Foggy Hike

Yesterday, Will Garner and I took a hike up Mile Hi Road in Eagle River, Alaska. The road switchbacks up for quite a ways, and shortly before the end, an obvious parking site with "State Park" signs indicates the start of the trailhead. It's a relatively new link of trail up to Mile Hi pass. It was a foggy, cloudy day, and I thought it would eventually clear up, but just in case we took jackets and cool-weather clothing. I had been dogsitting "Beasley", my friend Terrie's English setter. Twenty minutes of uphill work brought us to the pass, where we turned right, east up the ridge to Mount Majestic and beyond. In just a few minutes we had climbed into the clouds. Except for a few brief moments, we didn't see the valley again. Never could we see the peaks in front of us. Will and I talked nonstop all day, covering everything from the variety of flowers blooming, to the lack of wildlife (we only saw a couple of magpies), to the hundreds of hikes we still wanted to take this summer. It took about 45 minutes to climb to the top where a large 4" pipe had once been anchored. We continued on for another 45 minutes to the highest summit we could find. At this point, we had enjoyed every minute, and felt if we turned back, it had been a successful day. We kept the ridge in front of us, and the steep cliffs on our left and headed down, not being able to see more than 50 yards ahead. Finally at the saddle, Eagle River valley appeared below us, and we made our way back down to the cell tower and our car.
Photos posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/ralph.tingey/HikingMajestic62308