Re: Rainbow Peak

Very tough hike tonight, especially a work night. 5 miles roundtrip with 3,500 foot gain. This was also my first hike with no snow. It was very steep, used hands a lot, and had some Class II scrambling.

Ran into my first moose while hiking tonight as well. We were concerned about the small dog (Lucy) that frequently shows up in my pictures. She harassed the moose for a while but finallly backed off.

Only two of us made it all the way to the peak but it was well worth it.

Rainbow Peak Description

Rainbow Peak Hike

Quote
chicagocwright
Very tough hike tonight, especially a work night. 5 miles roundtrip with 3,500 foot gain. This was also my first hike with no snow. It was very steep, used hands a lot, and had some Class II scrambling.

Ran into my first moose while hiking tonight as well. We were concerned about the small dog (Lucy) that frequently shows up in my pictures. She harassed the moose for a while but finallly backed off.

Good reason not to take your dog on a hike where it can and will harass wildlife.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2012 08:22AM by balzaccom.

Quote
balzaccom

Good reason not to take your dog on a hike where it can and will harass wildlife.

I understand your main point but the "harassment" was 30 seconds of barking at the moose but keeping a safe distance. I can't see that as enough of a reason not to take these dogs on these hikes. I had never hiked with a dog until the last few weeks and they are just amazing to watch and to have along. They finish these big hikes with ease. As noted this particular hike was 5 miles, 3500 ft gain, and 28% average grade. It is truly funny to watch her whine just a bit with impatience as we stop for a rest break and she is ready to move on. The concern here is not for the wildlife, but for the dog. These dogs also will help provide a warning system for potential trouble such as moose (or bear) close to the trail.

Forgot my camera on this trip but two people met us at the peak and just sent me these pictures:









Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/27/2012 01:09PM by chicagocwright.

You're trying to convince me to take another backcountry trip in Alaska? (not this year, but trying to decide between a first-time visit to Wrangell-St. Eiias and a second-time visit to Glacier Bay, which is why I didn't say 'backpack trip')

I'm also trying to figure out some hiking in Wrangell. I may end up with a quick trip with my family which will be great. What have you done in Alaska?

Connecting with this MeetUp group has just been great and I'm learning so fast. They have a weekly Tuesday "Heart 'n Lunger" Hike which is described as at least a 1,500 ft elevation gain and at times double that. I was supposed to hike Bird Ridge again tonight but I'm still recuperating from Rainbow on Tuesday and I had to close on my new house this afternoon.

I'm still in absolute awe that the trailhead from the picture above is less than 15 minutes away from my house! I can do these hikes like I used to do my early morning Marathon training runs and be home as my family is starting their day. The hike Tuesday took 3 1/2 hours so I could do this in 4 hours. That kind of hike used to be a planned vacation with a 4 hour one trip airplane flight just to get there.

So far, I've done a sea kayak trip in Glacier Bay, another one from Whittier in Prince William Sound, and a trip to Katmai w/ backpacking in 10000 smokes.

I have these handy...two from Glacier Bay and one from 10000 Smokes:

Why are my pictures so big? I generally know there is a sizing mechanism but I tried to fix it and kept breaking the links.

Don't know how your hosting site works, on Picasa where I uploaded there's a pulldown that allows you to get different URLs for different image sizes, from 144 px up to 640 px.

Fixed it I think.