We spent the night at the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood and went out on the eighth day to hike in the wonderful mountains around the resort. We chose to do the more demanding North Face hike, which we made even more challenging by going off trail. It was incredible because on the top of the mountain we literally hiked through the clouds.
Category: Hikes
The highlight of the day (and perhaps the trip) was our kayaking to the Blackstone glacier. Once again, we followed the advice of our Alaska fairy Godmother, Judy White of RaftDenali, who suggested the Alaska Sea Kayakers. It was a truly religious experience as we kayaked through ice flows and visited various glaciers as they calved ice. We paddled around seals and hundreds of arctic birds in cold, steel blue waters. This is a very pricey trip (around $375 each) because you are transported with your kayaks to the glaciers and guided for the day. However, if you can cut corners on other expenses and swing the cost, this is very worth it. It was an experience that neither Jack nor I will forget. The beauty of this place is very hard to describe and should ideally be experienced from inside of a kayaking. While we were dead tired at the end (neither of us are kayakers), we were left in awe of the Prince William Sound and the glaciers.
Continue reading “DAY EIGHT (PART II): THE BLACKSTONE GLACIER”
We spent Day Five with our final hike in Denali National Park.  The rain had passed over and the day was beautiful and warm for Alaska.  We said farewell to our friends at RaftDenali and our cabin over the river.  We then went to the Park with the intention of hiking the Savage River trail. However, the trail was closed due to an aggressive Grizzly Bear.  We therefore went to Plan B and did the more challenging Mount Healy trail. It proved a wonderful move for the quintessential Denali hike.
Day four of our Alaskan adventure was focused on the immense beauty of Denali Naitonal Park. Â As an avid hiker, Denali has been a dream of mine for many years. Â Famous for Mt. McKinley (recently changed by the Obama Administration to Mount Denali to the chagrin of the Ohio delegation), the highest mountain in North America at 20,310 feet, the park is an icon of American natural conservation. Â It is breathtaking in size and beauty —Â Â 1,334,200 acres of pristine tundra, glaciers, rock and forest. Â It was everything that we dreamed it would be as we hit the trails of Denali.
We had a wonderful day in Anchorage with perfect weather in the 70s and sunny. This is such a cool city. The city is ringed by beautiful mountains and the vegetation is lush. The city itself has some funky neighborhoods and endless things to do from biking to nature tours to sea plane rides. We made this our bike and hike day. It proved a brilliant choice.
I returned this weekend from a glorious time in the Land of Enchantment after speaking to the New Mexico Conclave in Albuquerque of federal, state, and tribal judges and lawyers. I stayed an extra day to hike in New Mexico, an area of unique and breathtaking trails. After looking forward for weeks to my planned hikes, I was crushed to fly into Albuquerque over a raging forest fire. In watching the massive fire from the plane I thought that my hiking plans were shot. I then learned that the temperatures would be in triple digits. Nevertheless, I was able to do two magnificent hikes and look a lot of pictures.
One of my favorite regular hikes is Billy Goat Trail at dawn on the weekends in Maryland. For a few weeks, the trail has been closed due to snow melt. However, you are able to still do the Towpath. Yesterday, the trail was open and glorious. I wanted to share a few pictures of the high water from the last couple weeks. I am making plans for a couple of great hikes this year, including a hiking and travel blog to Alaska where I have to give a speech. First, I hope to do my Spring hike on Old Rag Mountain in the coming weeks.
Yesterday morning a dawn, I walked one of my favorite trails — Billygoat trail in Maryland. There was a thick fog along the Potomac and it created the feeling of hiking through a Monet.
Yesterday, I took my annual Fall hike up Old Rag Mountain near Sperryville, Virginia. I hike Old Rag a couple times a year and it is always spectacular. This is one of the most challenging hikes in Virginia but it is worth the effort of the long climb up to the summit. The best time is in the fall when the forest looks like a Monet painting. It takes a full day to get to the trail and take the long trail up the mountain, over the rock scramble, and down through the forest floor. However, as tired as your legs will be, it is truly rejuvenating for the tired urban soul. Having just hiked the Wasatch Mountain in Utah (yes, it is bizarre to be able to climb mountains in Virginia and Utah in roughly the same week), I wanted to tackle Old Rag before it became too cold. Yesterday was ideal with temps in the 70s (after starting out in the 30s) and dry conditions.
Yesterday, I flew from Chicago to Utah for a conference at the Utah Valley University. As an avid hiker, I never miss an opportunity to hit the trails in Utah, one of my favorite places on Earth. One could spend a lifetime experiencing the natural wonders of Utah and only scratch the surface. On this trip, I went directly from the airport to hike the Wasatch Mountains, which were in full Fall glory. Given my flight, I started rather late to do the Red Pine trail, a challenging hike that takes you to the high ridge of this alpine hike where you can see two gorgeous lakes.
Today I leave (reluctantly) Utah and its immense beauty. After the final event at the the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University. I rushed back to the hotel and set off for a hike in the mountains around Sundance. As you have likely seen on television, the area has been inundated by rains that produced massive flashing flooding in some parts of the state. However, the rain abated in the afternoon and I took off for the trails. It was spectacular.
Yesterday, we did one last hike up Yosemite Valley’s Mist Trail to Vernal Falls — a steep but truly breathtaking hike to the top of one of the waterfalls in the Park. It was spectacular, including a gorgeous rainbow at the bottom of the falls.
We have just returned from a glorious hike in Yosemite National Park. While the temperature stayed at 100 degrees and the sun was blazing, we had an amazing time hiking to one of the waterfalls near the O’Shaughnessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy. You cross the dam and go through a great tunnel to start the hike.
Yesterday I celebrated my birthday on the 6th with a birthday hike on one of my favorite trails: Old Rag in the Shenandoah. Since it was raining the day before (the reason for the the belated hike), there was a deep fog blanketing the mountain. It produced a truly enchanting look in the forest as I climbed to the summit. At the summit, the sun suddenly appeared and burned away the fog — exposing the signature vista of the Old Rag.
I went on a nine-mile hike this morning at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland and wanted to share a few pictures. The spring blooms are in full display and the hike was glorious.