with a little explanation this time

The pictures from the albums of last post. This time in a slideshow format.

Gull Rock:

Scott and I went on our first backpacking trip of the season to Gull Rock (April 25-26). We set out from the trailhead in Hope, and hiked the 5.1 miles out to the windy peninsula.

Some of my notes of my trip are as follows: "LOTS of downed trees and LOTS of WIND at Gull Rock. Overcast and cloudy".

The hike itself was more arduous than we expected, as there were many downed trees across the trail, making it difficult to continue on. Because of the wind and the epidemic of the Spruce Bark Beetle, many of the trees are easy to come down. When we finally made it out to Gull Rock there was a constant wind. At least there were no mosquitoes!! We made camp, carefully selecting where to pitch, because of the wind and the trees. We were exhausted and a little fearful of bears, especially with this being the first hike of the season. Finally we were able to relax after some good food, and with a little help from our friend "Jim".

We went exploring on the peninsula after supper and took in what view we had. It was a bit cloudy, so there were "spectacular" views, but views along Turnagain Arm are pretty much beautiful every time.

Once done exploring, we turned in for the evening. I think the temperatures got down to the low 30's, but nothing intolerable. When we awoke the next morning we took our time with breakfast and then broke camp to begin the trek back. The going was much easier this time, most likely because we knew what to expect. It felt like it didn't take as long, either. We stopped for lunch at an overlook of Halfway Island. That was really nice. Scott is so good with preparing all of the food and taking care of much of that. I just take the pictures...




---

Bird Creek:

Scott, Jilene and I went overnight to Bird Creek. Bird is along Turnagain Arm. It has nice campsites, not too crowded. We had some fish for supper and eggs for breakfast.

We tried to explain to Jilene how to take care of one's self when nature calls....wow... Then we also taught her how to blow snot rockets...cuz how many times when you're in the outdoors do you have to blow your nose, but there's no tissue?? Happens to me all the time...

All in all it was a fun experience. Jilene got to ride her bike some along a trail. We'll get her off those training wheels soon enough.






---

Flattop:

My first hike up this trail. Flattop is the most climbed mountain in the state of Alaska...and it should not have taken me over a year to do it. But I suppose that's just a part of my goal this summer: to get outdoors as much as possible and to do as much hiking/backpacking/camping as possible. I'm sure I'll do Flattop again this summer, too. I went up there with my friends Zac and Joshua. I hadn't hiked with either of them before, but I would certainly do it again! They both really relish the outdoors and are a lot of fun to hang out with.

Zac was like a bullet up the mountain, while Joshua and I took our time. For me, being out of shape, I was going to be the slowest one up there. But for Joshua, who has done a TON of hiking in his day, was taking it slow to take in the scenery.

When we made it to the top, we all just hung out for about an hour and a half or so, just laying around, taking in the scenery. Finally we decided to walk around, explore a little bit and then head down the mountain. We took a different route on the way down, which was a good way to take in another view of the Chugach. On the way up our view was of Turnagain Arm and of Anchorage.

All in all, it was a really lovely hike and one that I look forward to again in the future.