Crevasse-Moraine Trail

Hi there!

With all this new snow on the ground, I was able to convince TheMother to put her casserole in the fridge instead of the oven and join Fly and me for a late morning/early afternoon hike along Crevasse-Moraine trail.  We’d received the new MSB annual day-use parking pass in the mail, so with the window sticker in place, we parked next to the only other car in the lot and chose our trail.

The trails have names as well as numbers for the loops and letters for the junctions.  We decided to take the Outer Loop to begin and ended up hiking loops 1-8 for a total of about 5 miles.

Right at the beginning of the trail system there is a big sledding hill, with a pavilion for festivities down at the bottom of the slope.  The picnic tables were upended for winter, but I’m sure they get a lot of use during the summer.

There were a lot of junctions and paths to follow, but the trail markers were plentiful and easy to follow.  Naturally, we ended up doing the challenging stuff by accident.  Ugh.

Since I’ve packed my microspikes the last few trips and didn’t need them, I foolishly left them, along with my poles, at home this trip.  However, underneath the 4 inches of fresh snow, the trail was pure ice.  Fly slipped, TheMother slipped, and I fell more than I have over the past four years combined.

This trail is filled with hills.  Icy, icy, icy hills.  One of them was so slick we decided it was better to just sit down and slide to the bottom of the hill.

I’m not kidding about the hills though - even the signpost writers were keenly aware of all the hills. 

Moose seem to enjoy the area and one of them took advantage of a newly fallen willow tree across the trail and ate the tips and stripped the bark as a snack.  Yum yum.

The scenery was lovely with all the fresh snow, but it’s probably enjoyable at anytime of year.  The trees are nice and it looks like there’s a variety of shrubbery, such as devil’s club, highbush cranberry, and ferns.   The only downside to all the tall trees is that they block the glorious mountain views.  Keep your eyes up for brief peeks of the peaks.

  

We returned by way of the trails named Subway and Expressway.  By the time we reached the sledding hill, it was filled with a couple dozen adventurers pulling assorted sleds and innertubes; a few brave souls slid down with nothing but their bodies on the icy slope, like penguins.

There are other trails that we had neither time nor energy to tackle on this hike, so Fly and I will definitely be making a return visit to Crevasse-Moraine.  

Fat Bike and Pulling Practice

Hi there!

Today was rather windy, but we wanted to get out and do something, so I aired up the tires on my fat bike and Fly and I headed into the woods.  Rabbit Slough is a great place to practice fat tire bike riding skills because it is flat (no hills) and just rough enough to need a bit more balance than on a paved road. 

By this time of year, the slough is frozen and there is enough snow to cover the slippery ice and provide grip for the tires.  Trees line the banks of the slough, so there is protection from the wind, but not too thick as to block views of the hay flats and mountains.  It was snowing on the mountains, but their lower half was visible.

Fly had on her harness so she could begin practice pulling light loads.  Her harness is a hand-me-down from my first Karelian, who inherited it from a dog before him.  Good thing my dogs are all about the same size: harnesses aren’t exactly inexpensive.  Anyway, since Fly still has baby bones, we used only about three pounds of weight to pull today.  I filled a milk jug with some water (not full, that’s 8 pounds) and set it outside to freeze.  Then I used a long lead and connected it with a carabiner to her harness. She is pretty good about trotting alongside the bike, so she was mostly practicing pulling skills: go forward or side to side, never backward, don’t turn in circles and get all tangled, etc. 

I got too hot about a minute and a half into our journey, so we stopped while I adjusted layers.  Back on the bike, the riding was going well until I hit a patch of exposed ice and nearly wiped out completely.  Twice.  Lesson learned: stay on the snow.

At our turnaround point, I set Fly free to run in the Hay Field for a bit.  It was rather windy, so we didn’t linger out there very long, though I’m sure she loved the wind and I was the wimpy one.  Look at this happy face.

We covered about 6 miles round trip today and I’m already planning a return trip, so we can go even further and make a whole day of it!

Wasilla Creek Trail

Hi there!

Like so many hiking trails that Fly and I explore, this Trail Tuesday hike was not even on our radar until we were driving past the trailhead and discovered it existed.  So, we headed back on a free day to see if we could add this Wasilla Creek wetlands trail to our hike list.

The tiny parking area was full of cars, people, and dogs, which surprised me, since this seems like such an out of the way neighborhood trail, so we shoehorned our truck into a space and made a beeline for the trail.  Turns out the other folks were all together and were taking off down the powerline cut, so we had the trail to ourselves after all.

To call it a trail is a bit misleading – it’s actually a boardwalk!  It was so unexpected and I kept saying, “This is so awesome!”  The entire trail is an elevated, single-track boardwalk that zigzags through birch and spruce trees and heads out onto the Palmer Hay Flats.  A lady in the parking lot said she’d never been to the end of it, so I figured it must go for quite a distance, however, we discovered it is only about a half mile in length.  That was okay, because it still qualifies for the hike challenge since it’s a mile round trip.  The broad mountain views at the end, on the square viewing platform, are a great reward for such a short trek.

We hopped off the the end of the boardwalk and blazed our own trail across the frozen wetland, so Fly could run and frolic on the ice; this added to the length of the trip, though I don’t think this would be advisable in the summer when the wetland is thawed and mucky.

There were a ton of wildlife tracks in the snow and a bunch of muskrat homes, which were fun to see up close, though the residents didn’t come out and say hello.  How rude.

Sunshine flooded all around us, once the low winter sun finally peeked above the Chugach Mountains.  All the tall grasses were golden and lovely and made for some really nice photo ops.

The boardwalk follows Wasilla Creek, hence the name, and even though it was frozen, it was still nice to look at and take a risk of walking on it for a bit during the return trip.  It was super slippery, as ice usually is, and not all the way frozen in a few places.  Be careful, yo!

When we returned to the truck, Fly did a bit more mouse hunting and I was able to get a video clip of one of her pounces.  FYI: the lucky little mouse escaped to live another day.

Reflections Lake Trail

Hi there!

The weather was clear, so we headed to the Knik river to hike around Reflections Lake.  I wanted to get some photos of the mountains in all their pink glory when the low winter sun rises/sets on them.  Since it was below zero degrees, I put on all my snow gear and Fly immediately knew it was adventure time, even before I was finished getting ready!

  

Reflections Lake, as I mentioned, is right next to the Knik river and just off the highway.  This area used to be pretty seedy and littered with abandoned rusty cars that drunken people would use as target practice.  Not the ideal destination.  However, it got a major facelift and is now quite popular with families, boaters, and dog walkers.  In the summer, the lake offers a marvelous reflection of the trees and mountain, thus its name.

There is a very nice groomed trail that is supposedly wheelchair accessible (the wheelchair routes look just as manageable as the main trail) and it’s pretty flat going, with the exception of two hills on opposite sides of the lake.  The trail makes a loop around a decent sized lake that holds fish and waterfowl.  There is a pavilion for picnics and a boat landing/swimming beach with a bunch of little lifejackets provided by the awesome Kids Don't Float program.  Stay safe, swimmers!

No worries of drowning during this trip, because the lake was frozen.  We wandered out on it to check out some suspicious dirt clumps and take photos of Pioneer Peak.  Oh, my “good camera” batteries weren’t charged, so I had to resort to my phone for all of this hike’s photos.  Sad. 

About halfway around the 1ish mile trail there is a large observation tower.  It’s a good way to get in all your flights of stairs for the day and the 360* view from the top is a nice reward.  Be sure to look down and try to spot a moose, since this is part of the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge and a popular browsing hangout for moose.

When the trail meets (or leaves, depending on your direction) the Knik river, there is a little post with directions to an additional bit of trail: like a trail spur.  In the summer, this trail looks like you might be headed to your imminent murder, but in the winter it looks more inviting. 

We decided to risk it and I’m glad we did!  It’s just a ½ mile out and back trail that leads to the merging of the Knik and Matanuska rivers.  The destination isn’t spectacular, it just looks like a river bar with giant tree trunks scattered here and there, like a tree junkyard.

However, I’m guessing it is also less traveled (because of the creepy entrance), so if you find yourself walking around the lake with a ton of other trail visitors, take this diversion for a short reprieve from the crowds.  It is a nice extension to an already easy trail and the journey is pretty and filled with moose and rabbit tracks (in the winter, anyway). 

There are trail markers, but we found the trail easily: maybe it isn’t as simple in the summer.

Back on the main trail, the path follows along the Knik riverbank for some nice views and then curves with the lake away from the river.  The path becomes a boardwalk for the last bit of the trail, which is rather fun to traverse, though the highway noise is more noticeable here.

With that, Fly and I have completed our second hike of the challenge!  I really enjoy this trail for its simplicity and family friendly atmosphere.

Matanuska Lakes Trail

Hi there!

It's Trail Tuesday, so here Fly and I are, all ready for the first hike!  A few too many cookies and cubes of fudge from Christmas had me all sluggish and in desperate need of a hike and some fresh air this week, so Fly, TheMother, and I braved the -3F degree weather and headed to the Matanuska Lakes trailhead.  We decided to do the Long Lake Loop, which is about 4 miles round trip, since I’m not familiar with this trail system and it was pretty chilly out.  There was only one other car in the parking lot, so we had the place almost to ourselves.

Dotted throughout the trail system are signposts telling which loop is where and how many miles it is; these were nice for first timers like us.

We did the loop clockwise, so Fly could run in the UAF field and burn off some of her energy near the beginning of the hike.  The trail is connected to the UAF experimental farm and they seem like nice trail neighbors. 

My little backpack held my headlight, microspikes, emergency kit, and mug of hot cocoa.  The mug doesn’t seem to stay warm long enough for me to drink actual hot cocoa during a rest break – does anyone have any mug recommendations?  I’m using a Bubba mug that I stuff inside one of my spare mittens.   Anyway, I didn’t use any of those items, though I couldn’t resist eating a leftover candy cane as we hiked and the peppermint added to the all-encompassing coolness of the day.

There are a lot of lakes in this area, but it was easy to know which one was Long Lake, because, you know, it’s pretty long.  All the lakes are frozen, so we wandered out on a few to snap photos of the mountains and the moon and take a look at the ice.  Next time I’ll bring my ice skates!

The trail runs along ridges between the lakes and it was pretty neat to be able to see lakes, down below, on either side of the trail.  There are a few up and down parts to the trail, but nothing too steep.  We took it pretty slow and were never out of breath.  

It’s pretty well forested with a variety of different tree species, so I’m guessing the lakes aren’t as visible in the summer when everything is in leaf.  Also, the mosquitoes have got to be bad; I’ll have to visit in the summer and test my theory. 

We were glad to have chosen only the Long Lake Loop, because the sun was setting and we made it back to the car just as light was fading.  It was really lovely walking along with the sunset visible though the trees.   This trail system has a lot to offer, I think, so Fly and I will be back here for another section of the trail before too long.