Days 23 & 24 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!
8-26-18, the wee hours, near MP 33 of the Taylor Highway – For the first time in weeks, Lupe saw stars. Though it was a clear night, she didn’t see as many as might be expected. A brilliant full moon lit the sky enough so only the brightest stars could compete. Nearly a year ago at this same pullout W of Mount Fairplay (5,541 ft.), Lupe had seen the Northern Lights for the first time ever. She was being treated to another display of the ghostly phenomena again tonight.
8-26-18, 6:20 AM, 40°F – Still a dozen miles from the Alaska Highway, SPHP parked the G6 at a pullout on a hill. This was the place Lupe had first seen Mount Fairplay from back in 2017. The next day she had climbed the mountain, returning only yesterday for a second ascent. Such a fabulous peak! Loop wouldn’t see Mount Fairplay again, at least not on this Dingo Vacation, so it was worth a quick stop for a final look.
8-26-18, 9:43 AM, 43°F, Tok Cutoff at the Copper River overlook – Cheerful morning sunshine had quickly given way to the usual dreary overcast. Lupe was on the road W. Since bidding farewell to Mount Fairplay, she’d seen some impressive snowy mountains, but was now ready for a break from the G6. SPHP parked at a scenic lookout near the Copper River not far from the W end of the Tok Cutoff.
The Copper River was running much higher than when Lupe had seen it in 2016 and 2017.
8-26-18, 11:16 AM, 44°F – Continuing W on the Glen Highway, light rain was falling when SPHP caught sight of a lone peak seemingly floating above the clouds. Stopping for a photo, SPHP suddenly realized Lupe had been up there! That was Gunsight Mountain (6,441 ft.) where she had met her friend Australian adventurer Luke Hall two years ago.
The farther W SPHP drove, the more the weather deteriorated. Lupe ended up stuck in the G6 in Palmer and Wasilla, where it rained the rest of the day. SPHP stayed busy with adventures in laundry, supplies, and at the car wash. Maybe Lupe needed a day off, anyway? She hardly ate or drank, content simply resting on her pile of pillows and blankets.
8-27-18, 7:13 AM, 53°F, Seward Highway near Girdwood – The new day was off to a hopeful start, entirely appropriate since Lupe was on her way to the Kenai Peninsula to take the trail to Hope Point (3,708 ft.). Not only was it not raining, but skies were clearing over the Turnagain Arm! If this trend held, surely the American Dingo was destined for some fantastic views of the Turnagain Arm from lofty Hope Point.
8-27-18, 8:55 AM, 52°F, Gull Rock & Hope Point trailhead – No one else was around when the Carolina Dog arrived at the Hope Point trailhead. Probably for the best. Turned out someone was feeling more nauseated than hopeful. Within minutes of arriving, Lupe threw up a thoroughly disgusting, mucousy green slime while sniffing among the bushes.
Guess that explained her lack of appetite. Lupe looked guilty, but hadn’t done anything wrong. SPHP encouraged her, and she soon perked up. Getting rid of that awful load would have made anyone feel better.
Prior to arrival, SPHP had been under the impression that the Hope Point trail went all the way to the summit. However, information posted at the trailhead said that the maintained trail ended at a cairn 3.2 miles from a junction with the Gull Rock trail. And then what?
Some scrambling is required beyond the rock cairn to reach the summit of Hope Point.
Hmm. No mention of how difficult that scrambling might be. A map showed the trail ending 1,300 feet lower than the summit, not exactly a trivial amount.
Fortunately, the Most Queasy Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood seemed sufficiently recovered to take on the Hope Point trail. As soon as SPHP was ready, she set off exhibiting her usual enthusiasm.
The trail immediately entered a primeval forest. Tall trees towered over a lush undergrowth of ferns, devil’s club, and plants with enormous green leaves. Lupe crossed a bridge over a small rushing creek and was underway.
After crossing the creek, the trail wound around in the spooky forest. Lupe soon came to the fork where the Gull Rock and Hope Point trails part ways.
The Hope Point trail was in great shape. It switchbacked at an easy pace up a mountainside, gradually working its way W, then NW, up the valley the creek came down. The trail was soon so high above the creek that the stream could no longer be seen or even heard. Lush, wet vegetation overhung the trail in places. Although it wasn’t raining at the moment, staying dry was a lost cause.
The primeval forest was left behind almost right away as the ferns and devil’s club disappeared, but for a long way the trail remained in a densely forested zone.
When Lupe got high enough, she finally started coming to little clearings where she had some views. The first views were of the surrounding mountains farther up the valley.
After a long switchback to the NW, the trail finally turned E traversing a steep grassy slope. The views were really beginning to open up. Lupe could see the village of Hope to the SE at the lower end of a long canyon. The Turnagain Arm soon came into sight, too.
Shortly after the Turnagain Arm appeared, the trail turned sharply NW. Instead of being on a hillside, Lupe was now climbing more steeply up a partially forested ridge. Views were often hidden by bushes and stunted trees. After less than 10 minutes following the ridgeline, the trail leveled out at a spot where there was a big cairn.
Was this the end of the of the maintained trail? Hope Point, or what could be seen of it beneath the cloud cover, still looked a long way up. SPHP checked a photo of the map that was posted at the trailhead. No, this couldn’t be the end of the maintained trail. Lupe hadn’t gone far enough up the ridge yet.
In any case, maintained or not, the trail continued on beyond the cairn. The American Dingo did, too. The Hope Point trail kept following the ridgeline higher. This next section featured lots of bushes, overgrown areas where wet grass nearly as tall as SPHP overhung the trail again, and some very slick muddy spots where the trail dipped temporarily.
None of it was difficult, though. The trail wasn’t all that steep. Loopster enjoyed wildflowers and occasional views along the way.
Half an hour at a steady, but leisurely pace brought Lupe to a second cairn. A check of the maps convinced SPHP that this actually was the end of the maintained trail.
Pity those who get fooled by the first cairn, and turn back there! They’ve been cheated! The second cairn sat on a hillock on an open ridge, higher up, and with an unobstructed view of the Turnagain Arm. This was a far superior viewpoint. Off to the NW, across the Turnagain Arm, Lupe could see Anchorage.
While gazing toward Anchorage, SPHP suddenly realized that far, far away a huge white mountain was dimly visible in a gap between cloud layers. Like an abominable monster, Denali (20,310 ft.), the highest peak in North America, loomed menacingly over the unsuspecting city! Lupe could see it from here!
Unfortunately, the news on the weather front was not as good as it had been earlier. The morning sunshine was gone. Quite a while ago, those blue skies had been completely overrun by gray clouds. Hope Point was in their grasp, too.
All hope wasn’t completely lost yet, though. With 1,300 feet of elevation gain to go, it would take Lupe a while to get up there. The summit still appeared to be faintly visible, and conditions might improve. If Loop got lucky, maybe the cloud deck would lift enough to grant her at least a peek at the magnificent views that must be available from Hope Point on a clear day?
The next part of the journey was a 400 foot climb up to a ridge at the 2,800 foot level. From the second cairn, a trail could be seen winding up a steep, grassy slope. The fact that any kind of visible trail continued on beyond this point was encouraging. Lupe and SPHP set out for the 2,800 foot ridge.
The last little bit getting up onto the 2,800 foot ridge involved the only real scramble of the day. Mild and over quickly. Nothing to worry about. Lupe was up in a flash. The trail continued W staying on the ridge or toward the L (S) avoiding impressive drops to the R (N).
The 2,800 foot ridge was rocky, and a little rough. At the same time, it was fairly level, and not terribly long. Lupe soon reached the W end. She was now faced with a 300 foot climb up to a saddle at 3,100 feet. A decent trail continued up another steep grassy slope to the saddle.
By the time Lupe reached the 3,100 foot saddle, she was getting into fog. Not a good sign, as far as her hopes of seeing anything from up on Hope Point went. The unmaintained trail was still in good condition, though. Despite fading expectations, Lupe continued higher.
From the 3,100 foot saddle, the trail went SW gaining elevation steadily at an easy pace. The path became narrower as it traversed slopes of scree. Upon reaching Hope Point’s S ridge, the trail turned N, climbing more steeply while following the ridge to the top of the mountain.
Conditions weren’t terrible, but they weren’t all that great either, when Loop arrived at the summit of Hope Point (3,708 ft.). Foggy, raining, 45°F, with a 10-15 mph wind out of the W. Lupe stood in the rain atop the high point cold, wet, not feeling too well, and with little to show for her efforts despite a peakbagging success.
Taking pity on Lupe, SPHP retreated to a spot with soft tundra a little down the E side of the summit ridge to get her out of the wind. Lupe curled up on SPHP’s lap inside the blue rain poncho.
It was too little, too late. Loopster was already drenched. After trying the poncho for a few minutes, she decided she might as well get out, and endure whatever the elements threw at her. She curled up on the soft tundra, but that wasn’t a solution, either. Nothing felt good. Lupe sat forlornly in the cold rain looking utterly dejected and miserable.
They say that hope springs eternal. Not at Hope Point. Lupe waited, but the wind blew, the rain came down, the fog only worsened, and her faint hopes for a turn in the weather collapsed and died.
May as well call it. Not happening, not today. Lupe had done all she could. No sense in allowing Hope Point a shot at transforming itself into Pneumonia Point. After 25 less than delightful minutes at the summit, the American Dingo brightened when SPHP proposed heading down.
Onward! Puppy, ho! Back down the scree slopes on the narrow trail. Rain and fog now extended below the 2,800 foot ridge. Lupe was barely out of the fog by the time she reached the second cairn at 2,400 feet again, the rain reduced to mere mist.
On the open ridge close to the second cairn, Lupe stood on the edge of a silvery world. The tide had been going out. The Turnagain Arm was a combination of shallow sea and mud flats. Visibility was poor beneath low hanging clouds. Yet the monotone scene blended perfectly in silvery silence, seeming as a long forgotten, mystical land glimpsed through the haze of dim memory, not mist.
The return trek was actually quite a lot of fun. Down the long, winding trail, Lupe sniffed and explored as she gradually dried out. Before she reached the primeval forest near the trailhead, sunshine glimmered among the trees.
8-27-18, 4:26 PM, 61°F, Hope Point trailhead – By the time Lupe was back at the G6, the camera was malfunctioning. Error messages and shutting itself down as soon as turned on. Fresh batteries didn’t help. Must have gotten too wet. A couple of hours spent trying to dry it out were to no avail. The camera was old, and had been having intermittent problems for over a year. This time it was a goner.
So Lupe enjoyed an evening ride. The cloud cover was breaking up, as SPHP drove the Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm back to Anchorage. Suddenly a fiery golden-orange sun burst through in a blaze of glory, brilliantly illuminating pink and yellow clouds reflected on the shimmering sea. The promised land! The gateway to Heaven! Perhaps the most glorious scene Lupe and SPHP had ever seen!
A backup camera might serve, but the Seward Highway was jam-packed with traffic desperate to roar along at top speed. Highway construction. A narrow lane between endless orange cones permitted no deviation. No place to escape the road and park.
Oh, for Lupe to have been up on Hope Point then, during the ten glorious minutes before the sun disappeared and nirvana faded to gray! Not to be. Yet hope was restored for new and sunnier adventures to come.
Directions to the Hope Point trailhead – At mile 56.5, Seward Highway, turn W onto Hope Highway. Drive 17.8 miles, take a L 500 feet before the Porcupine Campground, drive 0.25 mile to the trailhead.
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