Part 2 of Day 33 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!
The drive out of the Kenai Peninsula was lovely, but frustrating. Due to uncooperative weather, Lupe was leaving most of the great adventures she’d had planned here undone. Yet SPHP sensed that maybe conditions were actually starting to improve? Even as the Carolina Dog rode in comfort through a series of rain showers, she could always see patches of blue sky out the window of the G6, too.
The decision had been made, though. Lupe was leaving the rainy Kenai Peninsula. Loopster had limited time left for adventures on this Dingo Vacation. SPHP wasn’t willing to hang around the S Alaska coast any longer on no more than mere hope for a sunny day. No matter where Lupe had gone, she had faced rain virtually every day in Alaska. Seemingly bright prospects had been dashed too many times already.
After exiting the Kenai Peninsula, the drive along the Turnagain Arm was spectacularly beautiful. Rays of sunlight streamed dramatically through holes in the cloud cover to illuminate the sea. However, it was raining again by the time Lupe reached Anchorage.
Beyond Anchorage, the rain ended. The pavement on Glen Highway No. 1 was actually dry. Lupe was only going as far as Palmer this evening, and would arrive with several hours of daylight left. SPHP tried to think of something Loopster might be able to do in these few hours. Suddenly an answer sprang to mind. Why Bodenburg Butte(886 ft.), of course! It would be perfect!
SPHP took the exit for Old Glen Highway. A L turn onto Bodenburg Loop Road appeared 3 miles after crossing the bridge over the Knik River. 0.5 mile farther on the R was a gravel parking lot on the S side of Bodenburg Butte. A big, faded wooden sign confirmed that the American Dingo had arrived at the Bodenburg Butte trailhead.
0.5 mile W on Bodenburg Loop Road off Old Glen Highway SE of Palmer, this sign by a gravel parking lot confirmed that Lupe had reached the trailhead for Bodenburg Butte.
A wide, well-worn trail left the parking lot climbing aggressively through forest. Lupe and SPHP started up. (7:15 PM, 52°F) At this rate of climb, it wasn’t going to take long to gain the 770 feet of elevation necessary to reach the top.
Situated several miles SE of Palmer, Bodenburg Butte is a lone hill on otherwise flat ground near the junction of two broad river valleys. A few miles to the SW is the convoluted confluence of the Matanuska and Knik rivers. Bodenburg Butte is a mere bump compared to peaks of the nearby Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains, but was expected to provide Lupe some great views of the two rivers, surrounding mountains, and perhaps even the Knik Arm of the North Pacific Ocean off Cook Inlet.
The trail remained quite steep nearly the entire way. Bodenburg Butte is a locally popular hike. While pausing to catch breath, SPHP visited briefly with several people on their way down. When Lupe was more than halfway to the top, she emerged from the forest. The trail became braided here, offering Looper several paths to choose from. Which path she took hardly mattered. They were all going to the same place.
At the top of Bodenburg Butte, Lupe found a ridge of solid rock. This summit ridge looked like it had been scoured by glaciers once upon a time. In fact, Loop could still see the toe of the likely culprit to the SE.
Lupe reaches the summit of Bodenburg Butte. Photo looks W.Looking up the Knik River valley. The toe of the Knik Glacier (Center) is seen at the far end of the valley. Photo looks SE.Lupe checks out the view of the Knik River valley from Bodenburg Butte.Zoomed in on the toe of the Knik Glacier.
Lupe instantly saw why the hike up Bodenburg Butte is popular. For the amount of effort expended to get to the summit, the visual rewards were fantastic. Looper had splendid views in all directions!
Lupe had splendid 360° views from Bodenburg Butte. The Matanuska River is seen below on the L. Photo looks W.
Wearing a wispy veil of clouds, Pioneer Peak(6,396 ft.) in the Western Chugach Mountains was the closest high peak. Between Bodenburg Butte and Pioneer Peak, Lupe gazed down upon forests and green fields in the Knik River valley.
Pioneer Peak (L) beyond the forests and green fields of the Knik River valley. Photo looks S.Loop on Bodenburg Butte with Pioneer Peak wearing a wispy veil of clouds beyond her. Photo looks S with help from the telephoto lens.
Farther up the Knik River valley, Lupe saw what SPHP presumed were Hale-Bopp Peak(5,800 ft.) and Big Timber Peak(6,772 ft.).
SPHP believes the bare peak seen straight up from Lupe’s head is Hale-Bopp Peak. The higher white peak just to the R of Hale-Bopp is likely Big Timber Peak. The Knik River and toe of the Knik Glacier are on the L. Photo looks SE.Another look with help from the telephoto lens. Hale-Bopp Peak is the bare peak on the L. The first white peak to the R of Hale-Bopp is Big Timber Peak. The even higher white mountain at Center is Devils Club Peak (7,240 ft.).
To the W, the Matanuska River was in view. The Matanuska flows SW to join the Knik River shortly before reaching the Knik Arm of the North Pacific Ocean off Cook Inlet. The confluence of the two rivers was difficult to pick out, but Lupe could clearly see the Knik Arm.
Looking W toward the Matanuska River.Another look at the Matanuska River with help from the telephoto lens. Photo looks W.The Matanuska River (R) flows SW towards its confluence with the Knik River (L). The combined river then flows into the Knik Arm of the North Pacific Ocean (far R). Photo looks SW.Another look with help from the telephoto lens. The Matanuska River is seen in the foreground, with the Knik Arm (L) beyond it. Photo looks SW.
Lupe could see the Talkeetna Mountains to the N and NW, where she had recently climbed Hatch Benchmark(4,811 ft.) and taken the Reed Lakes trail to Lynx Peak(6,536 ft.). The sky was quite cloudy in that direction, so the Talkeetnas didn’t show up as well this evening as the closer Chugach Mountains to the E.
Plumley Road (R) heads E from its intersection with Old Glen Highway toward the Chugach Mountains. Photo looks E.
The top of Bodenburg Butte included a fairly large area. Although Lupe had met people coming down on her way up, no one else was on top of Bodenburg Butte when Lupe arrived. An empty bench sat near a trail a little W of the true summit.
The top of Bodenburg Butte from the summit. A bench is seen beyond Lupe. Photo looks WNW.
The sun hadn’t set quite yet, but the sky was cloudy enough so the light was already beginning to fade. The trail to the bench continued W beyond it, and apparently went down from over there.
Lupe lingers at the summit of Bodenburg Butte. With all the clouds around, the light was already fading. Soon it would be time to go. Photo looks W.
Why not try an alternate route down? When Lupe and SPHP were done enjoying the views, the Carolina Dog proceeded over to the bench to see if the trail really did go down the W side of Bodenburg Butte from here?
Looking back at the true summit from the trail W of the bench. Photo looks ESE.
It did! In fact, the trail going down the W side of Bodenburg Butte was far better than the steep route Lupe had taken up from the S. The W route had steps where the trail was steepest and a cable railing. This was going to be easy!
The trail down the W side of Bodenburg Butte was far more developed than the steep dirt path Lupe had taken up the S side.
SPHP expected the W trail to loop back toward the S. It didn’t. Instead, it eventually turned N. The American Dingo arrived at a 2nd trailhead N of Bodenburg Butte. This one had a much larger parking lot.
Map of the W trail up Bodenburg Butte posted at the N trailhead. Directions on this map are reversed. N is down, and W is R.
Lupe had made it down, but was now on the wrong side of Bodenburg Butte. She had to follow roads circling around the E side of the butte to get back to the S trailhead. This added more than 2 miles to the return trip, making it a far longer loop than SPHP had envisioned. It was dark when Lupe finally arrived at the G6. (10:31 PM, 51°F)
Other than the assistant manager, who was in the process of getting ready to close, no one else was at Subway in Palmer when SPHP showed up at 10:55 PM. SPHP purchased a footlong sandwich, and was about to leave when the assistant manager offered SPHP unsold cookies that were about to be thrown out. For free! The price was certainly right. Sure, why not?
To Loopster’s delight, SPHP returned with a dozen large cookies. The Carolina Dog’s evening ended with an unexpected Subway cookie feast. A different kind of adventure, but a delicious one!
Days 30 & 31 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!
8-29-17, 12:33 PM, at a pullout along N Palmer Fishhook Road – Awake again, surprisingly soon. Lupe was awake, too. Only 3.5 hours gone by since she had returned from her 25 hour “day” hike on the Reed Lakes trail to Lynx Peak (6,536 ft.) and back again.
The relatively short snooze had definitely done some good. Both Lupe and SPHP were feeling better. Better, but still tired. Back to sleep! Not for long, though. The next time Looper woke up, SPHP drove down to Palmer. Having fallen in the mud 4 times yesterday, SPHP searched for a laundromat. The rest of the day was taken up by a shower and adventures in laundry. Loopster snoozed, recuperating in the G6.
The day’s biggest events didn’t come until late evening. SPHP bought a whole roasted chicken at Fred Meyers. Lupe hadn’t eaten much during the day. Now she was famished. The Carolina Dog made short work of the chicken SPHP shared with her. Nothing left, but bones. Then it was a late evening walk in Palmer before hitting the hay again.
8-30-17 – The morning shot by. The weather in Palmer was decent. Overcast, but not raining or threatening to, with temps in the mid 50’s. Lupe and SPHP were sufficiently recovered from the Lynx Peak ordeal to consider something active again. Nothing too strenuous. Anything involving enough effort to get the blood flowing again would do. Crow Pass or Skilak Lookout might work. By noon, Lupe was on her way to Anchorage on Glen Highway No. 1.
S of Anchorage, Lupe and SPHP stopped at Beluga Point along Seward Highway No. 1. A gale was blowing out of the SW, roiling the muddy Turnagain Arm which appeared to be near high tide. The view to the SE in the direction of Girdwood was not at all encouraging. Clouds and mist hung over the mountains.
After going through Anchorage, Lupe stopped briefly at Beluga Point. A gale out of the SW was roiling the muddy Turnagain Arm. Photo looks WSW.The view looking SE along the Turnagain Arm toward the Girdwood area was not encouraging. Clouds and mist were hanging around the mountains in that direction.
When Lupe arrived in Girdwood a little after 2:00 PM, a light rain was falling. The wind wasn’t a gale here, but a lively breeze was blowing. The air was damp and raw. Crow Pass was out. Too bad. SPHP wondered about the wisdom of even continuing on to the Kenai Peninsula and Skilak Lookout?
Lupe wanted to go. May as well. No better options came to mind. By 4:00 PM, the Carolina Dog was well into the Kenai Peninsula. Once beyond Cooper Landing, SPHP started watching for a L turn off Sterling Highway No. 1 onto Skilak Road. Shortly after making the turn, Lupe got her first look at Skilak Lake.
From Skilak Road W of Cooper Landing, Lupe got her first view of Skilak Lake.
The weather certainly hadn’t improved much. The sky was more darkly overcast than back at Girdwood. At least it wasn’t raining, although it looked like it might at a moment’s notice. 5.5 miles from the Sterling Highway, SPHP found the Skilak Lookout trailhead. The parking lot was vacant. Not a soul around.
A small sign on the other side of the road marked the start of the Skilak Lookout trail. The trail immediately disappeared into a gloomy forest.
Lupe at the start of the Skilak Lookout Trail. The weather was questionable to say the least, but it wasn’t raining yet. Loop was going to see how far she could get. With a little luck she might make it to Skilak Lookout, which was only 2.2 miles away.
The trail started off going down a short slope. Near the bottom, Lupe found an information station.
Within a few minutes of starting out, Lupe came to a trail information station.This handy rundown on what to expect along the Skilak Lookout Trail was on display.The information station also provided this lovely map.
The first part of the Skilak Lookout trail wound generally S through a dense forest. Even though she had no views, Lupe was having plenty of fun sniffing around the forest floor close to the trail.
Loop in the forest on the first part of the Skilak Lookout Trail. She liked this area.
The Skilak Lookout trail was just the ticket for a first outing after the huge trek a couple of days ago on the Reed Lakes trail to Lynx Peak. Nice and easy. Less than 800 feet of elevation gain over more than 2 miles, most of it near the end.
Lupe trotted happily along gaining elevation slowly. There were no views until she got out of the forest upon reaching the Hidden Creek burn area mentioned back at the information station. SPHP then started to get occasional views, but Lupe still had none. The Hidden Creek burn had occurred way back in May, 1996. An awful lot of vegetation had grown up since then.
Upon reaching the 21+ year old Hidden Creek burn area, SPHP started getting views of the E end of Skilak Lake. Photo looks SE.Even after reaching the burn area, Lupe couldn’t see much. An awful lot of vegetation had grown up over 21 years.Looking E from farther along the trail. The Kenai River enters Skilak Lake at the base of the low hill R of Center. In the distance are Russian Mountain(4,318 ft.) (L), Bear Mountain(3,707 ft.) (Center), and Surprise Mountain(4,094 ft.) (R).
The Skilak Lookout trail appeared seldom traveled. Long stretches were overgrown with vegetation. Other sections were quite muddy. Hardly surprising, since it seemed to rain almost every day in Alaska. Lupe was getting sprinkled on every so often here, too. Fortunately, the showers were light and didn’t last long.
Views? What views? Seems more like a tunnel to me!
Lupe was at least a third of the way along the trail before she caught a glimpse of hills ahead. Skilak Lookout had to be somewhere up among those hills!
When Lupe was more than 1/3 of the way along the Skilak Lookout Trail, she started getting glimpses of hills ahead. Photo looks SSW.
Nearing the hills, Lupe came across fresh evidence American Dingoes weren’t the only ferocious predators in the area.
Fresh bear scat on the Skilak Lookout Trail.
5 minutes before coming to the bear scat, Lupe had found a squirrel to bark at. Perhaps that had been a good thing? Maybe the bear was so frightened by the sound of an approaching American Dingo it had fled? At any rate, SPHP was glad Loopster had given that squirrel a proper barking. No bear was seen, though the lush vegetation could have been hiding one almost anywhere.
The last part of the Skilak Lookout trail was steep and slick. SPHP had a hard time maintaining traction on the mud. Dense stands of bushes and small trees crowded the trail, so staying right on the path was about the only option. SPHP used branches for assistance, and began to wonder if anything at all could be seen from the top of Skilak Lookout?
The steep section was short. Lupe was soon up above it. The Carolina Dog quickly came to a small, exposed rocky ridge. SPHP needn’t have feared. Lupe had a great view of the E part of Skilak Lake! Now that she could finally see, Looper wasn’t all that thrilled about it. A cold 25 mph wind swept up the ridge from across the lake.
Nearing the top of Skilak Lookout, Lupe reaches a small, exposed ridge. An annoying, cold 25 mph wind was sweeping up from across Skilak Lake. Photo looks ESE.Lupe didn’t like the strong wind, but at least it wasn’t raining when she reached Skilak Lookout. Patches of blue sky raced by overhead. Photo looks SE.Lupe could see the Skilak River delta at the far E end of Skilak Lake. The Skilak River is short, originating from the Skilak Glacier not too many miles away. Photo looks ESE with help from the telephoto lens.The Kenai River enters Skilak Lake along its N shore near the NE end of the lake. Photo looks NE.
The top of Skilak Lookout was only a few hundred feet away from the first good viewpoint. A small stand of old evergreens stood slightly W of the true summit. Their windswept appearance provided proof positive that the current strong wind sweeping up from across Skilak Lake was nothing out of the ordinary.
Lupe reaches the summit of Skilak Lookout. A windswept stand of ancient evergreens provided proof that today’s strong wind from across Skilak Lake was nothing unusual. Photo looks W.Loopster faces into the same prevailing wind the battered evergreens behind her had endured all their lives. Photo looks NNW.The evergreens had put up with this stiff breeze a lot longer than Lupe intended to.Hideout Hill(2,858 ft.) (R above Lupe) is seen in this view looking N.
At Skilak Lookout’s true summit, Lupe found a small rock outcropping and an unimpressive cairn. Loop didn’t spend much time here. Several rock outcroppings closer to the lake provided better viewpoints.
From the rock outcroppings, Lupe had excellent views of Skilak Lake to the E and S, however the views to the W were disappointing. Skilak Lake is big. Most of the lake was off to the W or SW, yet very little of the western part of the lake could be seen. Other hills were in the way.
A slightly lower hill to the SW was positioned where it might provide a more panoramic view of Skilak Lake. Several different paths started off in that direction. Lupe tried them all, but none of them went anywhere. They all dead ended or circled back into each other.
If a decent trail had actually gone to the lower hill, Lupe would have taken it. However, it was getting late and charging off trail into dense vegetation seemed foolhardy. The weather was questionable, and no telling where that bear had run off to. Lupe and SPHP gave up on the idea. After all, this was supposed to be an easy day!
Little could be seen of the larger western portions of Skilak Lake from Skilak Lookout. Henton Benchmark(1,568 ft.) (R) was one of a couple of large hills blocking the view. Photo looks WNW.Several trails headed off toward this slightly lower hill to the SW, but they all dead ended. If any of them had actually gone over there, Lupe would have, too. Photo looks SW with help from the telephoto lens.Lupe on the rock outcropping providing the best view. Her ear points up at Russian Mountain(4,318 ft.). Photo looks E.A good look at the E end of Skilak Lake.Looking SW.Looking SE toward the Skilak River delta and rocky islands in Skilak Lake with help from the telephoto lens.
The wind soon drove Lupe away from the best viewpoints. They were too exposed. Loop and SPHP retreated back to the true summit, at least somewhat out of the wind. In 2016, on a much nicer day, Lupe had taken the Skyline Trail to the Mystery Hills. The views from there had been even better. Could Lupe see the Mystery Hills from here? SPHP spotted a long high ridge off to the NNE.
In 2016, Lupe had taken the Skyline Trail to both North Mystery Hills(3,284 ft.) (L) and Mystery Hills Central(3,291 ft.) (R). It was fun to see them again from Skilak Lookout. Photo looks NNE with help from the telephoto lens.
Yes, Lupe could see the Mystery Hills from Skilak Lookout! It was fun to think about that day over a year ago now. Loop and SPHP sat on the ground at the summit of Skilak Lookout huddled together for warmth.
Clouds and several large patches of blue sky sailed swiftly by. A small flock of crows came flying on the wind. For a few minutes, the crows circled above Skilak Lookout playing games with each other. Together they plunged earthward before soaring and swirling back into the wild blue heavens. The breeze soon carried them out of sight.
15 minutes at the summit, then the sky suddenly looked ominous over by the Skilak River delta off to the SE. Mountains were disappearing in an approaching dark cloud. Time for action! Rain was clearly on the way. Better get with it. Maybe Lupe could beat the rain back to the G6?
SPHP slipped and fell in the mud on the steep part of the trail shortly after leaving Skilak Lookout. No damage done. Puppy, ho! Onward!
Hurry, hurry, all the way. Lupe didn’t beat the rain, but it wasn’t as bad as it had appeared. Showers came and went. Loopster arrived damp, but not soaked, back at the G6. English muffins and summer sausage for dinner, then SPHP drove to the W end of Skilak Road. Due to highway construction, flagmen were preventing traffic from entering the Sterling Highway.
Information posted near the junction showed a map of the area. A fairly good-sized lake was close by. A short side road led to it. It was getting dark. Maybe Lupe could hang out there tonight?
This sign showing the Skilak Lake area was posted at the W end of Skilak Road near the junction with the Sterling Highway.
No one here. No facilities, only a large turnaround next to the lake. SPHP parked the G6. Bottenintnin Lake was big, but shallow. Water lilies extended far out from shore. Another side road left the turnaround. The American Dingo and SPHP explored it. Loop sniffed out a few dispersed camping sites. None were occupied. The side road soon ended. Perfect!
Skilak Lookout had been fun! It had been an easy half day, which was all Lupe and SPHP had really been up for. The weather could have been better, but Lupe did get to Skilak Lookout, and she did get to see Skilak Lake. Nature doesn’t give guarantees. You take what you can get.
Tomorrow was another roll of the dice. Maybe Lupe would get lucky? Dark now. Time to rest up. Better be ready, in case she did.
