Twin Peaks Trail

 I usually hike with the Valley Wanderers on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Today we met at Eklutna Lake for the Twin Peaks Trail. The plan was to go to the upper overlook where we get a fantastic view of Eklutna Lake. It was really dark ad overcast and not the best day for pictures. The trail to the first overlook with the bench was completely dry. The clouds were obscuring most of Bold Peak and the surrounding mountains. But it was still very pleasant. It was really cold back in town, 30 degrees with strong winds. But in the parking lot it was 46 degrees. I was dressed very warmly and worried I would be too hot. But even though the trail is steep I stayed nice and cool. I think the temperature got lower as we climbed. About halfway to the second bench, we started to encounter first ice, then snow. We had to put on our micro spikes to keep from falling. We took a nice break at the 2nd bench and then Chris suddenly appeared, walking down from the snow-covered trail up to the upper overlook. He had started long before we did, as he so often does. Jane decided she didn't want to go up to the overlook. I kind of wanted to, but the rest of the group decided to go back down with her. It was starting to snow, and Chris said the view wasn't any better up there than it had been at the first bench, so I decided to go down with the group rather than continue up alone. It was nice to chat with Jane, Peeroosa, Shelly, Meg and Chris on the way down. I really enjoyed going on a nice hike rather than stressing over the results of today's midterm elections. I voted last week to avoid the crowds at the polls. I'll spend tonight hoping for a blue wave as the election returns come in on TV.

Long Lake Loop Trail

 I met my friend Jennifer at the Matanuska Lake Trails for a nice 4.5-mile hike. As soon as we started out on the trail we ran into Jo from the Valley Wanderers. We ended up walking together because she had also planned to walk the Long Lake Loop. The trails are very confusing in that area, plus the Borough has removed all of the very informative intersection signs. So, we like to hike the trails that we already know. Even then, I still like to follow along with the AllTrails phone app to keep from getting lost and confused. The trail is in excellent condition. I was ready for mud, ice and maybe even a little snow. But the conditions were dry and perfect. Bella seemed to have a lot of fun running ahead with Lola, Jennifer's dog. In the summer you don't have much of a view on these trails because it is heavily forested and the leaves obscure the view of the many lakes in the area. But today the bare trees really opened up the view down to the lakes. On the far side of Long Lake, we traversed some old hay fields that are very wide open. The views of the surrounding mountains were gorgeous today in the nice weather we had. It was nice finally catching up with Jennifer since we had not gotten together since last winter. Now it's almost winter again!