Difficulty

Connects With

Miles One Way

Miles from Anchorage

General Vicinity

Season

Description

When my friend and I did this hike in June of 2001, we thought we were on the right track; we were following what we thought was the river but wound up along one of its tributaries where the trail petered out.  We even thought we had passed the ford marked on the map.  We must have done the route that curved off (see the topo map).  While we had a great spot by the river, and a great time nonetheless,  we were hoping to get into the real backcountry.

Coming back was a complete nightmare.  We kept on taking dead ends to the river.  I finally whipped out my compass and tried to keep south as long as we could and finally found the bridge that led to the parking lot.

I'd like to try this trail again, definitely with my bike, but also with a backpack, where I truly get all the way into the backcountry.  If I can explain how to do it after that, or if someone else can, that's when I'll up the Moose Hoof Rating.

*****
The Following was Contributed by Andrew McInnis:



Somewhat Difficult

We did this trail on a bike (thank God) and I can't see it being a worthwhile backpacking trip. There isn't a clear trail marked, many side trails that dead end, the main "road" is mostly just mud, and there's a TON of ATV traffic.

This trail's a fun bike ride if you're into mountain biking and don't mind the ATV traffic, as the first reviewer pointed out, though with all the dead ends and no clear trail marked this would be frustrating on foot. Once you get up to the ridge you finally get the feeling you're out in the woods and the views are great. There are better trails in the area for backpacking though.

*****

*****
Ross Timm graciously contributed the following on accessing Bird Peak:



Somewhat Difficult
Suitable for Overnight
7.5 Miles One Way from Bird Creek Trailhead
June to September

I had wanted to do this hike every since reading it was "the most arduous hike in this book" (50 hikes in Chugach State Park). Well...it is arduous, but maybe not in the best way. It starts off Konikson Road at Bird Creek. There were four wheelers taking off down the old road, and reports of grizzly bears with cubs! We started down the road and it follows the book; a somewhat muddy dirt road, then you cross the river over a nice bridge, then a side road that climbs to about 1500ft, increasingly smaller track, until you finally come to the game trail the book describes and climb up a little more and then start traversing along the hillside. Eventually, you come to the avalanche chute you must climb.. IT IS NOT CLEAR! where to start climbing, or where you should head, but it ended up we guessed right and ended up, 1 hour later and severely scratched (rose bushes and stickers) and tired (we had packs on to camp out as the book suggested). Now we were at about 3500 feet, on alpine tundra, looking down on the upper valley we would have to get down to, still with snow fields. The rain clouds were moving in, and we were not in good spirits, and the peak was daunting, still with lots of snow. The thought of climbing it (2000 more feet) the next morning in the rain was not sounding fun, so we bagged it and headed down. It was a difficult slope back down the avalanche slope, and hard to pick up the game trail.. if you miss it it will be a unhappy hike back up from the river valley to find your way. The hike down after finding the game trail was easy, but again, many bear signs. I will probably not do this hike to the summit because it seems like too long of an approach and a pretty steep one at the end if you have a pack, and it is too long to do the whole thing in one day unless you are really strong. I would rather get the same elevation and better views with other hikes. That said-- aside from the jets flying overhead, it was COMPLETELY isolated once you were on the side road, and true wilderness feeling once off of it.

*****

*****
Joe Rozak graciously added to Ross' description:

- We did Bird Peak in one, long day hike which is why I give it about a 4, otherwise I would agree with the other rating for an overnight trip.

This peak is fairly difficult to grab in one day, but it is possible. You can bike in about the first two miles. Even though the road is very rocky, it makes for a fun ride back to the parking lot.

We tried this hike a week prior and were turned back because of weather. We got to the top of the avalanche chutes and saw most of the peaks in the clouds. With all the route finding involved with this hike, we decided that it was a good idea not to proceed any further.

On a better weather-day we headed up again and had fantastic views from an entirely different perspective in the Chugach.

This hike shouldn't be taken lightly considering the ample amount of route finding and bushwhacking. In the woods, there is a lot of devils club and in the brush there is abundant cow parsnip and rose bushes that you need to walk through. I would recommend a machete, gaiters, long pants, long sleeve shirt, and bike gloves. Don't forget bug juice and sunscreen. There is a nice stream to fill up the water bottles, so bring a filter or chemical treatments. You will go through a lot of water on this trek.

*****

Important Information

Depending on rain or breakup, be prepared for marsh and newly made ponds on the trail. Gaiters are highly recommended for this hike.

Etc.