The Adventures Continue, 22 weeks

Last year I hiked Crow Pass with Erica Colliander, Tim and Katie (Pichon) Hellman, and Savannah. I remember it being a relatively challenging hike in late May, a tad chilly, darn hilly, but all in all not too difficult and a very refreshing experience. Well, add baby weight to the same girl doing the same hike and we're talking a whole different ball game. It was pretty tough this time around, but, my, was it gorgeous!

Honestly, we couldn't have picked a more beautiful day! We left Anchorage by 10 am and headed out to Girdwood on a stunning drive. That stretch of road is my favorite in all the Anchorage area. The majestic mountains plunging straight into the brilliant water, the rocky cliffs with waterfalls streaming off -and all of this seen on a road that hugs that landscape as close as a glove.

I knew this was a relatively tough up hill climb, but had forgotten what a 2,000 ft. rise over three miles felt like. We steadily plodded upwards and cleared the dwarfish tree line after about 20 minutes. The view was stunning from the very start. To our south lay the inlet surrounded by mountains and to our north -straight ahead- lay a gorgeous stream and mountains layered upon more mountains.

About an hour into the hike we came upon snow. Yes, snow -at the end of June. Yeah, Al Gore, we're real believers in your global warming hoo-hah. Savannah and Smoke were absolute riots slipping and sliding down the hillside and prancing around in the snow.

We soon arrived at the remnants of the old mine and saw rusty bits of this and that which had been brought up at the turn of the century. It was hard enough for me just to hike to that point (only 1.7 miles up) and astounding to think of these old timers hauling all their gear AND huge pieces of machinery this far. The trail was used by miners passing though the area, pursuing veins in the mountains up and beyond where we were before this one was ever constructed. Apparently it ran from 1909 to 1939. Interesting to see history in the wilderness.

We kept climbing and climbing. I thought our destination was always just over this last hill, but it never was -well, until much later. With wobbly legs and laborious steps I managed to finally get to the last little climb before we reached the mountain valley where Crow Pass Cabin was, 3 miles up. Nearly at the top of the climb we crossed the stream that we could hear throughout our hike but had been far below us or streaming off the treacherously steep hillside.

Brian found a boulder in the middle of the stream and paused while the dogs splashed around. The view from there was stunning.

Our last little leg up, then we finally arrived at the cabin. Time for our lunch break!


Half a mile further up on a mild incline we walked to a spectacular viewing point of Raven Glacier. The view was breathtaking. I was so thankful I pushed myself to make it to our destination, even though I was pretty sure I'd have jelly legs on the steep way down and be sore the next day.


We made our descent on a trail that slowly goes down the mountainside instead of the steep one we used which basically went straight up. Most of this trail was broken rock and very little dirt. We had to cross two steep mountain streams, one still partially covered in snow. It was a very steep way down so footing was everything.

One of the funniest groups of people we encountered was on our way back. They ranged from early 60's to early teens, about 9 of them, all with plastic cups partially filled with what looked like grape juice. As we got closer it was apparent this folks were sharing a bottle of wine during a break on the hillside. I've heard of guys bringing up a few bottles of beer and sticking them in a glacial pool for a crisp, refreshing beverage, but this was too funny -but also seemed very fitting for a group of Alaskan hikers. As the Last Frontier has become more cultured and wine tastings are the norm it seems all too appropriate to find a group enjoying a fine bottle of Chianti while surveying the majesty of our great state. Still, seeing a 13 year old with a plastic cup of wine was a bit odd.

Our descent was, of course, much quicker than our ascent and we made excellent time. All in all our adventure was 7 miles and about 4 hours. Our longest hike yet. I told Brian that was the most strenuous hike I wanted to go on while pregnant but in retrospect meeting the challenge was so invigorating and so empowering that I'm having second thoughts about finding the easy trails after this. We had an awesome adventure with plenty of pictures capturing the majesty of the wilderness. The wonderful memory of this hike will stay with me for a long time.