Day 27 of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska
Everything hung on what the radio would say in the morning. Yesterday evening, the rain had started in again in Palmer, Alaska before the light had faded completely away. Every time Lupe woke up during the night, the relentless rain continued. Once there was only fog, but that was hardly any better.
As near as SPHP could tell, the S coast of Alaska had already seen a solid month of rain and gloom. A couple days ago, the forecast had been for 3 more days of rain, then clearing skies. Lupe had left Palmer then, resigned to going all the way back to Canada. Luckily, only an hour’s drive away, the skies had cleared enough so she could spend a couple days climbing Gunsight Mountain (6,441 ft.) and Lion Head (3,185 ft.). Lupe was still in Alaska! She had returned to Palmer hoping for the best.
Morning came. Still raining. For the 3rd time on this Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation, SPHP cheated and turned on the radio. If the forecast was unchanged, if the skies really were going to clear in only another day or two, Lupe would stay in Alaska. On the other hand, if the forecast had been revised again to yet another vague promise of better days another 3 or 4 or 5 days in the future, this was it. Lupe was abandoning hope, and going back to Canada.
Finally, the weather report came on. Rain continuing throughout the day in Anchorage … yes, yes, and then? … clearing skies into the weekend, with highs near 70°F. Click. That was enough. No Pepper Peak (5,381 ft.) today, but that was OK. The clearing skies would likely be coming from the SW. Lupe was going to greet them. Well, Loopster, you lucky Dingo, you’re going to get to see Anchorage after all, and a whole lot more!
Anchorage was a big city, like other big cities. Rush hour traffic slowed to a crawl for miles on the wet Glenn Highway due to an accident. Downtown, SPHP missed the turn S on the Seward Highway, but managed to get back to it. S of Anchorage, the rain was lighter. Skies were still overcast, with occasional patches of fog.
The Seward Highway turned SE following the railroad right along the Turnagain Arm of the North Pacific Ocean. At Beluga Point, Lupe and SPHP stopped for a look.
Beluga Point is a popular place for watching Beluga whales. Although the white whales are usually easy to spot, Lupe didn’t see any. Several people at the Beluga Point pullout told SPHP they often saw whales here. One claimed to have seen 28 Beluga whales during a single recent visit.
A powerful tide was coming in. The strong, rippling current looked dangerous, as the ocean surged SE into the Turnagain Arm past Beluga Point. Less than 10 miles away on the misty far shore, Lupe had her first glimpse of the Kenai Peninsula.
Lupe and SPHP continued on. The murky brown waters of the Turnagain Arm didn’t look very deep. From the G6, Lupe saw huge expanses of exposed mud flats. The incoming tide was in the process of inundating them again. When the SE end of the Turnagain Arm came into view, Lupe made a brief stop at another viewpoint.
The last several miles of the Turnagain Arm was nothing but mud flats and marshlands with a river flowing through it all. Rounding the very SE end, Lupe and SPHP left the Seward Highway, turning E (L) on Portage Glacier Road. Lupe didn’t take the road quite all the way to the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel to Whittier. Instead, she went to see Portage Lake, bypassing the Begich Boggs Visitor Center along the way.
Note: The Begich Boggs Visitor Center is located at the NW end of Portage Lake about 6 miles from the Seward Highway. It was built in 1986 on the 1914 terminal moraine of the Portage Glacier. The Portage Glacier used to be visible at the far SE end of the lake from the visitor center, but has since retreated out of sight. Among other services, commercial boat tours to see the glacier are available at the visitor center.
The Portage Glacier can also be viewed from Portage Pass, accessed via a good hiking trail with 800 ft. of elevation gain. From the pass, it is possible to hike on toward Portage Lake for a closer look at the glacier, which is less than a mile directly across the lake. The turn to the Portage Pass trailhead is located on the SW (R) side of the road to Whittier about 0.25 mile after going through the 2.5 mile long Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. A $13.00 round trip fee (passenger car, 2016) is charged to go through the tunnel.
Even under drippy, overcast skies, Portage Lake was very beautiful. On the opposite NE shore of the lake, Lupe saw waterfalls cascading down from a hanging glacier on Maynard Mountain (4,137 ft.).
Less than 0.5 mile before Lupe reached Portage Lake, she had passed by the trailhead to the Byron Glacier. This easy trail with very modest elevation gain leads about a mile up a valley to the SW where the Byron Glacier can be seen. Lupe and SPHP left Portage Lake to go check it out, parking the G6 at the trailhead (11:52 AM, 53°F).
The first part of the trail was an easy stroll through a forest. Meltwaters from the Byron Glacier formed a rushing stream on the SE side of the trail. The trail did not cross the stream, but followed it up the valley. When the trail left the forest, the Byron Glacier, which has retreated up onto the steep N slopes of Byron Peak (4,700 ft.), was in view ahead.
The official Byron Glacier trail ended at a low rock wall. The trail was busy, even on this overcast day, and some people turned back here. However, many went farther up the valley to get closer to the glacier, scrambling among the rocky terrain left by the glacier’s retreat. Lupe and SPHP continued beyond the trail’s end, too.
The Byron Glacier is famous for having accessible ice caves. Lupe didn’t go that far, but she did go beyond the official end of the trail far enough to see what appeared to be a large ice cave ahead.
The closer Lupe got, the easier it was to see the blue ice high up on the Byron Glacier. The glacier was a beautiful sight with the gorgeous blue and white ice above, and waterfalls plunging down the gray mountainside below.
Lupe explored up the valley far enough to where she could look back down and see Portage Lake surrounded by mountains in the distance.
Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6 (1:51 PM). Even at a leisurely pace, the easy trek to see the Byron Glacier had only taken a couple of hours. At least it had given Lupe a chance to get some exercise. Most of the rest of the day would be spent in the G6 looking for those sunny skies.
SPHP drove back to the Seward Highway and turned S (L). Almost immediately, the highway curved around to the NW. A few miles later, it turned SW where a big sign welcomed Lupe to the Kenai Peninsula!
The drive through the Kenai Peninsula was gorgeous. Lupe saw forests, towering mountains, big lakes and rivers. At a junction, SPHP took the Sterling Highway toward Soldotna. Lupe passed Kenai Lake, traveled for miles along the beautiful blue-green Kenai River, saw the turnoffs for huge Skilak Lake and the Russian River where bears fish for salmon.
A few miles after passing the Mystery Hills trailhead, the Sterling Highway left the mountains. This part of the Kenai Peninsula was low, forested, flat, and dotted with lakes and marshlands. Sterling was hardly noticeable as a community, but Soldotna was a thriving, busy place. A quick stop for supplies at the Safeway in Soldotna, and Lupe continued on.
The Sterling Highway headed SW from Soldotna, eventually reaching bluffs above the Cook Inlet of the North Pacific Ocean. By now the skies had cleared. At last, Lupe basked in sunshine! Perched along the bluffs overlooking Cook Inlet were homes, campgrounds, RV parks and restaurants. They all had a stupendous view.
Far to the W across Cook Inlet was a grand, lofty mountain. At first, SPHP wasn’t sure what mountain that was, but Lupe was seeing the highest peak of the Aleutian Range, the Redoubt Volcano (10,197 ft.), for the first time.
Near the tiny village of Ninilchik, SPHP left the highway to drive a couple miles down a deeply potholed road to the beach. Lupe and SPHP left the G6, and walked down to the shore of Cook Inlet.
Faintly, beyond the shining sea, Lupe saw not just one, but two magnificent peaks! To the NW was the Redoubt Volcano, which she had already glimpsed from the highway. To the W was another glacier-covered stratovolcano, nearly as high, the Iliamna Volcano (10,016 ft.).
Lupe had seen the ocean twice already on her Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation, once at Hyder, Alaska on her trip to see the Salmon Glacier, and then again earlier today at Beluga Point. At Ninilchik, though, for the first time since she was only 1.5 years old during her 2012 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast, Lupe got to go for a walk along the ocean.
SPHP wondered if Lupe remembered playing at the ocean? Did she remember what a fabulous time she had on the West Coast in 2012 racing along the beach, while barking at seagulls flying overhead? At first, Lupe seemed uncertain about the ocean, but somewhere in that Dingo mind, she did recall something.
Soon she was watching for seagulls again, but saw only one fly by. She made up for it by barking at some crows. Loop began to run around exploring, stopping to sniff the very strange smells of seaweed, dead crabs, and other things washed up on the beach. She remained cautious, though, when it came to the cold waves rolling in to shore. She was careful not to let more than her paws get wet.
The evening stroll along Cook Inlet was fantastic! Living in the Black Hills of South Dakota more than 1,000 miles from any ocean, being here was a rare treat. The glowing sunlight, the sound and motion of the surf, and the distant wild mountains of Alaska on the far shore watched over by the giant Redoubt and Iliamna Volcanoes were an unforgettable combination.
Lupe went SW along Cook Inlet as far as Deep Creek, right across from Cape Ninilchik. She was perhaps 2 miles from where she’d started near Ninilchik village. Then it was time to turn around, and enjoy it all over again.
A woman was searching for her lost 9 year old dog named Ola, when Lupe and SPHP neared Ninilchik again. Unfortunately, Lupe and SPHP hadn’t seen Ola, and couldn’t help her. Lupe’s fur was full of sand from her romp on the beach, so SPHP drove her over to a campground to rinse it off.
It wasn’t long until sunset now, but there was still time to go take a look at Ninilchik’s most famous building. On a steep bluff above the village of Ninilchik sits a Russian Orthodox church dedicated on this site in 1901. Lupe and SPHP went to pay it a visit. When Lupe arrived, the lady looking for Ola was there, too. Someone had seen Ola not too far from here a short time ago.
Since Ola was likely to be found soon, Lupe went on to take a look at the little church.
The Russian Orthodox church was a quaint reminder of the Russian origins of Ninilchik back in the 1800’s before the United States purchased Alaska from Russia. Lupe had a good time sniffing among the many flowers growing in the churchyard, but she couldn’t stay long.
Before the sun was down, Lupe returned to the beach on the Cook Inlet. A handful of other people and dogs were around (though not the elusive Ola), too. Everyone was gathered here to enjoy sunset over Cook Inlet and the mountains on the far shore.
Sunset at Ninilchik was an amazingly beautiful and peaceful time. Everyone was friendly and happy. Lupe had found her sunshine at last, after many long days of trying to dodge, or wait out, frequent rain beneath dark skies.
And then it was over. The last rays of sunset disappeared from view.
The sun was down, but Lupe’s day wasn’t over yet. As golden twilight faded to night, SPHP drove SSW on the Sterling Highway. Near Anchor Point, Lupe was running out of land farther W on the Kenai Peninsula. The road curved S, then SE.
It was 10:30 PM, by the time Lupe rolled into Homer. Her next big Alaska adventure would start here. Today, Lupe had reached and enjoyed time spent along the North Pacific Ocean at Cook Inlet. Tomorrow, if the weather held, explorer Lupe would set sail.
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