Pioneer Peak Trail Day Hike

Pioneer Peak seen from the east side at about 4000ft.

Often it is those places in our backyard that we never see or visit.  So was the case with Pioneer Peak Ridge Trail and me! The trailhead is less than 1 mile from our house and while I've been up the trail to just past the first picnic table, I never hiked any further.  Getting up to the ridge was on my list of things to do, but it always seemed to find its way to the bottom each summer. Yesterday, the weather was nice and I had all afternoon and evening, so I decided I was going to hike up Pioneer Peak Ridge Trail.  The top of the ridge is 4 1/2 miles with an elevation gain of 5300'. To get to the South Peak Summit it is at least another mile and 1000' more in elevation. Given the time of day I was leaving and that I was solo, I knew I wasn't going to summit the South Peak, but in back of my head I kept thinking that the ridge was attainable.  Along the way, I stopped at the first picnic table for a quick break and a little while later for snacks and to take some pictures.  But mostly, I became a woman with a mission, quickly putting one foot in front of the other, panting like a dog and sweating like a pig.  

Time to turn around!

Eventually, I reached the knifeblade edge of the ridgeline that leads to the South Peak summit and figured it was time to take a break, turn around, and then head down.  Downhill has its own set of problems. The grade is fairly steep in many places and controlling the decent had a way of zapping whatever leg strength I had left. When I reached the 1st picnic table, the grade became more gradual, the path is dirt and with a few roots, and I knew the end was in sight, so I was able to jog down to the parking lot at a fun comfortable gait.  The whole trip took me about 5 1/2 hours. 

Knik Glacier and Knik River

Overall, I'm not big into lone ranger activities, but I did enjoy my day of hiking at my own pace on Pioneer Ridge Trail. 

Pioneer Peak taken in Spring 2005 from Jim's Creek.
Pioneer Peak Ridge Trail climbs up on the left hand side
and snakes in on the backside.

Kayaking on Eklutna Lake

In the past few days, I took advantage of a sunny weather window by sanding and staining our front deck.  I got tired of looking at the mildew stains and worn boards.  When I saw the forecast, I knew I needed to act quickly to get the job done.  After putting on the final coat of stain this morning, I talked Wyatt into a kayak trip to Eklutna Lake.  It is a state park that is 3 miles as the crow flies from our house but 30 minutes of driving.  I've been up there hiking, biking, and skiing in the past, but never kayaking.  I keep debating whether or not I like kayaking enough to buy one.   

Fortunately, Lifetime Adventures rents kayaks on site.  We decided on a two hour rental.  At first, we were a little out of sync and zigzagged a lot more than necessary, but eventually we were able to complete a loop around the front part of the this glacier fed lake without tipping over.  At one point, we stopped to snack, readjust the rudder pedals, and take pictures.  I was a little disappointed to have the clouds move in as these beautiful mountains always look better against a blue bird sky, but this is Alaska and I can't complain with the temperatures in the mid 60's, no rain, and Eklutna Lake as flat as a pancake. 

Hopeful in Alaska

Some Alaskans say that summer begins when the first blooms blossom on fireweed and ends when the ones at the top blossom.  Given our cooler than normal temperatures this summer, we can always hope summer will begin and where else but Hope, Alaska can one find more hope.  This past weekend, Bryant and I made our way to this off the beaten path old mining town to bike some of the trails and camp out at the Seaview RV and Tent Park.  

We waited until the 11th hour to go because the weather forecast was iffy and neither of us wanted to spend the weekend camping or biking in the rain.  We hoped for the best and finally made the decision to go.  Under grey skies, we biked to the Ressurection Pass trail to the intersection of Devil's Pass and then turned around. The trail continues to Cooper Landing, but we didn't want to worry about shuttling a vehicle so we came back.   

On Sunday, we biked the Gull Rock trail located a mile north of Hope. Along the way, I did my fair share of hoping.  I was hoping my trailside chain fix held, that the trail would improve as we rode on to the turnaround point, and that the scree slope was stable as I made my way across.  My 42 hours in Hope, AK must have refilled the hope bucket because all my hopes came true.

When we made our way back to Hope, the sun was even peaking through the clouds.  There is hope after all that it is summer here.  







 For more pictures:  I'm working on a Picasa Album

Happy 4th of July

Bryant and I were sitting around this evening trying to remember if we've ever been home on the 4th of July.  Usually we are out doing something taking advantage of the long weekend, but then he said, "I wonder if we've ever had a 4th of July on a Wednesday since we've been together."   Although we've been together for 10 years, there was that possibility given leap year and all.  Thanks to the Internet, I figured out the last 4th of July on a Wednesday was in 2007 and I was flying back to Michigan to visit family and greet my high school classmates who I hadn't seen in 20 years. 

Me:  Grilling steak and veggies sporting the red, white, and blue.

This was our first 4th of July on a Wednesday together under the same roof so we had to figure out what to do.  Seeing as we didn't have any big trips planned, Bryant spent the first half the day just taking care of things around the house and I decided to wake up early and participate in Willow, AK - Freedom 4 Mile Fun Run.  I hadn't raced since October and felt like I needed a dipstick of how I was doing in the real world of running. I had to run in my my red, white, and blue tye dye, which didn't make me run faster, but helped contribute to the 4th of July spirit of the event. It was extremely refreshing to attend a race that only allowed day of race registration, had none of the fancy timing chips, and was priced reasonable.  Given that there were about 50 participants instead of 500 made the experience even more enjoyable.   I managed to squeak into 4th place for the women with a time of 31:03 and I wasn't feeling too bad about that as I had hoped to finish before 32 minutes and wouldn't have cared too much had it been before 35 minutes given the route was a combination of pavement, dirt road and trail.  Later in the afternoon, we went on a bike ride up the mountain near our house.  

Gus decided to participate in a parade with one of his friends whose family owns a landscaping and excavating equipment business and Wyatt practically lives down the road at his friends house, so I'm not really sure how he spent his day. Earlier in the week, I did catch them both using their computers back to back in the house and it was reminiscent of a time a year or so back when I caught them doing the same thing on a regular basis.  See blog:   http://jillcaho.blogspot.com/2011/02/christmas-new-years-and-january.html .  I realized they've grown up a bit since then.   

Last weekend, Bryant and I took to the bike again.  We decided to bike to the cabin in Big Lake and then return the next morning, about 100 miles round trip.  In May, we had stashed some food and water anticipating this trip. The weather held out for us, meaning it didn't rain.  On Saturday, there was some sunshine later in the ride, but on Sunday the temperature hovered around 55 degrees with low grey clouds. Even though our route back was little longer it was much better than the route over, as we were able to avoid a lot of the rock thrown bike paths, due to 4-wheelers and dirt bikes in and around the Wasilla area. A lot of people like to call Big Lake and Butte the redneck central of Alaska, but the bike paths in both these areas were wonderful compared to what we experienced around Wasilla.

Bryant at the cabin

I ended up with a flat tire just past Wasilla on the way over to the cabin and that led to a multitude of delays, but eventually we pulled into the driveway with our bikes, ate dinner, and had a campfire until all hours of the morning.  Only to wake up and return back home the next morning/early afternoon. 

That pretty much rounds up what we've been up to that is half way interesting the last week.