Sunday hike on Turnagain Arm

Tonight (Sunday) we have a lot of peanut butter cups and Snickers bars for trick or treaters, but only 1 group has come to the door -- uh-oh!  Neither one of us needs to eat those, and if you put them in the freezer, I've discovered they only taste better!We went for a milder hike today along the Turnagain Arm Trail -- we'll try to put in a map -- it starts south of Anchorage running along Cook Inlet, and there are four trailheads.  The trail was originally built in 1910 to carry a telegraph line and later provided an access for workers constructing the Alaska railroad.  The tracks run down below, alongside the road.  The Chugach State Park renovated the trail in the 1980s - it's a 9 1/2 mile one-way traverse if you do the whole thing.  Turnagain Arm boast the second largest tidal bores in the world - tidal bores occur in bays and inlets with extreme tidal fluctuations.  The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is the only one larger.  In a tidal bore, according to the guidebook, "the incoming tide builds to a flood that overpowers the outgoing tide.  The resulting tide resembles a wall of water ranging from several inches to several feet high."  We hiked what was said to be the highest part of the trail, though only 950', from Rainbow to Windy Corner, about 4 miles round-trip and mild up and downs after the intial climb up.  It started snowing on the way, and we took a couple of pictures that show the mountains appearing through the fog - we'll see how well it shows up!  The high point of this hike, other than the views across the water and the mountains in clear weather, is the Dall sheep that inhabit these craggy slopes - though we haven't seen them yet!  We ran into a young guy in the Air Force who is on his second stint in Alaska, which he loves, with a big tripod and a tent who was headed up to wait out the sheep, who he said will come down further as it starts to snow.  He intended to set up his tent and spend about 3 hours up on a level grassy spot waiting for them!  A bald eagle flew over as we were talking to him.  He told us in the winter we can come back and they'll be all over the lower trails.  It was a pleasant hike and will be a great place to bring anyone who wants a milder day, beautiful views across the water, and not the more strenuous climbs.