bike and kayak time

I finally got on a bike in Alaska yesterday and it felt great! We went to Eklutna Lake, got free rentals since we're volunteers and went the 12.7 miles out along the lakeside trail to its end at Serenity Falls. The route is for bikes, hikers and ATVs, but ATVs are only allowed there 4 days a week and even on "their" days, most of the time the trail splits so that you rarely ride with the 4-wheelers. Very nice.

It was a good trail by the lake for the first 8-9 miles, then got quite rocky in sections. We were on bikes with hard seats so you can imagine how that felt by mile 12.7 to say nothing of mile 24 on the return! But the waterfalls were worth it.

We missed the trail that takes you an extra mile of walking to a glacier, but we'll do that next time. And next time we have a contact who says he'll get us ATVs to do the mileage. They also have rental kayaks that we could use and we could kayak out and return by bike.

Our kayaking took place on nearby Beach Lake after work one evening. A local volunteer who has several kayaks took us and another volunteer here to the little lake which is seldom crowded and where no motors are allowed. No camera was taken, so picture this: a still lake, bit of a breeze, surrounded by mountains in the distance, quietly paddling across the lake, loons calling out with their haunting cry, and then a bald eagle flying overhead carrying what was left of its fish dinner! Really! He came right over us as if to show it off, turned and flew into the trees. We saw him later sitting on the shore not caring much about us at all. It was a very peaceful evening. Back by 9:30 (still looks like maybe 5:30).

Saturday was a marathon over Crow Pass that began in Girdwood and ends here at Eagle River. 26 miles, about a 2500 ft elevation gain, 3 river fords, and the winner finished in 3 hours, 28 seconds! Alaskans definitely take summer seriously. We'll backpack the pass later hopefully in a 2-day trip and enjoy the sights.

days off

We’re getting into a routine now at Eagle River Nature Center – 3-1/2 days on, 3-1/2 days off. Not a bad schedule! I work in the center for the most part talking to visitors, collecting fees and beginning next week, leading a nature walk in the afternoon some days. Tom has become their volunteer maintenance man and is doing wonders organizing a shop as well as repairing needed things. He is also in the nature center occasionally when it’s real busy and I call for help. It’s a well done interpretive center with a “close up corner” where kids are encouraged to touch and play with anything they see. Most people come here to hike the trails and see, well,nature! Still waiting to see our first grizzly.

On days off we use the volunteer vehicle when it’s available and go hike trails and see other areas of Chugach State Park. Saturday we went to the base of Alpenglow Ski Resort, which is adjacent to Richardson Air Force Base, and hiked to Rendezvous Peak. The day was sunny and warm at the bottom, but the view from the top showed totally different weather. A brief rainbow was a lovely sight to see too. There is a good view of Anchorage (or would be on a clear day), and Knik Arm is shining in the sun.

The ski resort is not big, but the slopes are not for beginners. When you get off this chair lift, you’d better know where you’re going!

Sunday was spent in Anchorage. The flowers in the park were amazing including a few giant cabbages.

First stop was the log cabin visitor center.

Before it began raining we hit the outdoor market, more of a flea market than the farmer’s market they have on Saturday and Wednesday, so we’ll go back for that. Then we went by the Ulu factory where they make ulu knives, a traditional Inuit knife that used for skinning caribou and moose. Still used for that today, but also used in the kitchen for veges, etc. We walked a bike path then to a salmon viewing platform on Ship Creek. It’s a little early yet, but we did see a few silver salmon hanging out on the bottom and occasionally rolling over, flashing their silver skin. In a couple weeks the salmon will spawn and we’ll see them in the river at the Nature Center too. Last stop was the Alaska Public Lands Information Center where we took in a ranger led interpretive walk on Alaska history and saw a movie on bears. Looking forward to seeing more when the sun is shining.

Eagle River Nature Center

Our stay at Donnelly Creek has ended and we are now at Eagle River Nature Center for our next volunteer job. Got to spend a little more time in Fairbanks before leaving where we visited Pioneer Park again and basked in a hot, sunny afternoon. Then on the 6th we caught a ride to Eagle River with a local named Dirk. I think I'll leave a short description of Dirk for another post as he was another AK character, but here's a picture of our lunch stop where he unexpectedly treated us to smoked salmon, hummus and veges, and the last piece of his blueberry-apple-sour cream birthday pie!

We had a brief view of Denali in the far, far distance outside Fairbanks then clouds in, so here's the view of clouds in front of McKinley (Alaskans call it both).

Eagle River Nature Center is a non-profit within the Chugach State Park, the 3rd largest park in the US at 1/2 million acres. The center is at the end of Eagle River Rd and has many trails, daily interpretive hikes and NO camping.

The views are grand. In a couple weeks the salmon will be swimming up here and we're told we'll be able to watch bears out in the distance having dinner.

The longest trail is the Crow Pass Trail that goes about 27 miles to Girdwood and requires a river ford of glacial temperatures. We'll be doing that sometime probably as a 2-day backpack.
Lots of folks hike it daily and it looks like some of them have a bit of help carrying gear!

Today we hiked a trail in Eagle River called Baldy. Once on top, you can follow the ridge for a couple miles more. On a clear day you can see Denali, but this was not one of those days. The views, though hazy, showed Anchorage, the Knik Arm, and beautifully green and red vegetated mountains. The first picture shows Baldy with Knik in the background. There are many, many social trails on the side of the mountain. We took a wrong turn, missed the main trail and ended up bushwacking straight up which was an adventure! Walked the ridge out toward the view of the second shot.