plus dogs, Maya and Bella. It was so perfect, with very little mud and great well-packed snow on the upper part. Bella and Maya were usually out in front leading the way. Bella as usual, was the first one to the summit. She ran straight up the rocks to the top and was up there wandering on the rocks as I picked my way up there. It's pretty exposed and I needed to walk very carefully. It was mostly snow free on top but I was still wearing my micro spikes. I had to concentrate so I didn't catch them on the sharp rocks and have an embarrassing fall on Lazy Mountain. I spent a few minutes on the top while the others continued to the flag a little below. They weren't too interested in rock climbing up with me and the two dogs. But getting to the flag is high enough to call it the top. I stood up there and took a 360 degree video of the view. Bella was running up and down and making me nervous. I wanted to scream at her to stand still but didn't want my shouting to show up on the video. She's actually a lot more sure-footed than I am, and I'd be the one more likely to stumble and go toppling down the mountainside. There were several other dogs and their owners also heading to the top, so I went down a little lower and waited for Frank and Katie to take their pictures by the flag. While I was having a snack, Bella raced back to the top and was getting in the way of the others. I called her and she came running back. But a few seconds later, she was right back up there. She didn't want to come when I called her, so I pulled out my bag of dog treats and yelled "I have treats!" Then she came running. We hiked down the same way and had a wonderful 6.5 mile hike. 

It's a hike that almost didn't happen though. When I first arrived at the parking area and parked, I noticed the lot was glare ice and I even slid a tiny bit. But I parked with plenty of room away from the other car parked there. When Katie arrived, she pulled up next to me. But her car started to slide! We all panicked and I quickly moved my car so she didn't slide into me. But then she started to slide into the other parked car. Frank was there with his truck but far away from our cars. We couldn't come up with a safe way to get her car out of there, so she called a tow truck. While we were waiting I saw a woman coming down the trail. I raced up to her and asked if she owned the red car. I was so relieved when she said yes. She saved the day and our hike, by driving away. Then Katie was able to move her car over and park along the road like I did. She had decided to forget about the hike, but we talked her into still doing it. I'm so glad she got to go, because it was a really nice day and a perfect day to climb Lazy Mountain.

Bella

Maya

Katie & Frank

Katie & Bella

Katie