Hiking and a Fear of Heights

One of the first things I wanted to do when we got to Alaska was to go on a hike. Of course we were warned to be careful of bears. J.Phil even read up on what to do to avoid any unwanted encounters. Apparently if you make plenty of noise, the bears stay away. I suppose that works if it's late in the season when the bears have eaten their fill and are ready to settle in for a long winter's nap. In any case, as I pointed out in my previous post, there were not such sightings on our hikes. Instead we got to enjoy some beautiful greenery.

This particular hike started behind our hotel and was about seven miles round trip. I loved it. I think it was my favorite activity while we were there. There is just something about a cool, sunny fall day in the mountains. It smells good...it feels good. Days like this are good for you soul, and I wish I could do it more often. I think I appreciate it even more after living in a big city where I couldn't just go out for a long walk or enjoy nature. I love cities, but nothing compares to this.





So about three miles up the mountain, we had to cross a gorge. I am afraid of heights. So it made me (and J.Phil) a bit nervous. But I wanted to finish the hike, so I was determined to get into the rickety contraption that carries you across the gorge.

You start out on one side and climb into a metal cage that is rigged to a pulley system. And then you pull...and pull...and pull until you get to the other side.

The view down to the river as we were passing over it.

The river as it comes down the mountain.

J.Phil in the metal cage.

A super attractive close up of me in the cage as we crossed over :).

I was proud to say I did it...twice. And we finished our hike. Good times. Seriously just writing this post makes me wish I were there right now, hiking and enjoying the sights, although I'm sure it is getting pretty cold in Alaska about right now...so maybe next year :)!

Alaska...a Long Time Coming!

I know...it's a little late in coming. I just downloaded my pictures two days ago. Again, late in coming. And since I don't have a real life right now (i.e., I'm jobless), I have no excuse, other than I just didn't want to blog. What's new? I always start out with the best of intentions :)! In any case, here is my first post. Once I downloaded the pictures, I realized I could not do it justice in one posting. Tooooooo many photos.

A little over a month ago, I went to Alaska for a week with my good friend Janet, or J.Phil, as we affectionately like to call her. It was AMAZING! Loved it. I'd actually like to go back in the summer to see the greenery. The fall foliage was spectacular, though, so I'm very glad we went when we did. It was perfect. The trees were bright bright yellow and so beautiful. I love fall. It's my favorite season!

So this was the hotel where we stayed. It's Alaska's premier ski resort, Aleyska. This is the the front side, the view we woke up to every morning! Those were some good mornings :).

This is the backside of the hotel. It faces a double black diamond ski slope. The landscaping was lovely, of course...we enjoyed that view from the hot tub.

The first day we just drove around a bit in the morning to see what we could see. We ran into a photographer who recommended we head up to this river . It was gorgeous.

Here's J.Phil...getting in a good shot at a lake fed by the surrounding glaciers. And yes, the water is COLD! We tested it out. Don't you love how the mountains reflect on the water?

This was the first glacier we saw, so we pulled over. I wish you could see how blue it is. I need to do some research and find out why. And this is a smallish glacier. Still pretty awesome!

This bridge overlooked the river above. Again, so pretty.

More views of the scenery by the river/bridge. I'm sure all you outdoors men/women are wondering how many bears are up in the hills. I wouldn't know. We didn't even catch a glimpse of a bear until we went to the wild life preserve. And we didn't see any after that either. I'm sure that is probably a good thing, not meeting a large, carnivorous bear in the wild.

This is me...just to prove I actually was in Alaska. First day, again, on the inlet leading to Aleyska.
This is just a small sampling. More pictures/posts to come! Needless to say, it was a great trip, and I can't wait to go to Alaska again!