...at Trail River Campground

THE ROUTE: Ptarmigan Lake Trail.

DISTANCE: 7.0 miles round trip.

TERRAIN: Well established trail with lots of brush.

THE ROUTE: Circumnavigation via kayak of Lower Trail Lake.

DISTANCE: 4.0 miles.

THE ROUTE: Kayak tour of Upper Trail Lake.

DISTANCE:  6.3 miles.

THE ROUTE: Kayak tour of Kenai Lake.

DISTANCE: 2.2 miles

A bee hovers over some flowers at Trail River Campground.

Troy kayaking on Kenai Lake.

Liz, Emily, Linda, Tika, and Troy at the Ptarmigan Lake Trailhead sign.

Picking the first blueberries of the season.

Kestrel making way on Lower Trail Lake near Moose Pass.

Miss Pala gets ready to eat a roasted marshmallow while Alex looks on from behind.

It's drift boat Monday and I was supposed to go fishing this morning. In fact, I was on my way. I made it to the Tesoro station where I stopped for some supplies and when I went out to start the truck there was a clatter. Followed by some loud screeching noises. Then there was a huge dark cloud of smoke and all the lights on the dashboard started flashing with what resembled a Fourth of July fireworks display...a big one. I wasn't thinking of fish anymore. I got the truck to the repair shop where it is waiting to be fixed. And, now, I am sitting here writing this blog. While the fish are hitting the river with reckless abandon. Tens-of-thousands of them.

I do have something great to write about, however, as we just returned from a three night stay at Trail River Campground near Moose Pass where we kayaked, hiked, rode bikes, sat around campfires, visited with friends, and played with Labrador retrievers. The weather was just about perfect, too. It all began last Thursday when we met up with the Zimmerman family and picked out some of the best campsites at the very scenic Trail River Campground. We spent the evening talking and making plans for the next day which included a kayak trip on Kenai Lake and a hike to Ptarmigan Lake via Ptarmigan Lake Trail. The Burnett's and Miss Pala were also scheduled to arrive on Friday afternoon.

Troy and I took our kayaks out on the lake fairly early in the morning and paddled around for over an hour. Kenai Lake is fairly large and the wind was blowing so we stuck close to the shore. Once the kayaking was done we packed our daypacks and drove to the Ptarmigan Lake Trail. We picked the first blueberries of the season and ate them as we strolled along. It was very hot and we stopped frequently to rehydrate kids and retrievers. Arriving at the lake we enjoyed a spectacular view before turning back for the trailhead.

When we got back to the campground the Burnett's and Karen had arrived and we cooked food on a fire and caught up on the details of everyone's summer at the Zimmerman's campsite. The next morning Troy and I drove to Lower Trail Lake which we circumnavigated in little over an hour before returning to the campground. That afternoon we went to the beach on Kenai Lake where we put the kayaks in and paddled around on the lake's sizable waves. The wind was blowing and the beachgoers eventually got cold enough that they returned to the campsites for more visiting. The evening was filled with more cooking and talking.

The final morning Troy and I took the kayaks to Upper Trail Lake where we paddled around a couple arms of the lake and then drove back to the campground where we packed up and drove home marveling at the volume of traffic on a Sunday afternoon during dipnet season. We talked about how quiet and serene our weekend had been...at Trail River Campground.