Bear Mountain to Mt Eklutna

 This was a fabulous hike with the Valley Wanderers and also my friend, Pam. The trail is very steep and we did need micro-spikes because it was frozen ground and icy in spots. Once on the ridge we were in several inches of snow. It was somewhat windblown but still pretty soft. It started to get a bit too deep for my dog, so I stopped and put her in my backpack. The rest of the group pushed on ahead. By the time I caught up they were working their way down a rocky outcropping on the side of the ridge. Pam said it looked a little scary from where she was standing. In the distance I saw that a couple of the others had gone on down that ridge and were heading up another very steep slope in the snow. There was no visible trail at this point, so they were making one based on their past experience on this route. Pam said she felt kind of uncomfortable. I admitted I felt the same way. There really wasn't enough snow that I felt we were in avalanche danger, but I was somewhat concerned with the steepness of the sidehill they were planning to traverse. It didn't look like a good place to slip and fall, without the comfort of actual crampons and ice axe. I'm quite sure it was perfectly safe and I later heard all made it down safely. But Pam and I decided it was a bit beyond our comfort levels so we decided to turn back and go back the trail we had climbed. I never have quite the same balance when I'm carrying the dog on my back, which also figured into my decision. Since Pam came with me, I definitely wanted to stay with her. It was a gorgeous hike and we can't wait to come back and do that loop once all the snow is gone. I want to climb to the top of Mt Eklutna next time I'm up there. It's a beautiful peak and the views up there are extraordinary. I let Baby off her leash part of the way down just because it was so steep and icy and rocky that I didn't want her pulling me over. She was pretty good about staying with us.

Crevasse Moraine Trail

 Nice short little hike with my friend, Pam and our two dogs. It was really cold this morning, 14 F at my house and only 8 F at Pam's house. At the trailhead it had warmed up to 19, so not quite so frigid. The ground was frozen, so we didn't encounter any mud, just the pleasant rolling hills of that trail system. No snow on the ground there yet. This trail system is right next to the Mat-Su Landfill, so it tends to attract eagles.  I saw three in a tree right where I parked my car. I only had my phone as a camera so didn't get an extraordinary closeup picture. But I did get to catch a quick iPhone photo. After the hike I went to Anchorage to buy my new backcountry ski setup. I wanted something that would get me into the mountains off the groomed trails, with the ability to lock down my heel for steeper downhill skiing. Now we just need some snow so I can use them. 

Pioneer Ridge Trail

 Hiked up the Pioneer Ridge Trail today with the Valley Wanderers. The ground was frozen but with very little snow, although it was still quite rough. There were deep ruts where not long ago there was obviously fairly deep mud. So glad it was frozen today. Baby did great for the first mile and a half. But then it got colder and the snow was deeper. We all stopped to put on our micro-spikes and I had to put Baby into my backpack. She was shivering and trying to climb up my leg, her signal for "carry me!" The trail got pretty tricky in places after that, with streams and frozen overflow to deal with. The view across the valley was beautiful but it was still a bit too cloudy to get a view of Knik Glacier. But it was a great workout with 2380 feet of elevation gain and 5 miles total distance. I needed all of my clothing layers because it was only about 25 degrees. At least there was no wind. We all kept our spikes on for the descent because even with them on it got quite slippery. I had a couple of short falls myself. Baby didn't seem too concerned inside of her backpack and neither of us got hurt. She seems to enjoy riding back there and just staying warm and looking around.

Twin Peaks Trail

 I just wanted to drive up to Eklutna Lake and see how the snow conditions are. I didn't even change into my hiking boots, bring my pack, or food and water. I just planned to walk a short distance on the Lakeside Trail. But once we crossed the bridge, Baby refused to take another step along the Lakeside Trail. Instead, she turned towards the Twin Peaks Trail and pulled me in that direction. Figuring we wouldn't go very far, I decided not to drag her back to the car and change my shoes, get my grippers, and more appropriate gear. But even though there was an inch or more of snow, Baby headed non-stop up the trail. I did find the conditions were still ok with the shoes I had on, but I kept wishing I had my hiking boots. We made it up to the bench at the overlook, to my astonishment! The view was so amazing, that Baby and I just sat on the bench for a while, staring at the lake below. It was chilly, 27 degrees, but the sun made it feel much warmer. I felt like I'd be happy to stay right there forever. Normally, Baby is quite ready to head back down, but she wanted to continue. I knew the snow would likely be deeper as we climbed, but it still seemed ok. We made it about halfway to the second bench when she decided she'd had enough. She turned around and we went on back down to the car. It turned out to be such a wonderful little hike, that I thanked her frequently for making me go there instead of the flatter trail along the lake. 

Ski Independence Mine Trails

 I heard the trail to the mine was groomed, so on a gorgeous day like this, of course I had to grab my cross country skis and go. It was really nice snow and well packed but for some reason, Baby just wasn't interested.  I ended up putting her in my backpack and skiing the entire route with her as a passenger. It was a little cold, but not terribly. 24 when I started but quickly warmed up. There were lots of people, dogs, hikers, and skiers. Maybe just the shear number of other dogs made Baby uncomfortable. I didn't mind carrying her. But on the steeper downhill sections, the weight on my back made me feel a little off balance. I'll have to grow accustomed to having her on my back because she does tend to like to be carried if the weather gets too cold. Maybe I'll try again later this week and see if she feels better with less weekend traffic. It looked like the trail up to Gold Cord Lake was well defined, so maybe we'll try just hiking up there this week. What a beautiful day to be out!

Long Lake Loop Trail

 It is a very gloomy foggy day but at least it's not raining or snowing. Just a short little hike around Long Lake with my friend Pam before helping set up for tomorrow's ski swap with our ski patrol. Pam's dog has been recovering from a broken foot but is now back in service and raring to go. Both of our dogs enjoyed themselves running along the familiar trail. I think Baby was glad we didn't hike up another mountain after the steep muddy trails of the last few days.

Lazy Moose Tree Obsruction

 I've been really scratching my head trying to figure out what might have gone wrong yesterday on my hike down from Lazy Mountain on the Lazy Moose Trail. On my way down at distance post 3800 I had found a gigantic downed tree completely covering the trail. I tried going down around it and up around it, but found no possible method to get past it. Since I had seen a trail leading downhill a few hundred feet back, I had taken that, assuming the old trail was permanently blocked and it was the new trail. It even had a sign that said Lazy Moose. But as I said in yesterday's post, that trail intersected the Morgan Horse Trail which also leads back to the parking lot. So today, I went on a little exploratory excursion up the Lazy Moose Trail from the trailhead at the bottom. I figured I'd find where I had missed an alternate trail that bypassed the tree. What I did find was a rough worn path where other hikers had scrambled uphill around the fallen tree. I followed that and it brought me down to the trail where I had turned back. From that spot though, it was not obvious at all that anyone had attempted to climb up that steep hill to get around the tree. Of course anyone who had simply climbed Lazy Moose from both directions, would have known how to get around the obstruction.  But people like me, who had simply descended the route would have figured the trail to Morgan Horse Trail was actually the correct trail. But they'd be wrong just like I was.

So, now I know about the little access trail from Morgan Horse Trail to Lazy Moose.  I went down it on my way back to my car today. I told the Mat-Su Trails park ranger, who was at the trailhead when I got back, about my trail adventure yesterday. She said she would pass the information on to her boss. So maybe someone with a gigantic chainsaw will go cut a path through the gigantic fallen tree.

I enjoyed satisfying my curiosity with this nice little 1.6 mile hike.