After our repairing our flat tire on the way out of Whittier, we arrived at the Alyeska Hotel, a gem in Girdwood. The hotel is really beautiful and nestled in the mountains with various trails nearby. We spent the day hiking on another clear and warm day in Alaska.
We began with a roughly 7 mile hike to Winner Creek. There were some incredible rivers and lush forests in Chugach State Park. It was an easy hike with gentle rises and falls in elevation to the river.
After returning from the Winner River hike, my wife and daughter went back to the hotel and I decided to tackle the North Face hike. This is a roughly 3 mile hike (if you count the road before the trail) that goes straight up the side of Mt. Alyeska. That is a 2000 foot climb in a very short period of time. It is extremely challenging if you are doing the climb rather than the descent. You can ride the tram up the mountain and walk down. If you choose, as I did, to climb the mountain, the tram ride is free coming down. I did this hike three years ago and it kicked my middle-aged rear end. This was a hot day and making it to the top was a chore. Unfortunately, I just missed the little shop selling sodas and cold water but a fast tram down soon allowed me to buy plenty of drinks. The views from the top however cannot be beat.
This is bear country. While I did not buy Bear spray on my last trip to Alaska, I did so this time since I was hiking with my wife and daughter. It is advised on this particular hike. I spotted plenty of bear prints and scat on both hikes.
It was a great day but I got back to the room dragging from the North Face hike.
What?! Nothing about your meals?? Living vicariously here, man.
lucky sob., i shoulda been a perfesser, here i am pushing paper, hoofing it to court, and scribbling on this blog for shtz and grinz
If you choose, as I did, to climb the mountain, the tram ride is free coming down. I did this hike three years ago and it kicked my middle-aged rear end.
Nice photos. I enjoy your travel diary. Glad your wife and daughter are with you. My older brother and his wife, both obese, traveled to Spain to hike El Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Two days into their trek they hired a taxi. At least you did not take the tram ascending
However you often write about your hikes though you do not disclose your training regimen or consistency therein. That you constantly tell us the hikes are challenging, even if you are well below the 7000 feet elevation where oxygen saturation levels decrease in hemoglobin, tell me your difficulty in hiking is not related to your lack of familiarity with the exercise. You do tell us often however about your feasting habits. Your age isn’t the problem. Disfrute.
Mens sana in corpore sano
Ate a very good elk dinner @ Alyeska.
Q: What’s the difference between black bear and grizzly scat?
A: Grizzly scat has bear spray dispensers in it.
Where was Joann Palin from? Alaska?