...BISHOP2SWANSON FATBIKE AND A HIKE UP SKYLINE

THE ROUTE:  Bishop Creek parking area to the Swanson River.
DISTANCE:  ~5 miles RT.
TERRAIN:  Cook Inlet Beach packed sand, several rock gardens.

The view from the handlebars as I followed four wheeler tracks through some beach grass.

Fatbike in front of a rock along the edge of Cook Inlet.

The Swanson River.

I saw these messages flashing on a sign near the construction zone on Halbouty Road.

After the fatbike ride we took Laura and some of her friends for a hike up Skyline Trail.

Look closely and you can see four teenagers hiking down the ridge after reaching the summit of Skyline Trail.  I would have been there, too, but they can move up a mountain much faster than me. 

Congratulatory pizza after a successful hike.

It's a quick ride from Bishop Creek along the beach to the Swanson River in Capt. Cook State Park.  In fact, it only takes about 50 minutes to go there and back.  Good thing, because I didn't have much time for the ride before I had to be at home to transport Laura and some of her friends to the Skyline Trailhead for an afternoon hike.  Afterward we went out for pizza, too.

So, the day was good.  Filled with bike riding, hiking, listening to the banter of some bright kids on the way to a trailhead, and pizza.  Doesn't get much better.

...Homer Spit Fatbike Tour

The GPS track of an early morning ride.  Cycled ~20 miles.

Ready to ride at 4:00 AM.  Had to leave early in order to be back in time for Laura's volleyball game which started at 9:00 AM.

Early morning visit to the Homer Small Boat Harbor.

Fatbike going up the ramp.

Fatbike and a wooden halibut.

Floatplane on Beluga Lake.

Eagle on a light pole.

Catch-of-the-day.

Riding the beach near Homer.

...Tutka Bay Kayak Trip

These are the kayak trails we made in the Tutka Bay area over three days.  We started at Yukon Island, set up a basecamp at Arch Beach, and got picked up at Kayak Beach.  We paddled ~20 miles.

Troy looks over the North Pacific from the entrance of Tutka Bay.

Doug assembles his folding kayak on a Yukon Island beach.

Approaching Elephant Rock.  This was the first destination of our trip.

Doug and Troy paddling near the entrance to Tutka Bay.

Out for an evening paddle.

Troy got a new stove for the trip.  It is easy to set-up and boils water in a flash.

Doug prepares dinner at Arch Beach.

The evening campfire at Arch beach.

Doug put the food bags out of reach of animals each evening.  We did see a bear just a couple hundred yards down the beach from our camp, but it never got any closer.

Repairing a broken rudder cable near Arch Beach.

Doug examines a sea star that was dangling from a rock after the tide went out.

Doug crouches to peer under a rock stuck in the arch.

The drinking fountain near Arch Beach.  It was a great water source.

Group photo just before we departed from Arch beach.

Troy and Doug paddling out of Arch Beach.

Troy at the entrance of Tutka Bay.  Hesketh Island is in the background.

All this gear fit in my kayak.

Our ride, the Bonnie Ann, pulling into Kayak Beach to pick us up.

The kayaks aboard the Bonnie Ann on our way to Yukon Island.

Three kayakers after a successful trip on the Bonnie Ann headed for Homer.