Alaska
July 17 - July 25
- Departed Primrose at 10 AM and on the way to Skilak Lake, we stopped in Moose Pass, AK so that Nick could mail his mom a package of stuff.
- We took the Sterling Highway to Skilak Lake and set up camp at Upper Skilak Lake campground. Found an excellent site (C6, $5), pitched the tent, then headed to Kenai.
- In Kenai, we found an old Russian Orthodox Church that overlooked the Cook Inlet. The priest tried his best to sell us trinkets and other junk that the church was selling, but we resisted him
In Soviet Russia, junk sells YOU
- Walked next door to a cafe (Veronica's Coffee) and had the best food we've eaten so far on the trip. There were a lot of fishermen salmon fishing on the shoreline outside the area where the church and cafe were located.
- Stopped at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge (.pdf) visitor center in Soldotna and ended up reading a lot of material about the wildlife and checking out all the interpretive exhibits.
- Saw TWO black bears! Separate sightings, but both times they ran across the dirt road as we were driving. No time to get the camera out and snap a quick photo.
- That afternoon at the campground we went for a hike (Vista Trail). The trailhead was in the campground, about 4 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 800 feet. Very steep, but there were some amazing views of the lake at every turn.
...M C A - At the very beginning of the hike, we came across bear scat, so throughout the walk, we were pretty vigilant about keeping an eye out and making noise to ward off a nasty bear mauling.
Really? You couldn't have walked 2 feet off the trail to do that?
- After that the weather was moderately shitty - rain on and off all day and pretty windy. We ended up cooking over the fire (first cooked meal of the trip - a record!).
Nick, exploring bear proof storage
- An island several hundred yards off the lake appeared to be home to hundreds of water birds that screeched and squawked all night. Very odd.
- Mileage: 817 Gas $31
- BOD - Blueberry Lager
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