Last weekend we went on our first backpacking trip in Alaska! The group consisted of 5 students in the REU (research experience for undergraduates) program, and Aria, an amazing Bear Dog. We went to Chugach State Park - only a few miles away from Anchorage. I was surprised to not see a single person in such a beautiful place so close to the city. Here's Allison, who's working on a research project about treeline ecology and global climate change, focusing on mosses and lichen, and yours truly, resting on some ridge.
The great thing about Alaska in the summer is that you can keep hiking late into the night, without worrying about getting lost in the dark. So on Friday night, we got a ride to the trailhead at around 7 p.m., hiked over a small mountain called The Dome and set up camp in a saddle between two mountains. We sang songs and played harmonica (there may have been some whiskey involved), and then, around midnight, watched the sun dip towards the horizon, lighting Anchorage on fire in a distant valley. Aria set up a perimeter around our tents and guarded us from bears all night.
When we awoke the next morning, a fog had settled into the saddle. We could see only several feet in from of us, and finding or way to the next destination proved to be a challenge. Eventually we did find our way to Kenoya peak. Here's a photograph of us hiking on a ridge that's floating above the fog:
Saturday night we camped on the shore of Long Lake. I woke up to cries of seagulls. I crawled out of my tent, stiff and sore form the hike and from being crammed in between Allison and Michelle in a 2-person tent, and was astounded by the mountains' reflection in the lake.
On our hike out we saw a wolverine. The tundra was alive with tiny flowers and butterflies. We all got our boots wet crossing the south fork of the Campbell River - which flows out of Long Lake. Back in Anchorage, our research project is beginning to take shape. And I've got a million things to do until next Friday, when it's back to the mountains again.
Alice that sounds so cool. I can't beleive there is such beautiful moutains to camp in just outside of ancorage. I hope you have fun working and hiking!
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