I was so pleased about my Palmer Rail Trail hike that I went ahead and signed up for another hike with the same company – this time for the Mutuk Marston to South Fork trail. I had no idea where that was so was quite nervous about it. I just hoped that their descriptions were accurate and that I could indeed actually accomplish the hike.
Packing was a bit easier this time, since I had that first hike to use as a go-by = I brought some carrots & hummus, some tofu jerky, my water bottle full of electrolyte replacements (watermelon flavored), and even brough along some left-over sourdough pancakes from breakfast (with oatmeal and chocolate chips) to nibble on. I even remembered to pack my bandana this time: my nose runs almost constantly when I hike. Bothersome, but what can you do about it?
We met up at the parking lot of the Palmer Visitor Center where we consolidated gear into one vehicle, then drove out to the Eagle River Walmart parking lot to pick up one more person. From there, we headed on out to the Arctic Valley ski lodge where the trailhead is located. Kierr, the founder of Revel Trek Tours and our main guide for the day, left us at that point to drive to the South Fork Eagle River Trailhead where we would end up. She walked up from that point and met us at the halfway point (or nearly so) as we made our way down to her.
That left us with Susan, a very able guide, who took us up and over Hunter Pass. Elevation Gain was only about 850 feet since we started so high up the mountain. Elevation Loss was more like 1,400 feet which made me very thankful they decided to do the hike in the direction we did! I could not have climbed up 1,4010 feet – not and live to talk about it later!
The scenery was stunningly beautiful up there! The wildflowers were in full bloom, with fields on both sides of the trail just covered in brilliant colors. We took our time, taking millions of photos and just drinking in the amazing atmosphere.
All in all, I had a fabulous time and would highly recommend this trail to anyone!
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