Flattop in Anchorage and Hotel Alyeska in Girdwood

Sunday is Father's Day and we plan to hike Flattop in Anchorage. It is a 1.5 mile hike up 1300 ft. elevation gain. The flat peak is easily recognized among the mountains in Anchorage. Don attempted part of it in late April, but turned back because the snow was still too deep. We get to the parking lot and there is still space available which is a good sign. The hike begins on a trail that is not too steep. Later we get to a series of railroad tie stairs and eventually there is nothing but a rock scramble to the top. For me it is very challenging and I wonder how I am going to make it back down. At the very top, I feel like I am on the moon. It is flat with small rocks and very short little vegetation. It is a very foggy day, so we cannot see the view of Anchorage and beyond. On a clear day, Mt. McKinley can be seen. It took us three hours to hike to the top. We begin the descent (as if I am a real mountain climber). It is again challenging to get down but I make it. The trip down is easier than I thought and it only takes 1 hour.

Our course, I have on my bear bells which I think is the best thing I have found so far here.


We return to our B&B and later head to Hotel Aleyska in Girdwood for dinner. The resort is beautiful. We ride the tram to the top for dinner. The tram driver tells us the ski season just ended that week. One of the peaks got 880 inches of snow the past season. He said it is the longest double black diamond ungroomed slope in North America. Not for me! We have drinks, appetizers and dessert and enjoy the view.

Hiking Kenai National Park, Caines Trailhead

Another weekend, another glacier, another hike. Don continues to find hikes to challenge me. Saturday June 19, we drive to Seward about two hours south to hike the Caines Trail. This trail can only be done at low tide and leads to a WWII fort area. We take the less traveled route, not with intention. We hike along the rocky shore which is not really a trail. Some of the rocks are surrounded by small seashells, others are slick with algae which I find out the hard way by slipping to the ground. The seaweed is extremely slick. After a point we are blocked by the cliff and cannot continue. As we drive on we discover "the real trail" in a different parking lot which probably leads to the shore ie. the info that it can only be reached at low tide. Anyway we never see the fort.

After that we continue on to Kenai Fjords National Park. It has a nice trail with a great view of the glacier. The ranger told us the hour before we were there a bear was hiking on the glacier! The day is rainy, in the high 40s and we are dressed relatively lightly but stay warm with hiking. In the park there are markers where the glacier was in the past 100 or so years and we can see how much the glacier has shrunk. Global warming???? Who knows.

Saturday evening we go square dancing and they have 4 squares which is a large crowd for them.

You know you are in AK when....

Your GPS asks if you want to avoid unpaved roads ( as opposed to Dallas avoid toll roads).
It is June 18th and you see lost gloves on the sidewalk.
It is June 18th and you take a stadium blanket to a baseball game to put on your legs even though you have on long pants, a fleece jacket and another jacket.
You suspend a walk because the mosquito attack is unbelievable.
You go on a walk on a city path and see bear scat in the first five minutes.

"Experienced glacier hikers only"

Saturday, June 12, 2010
Well, after we got off of the Matanuska Glacier we were experienced. Somehow, I guess that notice wasn't meant for us. Actually, it was fun and not scary, although I didn't look over the edge to take the pictures. This glacier is about 2 hours north of Anchorage down a rock road which I wish we would have had the SUV instead of my Prius. A glacier is actually a rocky ice mountain (my definition). It was cool, no pun intended. Just under the rock layer is the ice. Some spots are all ice, with no rock visible. The part we were hiking on was mainly horizontal with a slight incline. At some spots the melting water was flowing very fast, between the walls but the part we were on seemed stable. I could see how if there were still snow on top, it would have been slippery and dangerous. The sun was softening part of it, but it was not that slick. This glacier is the largest one in AK accessible by car and is 24 miles long and 4 miles wide descending 12000 feet. It is kind of like viewing a mountain and the more you approach it, it is still far away.



Sunday,
We went to a nature area Potter Marsh on the south side of town. It is mainly for watching birds. I saw my first moose. It was just sort of grazing in the tall grass. There was also a tree swallow just waiting to be photographed.



Socializing in general,

I am making progess considering I have only been here ten days. Don's boss and wife had a party so I could meet the office. It was pretty fun. At square dancing, I met a lady who said she would teach me to fly fish. Last week I went to a meetup scrabble event with a couple of ladies. They were pretty darn good and one of them played all seven tiles at once! Today, I went with two of the Petroleum wives' ladies on a hike. They brought 4 well behaved dogs. I wasn't quite as strong of a hiker and will probably join the walk/lunch bunch instead. This group likes to hike 5-10 miles in mountains.

First few of days June 4-7, 2010

I fly in about 10:30 pm and it is still daylight....weird. It was interesting flying in during complete daylight. Part of Canada (I assume) was so snow covered all I could see was white. The clouds and then more whiteness. As we approached Alaska, I could see black mountains with snow still on the top. It is very pretty, vast and undeveloped. Anchorage is not the prettiest city I have ever seen. Most of the houses are somewhat drab colors and wood siding, somewhat boxy with no details to enhance them. The downtown area has some nicer hotels and many so-so blah ones. Don and I initially go to the Crow's Nest for a drink. It is about 11:30 and still daylight.


Saturday, we go on a hike near Hotel Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood about an hour south of Anchorage. Before our hike we purchase bear spray and read directions. Fortunately, it is not necessary, but I observe most people on the hike have it also. Don says sometimes people carry guns and we should think about buying one. I don't know about that..... We see many groups of hikers and most have an "Alaskan" style dog with them. It is an easy hike on a nice trail in a "temperate rainforest" (who knew in Alaska). I guess because of the denseness of the trees. At one point we go over a roaring river on a hand tram. It is a little cage like box with a rope pulley to get across, both clever and efficient. The trail is part of the historic Iditarod Trail. At one end is the hotel and the other is an old gold mine, Crow Creek Mine which is now a tourist trap. After the hike we go to the plush hotel and have drinks and apps. At some point we hope to return and take the tram to the top of the mountain.

Sunday, we attend our first church service at St. Elizabeth Anne Seton. It is a small parish near our rental house. The music and priest are fine.

We then head down the Seward Highway to Whittier timing it to arrive so the mountain tunnel 2.5 miles is heading west. It is a single lane tunnel which reverses directions each half hour. The cost is $12. We go on a 26 glacier cruise for about 5 hours. It is very pretty with many waterfalls and glaciers. We see lots of sea otters swimming or sunning on small icebergs. One of the fjords is called College and has glacier names of many northeast colleges including Yale and Harvard. Some of the glaciers are aqua blue. We observes only small parts breaking off and falling into the water. There are many waterfalls and the water temp is about 45 degrees F. The US forest service has a ranger on board that talks about various types of glaciers and wildlife in the area. He refers to the bears as brownies and blackies! He says the otters fur prevents the cold water from ever touching their skin.

Don checks out some of the local businesses for a potential kayak trip to the area.

On the way back we are looking for potential places to kayak. We stop near one and begin a hike. When we see scat (from a bear or moose perhaps) we head back to the car and head back to Anchorage.

Monday, I begin life alone and not touristing. My car arrives and I explore nearby including a car wash for my filthy car! I go the the 5th street mall which is very nice. I find a cute tea shop and the Alaska Fur shop. I talk to the elderly gentleman who tries to sell me everything. He is nice and lets me feel the beaver and other furs. Beaver is extremely soft and dark brown. I grocery shop and in the evening we go to round dancing after dinner.

Our B&B is fine, but not fancy. We have kitchen privileges to cook. We have darkout shades to sleep as it is very daylight nearly all of the time. It has a nice courtyard in the front. The temp now is low 60s.