Blueberry Knoll Again!

 Today I hiked up Blueberry Knoll again. This time with several other Valley Wanderer friends who couldn't do it on Saturday. It was more icy today and quite windy in places. I ended up carrying Baby in my pack because she was holding back and obviously getting cold from the wind. I almost didn't even go because she refused to go for her morning walk. I was concerned that she might not be feeling well or just exhausted from all the trips we did the last few days. But the wind was blowing up to about 40 mph at my house this morning, so likely it was just the wind causing her to abruptly turn around and run back into the house. Once we got to the Government Peak parking area, she seemed fine and raring to go. But after about a quarter mile, she started holding back and lifting a front leg. That is usually her way of saying she is cold and isn't interested in continuing. So I put her in my pack and carried her to the top. It was a beautiful day and the trail, although icy, was hard packed and easy to walk on as long as we were all wearing micro spikes on our boots. It got pretty windy on the ridges and any exposed areas. We didn't linger very long on the top for that reason. The picnic table is completely buried and I was standing right on top of it taking my pictures. I let the dog back out on her leash for the last mile because she was starting to get restless and by then it was much warmer. I really like this trail and soon I want to hike it all the way to the top of Government Peak. The views out across the valley are amazing. 

Eklutna Lake

It is bitter cold today at home and in Palmer. I set out intending to try out my backcountry skis on Reflections Lake and explore the little fingers of the lake on the other side of the hiking bridge. It was only10 degrees and I wasn't too sure of the snow conditions on the lake. So first, I just walked the dog around the lake on the trail. I walked down to the lake and noticed that the snow is still quite deep there and there is one wide hard packed icy trail people had made out to the middle to ice fish. Also on my hike, I noticed there were quite a few drifts on the part beyond the bridge. I wanted to bring my friend there to introduce her to cross country skiing, because I figured it would be totally flat. But with those drifts, it looks less than ideal for that purpose. By the time I circled the lake, Baby and I were both freezing and I abandoned that idea altogether. Then we drove up to Eklutna Lake, which was much warmer. I skied out a couple of miles and found the snow to be nice and soft off the snowmachine track and also firm and easy skiing on the tracks. The snow was still pretty icy so I stayed off the tracks because they were noisy compared to the untracked snow. But the dog preferred the tracks so she ran on them and I stayed just off the side on the untracked snow. It was really nice and sunny. I'll plan to take my friend there to introduce her to skiing. The conditions are much better than Reflections Lake. If there is a warmer day before the ice melts, I may still try to explore out on Reflections Lake with my skis. I love going out in that area in my kayak. It's quite wild with little fingers of lake and swamp, with lots of birds in the summer. 

Talkeetna Lakes Trails

A bunch of the Valley Wanderers hiking group met in Wasilla to carpool up to Talkeetna to ski on the Talkeetna Lakes Trails off Comsat Road. I had been up that road but never on those trails before. Instead of using my classic cross country skis, I used my new backcountry skis. I have now fallen totally in love with them after clamping down the heels and downhill skiing with them all day Sunday up at the Skeetawk Ski Area where I Ski Patrol. I really didn't need them for these trails but wanted another chance to get to know them. They were a perfect choice because somehow the whole group took off without me, while I was stopping my dog from picking a fight with another dog in the parking lot. I didn't know which way they went so just picked a trail and hit Navigate on the AllTrails app, figuring I would just backtrack if I got lost or confused. The route I picked had quite a few small but fairly steep hills.  The trails were groomed but still quite icy. My wide skis were perfect for the conditions because my classic skis get kind of scary and difficult to control or stop in steep icy conditions. Even with Baby pulling on me, I was still easily able to maintain good control. I skied all the way around Z Lake, and found there were enough trail signs that I didn't need to use the app to navigate back to the car. I just followed the loop around the lake then back to the parking lot. My friends started showing up soon after I got back to the car. They had formed a couple of groups, and each thought I was with the other group. We had 11 or 12 total, so I can see how that could easily happen. It was fine, and I really enjoyed my little solo route finding ski trek with Baby the wonder dog, who seemed quite happy to run as fast as she could the whole way. We all went for lunch in Talkeetna at the Denali Brew Pub. 

Blueberry Knoll

 Gorgeous sunny day hiking with Sarah from the Valley Wanderers. Just the two of us today, plus Baby, my dog of course. It's been horribly windy the last 24 hours so I wasn't sure how bad the wind might be. But it was fairly calm at the trailhead and not even very strong at the top of the knoll. The trail is well packed most of the way, but spikes were essential to keep from slipping, since most of the trail is fairly steep. I was feeling a bit out of shape on some of the steep parts, but still got to the top. The ridge is pretty wind blown but still easy to follow the tracks of other hikers. There was some minor post holing just before the top, but by then, it was well worth it to forge on through to the top. Baby discovered that if she walked off the trail she stayed right on top and didn't even make tracks. Baby made the trip back down a bit faster since she thinks we're supposed to run all the way back to the car. I was happy she didn't pull me off my feet, although she did take a different route around a tree at one point. That got a little interesting since she was on her leash. But I was able to untangle the mess and we were on our way. She had a couple of noisy conversations with other dogs on the trail, but nothing too serious. They like to play but she likes to try to show them she's boss even when they're ten times her size!

Rabbit Slough to Wasilla Creek

 Rabbit Slough is really just a narrow meandering creek that empties into Knik Arm of Cook Inlet after several miles from the start of a small dirt road that leads to a parking lot where people can launch small boats, such as canoes, kayaks and stand up boards. I've launched my kayak from there on several occasions. In winter, the gate is closed to the boat ramp but you can park at the end of the main road and walk or ski to the small parking lot and boat ramp. I've always turned left and skied in the downstream direction. But I've been curious about what might lie up ahead in the other direction. There were some ski and snowshoe tracks heading that way so I decided to follow them. I was also using the AllTrails iPhone app which does show an actual hiking trail in that direction. Of course it is always a winter trail since it is on the creek during summer. I used the app to be sure I was really on the trail since there are few trees in that direction, making it a bit harder to stay right on the creek itself. The route ends before it reaches Nelson Road or the Wasilla Creek Boardwalk trail, but it is pretty easy to follow the correct direction on the map. The ski tracks I was following were branching off in multiple directions so I just pointed towards the boardwalk on the map. My whole route was just under 5 miles round trip. The conditions were perfect for skiing. The dog preferred to stay in the ski tracks since the deeper snow was too deep for her. We saw several groups of moose fairly close by but they didn't seem to notice or care much about us, and just wandered on their way. It's mostly just a swap out in that area during the summer.  The Wasilla Creek Trail is an elevated boardwalk because otherwise it would all be under water. So, this route is only possible when completely snow covered. I like that even though its still very close to both Palmer and Wasilla, it feels like the middle of nowhere. It's very quiet and peaceful and is not used by snow machines. 

Eagle Nest

Closer Look at the Eagle Nest

Wetlands Trail

I didn't have a lot of time for exploring today because I had a bunch of errands to do. But I took some time just to walk around Reflections Lake, a small lake with a mile long trail that encircles it. I think it is my dog's favorite trail.  She gets excited when I take the exit ramp from the highway that leads to it. When the conditions are right, you can follow the Wetlands Trail that takes off about halfway around the lake towards the confluence of the Knik and Matanuska Rivers. Sometimes, it immediately dumps you into a muddy swamp or it is only deep untracked snow and difficult to follow. But today it was a hard packed snow trail so we followed it until it deteriorated into deep post holes, that nearly swallowed up my little dog. It's such a wild place and I rarely encounter other hikers, walkers or wildlife out there. It's still so close to the main trail but one feels as if they are far out into the wilderness. 

Archangel Road Ski

 Another perfectly amazing cross country ski trip with friend, Pam and our two dogs. The trail was freshly groomed and was in the best condition I've ever seen it. The temperature was mild enough that I didn't even need to carry my dog once. She ran along happily, occasionally barking at other dogs and people. It was also a beautiful sunny day. Round trip is a little over 4 miles. We turned around when we got to the area that is also used by noisy snow machines.  They really disturb the peace and quiet.

Beautiful views in all directions!