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