Thursday, September 9, 2010

Lost Lake Trail and Johnson Pass Trail, Seward AK

For the long Labor Day weekend, Brian and I headed down to the Kenai Peninsula. I haven't been in this area for 4 years since it is a bit of a haul. We kind of bypassed Anchorage this time, mainly because once I start socializing and shopping in Anchorage, it is hard to get out of Anchorage and will come out with a lighter wallet. AND headed to Seward! Seward is the one major town in southcentral I didn't get to while living in Anchorage. I kept hearing all of this amazing word about Seward, so was skeptical, but ended up loving the place despite the rain!
Brian, above, is at Resurrection Bay near the Caines Head trail

After walking around Seward a bit, we headed up the road a little bit to the Lost Lake Trail for another overnight bike trip.
The Lost Lake trail is AWESOME. It is hands down my favorite mountain bike trail in Alaska. Its elevation profile ascends all the way until you reach Lost Lake, which means that it is completely DOWN on the way out. This singletrack was a bit rough for the trailer but it worked out for us.. especially for me, who was not hauling it. :-)
What was so fun about this trail? I guess it reminded me of riding in other parts of the country, with a nice firm trail, accompanied with lots of obstacles and bridges, but totally rideable. I get a little bit annoyed when I have to push my bike more than ride it, which makes you wonder why I am attracted to winter biking. I can't answer that, except for the fact that the sport puts three of my favorite things together: trails, snow, and bikes.
Lost Lake trail was VERY wet, and it continued to rain on us most of the way. Since the trail is so established, we were not destroying the trail in the mud, unlike riding some of the soft trails in the Interior. But I was drenched in mud by the end of the day.
Brian got this awesome shot of me descending to Lost Lake - see my reflection in the puddle? How's that for an angle?!
Brian and Cana setting up a soggy camp just above Lost Lake.
The next morning the mountains peeped out from the clouds and we had a spectacular trip all the way down the trail!
Cana enjoyed it! This was her first mountain bike trip!

After a well-deserved lunch in Seward, we headed north to the Johnson Pass trail for one more night with the bikes.The trail was super wet like everything in southcentral AK this weekend, so we only went about 5 miles in. This trail was way more boring than the Lost Lake trail. Maybe it gets better farther in, but neither of us were too entertained, and our legs felt trashed.
We found a great camping area with a bear-safe food box. We made a good fire and were able to dry out all of our gear, which was soaking wet from the tent and sleeping bags to our muddy clothing.
After our last night in the tent, Cana curled up and made herself at home.

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