Lupe – Page 257 – The (Mostly) True Adventures of Lupe

Black Hills, SD Expedition No. 198 – Peak 4160 & Unkpapa Peak (4-2-17)

Start (9:50 AM, 61°F), intersection of 7-11 Road & Red Valley Road several miles SE of Wind Cave National Park.

Wow! A perfect spring day for bagging a couple more Black Hills peaks – blue skies, calm, almost room temperature. Even though April was barely underway, it might even get a little too warm in another couple of hours.

Lupe was excited. She’d already had a great time barking at cows and horses from the G6 all the way to Buffalo Gap. She’d seen one of her two peakbagging goals for the day, too. SPHP had let her out of the G6 for a couple of minutes for a quick look at Unkpapa Peak (4,280 ft.).

Unkpapa Peak from Red Valley Road (County Road No. 5). Photo looks S.

Before taking on Unkpapa Peak, Loop had other business to attend to. For the past several months, she had been working on climbing southern Black Hills peaks Brian Kalet had added to the Peakbagger.com data base last May. Now she was almost done. One more Brian Kalet peak remained – Peak 4160. Lupe was going to get Peak 4160 over and done with first.

Crumbly and steep – a bad combination! The route SPHP choose to start off with was silly and unnecessary. The red dirt of the steep hillside was damp and messy. The white gypsum rock crumbled easily, providing unreliable support. Lupe didn’t have a problem negotiating the hillside, but it took SPHP a while to reach the more solid gypsum cap at the top of the hill.

Lupe had no problem climbing this steep, crumbly hillside, but it sure slowed SPHP down. This was a crazy route up Peak 4160, anyway. Lupe would soon have to lose nearly all the elevation she gained climbing this hill before even starting up the main ridge.

On the other side of the hill was a pine forest and easier terrain. Unfortunately, Lupe had to lose nearly all the elevation she had just gained. The ground sloped down into a series of ravines she had to go around or through.

Once she was past the last of the ravines, Lupe started a steady climb up the W face of Peak 4160. The forest thinned out rapidly. On the upper slope few trees were left to block the steadily improving views.

As Lupe climbed the W face of Peak 4160, the forest dwindled away rapidly. From the upper slopes she had a great view of Unkpapa Peak (L). 7-11 Road is seen below. Photo looks SSW.

Down in the forest Lupe hadn’t seen much cactus, but up on the sunny, barren, upper slope it was a different story. The higher Lupe went, the more cactus she found. By the time she reached the ridgeline, Lupe was not a happy Dingo. She begged SPHP to carry her, or at least scout out the route ahead.

With so much cactus on Peak 4160, Lupe insisted that SPHP scout ahead for danger before she would follow. Here she’s on her way having received the signal that this next part of the route was cactus-free. Photo looks SE.

*Good job, SPHP! No cactus at all on that last stretch. Take your time and keep up the good work. I’ll wait here until you give the signal. Make sure you don’t miss any! My paws are at stake!*

Peak 4160 is a long ridge running almost straight N/S. The W face is quite steep, but the mountain slopes away only gradually to the E. Lupe had come up well S of the high point, which the topo map showed was somewhere quite close to the W edge. She headed N along the edge looking for the true summit.

Cactus was the only serious obstacle. With SPHP’s scouting help, and an occasional lift over the worst of the cacti, Lupe arrived at a line of small rocks of almost equal elevation. These rocks were the true summit of Peak 4160. It was a great moment. Lupe had done it – she had climbed the last of her Brian Kalet peaks in the southern hills!

Lupe reaches the true summit of Peak 4160, the last of the Brian Kalet peaks she was going to climb in the southern Black Hills. She was pretty happy, thinking this was the last cactus-infested mountain she would have to climb. SPHP hadn’t sprung the news about Unkpapa Peak on her yet! Photo looks N.

Lupe found this line of small rocks at the top of Peak 4160. They were 20 or 30 feet away from the W edge of the mountain. Photo looks S.

The topo map showed two separate areas on the mountain within 4,160 foot elevation contours. Brian Kalet had marked the southernmost of these areas as being the location of the true summit. Lupe had reached this S area first, and she could see the next high point to the N from here. It definitely looked a little lower.

Lupe was glad! She was already at the true summit and could skip the remaining cactus-infested trek to the N high point.

The rocks of the true summit were 20 or 30 feet from the edge of the steep W face of the mountain. Of course, the edge was where all the best views from Peak 4160 were. Naturally, Lupe went over to check them out.

The best views from Peak 4160 were along the W edge of the mountain. Although blue skies had prevailed when she started up, Lupe could now see clouds building to the NW. Photo looks NW.

Unkpapa Peak (L) from Peak 4160. Photo looks SSW.

Gravel 7-11 Road stretches away to the SW. Lupe had come up Peak 4160 through the forest seen below on the L. Photo looks SW.

Happy with the last of the Brian Kalet peaks already in the bag, Lupe returned to the true summit briefly before starting her trek back down the mountain.

Lupe returned to the true summit briefly before starting down. Photo looks E.

She began her return to the G6 heading S along the W edge where the views were best. Before leaving the ridgeline, Lupe stopped briefly at a couple of points along the way.

Although it had been sunny and warm earlier, by the time Lupe was down the skies were gray. A cool wind was blowing. Off to the NW, it looked like rain. Lupe passed by an ancient windmill, the old blades still capable of spinning in the breeze.

By the time Lupe was down off Peak 4160, the weather had changed. The skies were gray, a cool breeze was blowing, and it looked like rain to the NW. She passed by this ancient windmill, its old blades still spinning in the wind. Photo looks SW.

At 1:15 PM, Lupe jumped into the G6 when SPHP opened the door. Was she ever surprised when SPHP politely informed her she wasn’t going anywhere until she climbed Unkpapa Peak, too!

Loopster was fine with that! Carolina Dogs are always ready for the next adventure. Lupe abandoned the G6, and started for Unkpapa Peak. Her journey began below a line of low cliffs near the edge of a dry creek bed.

Lupe passed by this line of colorful low cliffs to start her journey up Unkpapa Peak.

After crossing some easy open ground, the terrain became steeper as Lupe climbed up through a forest. Her route was steepest near the end of the climb where only scattered trees remained.

Lupe on her way up Unkpapa Peak. The steepest part of the climb is directly ahead, but wasn’t at all difficult. Photo looks SE.

Lupe reached the top of the Unkpapa ridge at its northernmost point. The weather had continued to deteriorate. Up here it was windy and cool. SPHP was putting layers back on, but Lupe had to make do with the same lovely brown and white fur outfit she wears in all kinds of weather.

Like Peak 4160, Unkpapa Peak features two different areas contained within equally high elevation contours. That meant two possible sites for the true summit. On Unkpapa Peak, these two areas are separated by more than a mile. The topo map showed a survey benchmark at the N high point, which wasn’t too far away from where Lupe reached the N rim of the mountain. The name Unkpapa Peak was also shown at this point on the map.

While Lupe headed ESE along the edge of the N face on her way to the closest summit, SPHP kept an eye out for the survey benchmark.

Looper stands in the cool wind along the N rim of Unkpapa Peak, a little E of where she first came up. American Dingoes are not fans of wind. Photo looks E.

The N high point of Unkpapa Peak is visible on the L. Lupe didn’t have far to go to get there. The skies were still blue to the E, but Loop wouldn’t see the sun in all her time up here since clouds continued to move into the area. Photo looks ESE.

Lupe still standing in the wind along the N rim. The weather looked increasingly stormy off to the NW (L). The intersection of 7-11 Road and Red Valley Road is seen below. A quarry is in view on the far side of 7-11 Road. Photo looks NNW.

Lupe hadn’t seen much cactus on the way up Unkpapa Peak, but when she reached the top of the ridge there was plenty of it around. SPHP’s scouting and Port-A-Puppy services were called into play again. Lupe still hates cactus, but with all the cactus-infested mountains she’d been climbing recently in the southern Black Hills, she was getting fairly used to dealing with it.

Lupe made good progress along the N rim toward the summit. SPHP was surprised when she found a survey benchmark a couple hundred yards before reaching the high point. The topo map only showed a benchmark at the top.

Lupe found this survey benchmark a good 200 yards W of the N summit.

The cactus was annoying, but could not stop Lupe from reaching the N summit. She arrived to find a couple of modest rocks at the very top. Lupe got on them to claim 1/2 of her peakbagging success on Unkpapa Peak (4,280 ft.). This summit was quite close to the N rim, but thankfully trees along the edge helped block the N wind.

Shortly before reaching the N summit, Lupe came to this great view of Buffalo Gap. Photo looks ENE.

Almost there! A happy Carolina Dog awaits another cactus all clear signal from SPHP. She’s almost to the N summit of Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks WNW.

Ta da! Looper stands atop the N summit of Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks E.

After reaching the N summit, Lupe looked around the area close by for both the best view of Peak 4160 from Unkpapa Peak and another survey benchmark. A break in the trees along the N rim provided a great look at Peak 4160, but there didn’t seem to be a second survey benchmark.

A break in the trees along the N rim provided a great look at Peak 4160 (the closest big ridge) from Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks NNE.

Peak 4160 with some help from the telephoto lens. Photo looks NNE.

Lupe and SPHP took a break under a big pine tree a little back from the N edge where the wind wasn’t so strong. Lupe had eaten some Taste of the Wild up on Peak 4160, too, but she was still kind of hungry. She had another helping.

Even under this pine tree there was cactus. Hopefully, Unkpapa Peak was to be the last of the lower southern Black Hills peaks with cacti that Lupe would have to climb for a long time. She sure wouldn’t miss the cactus. Neither would SPHP.

One thing Lupe wouldn’t miss from these lower, drier southern Black Hills peaks was all the blasted cactus.

Yet it had to be admitted that despite the lower elevation of these southern peaks, the drier climate where cactus thrived and trees didn’t fare as well had provided Lupe many outstanding sweeping views unlike those found in the much more heavily forested Black Hills typical farther N.

After the short break beneath the pine tree, Lupe returned to the summit rocks, which were close by. On the way, SPHP noticed a second survey benchmark. So there was one here after all! It was a little S of the highest rocks.

As Lupe returned to the summit rocks after her break, SPHP noticed this second survey benchmark a little to the S of the highest rocks.

Lupe back at the N summit after her break. Although the N and W faces of Unkpapa Peak are fairly steep, the top of the mountain is a gently undulating plain. The S summit, more than a mile to the SW is in view on the L. The trees on the R are all near the edge of the W face. Photo looks SW.

The N and W faces of Unkpapa Peak are fairly steep, but the top of the mountain is a gently undulating plain. Looking SW across this plain from the N summit, it was possible to see several high points more than a mile away, but it was hard to tell which might be the S summit.

To really claim a completely valid peakbagging success on Unkpapa Mountain, Lupe would need to visit the S summit as well. If the topo map was correct, odds were that the S summit was also technically the true summit, since the area enclosed by the 4,280 foot contour was much larger over there.

Lupe headed SW across the undulating plain. Cactus was a constant threat, but wasn’t nearly as thick as it had been along the N rim. Lupe and SPHP enjoyed the easy stroll. The wind wasn’t nearly as bad here as along the N rim. The air was comfortably cool. Meadowlarks were singing.

Lupe discovered a huge bone.

Looper found this huge bone shortly after starting on her way to the S summit. Too bad it had long been completely picked over. What a prize it would have been fresh!

Unfortunately, the huge bone had been completely picked over long, long ago. By all appearances, it had been laying here bleaching in the sun for years. What a glittering Dingo prize it would have been when fresh! Lupe was way too late for that.

The next thing Lupe found was of much more practical use. She came to a trail! The trail meant an almost guaranteed cactus-free path. Lupe was enthused. She took the lead, running back and forth ahead of SPHP. She was making rapid progress now.

After finding the trail, Lupe made rapid progress. Although SPHP wasn’t certain of it yet, the barren ridge seen slightly R of Center behind her proved to be the S summit of Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks SSW.

Looking NE back at the N summit of Unkpapa Peak from a small, rock-covered hill. The trail Lupe had been following is in view on the hillside.

Suddenly there was movement ahead! A small herd of deer had become aware of the approach of a ferocious American Dingo. They quickly bounded out of sight over the W rim of the mountain. Lupe raced over there. From the edge, she was disappointed to find the deer had vanished, but she did get a good look at the stormier conditions prevailing over the higher Black Hills to the NW.

A small herd of deer bounds away before disappearing over the W edge of Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks SW using the telephoto lens.

From the W rim of the mountain, Lupe caught no sight of the deer, but did see the stormier weather prevailing over higher hills to the NW. She would rather have seen the deer.

It wasn’t much farther now to a rocky ridge that might be the S summit of Unkpapa Peak. Lupe stayed neared the trees along the W rim of the mountain as she traveled S toward the ridge. A disturbing amount of cactus was present whenever she ventured away from the trees. SPHP had to help her past it in a few places.

The ridge itself was barren, but didn’t have as much cactus. Upon reaching the top, it became clear this ridge was indeed the S summit. Lupe had made it! A 75 foot long line of modest to good-sized rocks and boulders of similar elevation formed the highest part of the ridge. Lupe got up on several of the highest rocks for a look around.

Lupe reaches the rocky ridgeline at the S summit. Photo looks SW.

Looking NE back at the N summit. The N summit appears to be considerably higher in this photo, which is deceptive. While actually there, both the N and S summits did seem to be about the same elevation.

From a distance, it had been hard to tell if this ridge was actually the S summit or not. However, this view from the top looking WSW over the next canyon left no doubt.

The most dramatic views were off to the W and N, but Lupe could see in every direction from the barren S summit.

Pines line the edge of the W rim of the mountain. Lupe could see far beyond them. Photo looks N.

Lupe had a big view to the NW, but rain showers hid the higher, more distant hills.

Reaching the S summit meant that Lupe’s peakbagging tasks were complete on Unkpapa Peak. Whether the N high point or the S high point was the true summit didn’t really matter now. Lupe had been to both.

For 20 minutes or so, Lupe and SPHP remained up on the S summit. Looper had plenty of time to get back to the G6, but there was no rush. It was too late in the day for another adventure.

The wind blew, but not as strongly as it had earlier along the N rim. The sky tried to spit rain, but didn’t achieve much in the way of results. The air was cool, but not cold. Lupe and SPHP stayed together on the rocks, enjoying the panorama from Unkpapa.

Even though she wasn’t that far from home, it might be a long time before Lupe returned for another expedition this far S in the Black Hills. The Brian Kalet peaks Lupe intended to climb were finally complete. Except for the cactus, the last few months climbing them had been surprisingly fun.

An American Dingo lingers atop the S summit of Unkpapa Peak. Photo looks ESE.

On the way back N, Lupe took the scenic route staying near the W rim for the huge view. The farther N she went, the more cactus there seemed to be, but SPHP helped the Carolina Dog through it.

Looking back at Unkpapa’s S summit. Photo looks SE.

Lupe went back down the N face about where she’d come up. A colorful hill to the NW caught SPHP’s fancy.

This colorful small hill caught SPHP’s fancy on Lupe’s way down. Photo looks NW.

It was still early when Lupe reached the G6 (5:11 PM, 47°F). She had plenty of daylight for enormously satisfying frenzied barking at the numerous cows and horses she saw on the drive home.

For the 3rd expedition in a row, Lupe celebrated the end of the day with a chocolate milkshake from the Sonic Drive-In. The milkshake was fancied up with whipped cream and a cherry on top.

American Dingoes love whipped cream! The cherry? It was graciously ceded to SPHP.

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Tonsina Point on Resurrection Bay, Caines Head State Recreation Area, Alaska (8-28-16)

Day 30, Part 1, of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska

No Dingoes allowed! Extraordinarily disappointing, but the place was swarming with tourists. Park rangers patrolled near the nature center at the start of the trail. Signs banning American Dingoes were prominently displayed. There wasn’t going to be any getting around this one. Lupe couldn’t go. Time to break out Plan B.

The day had started out well enough, with sunny skies full of promise. A gorgeous drive from the Mystery Hills almost all the way to Seward had taken up the morning. Lupe enjoyed beef stew for breakfast along clear, rushing Ptarmigan Creek. Now here she was, all ready for her next big adventure.

That big adventure was supposed to have been a hike from the Exit Glacier Nature Center along the Harding Icefield Trail all the way to the end. Lupe would have had a sweeping view of the 700 square mile Harding Icefield, the largest icefield entirely within the United States. Now it was clear that wasn’t going to happen.

What SPHP hadn’t realized was that the Exit Glacier and Harding Icefield are in Kenai Fjords National Park. Since US National Parks are forbidden territory for Carolina Dogs, Lupe’s Harding Icefield adventure was over before it started. At least Lupe had gotten to see the Exit Glacier from a distance on the way to the nature center.

At least Lupe did get to see this view of the Exit Glacier on her way to the nature center. Unfortunately, she was banned from the Harding Icefield Trail where she would have had a fabulous view of the 700 square mile Harding Icefield. Photo looks W.

Fortunately, there actually was a Plan B. Lupe could go to Tonsina Point on Resurrection Bay! Compared to the Harding Icefield Trail, Plan B wasn’t too ambitious, but maybe that was OK. Yesterday, Lupe had a big adventure in the Mystery Hills involving more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Perhaps an easy day was for the best.

SPHP drove back along Herman Leirer Road (the road to the Exit Glacier) to mile 3 on the Seward Highway, turned S, and drove all the way through Seward to a “T” at the end of the highway at the S end of town.

A right turn took Lupe to a gravel road perched slightly above the W shore of Resurrection Bay. The dusty road went S for 3 miles to Lowell Point, where it curved to the E. There was private property in Lowell Point, and signage didn’t mention Tonsina Point. Which way? SPHP had no clue, but stayed on the same road.

The road made another turn to the S. Happily, it soon ended at a trailhead. (Note: $5.00 daily parking fee). A path could be seen leading from the parking lot to Resurrection Bay, only a short distance away. This must be it! SPHP parked the G6 (12:48 PM, 72°F), and Lupe got out. Lupe and SPHP took the short path to Resurrection Bay.

The temperature was in the low 70’s °F, no doubt a warm day in Alaska, but SPHP was surprised to see Lupe had arrived at a public beach. Even more surprising was that a few hardy Alaskans were actually in the water. Resurrection Bay is an arm of the North Pacific Ocean. Streams and rivers pour glacial meltwaters into it. How warm could it be? Those Alaskans must be tough! Neither Lupe nor SPHP was tempted to take a dip.

To SPHP’s surprise, Lupe arrived at a public beach on the S side of Lowell Point. A few tough Alaskans were swimming in these glacial fed waters of the North Pacific Ocean! Photo looks NE.

Ixnay on the swimming, but a little sunbathing might be enjoyable. The beach certainly had a wonderful view of Resurrection Bay and the surrounding mountains, many of which still had snow or even small glaciers visible on them. Offshore, a small island rose dramatically from the bay. A large bird was perched up on top. It looked like it might be an eagle.

From the beach at Lowell Point, a small rocky island rose dramatically from Resurrection Bay. A large bird, perhaps an eagle, was perched on top. Photo looks SSE.

The camera’s telephoto lens revealed the truth. The big bird actually was an eagle – a bald eagle!

The big bird actually was an eagle – a bald eagle! Now that was cool!

While SPHP wouldn’t have minded dozing and sunbathing on the beach at Lowell Point for a little while, the truth is, American Dingoes aren’t much into that sort of thing. Lupe wanted action! So Lupe and SPHP headed SW toward the end of the beach, where SPHP expected to find the trail to Tonsina Point.

The beach ended at a very steep forested embankment coming all the way down to the sea. No sign of a trail anywhere. Puzzling. SPHP finally concluded it was best to return to the trailhead for information on the trail’s location.

As it turned out, there were two trailheads, the one the G6 was parked at near the beach, and another trailhead for the Caines Head State Recreation Area. The second trailhead was only a short hike away up a hill. The trail to Tonsina Point starts from there. Lupe and SPHP left the G6 parked where it was, taking a muddy trail through an amazing forest up to the second trailhead.

Note: The Caines Head State Recreation Area trailhead has its own parking lot at the end of a short road (a R turn to the S) off the Lowell Point road from Seward. There was a sign for it, but SPHP hadn’t made the turn since the sign didn’t mention Tonsina Point. The same $5.00 daily parking fee applies here.

A sign at the upper trailhead showed a map of Caines Head State Recreation Area. The trail to Tonsina Point is only the first short section of a much longer trail to destinations near Caines Head. Lupe was only going as far as Tonsina Point. Beyond Tonsina Point, parts of the trail are flooded and impassable at high tide, possibly forcing an overnight stay waiting for low tide.

Map posted at the Caines Head State Recreation Area trailhead.

The trail going S to Tonsina Point and beyond started as a single track at the parking lot, but soon merged with a road leading to private properties, which seemed a bit weird. Farther on, it left the private road, continuing as a 5 or 6 foot wide trail improved with a layer of fine slate gray gravel.

All the way to Tonsina Point, the trail went through a thick forest providing not even a glimpse of Resurrection Bay. Tiny streams flowed next to the trail in some places, providing Lupe with fresh, cold water. The trail was relatively busy on this warm day in August, though it was a ghost town compared to the crowds Lupe had seen at the Exit Glacier.

After leaving the private road, the trail climbed steadily at an easy pace, ultimately gaining about 200 feet of elevation. The trail then became more primitive and switchbacked down a considerably steeper slope. At the bottom of the switchbacks, Lupe arrived at an arched bridge over Tonsina Creek.

Lupe on the bridge over Tonsina Creek. Photo looks upstream (W).

From the bridge, Lupe had a great view downstream of Tonsina Creek emptying into nearby Resurrection Bay.

From the arched footbridge, Lupe had a great view of Tonsina Creek emptying into nearby Resurrection Bay. Photo looks E.

Once across the bridge, Lupe left the main trail to follow a path toward Resurrection Bay, stopping briefly to wade in Tonsina Creek along the way. Salmon could be seen swimming in the creek. Signs near the main trail indicated fishing for them was prohibited.

Lupe hadn’t been interested in swimming in Resurrection Bay back at Lowell Point, but she didn’t mind wading in Tonsina Creek.

Loopster near the mouth of Tonsina Creek where it empties into Resurrection Bay. Photo looks NE.

Lupe had arrived at Tonsina Point, the big delta formed by Tonsina Creek where it reaches Resurrection Bay. Being a delta, the whole area was flat. Away from the ocean, above the high tide mark, bright green grasses and other plants flourished in luxurious profusion. The tidal plain close to Resurrection Bay was all sand, mud and small stones. Seagulls congregated near the edge of the water.

When Lupe arrived, the tide was at least partially out, exposing a large stretch of tidal plain beyond the onshore vegetation. Lupe went way out near the water’s edge to check out the impressive views of Resurrection Bay and surrounding mountains.

From Tonsina Point, Lupe could see a glacier in the mountains on the E side of Resurrection Bay. Photo looks ENE using the telephoto lens.

Snow remained on many mountains, even though Lupe was here in late August. Photo looks ESE.

Seagulls liked to hang out near the edge of the bay. Photo looks SSE.

The 1.5 mile long trail Lupe took to Tonsina Point starts at Lowell Point, seen on the L. Lowell Point is about 3 miles S of Seward, Alaska. Seward is situated at the far NW end of Resurrection Bay. Photo looks NNE.

Several old tree trunks, bleached white by the sun, were washed up near the high tide mark. People were using them as benches, from which they had great views of Resurrection Bay while relaxing and having lunch. That seemed like a good idea, so Lupe and SPHP headed over there to join them. On the way, Lupe found something on the beach which greatly interested her.

Lupe thinks dead fish are really cool! SPHP isn’t as keen on them. The Carolina Dog sometimes likes to roll in stinky things like dead fish, probably an instinctive action to hide her scent. Boy, does that ever work!

At the bleached tree trunks, SPHP took a break and had a bite to eat. Lupe wasn’t tired or hungry. She met a dog named Pinecone, and spent her time enticing Pinecone to play with her, at which she was partially successful.

After SPHP’s break, Lupe continued her exploration of Tonsina Point’s tidal plain, working her way around toward the S. A very large piece of driftwood with many branches was stranded out there all by itself. Lupe sniffed around it, and decided it made a good, scenic platform for her next couple shots of Resurrection Bay.

Lupe goes out on a limb to present you with this beautiful picture of Resurrection Bay from Tonsina Point! Photo looks SSE.

Near the S end of Tonsina Point, Lupe’s advance was blocked by another channel of Tonsina Creek. The main trail crossed this channel at a 2nd bridge located farther inland. Lupe went over to the 2nd bridge, but did not cross it.

At Tonsina Point, Lupe had only seen a small portion of Caines Head State Recreation Area. The main trail continues S beyond the 2nd bridge for miles leading to more trails, an old fort, various facilities, and lots more beautiful views. No doubt it was all worth further exploration, however, the tide was starting to come in. At high tide, parts of the trail S of Tonsina Point are under water.

Lupe and SPHP were not prepared to spend the night camping out, if Lupe got cut off from Tonsina Point by high tide. So Lupe took the main trail back N through a lovely forest to the 1st bridge over Tonsina Creek.

Lupe in the forest on the Tonsina Point delta.

On the trail back to the first bridge. Photo looks N.

Lupe squints in the bright sunlight on the 1st bridge over Tonsina Creek. Photo looks N.

Lupe’s time at beautiful Tonsina Point was over. She had only scratched the surface of what there is to see at Caines Head State Recreation area, but Tonsina Point had been an easy, fun excursion. Lupe returned to the G6 happy with her Tonsina Point experience (3:47 PM).

Before leaving the gorgeous Seward area, Lupe played tourist in town. She dropped by a park where a statue featuring a prospector and his dog commemorates Alaska’s pioneering spirit, and the Iditarod National Historic Trail, which goes all the way from Seward to Nome. Lupe shares Alaska’s pioneering spirit. She was certain the statue could be improved by the addition of an American Dingo.

The 1.5 mile long trail to Tonsina Point was lovely, but American Dingo, Lupe, was ready for a bigger challenge on the 958 mile Iditarod Trail going from Seward to Nome! Unfortunately, SPHP wasn’t up to it, and chickened out.

Lupe was enthused. She was all for setting out on the 958 mile long Iditarod Trail, but SPHP just doesn’t have quite the same degree of Alaskan pioneering spirit and chickened out.

Well, fine. Lupe had another idea. How about something less pioneery, and more decadently luxurious? There was a big, comfy ship in town that looked like it could take Lupe and SPHP to Nome in grand style by sea. American Dingoes love being pampered, too, you know!

Since SPHP wasn’t up to the Iditarod Trail, Lupe was also willing to consider a luxurious sea voyage to Nome aboard this very spiffy Holland America cruise ship.

SPHP had to admit the cruise ship was beautiful and would be a lot of fun, but whined piteously something negative about a budget. Most disappointing, but Lupe finally did manage to negotiate a consolation deal.

After a stop at Safeway, Lupe left Seward in the G6, perched in comfort high up on her blankets and pillows, heading N on a wonderful scenic drive along the Seward Highway while sharing ice cream sandwiches and chips with SPHP. Before the day was over, she was going to get to go through a long, long tunnel and take the trail to Portage Pass to see the Portage Glacier.

Of course, that’s another adventure for another post.