Blustery Hiking

Blizzard on the East Side.

What do the Divas do in the off-season? Some of us continue to bike, but sometimes it's fun to leave the bike at home and get the boots onto the ground for a little hiking. Maybe snow-hiking. Maybe blizzard-condition hiking.

Gloria, Bev, Rose

Early Wednesday afternoon Gloria, Bev and I headed to the state park trailhead that's about 2-1/2 miles up Campbell Airstrip Road to do a little hike along the north side of the Campbell Creek gorge, connecting to the Wolverine Bowl Trail.

The wind was blowing sideways with a Chinook that increased the temperature to 39 degrees by the time we began to hike. The soft snow packed down under our feet giving good traction. Blowing snow flew into our faces and it sometimes felt like being jabbed with 100 pine needles all at one time. Luckily, I had my gaitor. Luckily, it wasn't always gusting at 70 miles per hour. Sometimes it was just windy.

And luckily none of us wanted to change plans, because despite the winds, or maybe because of the winds, it was a beautiful day to hike. The creek is starting to freeze over. The trees bent under the winds that howled through the spruce. Ravens played on the currents. Golden grass swayed alongside the trail.

Overflow on the Campbell Creek.

berries & thorns

On the return trip to the trailhead, not even two hours after we started, our tracks had been covered with blown snow. Later in the day, the sun began peaking through the clouds leaving a golden light in the southwestern sky. Winter in Alaska.


posted by Rose