Pioneer Peak is described as "unique, a high peak rising with alarming abruptness from the muddy banks of Knik Arm" (50 Hikes in Alaska's Chugach Mountains). They also say "the trail starts climbing immediately from the trailhead and rarely relents" - and they were right. We had looked at doing this a few times and always put it off - now we want to come back another day, as it was warm and buggy, and poor Kira was being driven mad by the bugs - we got to the first picnic table, had intended to have water, regroup and keep going, and she wasn't having any of it, desperate to get down and away from the pests. She had what we later realized were black fly bites all over her lower belly earlier in the week, and we took her down - it was still a hot and laborious hike, brushier than the hiking book described, but glorious views even from the "grassy slopes" that we got to. Overlooking the Matanuska River and the Knik Glacier - another view of the Knik Glacier below when Brian biked it (22 mi. round trip) in early spring/late winter (same thing here!) Another day we'll get up to the ridge and the second picnic table - maybe not to the South Summit!
Story of the picnic tables - there are 3, one at just under 2.5 miles that we hiked to, and the other two placed along the way to the top - is that they were carried up in pieces by the Colony High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp. Wow, that must have been something.
Knik Glacier off to the right
Brian's ride into Knik Glacier on Good Friday this year
We got out of there and drove on to Eklutna Lake, napped, took a walk on the beach. We stayed at Eklutna Lake before and have biked there with our fat tire bikes winter and summer, and we had thought about renting a canoe the next morning but got up and went on to Eagle River after sleeping in. We knew we needed to get groceries and regroup for the next few days - can't go home til Sunday, and I have a Board meeting that I have to Chair on Saturday - from either a boat or an RV which takes some planning!
Eagle River - advertising a canoe portage but this looks challenging!
We tried to find the campground at Eagle River once before unsuccessfully, but were pleasantly surprised this time to find this really nice campground on the Eagle River so close to home. After grocery shopping, we grabbed a bite to eat, went back to the campground, and it rained off and on all afternoon and all night. I made salmon chowder and a bake it yourself baguette, which made for a very nice dinner - plus chocolate pudding - I had put a "kit" together for homemade chocolate pudding, which was very easy to do and a good surprise for camping life!
Then down to Anchorage today for the practical things - dump out, wash the RV and vacuum it out, pick up a couple of things in the garage that we needed, take Kira for a walk and then transfer the dog to a former student of mine who loves to watch her and who is much loved by Kira. We were supposed to be flying to Sitka tonight for that Board meeting, but it was canceled and transferred to Zoom due to the unfortunately very high infection rate of Covid-19 in Sitka currently - and in Alaska as a whole for that matter. Yikes, what are we doing folks - I'm masking again for any indoor shopping and not eating inside anywhere. Now our last few days it will be just the two of us, first hiking Hope Point (we've never made it to the top with Kira dragging her feet, and we've run out of water both times we've tried) and then going out on our boat in Whittier - last phase of our trip!
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