October 6, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: August 2-3, 2007
distance: 20 miles
highest elevation: unknown
elevation gain: unknown
time: unknown

Denali was our last stop while we were in Alaska. It turned out to be a perfect final destination. I left Denali, and in turn Alaska feeling like I had just met a new person that I hoped would be my friend. It felt like only a brief introduction…and I know I want more.

Denali National Park is the only National Park (that I am aware of) that is only accessible by a gravel road running 45 miles into the park (the first 15 miles is paved). Private vehicles are only allowed to drive the first 15 miles of the park road. If you want to explore deeper into the park, you will (most likely) take one of the infamous green shuttle buses.

You may get on and off the shuttle bus as often as you wish. You don’t have to reboard the same bus, you can just flag another bus down and if there is room they will pick you up. Tyler and I randomly hiked about 20 miles of Denali in this fashion. Get off the bus, hike find another bus, ride to someplace new, hike some more.

Of course, Mt. McKinley is a main reason people travel to Denali. We read that the mountain (which locals call Mt. Denali) is only visible 20% of the time during the summer months. We had also met a couple in our hotel in Anchorage that had seen the mountain the day before we were heading there. We figured the odds were not in our favor. Apparently, Mt. Denali creates it’s own weather so even on a clear day, it could be surrounded by clouds. In fact, that’s exactly what it was like. However, we were lucky enough to see bits and pieces of her. For a brief time, she was almost completely visible. Too bad we were so far away. It was amazing.

We saw lots and lots of wildlife. Caribou, red fox, artic squirrels, and moose were some of the wildlife we encountered.

Just after seeing the fox, on the way out of the park, we were on the shuttle bus and we had reached the paved road. In 15 miles, our Denali experience would be over. The bus came to a stop and the driver said, “Everyone quietly look in the road ahead of the bus.” There, strolling down the road, was a mama brown bear and her two cubs.

All I could do was laugh.

The next day we boarded a plane in Anchorage for our flight home to Seattle (we drove from Seattle to Portland.)

Posted in travel, hikes | No Comments »

October 6, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: July 31, 2007
distance: 6 miles
highest elevation: 2350 feet
elevation gain: 2000
time: approximately 3.5 hours

Okay, the truth is…I don’t remember anything to write about this trail. I wrote in my journal that there weren’t any cars at the trailhead, it was wet, not raining, and I was still very terrified of running into bear.

It’s pretty though, isn’t it?

Posted in travel, hikes | No Comments »

October 6, 2007 by annie.

Obviously, I’m way behind on posting. So, I’m going to try to catch up a bit.

July 31, 2007

The Turnagain Arm Trail is a 9.4 mile (one-way) trail that runs along Seward Highway about 10 miles south of Anchorage. The trail has four trailheads that break it into three sections. One of the sections, McHugh Creek - Rainbow descends (if desired) to Beluga Point.

Seeing as I have a not-so-secret obsession with all things watery, the idea of seeing a beluga whale was exciting. The beluga whales follow the salmon into the shallow waters at the point. Unfortunately, we didn’t spot any.

We did find an amazingly strong wind. Tyler and I had to work hard to stand. We found shelter in the trees for a few moments, watching the water, reflecting.

Posted in travel, hikes | No Comments »

August 21, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: July 28, 2007
distance: 3 miles
highest elevation: unknown
elevation gain: unknown
time: approximately 1.5 hours

One of the things I loved about hiking in Juneau is that you were always near the water. These three trails are on Douglas Island (included in the borough of Juneau) and can be walked together in a kind of loop. This is our last day in the area and I’m filled with excitement about what may come next.

Tyler walked this trail with me because there were rocks he could climb. I thought they were sharp and slippery. He thought they were fun. Go figure.

Posted in travel, hikes | No Comments »

August 10, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: July 26, 2007
distance: 1 mile
highest elevation: unknown
elevation gain: unknown
time: approximately 1 hour

Tyler has decided that he doesn’t hate all hiking. In fact, he loved the hike to Nugget Falls. Somehow, instead of being thrilled, I’m filled with apprehension. It figures.

Nugget Falls sits just next to Mendenhall Glacier roaring down into Mendenhall Lake. You can get to the bottom of the falls from the visitor center, by walking along the beach of the lake. Kind of. When you leave the visitor center to make your way along the beach, you come upon several signs. “Going to Nugget Falls is not a trail! You may have to wade in water. There is a recent rock avalanche to climb! Every week people need to be rescued! It will take over an hour to reach you! This is not a trail!”

I look to Tyler. I ask, “You want to go?” He says, full of excitement, “Yeah, absolutely!” So off we go. Inside, I secretly wonder if this is one of those things I’m going to be kicking myself about later. I mean…neither one of us could be considered very graceful. I’m pretty sure I have an affinity for hazardous situations. Throw my equally accident prone awkward teen in the mix…and you could have a SAR. Yet, here we are, hiking on a non-trail to a waterfall a half-mile away.

The first challenge we came to was a choice: climb a rock wall or cross the water. I let Tyler choose. He chose the water.

Tyler thought it was great. Water up to my knees (he’s taller than me). We both thought it was freezing! We had to cross the water three more times (although since Tyler was leading and he liked it so much, it could have been on purpose). After that, we walked along the beach for a while. Then we came to the rock avalanche. It was massive. We climbed huge boulders, over and over, slowly making our way across. I looked back at Tyler and he was smiling so big. My heart leapt. We were having so much fun. After the rock avalanche, we made it to the falls.

Nugget Falls is amazing. You are so close; the spray soaks you with freezing cold water. Sitting right next to the falls, is the glacier. The icebergs are floating so large and massive in the lake. Tyler and I had to yell at each other over the roar of the falls, even then we could barely hear.

Heading back, we climbed the boulders, crossed the water…and laughed a lot. Tyler says he’d hike like this anytime. I said…okay we’ll just have to keeping finding trails that aren’t there.

Posted in hikes | No Comments »

August 9, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: July 26, 2007
distance: 1.5 miles
highest elevation: 100 feet
elevation gain: 10 feet
time: 1 hour

The Moraine Ecology Trail at first gives you an amazing view of Mendenhall Glacier from a beach. Soon after, the trail winds its way into forest covered in moss, streams crossing constantly, and evidence of a glacier-carved landscape abounds. There is an active beaver colony and although I find the beaver fascinating, locals say the amount of beaver activity here is a problem. The beavers are changing the water flow constantly. The salmon are here too…and that means there are bear too. Damn bear.

I share my bearanoia with Rebecca, our hotel clerk. I expect her to tell me it’s ridiculous to be afraid of running into a bear. Instead, she says, “Yeah, I would be afraid. I don’t blame you one bit.” I imagine that is her idea of camaraderie. Instead, my bearanoia is validated. Damn bear.

I don’t see any bear on this trail. In fact, I don’t spend much time thinking about seeing bears. It’s quite populated here.

I didn’t realize how wet things would be. I don’t know what I thought, but I didn’t imagine that things would be so full of water. The meadows look amazing, then you realize they are more like swamps…they’re covered in water. Not that it makes them less amazing.

The green also amazes me. It seems different. It’s like there are a million shades of green and they are all right here. How can there be so many different greens? I wish I could capture them all. The Moraine trail loops back to the beginning and Tyler and I are off to Nugget Falls.

Posted in hikes | No Comments »

August 7, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: July 24, 2007
distance: 2.7 miles
highest elevation: 2030 feet
elevation gain: 2030 feet
time: 1 hours 10 minutes

They have a name for people like me in Alaska. I’m ashamed to admit it. There are signs describing me. I’m sure it may eventually be included in the DSM-V and there will be a medication. What’s wrong with me? I am suffering from bearanoia. It’s true. I’m terrified of bears. It’s amazing how fast you hike up a mountain when you are are suffering from an irrational fear of a big, scary monster that is capable of eating you.

The Mt. Roberts trail was actually pretty cool. I chose it because Tyler was able to ride the tram to the 1800 feet level instead of hiking and I met him at the tram station. The trail leads through a rainforest…and I became quite muddy, which was fun. I spent a lot of time trying to overcome my bear anxiety…and I think I finally managed to gain a rational perspective. Then, I enjoyed myself. I only saw one other person hiking up the trail, but once you reach the tram station it becomes a busy place. There’s a restaurant, gift shop, theater, art gallery, and raptor center. Tyler and I met up, walked around some of the trails, and bought some art. The Mt. Roberts trail continues up the mountain to its’ peak at 3019 feet, but we didn’t go all the way to the top. We explored, overlooking Juneau far below, and rode the tram down the mountain.

Posted in hikes | No Comments »

July 19, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: july 10, 2007
distance: 10.09 miles
highest elevation: 4390 feet
elevation gain: 2300 feet
time: 4 hours 27 minutes

i’ve decided that it takes me three tries to get anywhere. i first attempted silver star mountain several weeks ago however, never found the trailhead. on second attempt, i found the trailhead, but hiked the wrong trail. this time…i got it right. my friend jen hiked with me…which probably explains why i ended up in the right place.

i should mention that jen is a rebel. she will try to tell you she follows the rules. but i know the truth…i know she doesn’t. don’t misunderstand me, i’m not any better. i think the shocking thing is…apparently everyone else is.

let me explain…the national weather service issued an extreme heat warning to our area. temperatures were predicted to reach 100 degrees. news media was instructing people to stay indoors, in air conditioning. now, not to dismiss the thousands of people that die from heat-related illnesses each year…but come on. jen and i were hiking anyway…damn the advisory to hell…ha, ha.

so…on our hike we had some questions:

1. what if you live in an area where 100 degree temperature is common? should you never go outside?

2. are people becoming more or less adventurous?

3. when people didn’t have a/c and they wore more clothing, were they better off from a moral and environmental standpoint but not from a medical one?

anyway, the weird thing was…we were the only ones on the trail. no one was out there. supposedly, this is a very popular trail. i guess everyone was inside, listening to the advisory, while we were outside wreaking havoc on the universe. as for the trail, it was full of rocks. and i do mean full of them. oh…and since much of the trail is an old jeep road, there are no switchbacks either. which is okay for jen because she’s a good hiker but really yucky for me, the bad hiker.

you can always tell an optimist on hike like this. as we would head up a steep section for the millionth time, jen would say, “we have to be at the top. we’re running out of trees”. i of course think, “there can always be more up”. lucky for me…i like it all…even the parts i suck at.

it didn’t seem that hot either.

Posted in hikes | No Comments »

July 19, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: july 7, 2007
distance: 6.4 miles
highest elevation: 7265 feet
elevation gain: 765 feet
time: 2 hours 6 minutes

i have to give you a bit of a back story:

when we arrived in crater lake national park, we were given an 8-page newspaper with a variety of information about the park. being the freak that i am, i devoured it. i was announcing small facts to tyler about pine beetle outbreaks, park history, and forest fires. it was great. the center page of the paper had a list of hiking trails in the park in a table format, with facts about each hike. each hike was rated by ‘ranger karen’ with stars, the highest being five-stars. the paper didn’t actually say who ranger karen really was…and for some reason i found it all very amusing.

i decided to head out on the crater peak trail. according to ranger karen, it was worth three stars. not bad. but it was considered “off the beaten path”, according to the paper. and it was to the summit of a small volcano, which seemed very cool. of course, i was camping on the rim of a caldera (also very cool). since 6.4 miles qualifies as an actual hike, my resident anti-hiker tyler refused to join in on this adventure. with a test of our two-way radios, i was on my way.

the first 1/2 mile was amazing. the moon was shining at 10 am. the trail climbed a talus slope and had an awesome view of the canyon of sun creek. after that the trail entered a forest and things got ugly. no, really, it was ugly. it was the ugliest trail i have ever been on. there were dead trees everywhere. and the smell of dead animals. there was no one around (which seems to have become a theme). at some point in this adventure, i became convinced that there was a bear somewhere in the woods. i don’t know why. truth is, i love the outdoors…but do i really know anything? no…not much really. i do know a few things, though. i know that there were bear boxes in my campground. i know that on the way to crater lake a bear ran across the road. i also know that i read too many crazy books and watch too much discovery channel. all of this data came together in my feeble brain to form one conclusion, i needed to talk to the bear while i was hiking.

so, if you are all alone in the woods and decide to communicate loudly, what do you say? i believe that should be a poll. i first chose to imitate bear grylls, the host of man vs. wild (one of those discovery channel shows). i simply called “yo bear” repeatedly to announce my presence. however, bear grylls, did not look so bored when he was calling “yo bear” on television. maybe it would have worked better for me if I had a camera crew…or a bear. my second attempt at communication brings me back to ranger karen. for the remainder of my hike (once i got started, i was on a roll) i began to question, out loud, the validity of ranger karen’s three star rating for this hike. i admit, with slumped shoulders, that many expletives were a part of the discussion.

for future reference, if ranger karen says, “highlight: peaceful hike through forest, solitude” interpret it to mean, “no one ever hikes here because it’s really ugly and it smells bad and there might be a bear, but probably only if you watch too much discovery channel“.      

Posted in hikes | No Comments »

July 14, 2007 by annie.

date hiked: july 7, 2007
distance: 1 mile
highest elevation: unknown
elevation gain: 100 feet
time: 30 minutes

tyler decided that there was no reason for the existence of mosquitos. most of the time, i try to contribute some rational ‘circle of life’ type logic to explain things…but i must say…sometimes it’s difficult. castle crest trail was supposed to be full of beautiful flower-filled meadows, in the midst of forest. oh, and a creek. definitely the makings of some kind of wonderful. alas, the constant sucking of your blood made it somewhat difficult to enjoy. i’m willing to live and let live…but mosquitos don’t quite do that, do they? i believe they are pedators (actually they’re vectors…but still). they still cause millions of deaths worldwide per year. and they ruin a perfectly good nature walk.

Posted in hikes | No Comments »