Seward and Lost Lake

Seward is the port at the south end of the Iditarod Trail. Mountains drop to the sea here. On the way here from Girdwood, we stopped off to visit the cabin that Charlie and Kim share with friends as a wilderness skiing base. Sweet log cabin, I think on leased forest service land. Off the grid, off everything, in fact. There are both avid skiers and will put "skins" (now synthetic) on the bottom of their skis to get traction when climbing a mountain to ski down. After a delay from an overturned truck on the busy two lane road, we arrive at Seward in the afternoon and head for dinner overlooking the harbor. Lots of commercial fishing craft,  and many more pleasure craft than I would have imagined.  Fresh halibut on the menu catches my eye.

The next morning we get an early start up the Lost Lake trail, and it should be a gradual climb but it is 2000 feet elevation change and I put on my knee brace on my sometimes funky left knee, just to be sure. It is a stunning hike up to alpine meadows and spectacular views.  The joke is that it looks like Sound of Music landscape, but it is indeed. From the area just above the lake I see back to the sound beyond Seward and on either side up to the surrounding glacier covered mountains. On the way up we see no other hikers, but descending, we run into a number of hikers and mountain bikers and everyone agrees it is a stunning day.

Crow Pass

In anchorage I meet up with the group that will be visiting the Kenai peninsula over the next week. Charlie and Kim are guides living in nearby Girdwood. Gustolvo is a fellow traveler who lives in Rio De Janeiro.  The van is packed and we head east to Girdwood and a trailhead to Crow Pass Trail, a section of the famous Iditarod Trail.  After a quick check of gear and a short bear defense talk (stay together and make noise / bear spray as last resort)  we are ready to start.  We learn that a portion of the trail beyond where we will go is closed due to recent "grizzly activity" - so, food for thought .  I consider wearing my lighter trail shoes instead of big clodhoppers but Charlie recoomends not,  and I follow his recommendation. A short while after we start,  the trail turns rocky and twisting an ankle is a real possibility,  so thank you Charlie.
We climb into the clouds and pretty soon we are totally socked in,  with only sounds to hint at rushing streams and waterfalls beside the trail.  It is a 2000 foot climb in four miles,  but a steady pace gets us to gradual leveling and just then the fog lifts and we see where we are.  Stunning craggy peaks all around us,  and a still alpine lake sits in a small valley, surrounded with snowfields and a rocky meadow. We cross the outflow stream from the lake to a  perfect lunch stop at a small forest service cabin. But after lunch, the cloud lowers and the mountains fade away again. There is not much point in continuing to the pass for the view of the glacier in the neighboring valley, so we start back down the trail. Going back we are on a slightly different route and cross several rocky streams,  rushing with runoff from the snow on the steep slope on our left. We end the day in good spirits. 

Gear Update

As always, I am fine tuning what to bring in the way of technical gear. When we camp, our gear travels with us in a van and REI is making a point to say that space is limited. So, packing tonight, I shoot for getting everything in one soft sided duffel and my day pack for carry-on with the airlines. Bringing the little Olympus "point & shoot" waterproof camera that I liked using in Mexico; no "big camera" this trip. Also the solar panel charger system for cameras, tablet, phone and AA battery pack which all charge from the USB output on the panel. Bringing a small tripod too, maybe to get some long duration time lapse video from our campgrounds. Biggest thing is the tripod, at a compact 14" long.

Compact Little Kit This Time, Just Under 10 Pounds:

• ORGANIZER / CHECKBOOK / TICKET CONFIRMATIONS / NOTEPAD / PEN / PENCIL
• ANDROID GALAXY CELLPHONE
• OLYMPUS TG-1 CAMERA
• 8” ANDROID GALAXY NOTE TABLET 
• SUNPAK TRAVELLITE TRIPOD W/ TREK-TECH BALL HEAD AND MAGNETIC QUICK RELEASE
• MISC. PACK WITH DUCT TAPE, VELCRO TAPE, SUPER GLUE, CLOTHESLINE, CARABINERS, ZIP LOCK BAGS, MAGNIFYING GLASS, WATER PURIFICATION TABS, TWIST TIES, EYEGLASS REPAIR, FLASHLIGHT, KLEENEX, ETC.
• EQUIP. PACK WITH CABLES, SPARE BATTERIES, CHARGERS, ADAPTERS, EXTRA SD CARDS FOR CAMERA, USB THUMB DRIVES, X-MINI TRAVEL SPEAKER, ETC.
• MILOLTA 9x24 COMPACT BINOCULARS
• DRIFT HD GHOST ‘ACTION CAMERA’
• GOAL ZERO NOMAD 7 SOLAR PANEL / GOAL ZERO GUIDE 10 BATTERY CHARGER AND 12 AA BATTERIES

 

(15 + 35 lbs - must be forgetting something - I'll double check in the morning)

Leaving for Alaska Soon

View Alaska in a larger map

I will be off to Alaska soon for two back-to-back hiking trips. South and North. My preparations have included watching episodes of 'Ice Road Truckers', 'Deadliest Catch' and 'Flying Wild Alaska'. I have to say that I am enjoying them quite a bit, in spite of myself. I will be on the Dalton Highway of Ice Road fame (in the summer, thankfully) and flying with Era Alaska once - with the stars of Flying Wild. But there is no way I am getting on a fishing boat. People get hurt on those things. Why is it that Alaska spawns so may reality shows?

The southern part will be hiking on the Kenai Peninsula, ending at Homer. From there I am meeting Lisa in Fairbanks and we go north, camping with an REI hiking group and following the pipeline by van all the way to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. Oh, and they said to bring my bathing suit. This should be interesting. 
I am taking off on July 14th.

The State Song of Alaska: 

(I've got to believe the melody is more memorable than the lyrics)

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear," the "Dipper," and, shining high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
O'er land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.