Short on time, but still wanting to get out and hit up a trail for a few miles, Bosco & I took off in the Subaru for a trailhead halfway up Hatcher Pass the week before. Despite the rainy drizzle the skies continually let loose on me (this is nothing new for Anchorage. As I’ve said before, it rains here. A lot.) it was a stellar decision. Fall is an amazing time to be in Alaska as the tundra is showing off her color palate like no other. Fiery oranges, deep reds, stunning golds, and a splash of green swirl and dance all over the earth in on a landscape built like no other. The valley we were heading down paralleled and even crossed over several beaver dams. It looked stunning at every angle and it made the hike seem effortless.

I was so enamored with this place that the very next weekend, even though I now was diseased with the same sickness Brian had contracted the week before, I drug my tired, loopy butt back out into this canyon so I could show my [now healthier] husband. Despite the misery I was feeling this time around, we trekked further into the canyon to be able to sit and relax next to the shores of the lower of the Reed Lakes. A storm forced us back down and out to the car before we could reach Upper Reed Lake, but we will meet again. (Although I can’t say I wasn’t happy to turn around with how crummy I was feeling.)

Oh, and Daddio: Bucket wanted to say Hi. She hasn’t made an appearance in forever.