Expedition Alaska Day 2 - Crow Pass

Continued from: http://eaglinar.blogspot.com/2015/07/expedition-alaska-prerace-day-1.html

It was about 4 AM in the morning when Adrian and crew dropped our team off at Eagle Lake recreation center. We had a chance to get about an hour of sleep at the S/F while we waited for the word on getting onto this alternate course. When the time came to go - it was immediate and we had 3 minutes to grab our stuff and get into the cars - or miss the ride.

There was some trail information at the trailhead about the conditions at the pass, and Adrian strongly suggested we take at least an ice axe and some crampons in case we had any issues with snow fields or conditions at the pass. I threw these items in my pack, we said some goodbyes - and all 8 of us disappeared into the trail network heading along Eagle Creek.

[Leg 2 First Stop]

At this point we did not have a trail map, but the race maps did contain all the terrain that we would cover on the trek, and it is a single trail crossing over 24 miles to the pass - how hard could it be? We hiked for a couple hours through incredible arboreal forest as we approached Eagle Creek. There were signs of bear and moose everywhere. We later learned that this was the original trek that was planned for the race, but the forest service was concerned with having so many people racing through this area at the height of beer and moose season. This was a major animal thoroughfare and more humans means more chance of contact with animals.

We did have our first moose encounter shortly after that - but the moose which had been on the trail wanted no part of us (8 brightly colored hikers) and quickly lumbered off. We (I) could feel eyes on us and I knew that we had disturbed some bears with our constant chatter which became a drone of "Go Away Bear" when we did not have anything else to say.

Dave has a term he uses for incredible trails - "trail porn". When the trail is simply too incredible to describe it simply becomes trail porn. This hike was going to be one of those. The trail would meander through thick, lush rainforest, then head out to the side of the creek basin, then up rocky outcrops with incredible views.

The hiking did seem pretty endless - even with the stunning views. We also had our share of interesting obstacles along the way. Each water crossing was a unique puzzle and we had plenty of rocky outcrops and little exposed areas to keep us challenged.

For those watching our little spot tracker dot move along the broad canvas of the trail - there was a little heart attack moment. As we approached a large talus field the team had a navigation hiccup. I won't go into the details, but it was one of those odd occurrences that teams come back and explain away with "team dynamics" and our case was no different. We discussed the situation for about 45 minutes, went back 45 minutes, and then returned forward for about 45 minutes - and were back where we were. There was one advantage, though - we had hiked back to a camping spot where a team of backpackers was doing the trail in a 5 day outing. They had a good map of the area that showed the trail and I was able to get some pictures of it, and this turned out to be quite helpful later on down the trail. It also gave us a lot more information about the full trail network in the area.

As we got closer to the water crossing, we encountered more interesting obstacles.Some of the water obstacles were kind of fun.

[Leg 2 - Water 1]

[Leg 2 - Water 2]

Even though we had plenty of trail obstacles - at this point with only about 2 hours of real rest in 2 days - fatigue was starting to take its toll on the team. We needed some rest breaks - but we were not going to get any real rest until we crossed the major water crossing. This is also where I bumped into Ric - unfortunately with the point of the ice axe right where his had was - giving him a good gash. We did some emergency repair to keep us moving.

And then we were there at the water crossing. There were a few groups either steeling up to make the crossing, or just looking at it. We went across with no incident and even got to see some dogs cross the water.

[Dogs Across Water]

After the long crossing and some lying around in pain as our feet warmed up we hiked inland a bit to a wonderful camp spot and took about a 90 minute nap, preparing for the next 13 mile push up to Crow Pass.

[Nap after much hiking]

Part 2 - Up to Crow Pass and Home 

Once we woke up - we were greeted with beautiful sunny weather and even more stunning scenery than we had been seeing for the first part of the hike. We opened into 2 steep hillsides with a river running down the middle and beautiful green tundra on steep slopes.

We also had wildlife scenery, bridges over gorges - just stunning hiking on incredible terrain. We even saw some other people hiking through the other direction. I was even able to get both bear and moose in a single camera shot.

[Bear and Moose]

As we approached the final climb towards the summit - the map led me to believe we would take a ridge line to the south. I climbed up about 300 feet and found no trail. That was when the maps I had taken a picture of earlier came in real handy. The showed the trail crossing a creek and going straight up a center ridgeline to the pass. So we hiked back down from the wrong ridge to the correct ridge. This involved a water crossing which at this stage we were none too excited about, having all just gotten our feet dry.

[Wrong Way in Alaska]

The hike from here was very steep and we were getting some decent darkness. This is when Tim started getting sick. Something had devastated his stomach and we started with taking all the weight off his back and redistributing it. We hiked up and steep, and Tim got worse. This was where Sterling really proved himself. He took 200-300 foot segments, ferrying packs up, returning back for another, and then bringing another up. The pass loomed from above - it looked straight up. Sterling's efforts kept the team moving while Lena worked hard to keep Tim stable on his feet.

And then we reached the pass. I cannot describe the magic of the top - behind us the Raven Glacier groaned and reflected the dim light. In front of us - the full moon glinted between spires as we round the top. It was like we were meant to be there exactly at that place at that time. Pure magic.

From there it was a simple down climb through well marked, but steep trail comprised mostly of large talus rock. It was brutal on the feet and slow - but as our elevation dropped our spirits increased. As the sun rose on the next day we reached the trailhead. I set up my tent and put Sterling, Julie and Tim in it. Ric and Kerry attempted (to my many giggles) to set up their tent that was designed to be as cryptic as possible. Lena camped under one picnic table, I picked another - but moved after it decided to channel a water spount onto me as it started raining. I eventually joined Terry under an overhang of the restrooms at the trailhead.

As I sat and reveled in being almost done with this leg, race representatives that had seen our spot tracker came by and told us they would be back in 30 minutes to drive us to the TA - and adventure part 2 was complete. Little did we know our real adventure had just barely begun.  Coming next - pack rafting (or as my team would learn to say - not just no - but oh hell no!)

next: http://eaglinar.blogspot.com/2015/07/expedition-alaska-day-3-packrafting.html