Friday afternoon Champ and I motored down to Anchorage to meet up with Ted for the trip to Hope. By mid afternoon the sun was out and it was a pleasant 52 degrees. Of course by the time we loaded up and hit Turnagain Pass the rain started. No worries though because we had raincoats, right? And anyway by the time we reached the trailhead the skies were clear. Temp at 8:30 was about 35 and the winds were slight so not too bad.
The hike in was rough. Lots of water on the trail and mud. Add in the darkness and it made for a bit of work. Plus the grizzly sign was abundant so the senses were on high alert. There were supposed to be six of us on this trip but we were only two, and a dog. Champ in fact decided that he would hike in between Ted and I, abandoning point duties to Ted. On on occasion we heard a loud plop next to the trail, "What was that?" Ted asked. "Relax" I replied, "it was only Champ exploring the bush." The words were no sooner out of my mouth when I felt Champ brush my leg on the side away from the noise. Guess it wasn't him. After hearing the same noise several more times finally identified the culprit. Mr. Beaver. The beaver dams were everywhere and we must have been passing through a beaver work party, On the way out you could see their signs on lots of trees, trees that will not be standing in a few days.
Made it to the cabin at 11:30 only to discover squatters! Oh well they quickly made room for us and since there was room we invited them to stay. It was nice to have a warm cabin. Next day Ted and I found a nice size birch that had been recently downed by the wind. Cutting it loose, dragging it to the cabin, and then cutting it into lengths for the stove was exhausting so we ate lunch and once the fire was going, took a nap. Woke up after an hour or so when Holly and Stewart and Alexis came hiking in with there dog Emma. Pretty good hike in for Stewart who is 7 yrs old. Had a nice evening visiting and a warm night despite the rain/snow which started up about 7 pm. Was too warm till after midnight. Then I fought Champ for the sleeping pad and bag as he wanted both. Nice hike out the next day as the snow was falling in really big flakes. With daylight, Champ resumed point duties and even managed to find a few spruce grouse to chase. Emma went back and forth herding everyone along. Back in Anchorage the snow was falling pretty good. I was eager to leave the traffic and city behind.
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