Three Hour Tour
Man, finding someone with the time to go hiking is tough sometimes. Me and Tracy dug through all our friends and finally found two who were willing to head out to the mountains with us. We only had a small time window on Friday to do this, so we chose a quick hike up Lazy Mountain, above Palmer, AK. Unfortunately, as is typical of such events, one partner bailed and left us with three, but we had a great time anyway, even if it was short.
We started out in the early afternoon on a rather dismal Friday, with glacier dust from the Matanuska filling the whole valley. Our chosen peak lies between the two glacier valleys that the wind blows down, though, and we were nicely sheltered, with barely a light breeze floating around, and no dust either!
With temperatures forever roaming slightly above freezing, dewdrops have a rough time trying to evaporate.
My friend Dave is 56 years old, or so. He makes it a point to get out and hike a mountain at least once or twice a week. He can always be relied on as a hiking partner, even if he doesn't do any technical climbing.:D
Dave pioneered this trail, eschewing the popular main route directly up Lazy in favor of a more leisurely route up a ridgeline. He attacked it alone over a span of a year or two with cutting tools, stomping down grass and making a way, until gradually others discovered the route and began using it, thus making it well established. The peak formerly known as Byers reigns in the background (now it's Matanuska Peak)
Tracy still doesn't like the camera. I'm working on that, and might just be working on that for the rest of our lives. :rofl
Dave is an awesome individual, brilliant and quick-witted, and with the wisdom to back his years, but you might not realize it if you just walk through his checkout aisle at the local grocery store. I snapped a couple of him at home in one of his favorite places.
In this shot you can see the vague line of glacial dust blowing out of the Matanuska Glacier Valley on the right, and drifting into the rest of the world. Dave's house and workplace are vaguely visible behind him in the small town of Palmer, AK.
That's three hours in the mountains on the edge of Alaskan civilization. The adventures with my car's battery that made us two hours late for the rest of the evening were undocumented. :rofl Hope you enjoyed the hike!
We started out in the early afternoon on a rather dismal Friday, with glacier dust from the Matanuska filling the whole valley. Our chosen peak lies between the two glacier valleys that the wind blows down, though, and we were nicely sheltered, with barely a light breeze floating around, and no dust either!
With temperatures forever roaming slightly above freezing, dewdrops have a rough time trying to evaporate.
My friend Dave is 56 years old, or so. He makes it a point to get out and hike a mountain at least once or twice a week. He can always be relied on as a hiking partner, even if he doesn't do any technical climbing.:D
Dave pioneered this trail, eschewing the popular main route directly up Lazy in favor of a more leisurely route up a ridgeline. He attacked it alone over a span of a year or two with cutting tools, stomping down grass and making a way, until gradually others discovered the route and began using it, thus making it well established. The peak formerly known as Byers reigns in the background (now it's Matanuska Peak)
Tracy still doesn't like the camera. I'm working on that, and might just be working on that for the rest of our lives. :rofl
Dave is an awesome individual, brilliant and quick-witted, and with the wisdom to back his years, but you might not realize it if you just walk through his checkout aisle at the local grocery store. I snapped a couple of him at home in one of his favorite places.
In this shot you can see the vague line of glacial dust blowing out of the Matanuska Glacier Valley on the right, and drifting into the rest of the world. Dave's house and workplace are vaguely visible behind him in the small town of Palmer, AK.
That's three hours in the mountains on the edge of Alaskan civilization. The adventures with my car's battery that made us two hours late for the rest of the evening were undocumented. :rofl Hope you enjoyed the hike!
John Borland
www.morffed.com
www.morffed.com
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Hahaha, why whatever are you talking about?
I'll let you know if/when.
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