Crow Pass #3, Alaska #5

I awoke to light rain drumming on the tent. Finally, typical southcentral Alaska weather to remind me of what it is REALLY like here. Not all sunshine. Matt and I spotted another black bear on the hillside. I really like seeing them from far away! Bear evidence was everywhere. Footprints the size of my hand in the muddy trail. Scat, laden with bright red berries, was everywhere. "There aren't any hiker bells (jingle bells that backpackers sometimes wear to alert bears) in it, so we should be okay", Matt commented.



The trail closely followed Eagle River. One section looked completely underwater, but a small trail veered inland onto dry ground. We followed it only to find ourselves marooned on a tiny island. We backtracked to the original turnoff, donned our water shoes, and plodded through the knee-deep water. Only 100 ft. was flooded and we felt silly for spending 30 minutes trying to avoid it. The warmer days had produced a rapid flood of melting glacier water into the river, so a bunch of spots were wetter than normal.





The next few wet spots and stream crossings were either bridged or passable across a downed tree. Piece of cake, even with the pack on. Our next stream looked fiercer and deeper, feeding immediately to the river. A group of forest rangers were working to repair the bridge. It was stable, but they warned us of the danger. Feeling all eyes on me, I nervously crossed, using the guide rope for balance. "Might want to undo your hip belt," the ranger called out. I never do this on bridges, but I mindlessly followed his order. My camera slipped from the hip belt buckle and drifted downstream in the swift current. Matt ran after it, followed by the ranger that told me to undo the pack straps. I didn't know if he went to fish out my camera or Matt, but they both took off before I even realized what had happened. My heart sank. All my photos!

By some divine intervention, my camera flung itself into a braid of the stream right in front of Matt. Just like Superman, he snatched it up the moment before the water joined the main river channel. "I love you! You're my hero!!!" I called out as I flung my arms around him. Immediately, I dumped the bag and pooled water inside spilled out. I removed the SD card and batteries to drain even more water. Then I replaced the batteries to pop the lens out to dry it. I spent the rest of the morning being angry what I had done and how stupid it was. I'm normally very careful with my things. Grrr!

Matt cheered me up by telling stories. I tried not to let this ruin my day, but it did. Only here for a week and I had no photos to show for it. (Insert super whiny and self-pitying rant here.)

Matt and I quickly caught up to three tough-looking army boys that had passed us during our lunch stop. Giant muscles bulged from the side of their packs as they swayed down the trail. One was complaining about how sore he was. "Did you guys do the whole trail?, one asked. "Yup," Matt replied, "Started on Friday." As we pulled away, one said, "how the heck are they still going so fast?" It was fun to pass the Hercules men, all buff and masculine. A scrawny girl and guy that would surely lose to them in a fight were kicking butt. haha :)

The last few miles dragged on forever through a birch forest. The rows of trees, creating a never-ending visual symmetry, like looking into one mirror's reflection in another. We arrived at the Eagle River Nature Center a full three hours before our pickup time with Becki. Luckily, the staff was welcoming to dirty, smelly hikers and we waited inside. I fell asleep, clutching my camera while it air-dried.

We stopped at the store to test my memory card. Also, got suggestions to put the camera in a bag of rice to help it dry out. I was also scolded for trying to turn it on. I had known about this rule already, but when panicked, what would you do? See if it works!

The three of us stopped at DQ on the way to Becki's house. The blizzard and shower afterward were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! I quickly curled up and went to sleep.