Gear List

Here are two good links about gear. We'll be doing a gear check when Blythe comes to visit in early June.

www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/chilkoot/activ/activ1a/activ1e.aspx
www.packerexpeditions.com/chilkoot-trail/suggested-equipment-list

Take a good look at the lists and make a note of the things you have. Be sure to bring them to the check so that we can note the condition/weight and decide if we need something more suitable.

Hike Logistics

Here is our itinerary for our upcoming hike. I filled it in as much as possible, but there may be a few holes that the rest of you will need to flesh out. I consulted old emails and receipts, so this is as accurate as the information I had in my inbox. Feel free to update and change anything as needed.

Thursday, July 5 -

• 10 AM - Blythe arrives in Fairbanks.

• Noon-ish - Begin the drive to Haines (approximately an 8-11 hour drive).

Friday, July 8 -

• PM - Arrive in Haines, lodge at Amanda's friends' house.

Saturday, July 7 -

• 2 PM - Take the ferry from Haines to Skagway (Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry).
• PM - Lodge at Alaska Sojourn Hostel (bring CASH).

Sunday, July 8 - 

• Early AM - Pick up trail permits (Trail Center, downtown Skagway). Have booking number and documentation handy.
• Early AM - Pick up train tickets (White Pass Depot, downtown Skagway). Have your receipt and confirmation number handy.
• AM - Take Frontier Excursions shuttle from Skagway to Dyea.
• AM/PM - Begin hiking the trail.   
• PM - Reach Finnegan's Point (4.81 miles).

 Monday, July 9 -

• AM - Break camp, comtinue hiking.
• PM - Reach Sheep Camp (6.94 miles).

Tuesday, July 10 -

• Early AM - Break camp, continue hiking.
• PM - Border crossing.
• Late PM - Reach Happy Camp (8.75 miles).

Wednesday, July 11 -

• Late AM/Early PM - Break camp, continue hiking.
• PM - Reach Deep Lake (2.5 miles).

Thursday, July 12 -

• AM - Break camp, continue hiking.
• PM - Reach Bare Loon Lake (6 miles).

Friday, July 13 -

• AM - Break camp, continue hiking.
• 2 PM - Train leaves from Bennett to Skagway.
• PM - Stay the night at the Historic Skagway Inn.

Saturday, July 14 -

• 8 AM - Catch ferry from Skagway to Haines (Haines-Skagway Fast Ferry).
• AM - Blythe leaves with Dustun; the rest of us drive home.

Annual Hike?

The Camino de Santiago may be out for a few more years, but what about making our trips an annual thing?

On one of our recent hikes Loda, Amanda, and I decided that we needed to do this again next year. I'm sure if Blythe were there she would have agreed, too. Amanda suggested Resurrection Pass Trail/Historic Iditarod (Crow Pass) Trail, a 26-mile trail running from Girdwood to Eagle River. It takes only a few days to hike it. Maybe we'll even be able to get a few other people to travel with us!


Here is some very general information about it from the Chugach State Park website. There you can also find a historical guide and a map of the trail.

Historic Iditarod (Crow Pass) Trail 
Access: Eagle River Nature Center, or from Girdwood take Crow Creek Road to road end and Crow Creek Trailhead (managed by Chugach Nat'l. Forest).
 
Travel Means: Foot only.
 
Distance: 26 miles or 50 kilometers one way. See Special Features for shorter hike options along this trail.
 
Elevation Gain: 2500 feet or 762 meters to pass from Crow Creek Trailhead, 3500 feet or 1067 meters to pass from Eagle River Trailhead.
 
Difficulty: Easy to difficult.
 
Special Features: Trail follows historic Iditarod supply route. Mining ruins, spectacular views of peaks, glaciers. Much wildlife. Excellent day hikes from either end or spend a few days and hike trail length. Unabridged stream and river crossings can be difficult. Shorter hikes from Nature Center include: to Echo Bend (easy), 3 miles one way; to Heritage Falls (easy, large falls across river), 4.5 miles one way; Twin Falls (moderate, stream crossings, beaver ponds, waterfalls), 9 miles one way. This area closed to hunting, rich in wildlife - moose, beaver, bears, sheep, eagles. Hikes from Crow Creek include: to mine site (moderate, steep) 2 miles one way; to Crystal Lake and USFS cabin (moderate, steep, spectacular, reservations required for cabin) 3 miles one way; to pass and Raven Glacier (moderate, spectacular) 4 miles one way.
 
Winter: From Nature Center to Eagle Glacier or Ford site: Skiing on river surface, gravel bars up valley is often very good, avalanche free, overflow prone. From Crow Creek to Eagle Glacier or Ford Site: Very avalanche prone. Not recommended.

Hiking Schedule

Amanda was kind enough to plan out a hiking schedule for us from now until "T-Day" ("Trail Day"). Even though this has been sent to everyone (and a few others who like to hike), I thought it might be a good idea to put it here just in case anyone needs to reference it and doesn't want to go through their emails. This schedule will be updated as needed, since Blythe will be coming to visit in early June and some of the hikes are still TBA.

Sunday May 20 - Murphy Dome - Meet at my house at 11am for a 1-2 hour hike involving a big butt-busting climb. 

Thursday May 24 - 7pm - Moose Creek Bluff with the Fairbanks Hiking Club. 

This hike is about 2 hours and goes through forested areas over the bluff and across the flood plain. NEW MEETING PLACE: Due to road construction on the Richardson Highway, we will meet at the parking area off of Lawrence Road before the entrance to Chena Lakes REC area. From Fairbanks head south on the Richardson Highway, through North Pole, and take the Busby Road offramp. Turn left under the highway and immediately right on the frontage road following the signs to the Chena Recreation Area. Shortly after passing Nelson road (on the left) the road makes a sharp curve to the left, look for a parking lot on the left just after the curve.  

Saturday May 26 - Hiking club at Granite Tors. They are doing an overnighter but day hikers are welcome. 10am at the trail head for a day hike. I think we should meet at Bobbi's house at 8:45am and car pool. 

Thursday May 31 - Ester Dome at 7pm. Meet at the intersection of Ester Dome Road and Upper Henderson Road. Follow Sheep Creek Road to Ester Dome Road, then up about 3 miles to Henderson. This hike lasts about 2 hours and has some great views of the Tanana Valley. 

Saturday June 2 - Tentative - 10am gear check and hike on Murphy Dome - to the top - 6 miles - OR - Wickersham Dome if gear check to happen June 10.

Thursday June 7 - TBA - Hiking club or trails off of Ballaine Road - Meet at the end of Meadow Mouse Lane at 7pm. 

Sunday June 10 - Tentative - 10am gear check and hike on Murphy Dome - to the top - * If gear check has already happened then Wickersham Dome (Meet at Bobbi's House at 9am and car pool. )

Thursday June 14 - TBA

Saturday June 16 - Donnelly Dome. We could drive down early in morning. It's about three hours away. Or we could sleep at our cabin at Summit Lake on Friday night and try and bang out this hike first thing Saturday morning.

Thursday June 21 - Birch Hill or Ester Dome.

Saturday June 23 - * Overnight hike* Mt. Healy trail and camp at Denali Park. Or Wickersham Dome, which involves an 8-mile hike to a shelter and again in the morning. 

Thursday June 28 - Isberg Trails - 7pm - Park at the pullout on the right about a mile down Isberg Road from Chena Ridge Road. Follow Chena Ridge Road to Isberg Road, then Isberg Road to the pullout on the right at about 1/3 mile.

Saturday June 30 - TBA - overnight?

Thursday July 5 - We leave for the Chilkoot Trail.

Chilkoot Dreams

I had a strange dream while in Anchorage that I thought I'd share with the rest of you. Amanda had pointed out that it might be anxiety over the upcoming hike. Anyway, let's see what you think:

We were getting ready to hike, but the Chilkoot Trail looked more like the Himalayas. Drifts of snow were everywhere and it was pretty cold. I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and my backpacked looked more like a day-runner's pack. There were 20 of us waiting to go up the hill, but as we started to line up to get moving, I realized that we had forgotten our permits. And then I realized that I had forgotten my passport. I started freaking out and fretting about not being able to pass the border.

All in all, it was a rather silly dream and I woke up more amused than frightened or worried. Anyone else having crazy hiking dreams?