There are numerous signs displayed around Homer, Alaska that say, “Homer: a quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem.” Although I am not a fisherman, I can verify that fishing is taken very seriously here.
As for the drinking part, I can only testify that the local beer
culture is alive and well. We visited two microbreweries: Grace Ridge
Brewing and Homer Brewing. Both were outstanding. Grace is owned by a
San Diego couple who moved to Homer for employment. Upon retirement,
they started a brewery (I am grateful, but that isn’t my idea of
retirement).
Julia drank an IPA, and I had a delicious sour that was not overdone. Just enough sour to make it interesting.
On another day, we visited Homer Brewery. Julia had a Red Scotch Ale
which was not too strong, and I went for the King and Wing ESB, cask
conditioned and served by the beer engine. Easily in the top three beers
I’ve had in Alaska.
After our train returned to Anchorage, we rented a car and drove to
Girdwood. We rented a room called the Treehouse for two nights. Our
first stop was Girdwood Brewing Company. I had a Northeastern style
cloudy IPA, while Julia took the West Coast version. In the third photo
below, I discuss with staff the pros and cons of high alcohol
percentages in beers that taste really good.
After a light breakfast on the next morning, we drove to the
trailhead to hike to the Byron Glacier. Although this is a popular easy
hike, we arrived early enough that we pretty much had the area to
ourselves for exploration and picture-taking.
I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to hike to a glacier, but I am so glad that we did.
After a short nap at the Treehouse, we ventured out mid-afternoon to
hike the North Face trail at Mt. Alyeska. Many people pay to take the
tram up and then hike down, but frugal John wanted to hike up and take
the tram down for free. With a vertical rise of over 2000 feet in 2.2
miles, we earned outstanding views, a beer at the top, and the free ride
down.
During our train journey and stay in the Mount Denali area, we made
every effort to see some real Alaska wildlife. If I had my druthers,
my preference would have been to see a brown or grizzly bear from a
considerable distance away. But I was up for seeing caribou, Dall
sheep or even moose at a closer distance.
On the train trip north and south, we pretty much saw nothing, except
for a brief glimpse of a moose butt. While in the Denali National Park
area, we even signed up for an expensive jeep excursion. We had a good
time driving our jeeps up and down gravel roads, but we again caught
only the glimpse of a distant moose before returning to the jeep parking
lot.
However, on the afternoon after the jeep ride, Julia and I asked to
get dropped off on our own at the Denali National Park Visitor’s Center.
We decided to hike the Horseshoe Lake loop trail, which was one of our
better decisions and totally free. We picked up our trail map and headed
outside where we met a delightful older gentleman and his golden
retriever. After some conversation, he offered to walk with us to the
trailhead. He explained that he lived in the area full time, that he was
retired and that his wife was director of operations at the national
park. He offered some great advice and told several stories.
One of the stories is that he had been attacked numerous times by
moose in the park. During the last attack, he ended up on the ground
with the moose kicking and stomping on him. He survived without serious
injuries but his dog sustained two skull fractures. He told us that if
we ever encounter moose up close to seek cover between trees and the
moose. The conventional wisdom to run away often doesn’t work.
With a new respect for moose, we parted ways and started down the
trail. Immediately, people coming up the trail told us to watch out for a
mama moose with a calf on the left side of the lake. We didn’t see that
moose but we watched another feeding in the lake. The moose dipped its
head under water for 20 to 30 seconds and emerged, chewing on underwater
vegetation. The moose stayed in basically the same feeding position as
we quietly looped around the lake.
We then ran into more people telling us that the mama and calf were
just ahead before the next bridge. We didn’t find the moose at that
location.but we did find their wet tracks.
Disappointed that we just missed the moose, we continued past the
bridge to the river, where Julia started taking scenery shots and video.
Meanwhile, I was bored and looked back up into the woods close the
where the moose had left the trail. At that instant, I saw the mama
moose and calf walking our way and directly toward where Julia was with
her back to the moose.
I started calling Julia softly at first and then with more enthusiasm
as she continued to ignore me and operate her camera.. “Mama moose,
now, time to go!” I suggested. We quietly but quickly moved away from
their path before we could be cut off from the trail. It was very
exciting, and we were able to take photos from behind the bushes once we
were out of harm’s way.
We finished up our hike with our hearts racing at this close encounter with mama moose and baby moose.
Mount Denali is the tallest mountain in North America and has the
largest vertical rise in the world. We did not hike the mountain. But we
did join the 30 Percent Club: visitors who actually get to see the
mountain as it is usually covered in clouds.
This was one our first views. We were excited to see the peak because
we talked to visitors from the week before who saw nothing but rain and
clouds.
We didn’t know that our first glimpse was just a tease of what was to
come. The weather on the mountain changes constantly but rarely
provides a full view.
We
felt so fortunate to take in Denali’s immense beauty. Expeditions to
climb the mountain take 3 weeks. Unfortunately, we only had two weeks.
Actually, climbing season is over for the year, and I lack both the
money and the skills to climb it. But it was fun to imagine doing so.
After a couple of days to relax by ourselves, we rejoined two other
couples from our group and boarded the Alaska Railroad for Talkeetna.
Train travel is one of our favorite modes.
Good views, good food and drink, and room to stretch and walk around,
what isn’t to like, especially compared to air travel? Our favorite
viewing spot on the train is at the back of the caboose where a person
can stand outside the car and breathe fresh air, while taking in the
expansive views of Alaska’s terrain.
We didn’t see much wildlife, but we saw a lot of mountains, lakes, and rivers. We also saw sled dogs.
We stayed at a lodge outside if Talkeetna where we enjoyed almost
unobstructed views of Mount Denali. Only 30 percent of visitors get to
see Denali which is usually behind the clouds. We stayed up late for the
sunset which finished up at about 11:30 pm
We are staying in a studio VRBO in Eagle River for a couple of
nights. Monday morning, we fixed breakfast in our small kitchen and then
drove to the Mount Baldy trailhead for our morning hike.
The Mount Baldy trail is about 4 miles the way that we hiked it. The
trailhead is not marked at the road at all. There are no trail maps or
information desk. There is a gate at the end of the road and a bunch of
footpaths leading around the mountain and up the mountain. We weren’t
too sure what was the right path so we ended up following 3 hikers who
were climbing straight up the mountain on what felt like a goat path.
I didn’t take any photos of the goat path because the trail felt too
steep to screw around with my camera. The photos below are before we
started the ascent and from the summit.
Once we made it to the top of Mount Baldy, we could see that an
alternative path led around the back side which was much easier with
actual switchbacks. Before heading down, we lingered for awhile on top,
enjoying a brief rainbow and hiking on along the ridge another half-mile
or so before hiking back down.
Next, we drove to Wasilla for lunch at The Last Frontier Brewing
Company. The beer was decent (Stout for me, Hefeweizen for Julia). The
fried halibut sandwich and French fries proved to be a little too much
fried food for my stomach, but Julia loved her seafood chowder.
After lunch we drove to Hatcher’s Pass Public Use Area along the
Little Susitna River. We didn’t find any trails calling us to hike, but
we found an excellent spot to enjoy the river rushing down the mountain
from its glacier source.
On the way back from Eagle River, we decided to take a couple of
short hikes at Thunderbird Falls. There were lots of families also
enjoying this easy walk to view the falls.
That concludes our time in Eagle River, Alaska. On Tuesday, we have a
train to catch. I’m not sure about the possibilities of the internet
over the next couple of days so my short posting streak is likely to be
broken.
