Reed Lakes Hike

This weekend Mary Katherine, Liz, Mike and I headed out for a hike in the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage. We headed up the road to Hatcher Pass and turned off towards the Reed Lakes trail.

The day was warm in the valley and the sun almost peaked out. The trail started off flat and easy. Soon we arrived at an abandoned cabin amongst the bushes and boulders. The area had been mined for gold early in the century, and the area still sported a few old shacks and some abandoned equipment.



The area has some of only decent rock for climbing in south central Alaska and many of the boulders looked like they would be a lot of fun. A face of granite that we began to switchback up next to even had a few bolts in it.

Once we started to climb the steep wall at the end of the valley, the trail crossed a boulder strewn slope where the creek from the valley above came down.

The vegetation changed markedly once we were up into the hanging valley. The tall bushes from the lower valley gave way to a more tundra-like and low scrub environment. The stream meandered through a meadow and made a number of small lakelets.



We stopped for a snack and to let the dogs swim around. Jackson, MK’s dog, lives for swimming (as well as running and playing the stick game). Agloo, Paul Twardock’s dog, was also with us. Liz gave Mike a quick lesson in reading topographic maps.

Soon we pressed on up the trail, climbing steadily. The trail followed the stream (although it would be a river in CA) up the valley, past more lakes and several pretty decently sized waterfalls.

As we climbed the temperature dropped. When we reached the upper part of the valley, the ground began to be covered with more and more snow. It was like we were hiking backwards in time, each step sending us further back from summer into early spring.

When we reached Upper Reed Lake, we found it completely covered in ice. The clouds had come in and it started to snow. If you ever needed a reminder that when you leave for a hike in Alaska you should bring layers for all conditions, this was it. We ate our lunch on a rock and marveled at the view around us. Small ice fields and glaciers covered the cloud-shrouded peaks around us.





We headed back down the trail and returned to spring and summer (such as it is). The lower valley still had a bit of sun and we were quickly back at the car.

PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/ReedLakes

McHugh Creek

Wednesday after work Kelly, James and I headed out to McHugh Creek for a hike. The trail winds up through a forest and then emerges onto the open hillside. It then heads back up the valley that McHugh Creek flows out of and up to McHugh Lake.

We settled on the hike because Kelly's last name is McHugh and it only seemed natural to explore the area.


The weather was mixed, and quite windy down by Turnagain Arm. Once we were in the trees the wind died down and we were surrounded by a sea of green dotted with the occasional swaths of wildflowers.

We came across several moose on our hike. The first was a female. The second was a young male with his antlers still covered in velvet. The final bull was back at the parking lot. All of them munched contentedly on the ample greenery while James and I snapped pictures.

Dall sheep were spotted way up on a hillside near patches of snow. They looked like little spots of white on the rock.

All in all, it was fantastic to be able to leave work and get out into a truly wild place for a hike.


PICTURES: http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/McHughCreekHike

Solstice Sunset

I biked out to the coastal trail to watch the sunset tonight. It was gorgeous. The sun slipped below the horizon as the clock hit midnight. Even though the sun dipped below the horizon, it's not really going to get dark tonight.

People were out all along the bike path watching the sunset. A group had built a bonfire just by the train tracks on the tidal flats.

Denali and Mt. Foraker were clearly outlined by the setting sun. Their silhouettes were lit up in red.

As I biked back, a beaver paddled its way along the shore in Westchester Lagoon. It's moments like these that remind me how magical a place this is to live.

Softball

It's been a long standing tradition for the clerks to organize a softball team each year. I took on the managerial duties this year. The league is pretty well organized; we've got uniforms (with numbers), rosters, lineups, and rules. The rule book is ridiculously big. But we manage to have a good time nonetheless. Most teams are out there for the same reason: to have fun.

There are two other teams of former clerks and associated friends. One team is called The Deciders and the other is Ninjustice. We are the Bench Warmers. A clever name, if I do say so myself. Our jerseys were designed by Mike Russell (a fellow clerk) and they are pretty darn kickass.

We play at the parkstrip near downtown. The field is pretty nice and we have a great time.

Currently we are 3 and 3. There are six teams in our league and we'll play each a number of times. Now we're starting to replay the same teams. Time to move up in the standings!

Coaching has been a decent amount of work. We have a huge team of 27 players. I've made it a priority to get everyone into every game, so we have some pretty large roster changes during each game.

Callie got some great pictures at our last game:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/Softball

Symphony Lake Backpacking

Last weekend (the 13th to the 15th), a group of us went backpacking along the South Fork of the Eagle River in Chugach State Park. We left Anchorage on Friday after work and grabbed pizza in Eagle River to eat at the trail head.

The weather on that Friday had started promising enough: blue skies with decorative clouds in the distance. But as the day progressed, the clouds closed in. By the time we were eating our pizza in the trailhead parking lot a light rain had begun to fall.



Our group was composed of Callie, Jeff Kim, Ryan Ferch, James Ferguson, and Elizabeth and Caroline Outten. The plan was to hike in Friday night, set up a base camp and then spend Saturday trying to get to the top of Triangle Peak or up to the Symphony Tarns. Of course, all that was very weather dependent. Here is a Google Terrain Map of the area.

The hike in was pleasantly flat with views up the valley. The skies remained overcast and we walked through intermittent showers. Eventually we left the side of the valley we were up on, crossed the river at a bridge and then continued east up the valley on the north side.

We lucked out and found a good campsite before we got to Eagle Lake. The area looks flat, but on closer inspection is actually quite boggy and bumpy. We happened upon a spot of relatively flat bunch grass. All in all it made a great spot to sleep because the grass was so soft. I also set up a tarp using some trekking poles to make a shelter under which to cook and chat.

It was still quite light at 12:30 when we turned in with hopes of blue skies in the morning.


We were not in luck. The next day dawned with the clouds even lower than the night before. James, Elizabeth and Caroline decided to hike out after breakfast. Callie, Jeff, Ryan and I headed the valley to see where we could go and wait out the weather.


After reaching the head of Eagle Lake, the trail crossed the river and wound over a boulder field that was actually a huge glacial moraine. The boulders were covered in moss and lichen with small bits of grass and flowers in the cracks. Because scenic vistas were out of the picture due to the cloud cover, I instead focused on the beauty of the local flora. Alaska is beautiful at any scale.

We were hoping to see more in the way of fauna on the trip. All of us carried bear spray and we were vigilant in our watch for moose or bear. Unfortunately the only wildlife we saw was a couple of gulls chasing a bald eagle.

Above Eagle Lake is Symphony Lake. We chatted with some fishermen who raved about the spot. We decided to head up the valley behind Symphony Lake to Mirror Lake.



Beavers had made an impressive lodge and dam at the upper end of the lake where a glacial fed stream filled the lake.


Above the notch where the stream poured between two arms of rock the valley south of Symphony Lake opened up. We avoided boggy patches and eventually started making our way over remnants of the winter's snow. As we got up into the clouds, it was like walking a few months back in time. Wind came down off the surrounding snow covered slopes and dropped the temperature. The snow and cold made it feel like March.

Lunch was up by where we thought Mirror Lake was. At this time of the year the lake hadn't melted yet, so all there was was a large patch of snow where the topo map said the lake should be. We hung out under some amazing boulders and enjoyed the feeling of being up in the mountains.

Our descent went quickly. Jeff, Callie and I glissaded a few patches of snow.

Once back at camp we made a dinner of burritos. High cuisine in the backcountry is the way to go.

Sunday morning was also grey, so we hiked out instead of exploring a side valley. Despite the weather, it was really great to get out camping again.

PICTURES:
http://picasaweb.google.com/jack.r.mckenna/SymphonyLakeBackpacking