Our plans for the first day in Girdwood centered around the
Mount Alyeska Resort, which is a ski resort and lodge. From the lodge you can hike on a number of trails, and ride the tram to the top of the mount for more hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter, and magnificent views year-round.
We woke-up to cloudy skies our first day in Girdwood. Our original plan was to ride to the top of the mountain the morning, eat lunch, then hike on the Winner Creek trail in the afternoon. But when we got to the Alyeska resort it was obvious that the visibility on top of the mountain would be about zero. So we changed plans: we decided to hike the
Winner Creek trail (which conveniently begins at the tram station) in the morning, then reevaluate the situation at noon.
We spent a couple of hours hiking the Winner Creek trail, and enjoying all of the scenery. I would recommend that to anyone who enjoys a good hike, but to be honest the scenery doesn't change much from one mile to the next. In other words, if you walk a mile or two, you've seen it. I understand there is a hand-tram across that crosses the river, but we didn't hike that far.
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| On the Winner Creek Trail |
While on the topic of trail hiking, I will confirm the rumor that the mosquitoes in Alaska are huge, plentiful, and aggressive! (The running joke is that the mosquito is the Alaska state bird.) Of course, if you're thinking about a trip to the "Big Wild Life" you probably won't let a few insects get in your way. But - it's best to be prepared,
before you start down the trail. We don't like the artificial chemicals in most bug sprays, so our choices were limited. We had good success with Repel spray, which is eucalyptus- and lemon-based.
Costs about $5 at Wal-mart. Highly recommended.
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| Effective against Alaska mosquitoes! |
By lunchtime, it was obvious that the clouds were here for a while. So, we switched our plans, and went to the
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center to see more animals native to Alaska. You can read about the AWCC on their web-site. They take-in injured and orphaned animals, and also accommodate breeding programs. The animals are somewhat tame, as you can imagine, but they're doing a good job there, and it is a good opportunity to see these animals in a close-up environment. (And of course, a "tame" grizzly bear still has big claws and big teeth!) The AWCC is definitely worth a couple of hours. (Also, we had a coupon from our Northern Lights book!) As you might have guessed, the large photo from top of this blog is from the AWCC.
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| A bear at the AWCC. (Zoom lens, through the fence!) |
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| Bison at AWCC. Part of a breeding program. |
While in the area (Portage, a few miles south of Girdwood) you can also see remnants of the
1964 Alaska earthquake. The entire area experienced a tsunami, and was under several feet of water. The salt water killed many of the trees, which are gray, and still standing. You can also see remains of cabins in the area. (Look closely at the picture at the top of this blog. You can see the gray trees in the background.)
We had tickets for a 2 PM Portage Glacier boat tour the next day, and the tour departed from a dock near the AWCC. So, I set the GPS and decided to drive a few miles to the dock, just to make sure I knew where I was going. (I try to do this when I need to be somewhere at a specific time.) We found the dock with no problem - I even stepped into the office to confirm our reservation. Less than a mile from there we found the
Begich Boggs Visitor Center, which provided us with our first glacier "experience.) We walked all around the area, (used the restrooms!) and generally enjoyed the scenery. Here are a couple of photos.
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| Chunks of ice - large and small - float toward the rocks. |
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Thought that was Portage Glacier in the
background, but it's not! More on that later. |
Well, we'd had a big day our first day in Girdwood and still hadn't been up the mountain. Time to head back to the B & B and get ready for another big day tomorrow.
