Long before we left on this trip, I read through several books about Alaska fly fishing.  There are few areas, if any, that can rival Alaska for the concentration of species and raw numbers of fish that return to Alaska's many rivers.  All species of pacific salmon, along with sea-run dolly varden, arctic char and steelhead, return to these rivers at various times throughout the year.  Along with these seasonal arrivals, there are also lots of resident rainbows and dolly varden in most coastal rivers.  Of course, Washignton and BC all have rivers that support the same species, but the concentration of wild fish (not hatchery) makes Alaska truly unique.  All of this really appealed to me, especially after months of stalking elusive winter steelhead on pacific northwest rivers.  8 hours and no fish was a typical day for me all winter, with snow pelting down in one of the wettest and coldest winters in the pacific northwest.  My regular guide in Washington started to think I was a weather jinx.  Well, reading about the fishing marvels available in Alaska became one of the many reasons (Claire would argue THE reason) I wanted to come up to Alaska. However, after more reading, I realized that the best of the river systems are not accessible unless you pack up your gear and head off to extremely remote backcountry lodges accessible only by air.  These are very expensive adventures that only last a few days at a time.  I realized before we left that I would have to remain happy with the good (but not spectacular) fishing available along the highway systems.  OK, no big deal, I thought.  I can always come back some other year to fish the remote areas at some nice lodge catering just to fly-anglers.

Then, about 10 days ago, we arrived in Homer. ...

A seven-mile hike through forest and meadows, this hike was a treat.  There was only 2000ft elevation gain, so it wasn't difficult and the trail was dry almost the whole way.  No boardwalks, no tall grass.  And, it was sunny!  The first 5 miles was up through timber with a gradual climb.  Then you come out into meadows, and we had lunch overlooking a little lake.  Then we hit the ridge - 2 miles of ridge-walking with huge peaks on either side of us.  It was gorgeous, but we hadn't seen anything yet.  We hit the first lake, then the second, third and lost count - all depressions had glacier-fed lakes.  These lakes are bright ultramine blue.  They look like they are filled with champagne, like someone has scattered diamonds all over the surface.  Despite the fact that Chris has been bitching about the weight of his pack, he really got pissed that he'd left his camera behind. ...

The Exit Glacier/Harding Icefield day hike starts about 15 miles out of Seward, Alaska.  Rising directly from the Resurrection River, the Exit Glacier is one of many low lying glaciers hanging from the Harding Icefield.  The Harding Icefield covers a very large area of the southern Chugach Range on the Kenai Peninsula.  This hike took us right from the bottom of the glacier up onto the edge of a mountain ridge to the edge of the icefield, stretching many miles in almost all directions.  It's a bit touristy low down on the route due to the many buses that drag cruise shippers up to this national park.  Fortunately, the days of all-you-can-eat buffets put a damper on their enthusiasm to go past the first mile or two, so we had much of the trail to ourselves and another couple. ...

Bird Creek Ridge Trail, approx 25 miles out of Anchorage

A 12-mile day, in sunshine!  This was a hike we could walk to from our campground.  After an aborted start on a path that may, or may not, have led to our trail, we righted ourselves and found the exact trailhead.  It immediately started climbing, similar to the Grouse Grind.  It felt like the Grind, and for the 80th time I asked myself, who actually enjoys this?  We got up about 2000 feet very quickly only to be overtaken by a very fit woman who ran by us in running gear.  Bird Ridge is Anchorage's "conditioning hike" and most will hike the first part very quickly then turn round.  We came out of the steep climb into meadows, climbed a little further and hit the ridge.  It was another 2 miles and another 1000 feet or so to the first summit, a high rocky point.  Only one person can stand on it at a time - I love summits like that.  They're so pointy!

A quick trailmix and water break and then we hiked the long, undulating (good word, huh?) ridge surrounded by wildflowers: forget-me-nots, wild geraniums and a whole bunch of others I don't know the names of yet.  The smells were wonderful.  This was about the point where I remembered that I love hiking.  In fact, this usually happens after the first 2 miles of any hike for me.  Those first 2 miles always feel like forced-march territory where the promise of calorie depletion is the only thing propelling me forward.  

We hiked on the side of the ridge on a narrow path.  A good stumble could literally send you rolling down the mountain. We hit a number of "faux-mits" (fake summits) and then a final steep climb to the final summit, 6 miles from the trailhead and 4600 feet up.  From here we could see mountains, glaciers, Turnagain Arm and even witnessed a Bore Tide - when the tide comes in, it comes in like a wave, because the inlet is so small.  We could see a literal band of water moving toward shore.

At the final summit, we changed from our sweat-soaked gear, got warm and ate our typical hiking lunch: cheese strings, beef jerky, buttered Ryvita and a piece of chocolate.  Unbidden, Chris actually, yes, its true, picked some wildflowers for me to put in my hair.  Oh, so very vomit-worthy to all of you out there, I know, but so very sweet to me.

Back over the ridge we went, took some pretty pictures and headed down.  The descent was tough on the knees and reminded me how much more I prefer the ascent.  Side note - I saw "Heli-hiking" advertised in a Kenai Peninsual brochure - the helicopter flies you to the top of the mountain, and you hike down.  Why on earth would anyone want to inflict that sort of pain on their joints?

It was a beautiful hike and a wonderful day.  Many calories were depleted in the process too, allowing for a burger and beer-fueled lunch the following day.  Really - a lovely cycle to be living right now.

Check out the photos here