...Hoppy Easter!

The Route: Discovery Campground Loop and the trail around the perimeter. Terrain: Snow, ice, mud, some standing water.

Sunrise over a boreal forest.

The horizon ablaze.

Easter morning self-portrait.

4:15 AM. I'm running late. I better hurry if I'm going to be back in time to see the Hufford girls hunt for Easter eggs. Gabby and I load up and book it for Capt Cook State Park. We're out and walking in the dark with little fanfare. This should be easy. The campground loop complete we head to the perimeter trail and as we near the bluff the sunrise lights up the horizon. A few quick photos and we head back to the truck. I slip the remaining dog treats to Gabby as we walk. She's really happy this morning. Back in the truck we drive home just in time to see the Hufford girls coming down the stairs. Perfect. Hope y'all have a...Hoppy Easter!

...still asleep

The Route: Parked at the gate across the road to the swim beach at Stormy Lake. Hiked down the road to the edge of the lake. Crossed the ice and entered the woods. Broke out onto the swamps and meandered around looking for a passable route to Gooseneck Lake. Too wet. had to turn back. Distance: 4.25 miles Terrain: Snow covered road. Lake ice. Frozen, partially frozen, and wet swamp.

Sunrise over a swamp on the back side of Stormy Lake. More sunrise.

Continuing sunrise.

A swamp view.

Frosted swamp spruce.

The former ski route to Gooseneck Lake.

Shadow of a swamp monster.

Stepping onto Stormy Lake on the way back. Gabby was already there.

4:00 AM. Dark city. Most of the house is still asleep, but I can hear Gabby in the living room. She's awake. She'll go with me. She stretches and flaps her ears almost smiling a dog smile when she sees me coming down the stairs. She is even happier when she spies the backpack which makes her jump and spin in circles. We have to get out of here, she seems to be saying, before the slumbering Hufford girls are awakened by the commotion.

Off we go with the defroster blasting hard to clear the windshield of heavy frost. We hit the pavement things heat up nicely. We're on our way with the radio blaring AC/DC. Time to wake up fully.

We park at the gate, ready gear, sniff some bushes (Gabby), and hit the trail. It's still dark and hard to see, but we're on a road. We make good time. Twenty minutes later we're across the lake and entering the woods. Faint light is coming. But, our progress slows when we reach the swampland. Heavy melting occured yesterday and light freezing temps overnight allow for breaking through about every third step. My boots are quickly wet and soggy. Progress continues until we hit the wide open areas. The water deepens and the tussocks are too far apart for me to jump from one to the next. Time to turn back, just as a sliver of the sun burns above the horizon. I'm not ready to go home so we explore some birch thickets checking out the animal trails and taking some photos.

The trip back is straight forward following our previous steps, and when we get back home the Hufford girls are...still asleep.

...no name lake ski tour

The Route: Parking lot at the end of the road at Capt Cook State Park. Over some swamps to circumnavigate the perimeter of a lake with no name. Back over some swamps with patchy snow and down a pipline corridor to a trail back to the parking lot. Distance: 3.5 miles Terrain: Swamps covered with patches of snow. Snow covered lake. Snow covered pipeline corridors.

Laura carries her skis through a no snow zone.

Laura and Mrs. Huffy ski over a narrow patch of snow on our way to the lake.

Mrs. Huffy, Laura, and Gabby at the picnic spot.

The view from the picnic spot.

Signs of Spring.

After lunch Mrs. Huffy decided to relax by listening to some music on her iPod.

Laura plays a game on her iTouch. Note the barren hillside behind her.

Laura stops skiing to look at some open water. We saw a muskrat here but I wasn't fast enough with the camera to get a picure.

My skis at the end of the snow. we had to turn around here and go back the way we came.

Laura and Mrs. Huffy wait for me to turn around due to insufficient snow to ski across the swamp.

We went on what may well be our last ski tour of the season this afternoon. The snow is disappearing quickly and the lack of it forced us to turn around from our intended route and ski back over our previous tracks. The lake was great, once we got there, and we had a wonderful picnic in a sheltered area where we basked in the sun. We stayed there for over an hour. We did have to keep a close eye on Gabby as there were signs of trapping activity near one of the beaver lodges on the far side of the lake. On the way back we tried to take a different route but had to turn back after running out of snow while trying to cross a swamp. We were ultimately able to follow a pipeline corridor which had plenty of snow coverage. Even with the lack of snow it was a great afternoon for taking a...no name lake ski tour.

...a morning of geocaching

Emily holds a geocache.

This one was suspended in a tree.

Can you see it here? It was quite high.

Do you see the geocahe in this photo? Here it is.

We saw this sign while we were out and about.

This is the trail you have to follow to the cabin that's for sale. Six miles. Good luck.

We had a great morning geocaching at Captain Cook State park today. We found several caches that we have had on our list for a while. Our favorite was the one suspended about 20 feet above the ground. We were standing right under it for the longest time and couldn't find it. When we finally looked up there it was. We also came across a sign advertising a cabin for sale. It was on a trail that looked to be impassable this time of year. We got a good laugh out of that! So, all-in-all it was great to be out for...a morning of geocaching.

...a darn fine morning

Just got back from a sunrise morning ski at Stormy Lake. Parked at the boat ramp, crossed the lake, followed some snowmachine tracks through the woods, listened to some owls hooting, skied over some swamps, bushwhacked a couple hundred yards, followed some wolf tracks across a small pond, and kept to the edge of the lake on my way back to the truck. Just...a darn fine morning.

...Headquarters Lake skate ski

The Route: Circumnavigation of Headquarters Lake. Distance: 2.71 miles. Terrain: Snow covered lake.

Laura, Emily, and Mrs. Huffy enjoy the weather and a picnic on the edge of Headquarters Lake. Note the big bag of Cheetos.

Mrs. Huffy and our skis.

Laura tries out the classic tracks. Emily cruises across the snow.

Mrs. Huffy skate skis across Headquarters Lake...with a garbage bag attached to her belt. Leave No Trace.

Ha! A full backpack, camera, and GPS. Be prepared!

We took a skate ski to Headquarters Lake near the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge headquarters this afternoon. We had a picnic on the edge of the lake and the weather couldn't have been any better. We had a great time going around the edge of the lake. In fact, it was a great day for a...Headquarters Lake skate ski.

...early morning outing

The route Gabby and I skied this morning...most of it in the dark.

Gabby and I took an early morning foray to Stormy Lake today. When we were backing down the driveway around 5:30 AM, it was pitch black. Very dark. I was certain by the time we got skiing we would have plenty of light. So, I didn't take a headlamp. Big mistake. At the parking lot I fumbled around with bindings, backpack straps, dog snacks, and GPS settings I couldn't see. I finally got everything together and off we went--crossing the lake in the dark. We made it to the other side and entered the woods, which were even more dark. I slipped and slid along listening to the sounds of Gabby running back and forth through the dense brush. We made it to an opening just as the morning light was beginning to appear. We skied across the swamp and turned back toward the boat ramp knowing there would be a bushwhack before us. Fortunately it was finally light enough to see and after 20 minutes I had used my skis to chop and hack a path back to the edge of the lake. From there it was a dash across the ice to the boat ramp parking area and then the drive home. The end of an...early morning outing.