Hiking into the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

Ryan, me, John, and Katelyn at the trailhead

We started our trip with a night in the Brooks Camp Campground and then took the bus to The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. On our first day we hiked to the Baked Mountain Huts (~9-10 miles). Two other groups of backpackers got off the bus at the same time as us, but they had different destinations the first night.

We had great weather on our first day - not too sunny or windy. One of the trickier parts of this hike - the Lethe River crossing - was a breeze for us. The water was very low and we only got wet up to our shins. We arrived at the huts at the same time as a group of two who had already been in the valley for a few days.

Lethe River slot canyon

Lethe River

Crossing the Lethe River

The huts are just basic plywood shacks, but they offer protection from blowing pumice and rain, although we didn't really have either. For us, they were also a great centrally-located base camp and we enjoyed using the counters for cooking and wooden boxes for sitting.

Crossing the last stretch of valley floor before Baked Mountain

Climbing up to the huts along a well-worn bear trail

View of the outhouse and Trident volcanoes from the huts

View of Mt. Griggs from the door-less outhouse

Our hut

Cooking in the hut

This bunk was labeled Vladimir Putin

Back from Backpacking in Katmai National Park

View of Mt. Griggs from the Baked Mountain Huts

We just got back from a week of backpacking in Katmai starting in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and hiking over Katmai Pass to Katmai Bay where we were picked up by a small plane charter and flown to Kodiak. I've wanted to visit the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Novarupta, and the Katmai Caldera - the site of the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century - since I was a kid.

When I first started planning this trip last year, I thought we would do the typical backpacking trip into/around the valley and back to Brooks Camp, but at some point last winter while I was looking at a map, I got the harebrained idea to hike over Katmai Pass to Katmai Bay on the Pacific Coast. Katmai Pass is one of the lower passes of the Aleutian Range. It was a well-traveled trade route for Alaska Native peoples for thousands of years, but the trail itself was buried by ash and pumice during the eruption in 1912.

As our trip got closer I started to wonder what I had gotten us into and if our friends would ever want to go on a trip with me again if it turned out badly. However, we are all experienced backcountry travelers, were well-prepared, and we were incredibly lucky with the weather, bugs, and bears. It was warm, and we only had brief periods of rain and wind (and a tiny bit of hail). It did snow on us when were were at/near the Katmai Caldera, but you can't expect any less in the mountains in Alaska, even in summer.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and even Katmai Pass and Katmai Bay are landscapes like no other. I've read and read about the 1912 eruption, looked at hundreds of photographs in books and on the internet over the years, and studied the aerial imagery before our trip, but nothing prepared me for the massive amount of pumice that blanketed the landscape on both sides of the pass. It was truly impressive.

Here are just a few photos of our journey.

Novarupta - source of the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century

Ryan on the rim of the Katmai Caldera

Keller's plane (Deckload Aviation)  picking us up at Katmai Bay

Anniversary Backpacking Trip to Symphony Lakes

Eagle Lake

Last week we played hooky from work one day and went backpacking at Symphony Lakes for our anniversary. This area is literally out our front door in Eagle River (okay, we have a drive around the valley to get there) and an easy place to hike in to after work. The weather here has been abnormally hot and sunny and if there was ever a night to skip bringing a tent or shelter, this would have been it! Ryan wanted to try out our tent though since we've only used it once before, and the bugs were present, although not terrible, so it was good to have it.

We were surprised how many other people were up there backpacking in the middle of the week (as in we say 8 other people camped on the lake). The days are so long it doesn't cool off until very late and gets hot early early in the morning. While we were sitting around in our flip flops and shorts we kept saying "are we really in Alaska??"

On our second day we circumnavigated Eagle Lake and went over to Symphony for swim. Thank goodness there was a breeze or it would have been too hot for us!

Eating dinner at 9:30 at night

Harp Mountain to Hanging Valley Hike

Ryan taking a break on the way up Harp Mountain, looking down into Hanging Valley and the South Fork of Eagle River

Ryan overlooking Hanging Valley

Looking up Eagle River from  Eagle's Overlook

Ryan conveniently got home from Akutan on a Friday so we have the weekend to have fun and for him to re-acclimated to regular life, warm weather, and green vegetation. For his first full day home he picked a hike we've wanted to do for some time - Harp Mountain in the South Fork of Eagle River. For some extra fun (and training for our upcoming backpacking trip in Katmai), we traversed from Harp to Eagle's Overlook, then dropped down into Hanging Valley and followed the trail out. I haven't measured the distance yet, but it took us about seven hours.

The weather was absolutely perfect with the exception of a strong wind, but on the other hand that kept it from being too hot for these Alaskans. The only people we saw were during our climb up Harp - after that we didn't see a single person (partially because much of our route was off-trail). We had 360 degree views of the Chugach Range. The Alaska Range, Denali, and Foraker were also all clear, as was the far side of Cook Inlet. Such fantastic views so close to home!

Breaking in New Hiking Boots

Testing the waterproofness

I am breaking in a new pair of hiking boots before our Katmai trip at the end of the month. Why would I wait until only three weeks before our trip to get new hiking boots, you might ask? Well, there is an actual story.

I have wide feet, as you may know. A few years ago I found that Lowa made a wide boot that actually fit my feet (for the most part), and I bought a pair (and had them stretched in the width so that they fit better). They were leather with GoreTex and when I first used them they were perfectly waterproof. They were also very light weight and in general, I really liked them, as much as someone with double E feet can ever like a stiff boot. But, the waterproofness didn't last long and the stitching started to come apart. Despite those things, the soles still have A LOT of life left in them. I considered just getting a new pair, but I was afraid the same thing would happen again.

As far as I have found, there are only two brands that make a women's wide hiking boot, at least a serious hiking boot: Vasque and Lowa. Vasque makes two styles - I have tried them both and they are decidedly too narrow. Every few months I google the terms "women's wide hiking boot" in the hopes that someone has started to make a new one. After years of searching, I found that Lowa is indeed making a new women's wide boot, one that's even sturdier. Lowa didn't actually have any in stock though. I spent a couple of days searching high and low on the internet and finally found an online store in Oregon that had exactly one pair in my size/width.

I am very hopeful that these boots are going to work out for me. As far as I can tell the material looks much more likely to stay waterproof over time than my old boots. They are very tight in the toe box, but one can only expect so much from a stiff boot. When I hiked the Mt. Magnificent Trail with them last weekend I only got one tiny blister which isn't bad at all. Let's hope it only gets better from there!

Mt. Magnificent Attempt

We are having absolutely incredible weather for still being May. Officially it was only 72 degrees in Anchorage today, but the thermometer at my house read 87. It's amazing how hot that can seem when you're not used to it!

With such amazing weather and so little snow I can't resist the mountains! I went for a hike with my friends Wynne and Nicolai on the Mile Hi Pass Trail. I've never been all the way to Mt. Magnificent, so that was our goal. However, once we got close, it became evident that the trail doesn't go all the way to Mt. Magnificent. Apparently most people stop at a small peak short of there. And we decided to as well. There was a little breeze, but it was still very hot for these three Alaskans.

We spent our fair share of time just sitting up in the alpine enjoying the incredible views of Eagle River Valley, Anchorage, the Chugach Mountains, and the Alaska Range. Every time I hike that ridge I think of how lucky I am to live somewhere where such incredible alpine hiking is accessible within a 15 minute drive and 30 min hike from my house.

We also ate cupcakes to celebrate Wynne's birthday!

Wynne and Nicolai getting our their bird identification book

Happy birthday Wynne!

Adventures in Akutan

I'm still in Akutan after leaving home nearly four weeks ago.  It feels like it has been a long time, I have watched the mountains start to turn green, performed countless hydrographic surveys and spent endless hours on the water.  Despite the long days I have had the chance to explore the island a little bit the over the last week.  The weather has improved from earlier this month and has been good for hiking.  Yesterday the view the top of the nearest mountain offered panoramic views.  Akutan Volcano was as clear as I have ever seen it.  From the top of the peak I climbed I could see Unalaska, Akun, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean.  The view was amazing!

We also had a chance to tour the old whaling station across the bay recently.  Apparently this was the only whaling station to ever exist in the Aleutians.  There are many rusty old rivited boilers and engines.  Its easy to find pieces of whale bones on the beach.  I would like to learn more about how the whales were processed at this site.

There was also a sad day this week.  A person from the facility here went missing.  The day after she was found to be missing we took the Miss Alyssa around the coast searching.  Unfortunately the woman was found deceased.  The weather was so calm the state troopers were came over from Unalaska in a skiff.

Breaks between surveys have also offered a little bit of time for fishing, touring the tub boat, and continuing to enjoy Jimmer's great food.

Bering Sea Scallops

Searching for the missing person from the Miss Alyssa

Alaska State Troopers skiff that come all the way to Akutan from Unalaska

Taking water samples!

Boilers at the Akutan Whaling Station

Cod I caught 

Akutan Volcano as seen from the peak I climbed

One of the engines in the tug boat

Camping at Hanging Lake

I went camping at Hanging Lake up the South Fork of Eagle River this weekend. It was a test-run for my brand new backpack I'll be taking on a week-long back country trip to Katmai in late June. It was good to see that my bear proof canister fit in there with my warm sleeping bag, but it is a tight fit. With some creativity and things strapped on the outside it should work. Plus, we'll be able to spread the communal gear among four of us in Katmai. All four of us will even have the same backpack - at least mine is a different color from the other three!

 New Osprey Exos pack - only 2 lbs 3 oz when empty!

When I headed out yesterday afternoon it was sprinkling, and it continued to rain all night, but I was cozy in my spacious two-person tent by myself. When I got up to Hanging Lake I was surprised that there was still ice on the lake and quite a bit of snow on the ground. I had forgotten that there is quite a bit of elevation difference between the lake and where we live in Eagle River. It was colder than I expected, but I was plenty warm in my zero degree (aka Alaskan summer) sleeping bag.

Hanging Lake

This morning the weather was a little better and once I started hiking out the sun stayed out and it was downright hot. There were tons of people once I got back to the main South Fork Trail. The last person I talked to before I got back to my car was not really having a great time. After we chatted for a minute I said "Enjoy your hike!" and started to head on my way when he replied "I'm done hiking already. To tell the truth, I hate this crap. I was never an outdoorsman." ....How do you respond to that??? I just laughed a little and kept hiking!

The very back of Hanging Valley

The water level is very low in all the creeks and ponds - so little snow to melt this year!

Descending from Hanging Valley