Twin Peaks Trail

This was a Valley Wanderers hike. Pam also joined us because she took a day off from work. Some of us carried snowshoes because we were pretty sure they would be needed if we went past the first bench overlook. I did use mine and they were very helpful. We packed down the second half of the trail to the second bench, which will be very helpful to the next people who hike there. It was a really nice sunny day, but for some reason, we were the only hikers there. Although we could see a couple of skiers out on the lake from the first bench overlook. The road was not plowed so may have discourage others from trying to drive up there. But it wasn't too bad. I was worried that Bella would need booties but fortunately, she did fine without them. It's such a pain putting them on, they periodically picking them up along the trail as they fall off. It wasn't the kind of snow that builds up snowballs on dogs. It was very cold though and she was shivering by the time we got back to the car. It's a very steady fairly steep hike with a 2000-foot elevation gain. It's one of my favorite hikes just for conditioning alone. But I think it's also one of the most beautiful places in the whole area. I love the view from the overlook. It's magical any time of year. It was about 5 1/2 miles round trip. 

Dan's 87th Birthday Hike

Dan is our hero who proves to us all that age is only a number. He turned 87 today and wanted us to celebrate with him by hiking to the Lazy Creek Bridge that he built. It's a couple miles up the Matanuska Peak Trail about milepost 10,800. It's so cute and is now an important landmark. It was a very cloudy day, and we all hoped we wouldn't end up turning around due to bad weather. But we were mostly out of the clouds, although each step took us closer to them. We even had a few snowflakes. We didn't bring snowshoes because some of the group had hiked up there recently and knew it was possible without them. Pam and her dog, Dahla joined the Valley Wanderers for this hike because it is Friday, our usual day to hike together. It was such a fun celebration with a lot of neat friends. I ended up out in front, pushing with everything I had to try to keep up with Virginia, Chris and Erin. I had to do that because Bella decided that she was going to hike with them. I don't like being too far away from her. So, I got the best workout trying to stay close to those 3 fastest hikers in the Valley Wanderers. Pam and most of the others were together with Dan and Jack following behind. They picked up Brad, Jack's friend, along the way. 

Virgina brought along some decorations for the bridge and some tasty cookies for the birthday celebration. The bridge was decorated by the time Dan arrived. Some of us walked around the corner past the bridge and got a delightful surprise when the clouds suddenly lifted, giving us a view of the snow-covered mountains. We lost that sunshine and beautiful view as we descended back into the clouds and fog on our way down. 

I want to be like Dan when I grow up! I'm not too far behind him. I'll be 80 myself in a few months. I'll have to celebrate with an interesting grueling hike too when that day comes in May.

Back Row: Erin, Brad, Jack, Jo, Judith, Dan, Sarah
Front Row: Me, Pam, Virginia, Jane

Erin's Snowman

Lazy Creek Bridge

Bella

Moose Range Ski

  I enjoyed my recent hike along the Moose Range Trails, so decided to bring my cross-country skis and see if I could find my way on the Liguini Loop. I found that it was nicely groomed and using my AllTrails phone app, I was following the exact trail. But after a while the groomed trail didn't make the necessary turn back towards the swamp shown on the app. I wasn't sure where the actual turn would have been, so just continued on the groomed route. I had no way of knowing where this trail actually went. But I figured I could either follow my own tracks back or take any branch that heads towards the swamp. I figured all routes would eventually connect with the main motor trail. I came to a crossroads and took the fork heading towards the mountains, versus the one that continued straight. This route lead up some gentle hills and through the trees. It finally made a turn toward the swamp area and descended from the hills into the swamp itself. From there, I easily made my way through the frozen swamp and took the main motor trail back to my car. Bella ran along ahead of me enjoying herself as usual. Once on the swamp, she seemed to know exactly where to go to join the main motor trail. It was a fabulous 4-mile ski trip on perfectly groomed snow. Once again, I had the entire area all to myself.

Reflections Lake

 No huge workout today, just our usual 1-mile trek around beautiful Reflections Lake. They finally reopened the tower, and I carried Bella up it to get some pictures from the top. It was a nice little walk and a sight for the eyes.

Matanuska Peak and the surrounding mountains

Matanuska Peak

Twin Peaks

West Twin Peak

Bella on the tower bench

Stonehenge Trek

I went with the Valley Wanderers today on the Matanuska Peak Trail up to the main route to the area we call Stonehenge. It's really just a bunch of rocks, with a few places where people have piled them up. But the nickname has stayed. We did great all the way to Stonehenge with just our micro spikes. But then we took the alternative trail that goes straight downhill to the Matanuska Peak Trail. Some hiking purists have removed the flagging we put up in the fall, so we did miss the correct trail in a few places. Snowshoes were essential once we left the comfort of Stonehenge. The snow was pretty deep and untracked. But Bella managed to force her way through all of it without building up gigantic snowballs on her feet. Our snowshoes now have packed the trail for others and made it easier for Bella to follow. It was a cold day, and the doggie foot snowballs usually occur when the air temperature is above freezing. It was well below that today. It was only about 4 miles, but the 2000-foot elevation gain made it feel a lot longer. I always love this route.

Bella

Kim and her new dog Sylvia

Archangel Road Ski

 It's Friday so I skied with Pam and her little dog, Dahla. When I told her how nice Archangel Road was a few days ago, we decided to try it today. It was perfect today. There were hardly any other cars in the parking lot, so we mostly had the place to ourselves. Our 2 dogs were so cute running together taking turns sniffing at all the essential dog points of interest. I wasn't sure of the conditions so had decided to use my classic skis instead of my skate skis. I have fewer struggles with them if the conditions aren't perfect. It turns out the conditions were perfect for either type of skis. It was even better than the last time I skied here. Once we got to the bridge, Pam needed to go back. But the trail was groomed past the bridge. Usually, they stop grooming before that, and the snow machines mess up the trail from that point on. I decided to see how far I could go on the continuing groomed trail. I was a little disappointed to find they had only groomed over the bridge and up to the Reed Lakes Trailhead. After that, I would have been breaking trail through deep snow. I didn't want to tackle that on my own, so I turned back. I skied as hard as I could in hopes of catching up with Pam. It wasn't long before I saw her and her dog in the distance. Bella caught up with her before I did, and we skied back to our cars together. It was a fabulous day to be out there. I miss the old days when you could easily ski all the way to the gate before the Lane Basin Trail. Maybe I'll catch a day like that again before the ski season is over. It was a good 5-mile ski workout in the sunshine.

Moose Range Hike

I met with my friend Jennifer who lives in Anchorage. She wanted to do a hike out here in the Valley and thought one I posted about in the past looked interesting. We started at the Wendt Road Trailhead and walked out the Main Motor Trail to the swamp. It was fairly well packed down and easy walking. I think it would also have been good skiing. But we were just hiking. We walked way out on the swamp, farther than I have ever walked out there. I hoped to find our way to the Liguini Trail and find our way back to the Main Motor Trail where the Liguini Trail begins. But once we got into the woods, we couldn't find a good trail that would lead us there. We followed the route along the trees and did finally link up to a trail that took us back to the Motor Trail. It was a really nice 4-mile hike and Jennifer really enjoyed it.  So did our 2 dogs, Bella and Lola. I'll have to come back and try to ski the Liguini Loop.

Archangel Road Ski

 Today the ski conditions were perfect. The trail has been recently groomed, and I was the only skier out there. Bella got to run along investigating all the different scents and running back and forth to check on me now and then. We skied all the way to the bridge. Usually, the last section to the bridge is really chewed up by snow machines, but apparently, they haven't discovered it this year. It was lovely all the way. It wasn't quite as sunny and beautiful as yesterday, but even with the heavy overcast, it was still really lovely out there. Archangel Road is typically the best place to cross country ski. Especially after it has been freshly groomed. It's not so steep that only experts can enjoy it, and it's not so flat that it would be boring for an expert. It's just a delightful gentle uphill slope with a nice gentle downhill ride on the return.

Gold Mint Trail

 Today was great for a nice hike along the Gold Mint Trail. We had the entire trail to ourselves. It was just Bella and me 4 miles round trip. I let her run off leash the whole way. The snow was pecked well enough that she didn't need booties and didn't build up huge collections of snowballs on her legs and feet. Usually, I feel this trail is a little narrow for skis, but I think they would have been fine today. After the 2-mile marker, snowshoes would have been a better choice, because I was starting to post hole into snow over my knees. I decided that was time to turn around. I love being out there all alone without seeing other hikers and dealing with other dogs. It was good for Bella too so she could just run up and down the trail and likely log close to twice the mileage as I did. Beautiful out there as always.