Penguin Peak (Pk-a-Wk #15)

For this weeks Peak a Week we hiked Penguin Peak down on Turnagain Arm. We started at sea level and gained the 4334' summit after about 2 hours of hard hiking. We saw sheep towards the top of the peak. I felt pretty small walking along the top of the ridge, looking down at the tiny cars on the seward highway.

There was still about 10' of drifted snow along part of the ridge. And this is in September!

Looking south from the Summit at Penguin Lake

Matt, Dave, Lars, Rich, and I at the top. Dave brought along a couple beers from the Midnight Sun Brewery. The Sockeye IPA is sooo good.

Symphony Lake

Jess and I hiked in to Symphony Lake this Friday and camped out with the dogs. Symphony Lake is 7 miles in from the South Fork of Eagle River Trailhead. We had great weather and the dogs loved exploring the area. Jess did great and she is 14 weeks pregnant!

The view up the Valley.

Got Boulders?

The start of the South Fork of Eagle River.

Symphony Lake. We camped out on the small point of land in the middle of the photo.
Jess on the ridge with Eagle Lake to her left.

The nights don't get much better than this!

You just have to have marshmallows when camping.

She should be able to fit into these rain pants through the whole pregnancy!

Kylie herding the fish to me

First cast with a #1 Mepps

There were tons of grayling in the lake!

Peak-a-Week - The Beginning

This May I started "Peak-a-Week" with a few friends. The goal has been to climb a new peak every week all summer until the snow flies. On the second peak of the summer, Dave brought a couple ice cold beers to the top of Rainbow Peak and thus started the tradition of bringing a different beer to the top of a new peak every week. It's been a great summer...

Peak #14 - The Wedge

From Adventures of the Hueys

The days are getting shorter

From Adventures of the Hueys

Peak #13 - Harp Mountain
Jason heading up Harp Mountain carrying Reuben.

From Harp Mountain

The view from the top


Peak #12 - Mt Gordon Lyons

From Mt Gordon Lyons

Peak #11 - Avalanche & Powerline Peaks

Looking back at Avalanche Peak from Powerline Peak. 10pm in August.














We signed the summit log on Powerline Peak. The log went back to 1963 and it was interesting to read the experiences of previous hikers. The view down to Ship Lake is amazing from the top of Powerline Peak!

Powerline Peak from Avalanche Peak

From Avalanche and Powerline Peaks

Joel and I at the summit of Powerline Peak, with Ship Lake in the background.

From Avalanche and Powerline Peaks

Peak #10 - Falls Creek
Joel, Lars, Dave, and I hiked up Falls Creek to Falls Lake. It's a beautiful hike but the first 45 minutes or so is almost overgrown with high grass and alders. Bear protection is a good idea on this one. Homer (the dog) spent 20 minutes swimming circles in the lake that still had 1/3 of it covered in ice. I'm not sure how a dog can spend so much time in the frigid water and not appear to be affected by the cold.

From Falls Lake

Falls Lake

From Falls Lake

Peak #9 - Baldy & Blacktail Ptarmigan Rocks

Blacktail rocks in the distance

From Blacktail Ptarmigan Rocks

Brian enjoying a Trois Pistoles at the top.

From Blacktail Ptarmigan Rocks

Peak #8 - Ptarmigan Peak

From Ptarmigan Peak

Tarn at the bottom of Ptarmigan Peak

From Ptarmigan Peak

Glissading down Ptarmigan Peak

From Ptarmigan Peak

Peak #7 - Peak 2
Brian surprised us with a Growler of beer from the Glacier Brewhouse at the top of this one! There is nothing quite like sharing good beer with friends at the top of a peak on a hot (relatively speaking) summer day in Alaska.

From Peak 2

Looking back at Flattop from Peak 2

From Peak 2

Peak #6 - Near Point

From Near Point

Don't let Tyler fool you. He loves a cold Fosters!

From Near Point

Peak #5 - Bird Ridge Point 3505
A Costco box of Snickers has been fueling me on most of these hikes.

From Bird Ridge Point 3505

Yes, that IS a Hot Damn on Mark's head!

From Bird Ridge Point 3505

Peak #4 - McHugh Peak

From McHugh Peak

From McHugh Peak

From McHugh Peak

Peak #3 - False Peak

From False Peak

From False Peak

Peak #2 - Rainbow Peak
This hike is awesome. Great views along Turnagain Arm. Highly recommended. This was the first peak that we brought beers to the top. Great idea Dave!

From Rainbow Peak

From Rainbow Peak

Peak #1 - Flattop
This was the hike that started off Peak-a-Week. It's hard to imagine, but this was one of the hikers first times to the top of Flattop. I won't tell you who it was, but his name starts with an M and ends with an ark.