cold day at Portage...

 double hats, double gloves.

 it was probably close to 15 below zero...perhaps more with the little wind chill.  there is always a bit of wind coming off glaciers. didn't feel too bad.  that cold does take it out of you though. i ended up curling up in bed and crashing for a few hours. 

 i woke at ten not sure if it was am or pm...hard to tell.  it's pm though so i figured I'd look at the pictures i took and toss in a blog.

 there was a good snow the other week.  so there is probably just over a foot of snow on the lake. there were two trails taking off from the parking area.  the one further from the visitors center crapped out fairly quickly and left us post holing.  she'd brought ski's and I'd brought snow shoes but in the end we opted to leave those in the car and just go as far as we felt comfortable. 

 we back tracked and took the more packed trail which took off closer to the building but headed more directly across the lake before turning back towards the glacier. we never got a view, but that trail did take us quite a distance. my fit bit shows me for 8.6 miles yesterday.  to the bend more directly is usually more like 6-7 miles i think. i guess that makes sense.

 it was a good walk though, despite not getting the glacier views.  the usual views were pretty sweet.

 i meandered back towards Anchorage stopping for some photo ops and enjoying at least part of the sunset.  eventually, i needed to pee and i was feeling the chill.  you can only get so warm in the car, especially when you keep getting out to snap photo's.

 the colors looked like they got pretty sweet after the sun went down.  oh well. being out in that cold for too long is a bit rough on your body.  probably best to get the pups home as well.

 they fell asleep in the car on the way home and have pretty much just came in and crashed much of the evening.  I've no doubt they will be ready to go again in the morning.

 mostly ski's and snowshoes out there.  some bikes as well, though once you got to the point where the packed trails ended either way i imagine those bikes became hard work.  in the picture above you can see a few bikes left and the owners went on foot from there.  I'm not keen on post holing though. we both were in easy agreement that we were good for the day.  looking at my fit bit numbers that was probably wise.  we went further going across the lake first than we usually do.

 i put booties on Ivy's front feet and on all 4 for Tusker.  they romped in the snow and lost one tennis ball right as we hit the lake so i put the chuck it away...besides in that cold temperature the tennis ball was freezing into the chuck it immediately.  it was rendered useless.

 the pups were a wee bit annoying so we just handed them a tennis ball to carry and that did seem to help.  they were nuts out there for much of the hike. i hear them rambling around now, inside/outside but they were tired for a bit.  when i lay down for my nap i got flanked on both sides by warm dogs.

 stopped at grocery store on the way home...above was in the parking lot...see the colors got cool after the sun went down.

 i even got ice on my puny lashes. 

 the cold air caused this steam to rise from the water in Turnigan Arm.  looked very cool as we drove each way.

 so we head here across the lake...usually we are more direct towards the point on the right where you turn in towards the face.

 this trail went all the way across but it did take a turn back towards the glacier and the trail that finished the crossing died out into post holing.  we took a few side trips.

 there were quite a few folks out there today.  i figured we'd go today so that the Saturday visitors would have packed down the trail more for the Sunday visitors to enjoy.  also i tend to go on the weekends when it's more packed. safety in numbers. 

 everyone was friendly.  many braved the post hole section...most of those folks had ski's or snowshoes on though.  not sure it would be all that easy with snow shoes anyway.  probably a little crust to work through. 

 my friend and i getting iced up.  that mountain that comes down right behind us is what you go around to get to the face of the glacier. the trail got less packed a ways in. 

 can't complain about the day or the views. could have been a little less cold i guess.

 but, what fun is that?

 the rest or photos from other days in January.  most from Turnigan Arm on another day.

 stopped to enjoy the ice falls one day.

 i suspect the photo's do not do them justice.

 they are scattered along the side of the road.  they can be a hazard as well.

 i think in this area one spring day a big chunk of ice came down and crushed a car with a passenger inside. rocks occasionally drop off these as well.

 kind of odd to me but in a section that is clearly marked "do not stop, avalanche risk" the police were pulling over people.  seems like a bad idea for them to ticket people in an area known for avalanches

 you can see a bit of the various colors in the ice falls

 sometimes you can see folks climbing the ice in different areas'.  none spotted today

 my feet are a wee bit tender tonight.  they could use some pampering.

 just some views along the road. 

 interestingly, Bolton book is in the process of being published.  the administration would be able to have an early look in order to check for security risks I'd guess. the stuff that was reported today would probably not be very helpful in the impeachment...not helpful for trump that is.

 i still think they fear getting subpoena's for fear the bind they will be put in when this administration refuses to cooperate with them. 

 there was, of course, lies about service men being harmed with the bombings by Iran.  several concussions and related type injuries, which this fool in the White House opted to belittle. 

 they really should figure out how to shut him up.  the man who got out of service by having his Daddy pay off a Dr to write him out due to bone spurs...and he disrespects those who serve and are harmed by their service.  nice move. 

 he trashed entire groups of people.  it's got to come back to bite him at some point. 

 what is that old saying about rubber bouncing off...I'm rubber, your glue, things bounce off me and stick to you. i think trump has been rubber.  shit has bounced off of him for decades.  money gets him out of an assortments of mishaps.

 at some point that rubber gets torn up and spit out though.  my dogs and many other dogs have quite easily destroyed all sorts of rubber, non-destructible toys. 

 always love a train and this day i got lucky with a train.  found this spot so i could capture it by the ice falls

 thought it looked cool.

 i would have driven further and waited for the train for more shots but for some reason...perhaps all the snow on the tracks. the train would stop and run backwards at times. i had no idea how long it would be before it would go forward again.

 it was a fairly long train.  cool to watch it plow through the snow. then it would slow down and back up. 

 well, i think I'll grab a snack or two.  refill my water and head to bed for the night.

thankful for a. safe travels on Portage Lake  b.  a friend willing to join me in temperatures that were so low c. worn out puppies