Traverse from Bear Lake to Fern Lake

Our hike started at Bear Lake, with great views of the false summit of Hallet's Peak.

The trail was well packed all the way to Lake Helene, but then scattered and quickly disappeared. We walked along the edge of the lake but broke through the ice at the inlet on the north side!

The summer trail from Lake Helene to Odessa Lake had been drifted over by deep snow. The terrain was too steep for our snowshoes to safely cross, so we headed down to follow the creek bottom all the way to Odessa. It was steeper than we expected!

Cascades of ice across the valley below Tourmaline Lake.

There were occasionally cliffs that we had to navigate around, but overall it was an open route and the snow was packed enough for sliding.

Finally, Odessa Lake. The halfway point. We walked over the ice along the shore, and when we sat down to eat lunch on a log we could hear the ice rumbling and cracking!

We came out at the Fern Lake trailhead but had to walk all the way to the Cub Lake trailhead because the road is closed during winter. The Fern Lake trail was more interesting than I expected because it had partially burned a year ago, has some house-sized boulders, and ice cascades. I heard a robin calling down in the valley.

Estes Park in Winter - Deer Mountain

Even the best-weather days have a little bit of wind in Rocky Mountain National Park. On our hike up Deer Mountain, the pines were throwing off snow in the morning sun.

We found a very geometric plant growing out of a crevice in the rocks.

View of Longs Peak from the top of Deer Mountain.

Even the tree snags are colorful.

There were quite a few big mule deer on the lower slopes.

Monuments Mountain and other Mountains

We have had a warmer-than-average October. On the day we climbed the north ridge of Clearwater Creek, it was calm and toasty on the sunny aspen slopes. The day's goal was to scout a route to Neuberger.

Game trails led us through the forest into the alpine. Getting above treeline is always a relief when there is no established trail. There are relatively few obstacles on the tundra and it's easy to see ahead and choose a route. 

There were lots of large, blocky rocks along the way.

There were also razor-thin rocks.

We saw a large group of sheep, perhaps 20 individuals, and a small group of three stuck around long enough to check us out. The ewe and her lamb trotted off while the young ram stood watch.

We looped back around sunset (7 pm) and followed a knife-edged ridge with a precipitous east face back down to Clearwater Creek. Even in late fall, at its lowest flow, the creek was too deep to cross without getting wet. We built a bridge out of driftwood logs. It would have been faster to take our boots off, but that wasn't the point. 

I recovered at home with some drawing time.

Even though the snow keeps melting in town, up high in the mountains the snow is here to stay!

We hiked up to the alpine from the Radio Tower on the Alaska Highway.

Snow chutes snake down the scree fields.

The ptarmigan plumage still has a few gray speckles.

The ridge we were climbing would have been a breeze in summer, but the snow covered rocks made progress slow and somewhat hazardous. 

Back home on the Rabbit Ranch, the animals are unaware of the approaching menace of winter. Sioux keeps watch from his bench.

Little Alice, the wild bunny from Valdez, is also the friendliest.

The smaller female caribou antlers make great jewelry hangers, and I have fashioned a couple different ones so far.

 A friend gave me their ducks because they couldn't keep them, but  didn't want to eat them. They were funny to have around for a while, and their quacking was our pre-alarm in the mornings. The khaki brown duck was the boss. In the end, they became delicious roast ducks. 

This weekend we took a hike from the Eagle Overlook trail up Stormy's ridge. The weather was so warm that snow was melting off all the trees and dripping tracks down the aspen trunks. Can you see the Egyptian Eye on the tree in this picture?

Tiger tree.

Mikkel in early season snow

Hiking from the Log Cabin Inn road was surprisingly smooth going, as we followed a trail that had recently been blazed through the forest. After following the creek for about 3 miles, we crossed over to follow a ridge leading to the highest point in the watershed, Mt. Mikkel.

Mt. Mikkel rises out of the mist

There was a snow rainbow

The thick clouds were hanging in the valley. Once on the ridge leading to Mikkel we were clear and sunny.

There was a lot of wildlife, and animal sign, on this hike. We found Dall sheep, moose, grouse, wolverine tracks, and we even saw a marten trail follow our route up to the mountaintop!

The mountains rising out from above clouds reminded me of similar October skies in Fairbanks.

Clouds were continually gnawing at the foot of the mountain, but they stayed away.

The scramble to the summit ridge was over large loose scree.

Forever view.

Alpenglow follows sunset in the fall. Looking up towards the peak, we had to clamber over snow-slicked rocks with some (occasionally harrowing) exposure.

A peek from the peak, over to the other side 

We descended off the mountain back to the ridge just as the last light was leaving the sky, and a jet plane cruised overhead leaving a solitary wake.

Pepper Peak

Pepper Peak is a relatively short hike that gives great views of milky blue Eklutna Lake

To the north are the Twin Peaks

This is the view looking towards the summit of Pepper Peak. From below, this mountain is not much to look at. It's more of a destination in order to view other mountains, than a destination in itself. There were good blueberries halfway to the top.

View down Pepper Peak summit ridge 

A view from the top, with snowy mountains in the distance even in mid-August

Flute Glacier

The route to Flute Glacier splits from the Eagle-Symphony lakes trail at Eagle Lake, tracing the stream that feeds the lake back to its source, the glacier.

Alaskans have been criticized for building bridges to nowhere...

On the advice of a recent newspaper article, we circumnavigated the north side of the lake, which was contrary to the hiking guidebook recommendation. We made a poor choice, and had to suffer two miles of bushwhacking through head-high willow and alder along a steep slope. On the plus side, we did find the best blueberry patch we had ever seen.

We decided to climb up into this high valley on our return to avoid the nightmare bushwhack.

The impressive waterfall below the glacial valley could be a destination in itself.

Remains of a beaver dam.

We climbed up above the waterfall to the left to get into the high Flute Glacier valley.

Weeping walls 

Once we reached the high valley, the glacier is still another mile away. We hiked a little farther but did not have time to hike all the way in to Flute Glacier.

A thunderstorm quickly moved in and hailed for a few minutes.

The sun came out shortly after!

Crossing this stream was straightforward because the water was shallow.

I think the most difficult part of crossing silty glacial streams is keeping your balance when you can't see the bottom. The chocolate milk-colored water rushing past you can be really disorienting, and you have to feel carefully with each step to avoid slipping on uneven rocks.

We avoided bushwhacking around the lake by climbing into a hanging valley. We paused to pick blueberries while we crawled up the steep slope.

We saw two Dall Sheep rams climbing on this sheer rock face - crazy! Can you spot them in this picture?

This was the last ridge to crest, and then it was all downhill back to Eagle and Symphony lakes.

At the top - sunset.

We followed a mossy gully, with lots of good picnic rocks, back down to the ridge dividing Eagle and Symphony lakes.

I couldn't resist picking up a naive baby ptarmigan. Now it's afraid of humans.

At this time of year the mother is still close by, watching.

Bearberry leaves look like red tongues on the tundra

Sunset leaves some warm glow on the mountains. We got back to the car at 12 am on the dot (it was dusky dark by then).