THIS HIKE WAS SUBMITTED BY BLAIN ANDERSON

Photo by Blain Anderson

Difficulty

Connects 
With

Miles One 
Way

Miles from
Anchorage

General Vicinity

Season

Description

For a nice trip report and photos see: http://www.xcskiracer.com/gallery/06winnercreek
For information on Alpacka Rafts see: http://www.alpackaraft.com/

*****
The following was emailed by Ross Timm:

My wife, mother-in-law, and I did this trail on Labor Day 2007. The trail was great except for my complaint below. Bikes seem to be accelerating erosion in wet areas, so we will see how the USFS reacts. It is a LONG day hike. We were going at a moderate to slow pace, although, because we forgot our camera, we did not stop often. It took us 8+ hours, but that included 20 minutes on top (very windy), thirty minutes dealing with the situation below, and thirty minutes trying to get a bull moose off the trail, and finally bushwhacking around it.   

My complaint is that there is one creek crossing up near the alpine tundra line that is quite dangerous. It can be stepped across, however most stones are under swirling water, and one false step  and you will be stumbling and/or falling into a glacier fed, fast moving creek with lots of rocks, and a long ways from the trail head.  We ended up getting our feet wet, since it was safer than trying to make the big steps from marginal rock footing to marginal rock footing. There are dead trees and some of the recent built “stairs” within a ¼ mile so I am not sure why the forest service choose to leave this crossing as an “on your own” one when they had the chance to fix it!?  At the very least they should now strategically place large flat boulders that will stay above most water levels.  For people who may say “this level of exposure defines wilderness”,  I counter that the Forest Service has chosen and advertised this as an “improved”, accessible trail with few obstacles, suitable for families, so they should fix it (perhaps using some of the lumber from the excessive board walks and stairs in other areas), or make the dangers clear.

*****

Important Information

If you want to do the entire trail and pakboat float to the the Seward Highway, plan on 12-16 hours. You might not want to do it if the days are short, or you get a really late start.

The trail is open to mountain bikers after the first 3/4 mile. Strange but true; you are required to walk or carry your bike from the trailhead to the signs that say bikes allowed. If you plan to bike the route, you'll be carrying you bike over steps and rocks a lot anyway, so you won't mind the warm-up. The Forest Service and Alyeska Resort asks bikers to heed this regulation to avoid running over the slower hikers using this trail. Keep in mind, mountain bikers can use the hand tram route and avoid this first section if it just kills them to walk their bikes.

Etc.