Swan Lake Boardwalk

 Hey Tribe,

There's a new trail in town, thanks to the folks at Great Land Trust.  

I love boardwalks!

The trailhead is easy to miss amongst the construction zone of new houses being built literally right next to the trail and parking is only available along the side of the narrow road.

Don't worry, it gets better.

After an extra loop around the neighborhood, we spotted the trailhead sign, sprayed what we thought was sufficient mosquito repellant all over our bodies, and merrily set off down the wooded trail.

Fly is excited about this new trail!

There are convenient little signposts for travelers and we selected the boardwalk to the lake to begin our walk. 

The boardwalk surface material changes a few times, which gave Little Chappie pause, but in his eagerness for adventure, he managed just fine.  It is a narrow boardwalk, so don't plan to take your double sided baby stroller on this one.

A chipper stream flows through the area and I especially loved the little bridge and walking above the pools of water that appear and disappear along the walk.

Fly must get in the water, of course.

It is a short stroll; the platform overlooking the lake would be a fun place to picnic and swan and other water fowl sightings are very likely.

We wanted to explore more of the trail, so we retraced our steps to try out the forest loop.  It wasn't a dull backtrack, because we saw flowers and other interesting tidbits that we had missed in our eagerness to reach the platform.

This part of the trail is still being developed, but we didn't have a problem finding our way.  It is a single lane path through slightly dense brush and is quite possibly mosquito mecca.

Flowers were in abundance and once the construction sounds cease it will be easy to imagine you're in the middle of the 100 acre wood.

TheMother stops to enjoy the fragrance.

There are some fun natural features that make this trail engaging and I imagine we could visit several times throughout the year and not be bored.

We chose to veer left at the split in the loop, which seems the best option as the incline is gradual and we ended up walking downhill when nearing the end of the loop - something my aching muscles from hiking Pepper Peak appreciated.

If you need a quick respite from town, want to do a bit of forest bathing, or need somewhere scenic to bring visitors with mobility limitations, this is a great option.  It offers just enough adventure, is easy on the body, is quite Alaskan. 

Right now, it is a relatively unknown trail, so you have a good chance of having the trail to yourself, which is a big win in my book.

Pepper Peak

Hey Tribe,

Ever started on a hike thinking you were headed to one destination only to end up somewhere else?  That happened to us this past Friday when we boldly set out on Twin Peaks trail.

Twin Peaks and Cook Inlet beyond.

ThePurposefulWanderer, Sally, Fly, and I met in Elkutna and set off up the Twin Peaks trail that Fly and I have done several times in the past.  We never get past the second bench though, so I was excited to see where the trail would take us.

No need to fear when we have a Karelian Bear Dog.

After an uneventful meander up to the first bench without any inconvenient bear encounters we paused for a quick snack and photo snap before continuing on to the second bench.  The early morning was warming and we knew it would be a hot hike, so we'd packed enough water for all of us, which was smart thinking since there isn't any water to be found along this trail.  Dog people take note.

Water break at the second bench.

Rumors that the trail gets easier after the second bench have been exaggerated.  What the trail does do is become a narrow footpath and climb, almost instantaneously, into the alpine.  The views are spectacular.

If you select the trail to the right of the bench, which we did, because that's what the online info says to do, Twin Peaks will not be your destination.  As we huffed along, well I huffed anyway, Twin Peaks remained resolutely at our backs and we quickly realized we were not going to summit those pointy pinnacles.

Spot the tiny Fly?

For those stalwart souls who continue on up the "Twin Peaks trail," the Eklutna Lake overlook awaits at the top of the ridge's shoulder.

Most folks call this the end of the trail.  They are satisfied with their hike and their accomplishment of such a journey.  Not ThePurposefulWanderer.  I was informed that we were, in fact, going to continue on up the ridge to the top of the mountain because, "We might as well summit that instead."  

Pepper Peak looms above Fly.

So Pepper Peak, elevation 5,423ft, and an additional 1.5 miles up hill, became our destination.

"It's not much farther" she said, which is a big fat lie, since I can see the peak way off on the left.

The trail is not difficult - it is a ridgeline hike, which I absolutely love, when I am in shape, which I am not.  Alpine flowers abound, as do ground squirrels; the dogs merrily ran from one ground squirrel hole to another in hopes of catching an occupant by surprise.  I'm positive the squirrels stand up on their hills and rocks for all the world to see and make those chittering sounds just to tease the dogs.

Alpine Forget-me-nots are so sweet.

Elkutna Lake is perpetually within sight and is a magnet for the eyes: its color and texture slightly different with each glance; that rich, silky, unmistakeable color comes from the glacier that feeds the lake.

As the trail progresses, there is an obvious false peak, which we anticipated and were thus, not disappointed.  After the false peak, the mountain grows rocky and we discussed options for what we would do if it became too technical for the dogs' safety.  A good trait in a hiking partner is open communication and I was pleased that we could develop several contingency plans, rather than stick to a single plan that may become dangerous.

Dogs are like mountain goats, which by the way, we did see a group of about 6 sheep far across on Twin Peaks, and the dogs didn't have any difficulty navigating the shale and rocky terrain.

Fly practices a good "wait" command while I catch up with her.

When I neared the summit, ThePurposefulWanderer said she had good news and bad news - it wasn't the summit, but the summit was an easy stroll away.  I'd have to say, the second false summit is much more dramatic of a "summit" than the actual summit.  It is "peaky" and gloriously situated for stunning photos.

ThePurposefulWanderer and Sally overlook the valley.

The actual summit is a ballpark-like wander further along the ridge and is marked with a little cairn and flag.  

Snow and views of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley as we near the actual summit.

Dome shaped and a little unimaginative, the summit felt a little anti-climatical, but the views of the surrounding mountains are glorious and more than make up for any lack of adrenalin rush.

Fly stalks a raven while the rest of us admire views of the Mat-Su.

Twin Peaks teases us still.

Those glaciers though!

We popped a bite of chocolate into our mouths and began the descent, being plagued by innumerable flies that covered us and hitched rides down the slope on our hats, backpacks, arms, and legs, and had some sort of overwhelming desire to get into our mouths.  Gross.

Fly looks down along the ridgeline trail

Descending was uneventful, save for a ground squirrel's untimely exit from a hidyhole with Fly nearby and ThePurposefulWanderer's discovery that she'd gotten deet on the cover of her phone which would make all her photos blurry.  Tragedy all around.

Spot the Ptarmigan?

Eventually, we will make it up Twin Peak, but today was not that day.  Sometimes hikes don't go as planned, but that just gives life more flavor...see what I did there with Pepper peak? You're welcome.

We're coming for you!

Lion's Head

Hey Tribe,

Memorial Day was saturated by rain.  We decided to hike anyway.

I've been wanting to hike Lion's Head for a year and figured this rainy day was as good as any; maybe there would be fewer hikers.  It isn't a very well known (popular) hike, but the views of the Matanuska Glacier are reported to be stunning - though the reward comes with a steep price: the hike is only about a mile, one way, but it is up, up, up.

ThePurposefulWanderer and Sally joined the KBDs and me and together we cruised up the highway to Glacier View and easily found the parking lot for the trail.  It is on AT&T's private property, but those folks are generous, or maybe just wise (knowing people will hike there no matter what), and allow hikers to access the land - provided they call and let AT&T know.  Easy, since cell reception is, of course, spectacular right there.

Meet ThePurposefulWanderer and Sally

Rain didn't stop our intrepid band of hardy hikers. This is Alaska.  The climb started gently and then became noticeably steeper as the many foot trails wound and weaved, braided stream style, through the blueberry bushes and other alpine shrubs.  Our view was obstructed by heavy clouds, but snippets of the rapidly shrinking road and river below us were occasionally revealed through gaps in the rain.

We chose our path based on if we wanted to scramble over slippery chunks of rock or swish through trails stomped into the bushes and we wound our way to the top of Lion's Head.  It actually didn't seem very StairMaster esq after all and we were a little suspicious we weren't actually at the summit.  Rocky and scattered with low alpine plants, the top is, according to internet posts, the best vantage point to view 27 icy miles of Matanuska Glacier.  Alas, all we viewed was cloud and little teasers of the famous glacier.

Summit snacks are tasty no matter the summit, so ThePurposefulWanderer and I shared our bounty while standing in the rain.  Three soaked dogs savored string cheese and then were eager to get going again - so we humans complied, since we were now wet and cold.

ThePurposefulWanderer snapped this stunning photo of Fly and me checking out the view.

The trail down was now quite muddy and we took slow, cautious steps.  It sure seemed steep now.  All the bushes and branches lining the trail provided necessary grab handles to aid our descent and, in my case (no less than 7 times), to arrest slips and falls.  We were met a few times by approaching hikers and their dogs, so our three were leashed to avoid any unpleasant meetings.  It's also just good manners.

I must brag a bit on Fly and Rex - they didn't pull me down the hill, but would stop walking when I called "wait" and would walk on again when I caught up and said "ok."  It was good practice for them to work on leash, listen and watch me, and for us to walk as a team.  Karelians are by nature so independent and I was happy to use the opportunity to reinforce our team bond.

Mud management was attempted when we returned to the truck, but life with dogs is never very clean, so we laughed, the KBDs rode in the back, and Sally, after being toweled off, was soon dozing in the back seat as we drove home.

Lion's Head is purported to be stunning in the Fall, so a return trip is absolutely necessary now.

Oh and when the dogs and I returned home, I realized I'd left an item back at the trailhead...we'll save that for a later post.