Gull Rock Trail Hike

A group of five of us hiked Gull Rock Trail yesterday. It was amazingly beautiful. I'm still enraptured daily by the beauty that surrounds me here. I don't understand how some people can live in Alaska their whole lives and never go anywhere or do anything. I can't imagine living here and NOT getting outdoors. There's so much to do here: biking, hiking, walking trails, sightseeing, backpacking, camping, fishing... the list goes on and on, and somehow doesn't include television and video games! AMAZING!

The hike was a little over 10 miles round trip. Not a lot of elevation, but with as little hiking as I've done this spring so far, it was still a bit strenuous for me. There were sections that were muddy with tar looking mud. Of course, the dog decided she needed to lay down in every mud puddle. Here's a great blurb about the trail: http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/seward/rec/trails/gull.htm

There were sections of the trail that were still patched with thick sheets of ice. We had to cross several streams across ice bridges. I wish I could put all the pictures here and walk through each step of the hike (there are some pictures on my gallery page). But, the hike took almost 4 1/2 hours round trip, a little too much to write a step-by-step account. All the aches I'm feeling right now were worth it. It was an amazing experience. The weather was wonderful, low to mid 70s (yes, we even hit 70 in Alaska), slight breeze, blue skies with an occassional cloud. It was the perfect day, and one I'd relive over and over, if I wasn't looking forward so much to every single day I experience here!

This weekend, we are doing 2 hikes. We are doing a night hike of Southfork on Saturday, and a day hike on Sunday of Turnagain Arm. I'm excited. One thing the hike of Gull Rock has convinced me of is that I REALLY need to walk more and get in better shape. We are planning to do the 24 mile hike of Crow Pass from Girdwood to Eagle River in mid June. That will be a two day trip, with a camp over at the half way mark. I don't want to be lagging so far behind that I become bear bait!

So many trails, so much time to do them all! I LOVE living here!