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.