It was predicted to be a gorgeous Alaskan summer day, so Fly and I headed to Talkeetna to hike around X Lake. This particular lake is one of a cluster of six lakes in the Talkeetna Lakes trail system named so creatively, with names such as Y and Z. Put a lot of thought into those names, didn’t they? In researching my destination, I discovered there is a company that brings tourists here for a day hike and charges each person $64 to walk them around X Lake. I was horrified. The simple trail is groomed, free for public use, and makes a 3.5 mile loop around the lake, so it’s practically idiot proof. Who could charge so much, in good conscience, for that? But, I suppose the tourists happily pay for the convenience of not having to make decisions.
I digress. Fly and I found the trailhead easily and were pleased to only find a couple of cars in the gravel parking lot. I doused myself in bug repellant, put some all-natural stuff on Fly’s face and head (her only weak area, susceptible to bites), and we set off down the cool, tree lined path.
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| Dwarf Dogwood, AKA Bunchberry (Cornus Canadensis L.) |
From the very first step, this hike is gorgeous. Greenery everywhere, with ferns, birch, spruce, aspen, and alder trees, high bush cranberries, etc. to stun your visual senses and the filtered sunlight created lovely patterns along the trail. Birds sang. Mosquitoes were in the thousands – maybe they shouldn’t be added to the list of attributes, but they did help to keep me aware that I was in the woods and not in some metropolitan city park.
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| A little lake off to the side of X |
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| Nootka Lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis) along the bank. |
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| Close up of lupine |
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| A little drab to look at, but has a lovely voice. |
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| Alaska Spiraea (Spiraea stevenii) |
The trail is used as a single track for mountain bikes. A few passed us during our loop, but there was plenty of time for us to step off the trail and let the bikes pass without fear of getting hit. Also, we were walking clockwise, which was in the opposite direction of the bike riders, so we were able to see them coming. There were a few benches at particularly scenic points along the trail, which was a nice addition to the experience. Fly and I sat at one bench and watched a Loon swim and dive for its lunch and at the other bench we watched swallows swoop and glide as they easily caught mosquitos for their hungry hatchlings.
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| Arctic Rose (Rosa acicularis) bud |
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| Arctic rose in full bloom |
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| Swimming practice |
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| Shaking off water is a serious business. |
We had the option of following the signposts and color coded trail markers to loop around the other lakes, or to remain on our loop around X lake; as tempting as it was to hike the other loops, we had places to go and people to see, so we left the other alphabetical lakes for another day.
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| Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is tiny! |
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| Wooly geranium (Geranium erianthum) |
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| Follow the red trail home. |
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