Portage Pass Trail

I hiked the Portage Pass Trail with my friend, Alice and of course, Bella. We got very lucky because we just caught the tunnel release with only seconds to spare. Otherwise, we would have had to wait another hour for the next release at 11 AM heading towards Whittier.  Alice has never been to Whittier or gone through the tunnel. and of course, never hiked the trail. It was kind of steep and rocky, but she handled it well. We went up the side trail to the overlook where we got the most amazing views of Portage Glacier. We enjoyed having our snacks while sitting on the rocks in the sunshine admiring the gorgeous view. Then we found our way back to the main trail and continued on down to the lake shore. This trail can be quite crowded on a weekend, but it wasn't too bad today. I was able to keep Bella off her leash most of the time. I did pick her up a couple of times when passing another dog. She tends to get a little boisterous when she sees another dog. That's embarrassing, especially when she is off leash, where technically she is not supposed to be. I prefer not having her pulling me on steep rocky trails. Alice loved the hike and was amazed at the beauty. I think it is one of the most beautiful hikes in Alaska, even though it's only about 5 miles round trip. We enjoyed listening to the creek running by the trail and did a couple of minor stream crossing before we reached the beach. The glacier used to reach all the way to the Visitor's Center on the road but has receded so far that the only way to see it is on this trail or by boat. In the old days, even when I moved to Alaska 40 years ago, icebergs used to float out on the lake by the road. But the glacier has now receded onto the rocks above the lake, so there are no longer icebergs floating out there. We enjoyed a nice long break down on the beach and chatted with a few other hikers down there. One couple said they had camped there last night and were kept awake by the calving glacier. Thet said it sounded like thunder. That would have been interesting and a bit weird. I'd love to camp on that beach sometime. Weather was starting to move in, so we lost our sunny day, but we got back before it started to rain. We had another close call with timing. Just before we reached the parking lot, I saw it was now 3 pm. We started running in hopes of catching the 3 pm tunnel release back to Portage. We just made it and ended up in the last line behind the busses and oversize vehicles. We were glad we didn't need to wait for the 4 pm release. We really enjoyed this fabulous hike, and I was happy that Bella was not too tired from yesterday's much harder hike to Crow Pass. She is a good sport. I think she preferred both hikes to the 2-hour drive each way from Palmer. She isn't crazy about riding in the car. But she does love her hikes. 

Alice & Me

Bella On The Beach

Alice In The Pass