Following the Little Su

The drive up to Palmer always reminds me of being shrunken down and placed in a miniature display. The mountains look like the three bears should be walking along on their hind legs, dressed in shirts and hats, passing Heidi on her way to tend her grandfather's goats, waving hello to the seven dwarfs, and so on. The trees seem so tiny and the hills so soft and gentle -until you see Pioneer Peak and the other craggy mountains with their sheer cliff faces. Then the storybook/train-miniature look ends.



This week's hike was traveling along the Little Susitna (Lil' Su) River near Hatcher's Pass. It took us in the opposite direction of our previous hikes and we enjoyed the northern voyage. Once again, new terrain and exquisite views awaited us.


We passed farm upon little farm traveling down Fishhook Road just outside of Palmer. Horses, cows, bales of hay all dotting the rolling valley made me feel like we were in middle America but the surrounding mountains gave a strong taste of Switzerland. Okay, so put the two together and you've got Alaska.

As Fishhook curved it's way around we found ourselves driving alongside the absolutely stunning Lil' Su. The large, Micha boulders were smoothed down from centuries of rushing glacial water and each looked precisely placed, as if a landscape artist had strategically set each one. The crisp, turquoise water churned milky white as it poured over the rocks. The sight made me so thirsty I finished half my water bottle in three minutes.

We found the trail head and used all of Brian's nickles and dimes to pay the $5 park fee since we forgot to bring cash. The view from the parking lot was so magnificent I could hardly wait to see what the hike brought! Not far into the trail we came across a group of (what we deduced to be) college age parks & trails maintenance volunteers taking a break from their work.
Savannah, the dog that had a bath the night before, found lots of stagnant pools of muck along the way and drenched herself, belly down, in smelly water and proceeded to greet every young worker. She nearly stepped on the head of one exhausted fellow resting alongside the trail.
Not long after we found two beaver dams in a small pond. Engulfed by the mountains, the quaint scene was once again straight from Storybook Land.

Savannah had a blast running around (and through) the pond while Smoke pranced around the outskirts.


The wildflowers were brilliant and this valley's theme was blue. I checked out an Alaska Wildflower Guide from the library and looked up several of my favorite blossoms. Among them were Monkshood, Wild Geranium and Western Columbine. The Geranium were so plentiful it was tempting to scoop up an armful and decorate the kitchen table with them, but since I knew they'd wilt in the car AND that it was illegal... I simply and thoroughly enjoyed the fields of flowers as we hiked along.

Continuing down the path we passed a cute scene of three generations: grandmother, mother and infant. They had stopped to take pictures of mother and baby and I was about to say, "Oh, I want to be just like you in a few months!" when their two big dogs started hunting Smoke and Savannah chased merrily behind them. Brian literally had to pick Smoke up, who was 100 yards down the trail in the wrong direction, and catch back up with Savannah and I once I had separated her from her rowdy new friends.

Not long after, we passed an elderly couple who fawned over the dogs and seemed in a positively euphoric mood. How refreshing and inspiring to see a man and woman so happy spending time together out in nature being so active -and so forward in years. I wondered how far they had hiked in and, again, nearly said, "Oh, I want to be just like you...(if I live that long.)" Well, their picture of good health and activity is a great reminder that if you take care of yourself, God willing, you'll be able to enjoy life and all it's blessings much longer and more fully.

Our most dramatic encounter happened to be with a small bit of wildlife. I heard a high pitched chirping which became louder as we continued. It sounded an awful lot like a cricket. Though Anchorage and the surrounding area isn't a popular place for those fellas to hang out (in my experience) I had heard them around before, but not as loud as this.
A few feet ahead we nearly ran over the producer of all the racket. A little -and very determined- bird stood firmly on the path. It chirped steadily at us, proclaiming we had to pay the toll to pass (I think) but since I didn't have any bird seed and was significantly larger than it was, we took it's picture and passed. On our return it was still there and nearly scared Smoke right out of his skin. The dogs didn't even notice the poor little thing and when Smoke came upon it the bird's little tussling of feathers and noise made our brave little dog (ahem) jump two feet straight into the air.

The tall brush, dwarfish cottonwood, willow and alder hugged the path making it difficult to walk through. If we had brought pruning shears with us we'd have cleared the trail to a manageable level, but would have been there forever. We found a lovely bend in the river with stunning views of daunting peaks in the distant and declared it our halfway point.
Brian dubbed this tremendous chunk of scary rocks Mordor after the Lord of the Rings. It truly was a magnificent and awesome site. Click on the photo to see it close up (if you haven't already discovered that neat trick.)

Of course Brian had to find a rock to stand on in the middle of the river. It's just tradition with him. Smoke nervously followed after and joined him as Kings of the Boulder. Savannah couldn't be bothered for group pictures, there were too many spots to splash around.

Intriguing conversation dominated our return down the trail. Though neither of us can remember what we talked about I know it was interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it! We passed the young park volunteers once again as they packed up their gear, preparing to call it a day. Knowing the end was near we paused to drink in the scenery (and not worry about our footing on the occasionally mucky trail.) I moved in for a romantic moment with Brian, we kissed, and as I opened my eyes (after the symphony began to play in my head) I saw the volunteers marching towards us with embarrassed looks. Oh, well. We booked it back down the trail, my cheeks a tad pinker than usual. We finished our fifth weekly hike with an early dinner at Palmer's Colony Kitchen and Noisy Goose Cafe (that's all one place for those of you not familiar with the restaurant.) It was another of my dad's favorite spots to stop for a bite whenever heading north. The walls are covered with sarcastic and funny saying painted on little signs and stuffed ducks and geese are mounted on the wall or dangle from the ceiling. Oddly enough, goose is not on the menu.

On a note of recommendation, I suggest taking this hike a little earlier in the season BEFORE the cottonwood seeds. The air was filled with "snow" as the seeds were tossed by the constant breeze. They find their way tangled in your eyelashes (even with sunglasses on), up your nose and definitely in your throat. Between battling off the encroaching shrubs along the path, the swarms of various sized insects and the flying cottonwood seeds, the hike did slightly resemble Frodo's journey to the treacherous mountains at Mordor. Thankfully our foes were tamer and only sought to annoy as opposed to destroy.

Of course we had a lovely time overall. Blessed with fine weather and excellent new sights, I am so glad we headed north for a new adventure. Join us next week as we hope to bring along Erica for our upcoming journey!