Road Test: Driving and Hiking in Seward

This week's Alaskan Adventure took us to Seward to hike Caines Head trail and see the sights on the beautiful drive down. It was a much lighter excursion than last week, a mere 3 miles round trip but the terrain and sights were varied. So far every hike has exposed us to different terrain -rocky mountain sides, dense forest trails, creekside walks, tundra-esque valleys, and now northern rain forest and shale beaches.
I played dj on the drive up. We started with choice selections of Johnny Cash to commence our journey. Next was a touch of Neil Diamond, one of my all-time favorites. Since it was a day after my birthday and Brian saw the trip as one of my presents (I've been begging to drive to Seward and hike) I felt no restraints on passenger etiquette and sang my heart out along with all my favorite tunes. Thankfully Brian didn't complain or put a plastic bag over my head. After Neil we grooved to Jim Croce, and I flipped through two of my birthday presents: A HUGE Rand McNally road atlas and "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" -the U.S. and Canada version. We plan to map out our road trip south and hit as many of those sites as we can, within reason. I was in heaven!
We drove into Seward and went straight to the trailhead. Okay, we sort of went straight there. I got a little lost and gave Brian bad directions, but we only had to turn around twice! And as I always say, the nice thing about driving is you can always turn around.

Our hike in was easy, quiet and solitary, only passing a few hikers on their way back out. Those of you who've hiked the trail before know that about 1.3 miles in there is a bridge over a small river with a stunning view as it spills into the ocean just a stone's throw away. Savannah and Smoke found a yellow lab to play with and it's owner to bother. We were sure Savannah decided she found a better family because she crossed over the river and played with the lab for near half and hour and it took Brian ages to get her to cross back to us and leave the poor man and his dog alone. In retrospect it was pretty funny, though I feel bad we interrupted his solitude.
Along the beach I was delighted to find a patch of wild iris. They were stunning in their natural environment! How sublime to be surrounded by sea, mountains, rain forest -all of this pristine beauty- AND gorgeous wildflowers that I normally pay $12 bucks for a small bunch at the store (which of course wilt in a few days.) Instead we've captured some of our favorite views which will never fade, wilt or erode and we can treasure them forever.
We walked along the shale beach for a ways. A group of kayakers paddled back into the harbor after a tour of the coast. Several otters played on their backs and splashed about. Savannah got schooled by a large spaniel that bounded around it's three human companions sitting on a pile of driftwood enjoying the sea air. Smoke kept getting himself lost in the tall, hardy grass growing along the beach. I kept staring at the ground in hopes of finding some treasures from the sea (with no such luck.)
We walked inland to pick up the trail back and passed a small animal carcass half submerged in the little creek that fed into the sea. It looked to be the size of a cat and was well decomposed. We didn't stay long to inspect it, hoping the dogs would ignore it and thankfully they did.
Back on the trail we walked through a forest who's spruce branches were covered in thick tufts of moss. We appeared to have been transported to the Moon of Endor (okay, where are my Star Wars fans?) It was a beautifully spacious and strange piece of woods -the oddest we've ever been in. As we recrossed the bridge and made our way up the trail we came upon a large group of young kids and chaperons. This time it was Smoke's turn to abandon us and pick a more favorable crew and once again Brian had to follow him, leash him and run back up the hill to catch up with us. But you can't blame Smoke, he found people his size! We'll soon give him a little guy to play with.
One very hungry pregnant woman and her hubby finally made it back to the car and the new mission was finding a place for fish and chips. We drove around and finally decided upon a dive in the "downtown" area right next to the candy shop that was at the top of my list of places to visit in Seward. It was your typical greasy spoon joint, complete with "regulars" at the horseshoe counter by the kitchen. The faux brick and decorative copper molds were a bit much, though. It looked more like a set than a functional kitchen area, but in a hokey way it had some charm. The food, on the other hand, was truly disappointing. We managed to choke down some inferior pieces of fried halibut, chicken and french fries, washed down with tiny diner mugs of coffee. I won't slander the name, but if you want fish and chips stay down by the marina.
Unfortunately I was too full to contemplate getting any delicious ice cream or freshly made chocolates at the candy store next door, so we just took a gander at the sweets. Okay, fine, I contemplated dessert and Brian even asked if I wanted some, but after eating a pint of grease I didn't have much of an appetite. We poked around in a few touristy stores along the block and viewed some of the vendor booths set up in the side streets. Every 4th of July Seward hosts the Mount Marathon race and hundreds of people drive in, hence vendors making the most of all the hubbub. The race takes runners up Mount Marathon -several thousand feet up-, hitting the peak, then basically sliding back down on the lose shale rock. It's insane. Even Brian had the sense to see it was crazy, and that's saying a lot.
We drove to a viewing point of Exit Glacier on our way out of town in order to catch one more spectacular view. The vast expanse of glacial silt and rock ground up by the glacier was astounding. Once again, glorious views and a great big chunk of ice thousands of years old. Simply amazing.
Summit Lake Lodge -a MUST to stop at. My dad used to stop here every time we drove up this way -he absolutely loved it. The woodsy cabin toasty warm inside with the grand rock fireplace and friendly wait staff -plus the food was delicious and only got better over the years. The lodge sits on the edge of a lovely mountain lake and affords an absolutely picturesque view so you can enjoy your coffee and pie (as I did) while gazing wistfully at the serene beauty.
We had a marvelous time be-bopping down the road listening to our classic rock and country, making plans for the future, drinking in the delicious views with the dogs passed out in the back seat. I am so glad we got to go to make this trip before we left. It was one of my dad's favorite spots to take us as kids, often stopping at any (and I mean ANY) body of water to do a bit of fishing, and of course a meal at Summit Lake Lodge. As the last Cameron in Alaska I feel like I'm leaving a lot of special, if not sacred, places behind. Being able to visit them one last time before we move continues to bring me much needed closure and peace. I am also very glad I can share these memories and special places with Brian and am so thankful to have a partner who is so supportive and understanding. We are already planning pieces of a family trip we want to take when Wilder's old enough to enjoy traveling up to Alaska so he can experience what I've grown up with and loved so much. All in all we had another wonderful Alaskan Adventure. Where will it be next week? Tune in to see...

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.