each day an adventure in alaska: almost done with lost lake...

these are mostly the pack out. quick trip, but really pretty. i will probably finish these up with some added pictures from general july since i haven't put any of those in yet. blossom looked so cute in her pack. it kept twisting off kilter that first part of the hike until we got to the sign for the turnoff to the cabin and i had everyone eat chocolate bars to benefit blossom. i thought perhaps the pack was just a wee bit large, which it may be, but it actually worked fine after the candy was out...and everyone seemed happy to eat some hersheys for blossom.

we packed and moved to the back deck. a little sweeping and we were off.

blossom got a new hairdo. the pony tail was removed before we started to hike though.

off we went.

lots of junipers up at the top, i always love the trunks on these.

it was a bit more cloudy for our hike out. i wasn't complaining though, it was also a bit cooler because of it. no rain fell. todays hike was cloudy with a breeze as well. just joined lena for a stretch on powerline pass. we went to the bridge/creek and back. so 4 miles total. i had attempted to settle rio in on the couch with her peanut butter but she wasn't going to have any of that. she came along. she was back to her usual self, albeit a wee bit slower.

no moose sightings on the trails of lost lake. today we saw one moose out there and then i saw 3 more on the drive home.

blossom took the opportunity to go for a wade in one of the tarns close to the cabin. i make sure and pack her bag so that water won't be an issue. no way i'm going to be able to keep her out of the water.

the clouds tend to bring out the vibrant greens. as it's my favorite colour i am always happy with that.

pela had to stop and watch blossom swim too. then off we went again. coming down still took about 3 hours i think, but much quicker and more pleasant than going uphill with packs. walking sticks help too.

posted pictures on facebook. a comment was made at another friends comment. i'm always of the opinion that if you don't have something nice to say, well then just don't. sometimes, a comment doesn't appear unkind, but if it is meant to make fun of someone else then you just shouldn't make the comment. for me it is all about intentions. if you make fun of another just to get a laugh then your intentions are not pure and again, just don't do it. when i was a kid i was teased a great deal. i was shy and i didn't speak up. now i just say what i feel and delete the comment. of course, even though i didn't make the silly comment i feel a bit guilty that perhaps another was made to feel less or embarrassed because of it. i can't always impact the actions of others before the damage is done. i hate that people get overly sensitive and try to turn it around, like you are over reacting, when really it was their action that was at issue.

that was my fathers trick. he would do something that was hurtful and then if you pointed it out would somehow turn it around like he was trying to be helpful and you were now being cruel, really? a prime example in my life was poetry. when i was a teenager i wrote poetry. i had printed out poems to share with someone. ( not my dad because he was always critical of everything) anyway. my dad found them and took a red pen to them, correcting the grammar and the spelling. when i discovered my poems all marked up and was upset he acted all hurt like i was the mean one for not being appreciative of his "help".

we all have scars. we all find ways to recover as best we can from the scars. thankfully,the scars i have amassed are much less horrible than the scars others have had to recover from. the bottom line is we often have no clue what others have had to recover from and it's best to err on the safe side.

we took a stop every 45 minutes or so to relax and take off the packs if desired. these are both at breaks.

down into the rain forest we go.

it's always great walking with lena. she is just lovely. seems like a rarity to find someone who can talk and listen. it's a gift.so often i feel like i only get to listen and it's hard to be heard. i do have some great friends.

getting ready to start a 4 day run at work. haven't done 4 days in a row for sometime. i got it switched so i can go fishing next week. i know it will fly by, but for the moment, i'm dreading that first night.

excited in a way to have summer start to wind down so i can relax. summers are so busy in alaska. you just want to squeeze in everything you can, this summer even more as the weather has been great. you feel obligated to be out there.

next summer is always on my mind as well. what to squeeze in for next summers trips. still tentatively thinking of misty fjords. want to be able to invite friends from my old home in ketchikan as well so it may be tight with numbers in the group. so excited to paddle in misty again though. will be so different now that i've done the paddling i've done.

love all the moss on the trees in the rain forest. there will be loads of that in southeast alaska.

ernie sits, this is almost to the cars. she was carrying her pack plus pela's pack for most of this days hike.

thought this was the sweetest picture of martin and maddie. i was so shy as a kid, my old crush from grammar school and i have been chatting a bit. we both remember how embarrassed we were the day all our classmates discovered we liked each other and chased us around the playground teasing us both. we hardly spoke until we graduated high school. it's fun just chatting with him and seeing where his life went. the funny thing is that we both ended up in alaska. for years we were both here in alaska and had no idea of it. he's no longer here and i can tell he misses it here. this place does get in your blood and if you love it and have to leave it, a part of you always remains here. i think he just likes having contact with me because i'm here in the place he loves. still fun to catch up though.

so i just love this picture cause it's that sweet, playful, innocent age.

then back to rough housing with the brother.

tanya and sandra were the last on the trail, i made them give a celebratory yalp!!

here i am post hike, a bit weary and dirty, but happy.

we all met up for lunch and then i took blossom to lowell point for a swim. she perked right up. she loves ocean swimming.

i love this beach. so beautiful. would love to have one of these little beach houses here.

blossom in the ocean zone.

me, still dirty, at the beach

some kid went missing in southeast alaska somewhere. happy ending as the kid was found sleeping in a dresser drawer at a relatives house. kinda funny. i'm sure a bit worrisome initially though.

i cruised over to the sealife center for a few minutes. i have a membership there so i can just wander in. was thinking i'd do some shopping in seward, but i was actually getting pretty ready to head back to anchorage.

the drive back was uneventful. always pretty though.

lots of fireweed along the way.

these last ones are from the canon that i hauled in/out. didn't take too many pictures with it. these are the bears scampering off after i scared them with my call.

seward from the cabin. the guys tried to see if they could see the cabin from seward, but i don't think they could. it is kinda tucked in there. would need some pretty strong binoc's to get that far.

not much else on my mind. it's not looking like i'll get a nap in before work. boo hoo. i did sleep in so i should survive. we shall see where i end up.

i don't have any nail polish remover, but they usually have some at work so i'll find some pads and take off what is left of this trips polish. i've never been big on nails...most of my jobs it chips off so fast it's hardly worth the effort.