Tired of oversized vehicles, oversized roads and oversized people, tired of deep fried food, tired of over politeness, knee high tennis socks and old tourists wearing Alaska shirts we decided to head into the wild. Dale, being a man of woods and knowing the paths and trails of the Kenai Penisula like his own backyard, recommanded us a trail called Skiline which connects to Fuller Lake Tails. The land between the trails is nothing but miles of rocky mountain side. This sounded challenging and adventurous enough for our final holiday activity. According to Dale, this hike is around 12 miles/19 km of going up and down the Mystery Mountains.
Days before the hike the weather was unstable and Pauli still felt a bit ill after the canoe-trip. This made us a bit worried if we could make it or not. Fortunately, the day we scheduled the hike the weather forecast promised that it was not going to rain and Pauli felt good enough to give it a go; so we went.
After an hour drive we got to the trail head. Backpacks packed with high energy food and plenty of water we started hiking up the mountain. In the
beginning, we realized that the climb was going to be longer and steeper than we expected. Nina, being a lady of the flat lands, was amazed by the view and the height of the mountains. The higher we hiked the less trees we saw and the more spectacular the view became.
Being in bear country and being warned of bears by many Alaskans we made plenty of noise by talking to each other and calling for the Nalle (Finnish for Teddy).
Finally, after 1 1/2 hours of hiking we reached the top of the first mountain at around 3200 feet/1 km. That meant the end of maintained trail and for us to set our foot on a less used and not so well defined path. The trail followed the Mystery Mountains mountain range. From peak to peak we walked. The terrain was mostly loose rocks, shale, mud, moss and a few pink flowers. Upon the mountain above the tree line we could see very far and felt little more secure because we didn't see any bears or other wild animals.
Before the third peak we lost our trail for the first time. Something strange happened: we heard a whistle or a bird from somewhere down below us as if it was trying to tell us that we were going the wrong way. Once we changed our direction and climbed up the mountain the whistling stopped. Strange, indeed. Was someone
watching us? On top of the third out of seven peaks we were confident that we we going the right way even though we were not on any path. No trail in sight we had to start climbing down a very steep and long hill in rough terrain. Being unaccustomed to such steep downhills our legs got quite tried so we decided to have a lunch break around 2 o'clock. Sweaty from climbing and the cold wind and air up in the mountains where the snow lies got us cold fast whenever we stopped. So breaks including the lunch break had to be as short as possible. But the view was great: turquoise rivers and lakes, snowy mountain tops on our eye level, clouds above and below us and helicopters flying far below us. It was just great.
After eating and resting for a few minutes we went on climbing slightly refreshed. Four more peaks before reaching the relatively easy Fuller
Lake Trail. The highest peak was still ahead of us. A couple of hours later we finally reached top of the final and highest mountain. When we reached the top a most peculiar thing happened! When Nina set foot on the grassy top sun broke out between the clouds. Before it had been cloudy and grey. Being on top of the final mountain peak was the breaking point of the hike. We had beaten the trail. From now on it was only going to be downhill.
It was 4:30 and we were still in good health, good spirit and had lots of strength left. So down the mountain we went.
At first, it was very rocky and our going was slow. It was as we were in Mordor. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a few patches of snow which we could slide down. It was both handy and fun, at least for Pauli. We followed the trail down to the mountain ridge like our map told us to. We knew that at some point we trail was going to make a sharp right turn and take us to the Fuller Lakes Trail. But either we missed the turn or it had disappeared. So we just kept on going straight and down hoping to catch the trail somewhere. Looking back, we realize that we should have paid more attention to the map and our surroundings. But we just kept on going. Our downhill journey was made faster by a couple more stretches of snow we found in the midst of pine trees. We slid down the snow and found the mou
ntain on top of us but there was no trail in sight. It was a bit worrying but at least we knew the general direction where to go. We decided to go cross country to find the trail and not to go back up. Cross Country is easier in movies than in real life: thick brushes and tall trees slowed us down and prevented us from seeing where to go. We tried to keep on the open as much as possible because it was easier to walk an we could see our surroundings better while calling for the Nalle to let him know that we were coming.
In the beginning Pauli was confident that we would find the trail easily. We came across a couple of trails but they all vanished as fast as they had appeared. At this point Nina started to feel afraid with no trails to be found and Nalle possibly anywhere. We followed the open terrain back upwards the mountain towards the direction of Fuller Lake Trail hoping that the higher ground would provide us with a better view and give us a hint of our exact location. But then the open terrain turned into thick brush and we had to go up back through the woods. This procedure repeated itself a couple of times; going up and down wherever it was easiest to walk. With every step we took Nina got more and more freaked out which made Pauli nervous, too. We were worried about getting hurt and that the sun would go down and wild animals would come out. Luckily, the only animals we saw were trillions of mosquitoes harassing us. Even though we were exhausted we couldn't stop due to the blood suckers and the fact that we had to get back as soon as possib
le.
Finally, we got to a point where we could see the lake where the trail was starting. There we found a crevasse carved into the mountain side covered with snow. The vegetation in front of us was so thick that it was impossible to go through. At this point we had to make THE decision: to go up or down. Pauli thought that the trail was somewhere above us. But it would be hard to find it in the thick terrain. If we had gone up and hadn't found the trail it would have been extremely difficult to come back down because the mountain side became steeper and steeper as we got closer to the trail. So we went down. Down where the ground seemed relatively flat and open and easy to travel cross country. In addition, the crevasse provided us with a easy way down the already steep hill. We slid down the snow and when it ended we found our way through thick bushed to the open we had seen from above. In the open we found a trail we thought might be one of the Fuller Lake Trails. We followed the trail but after a while it turned into a muddy slush and soon we found ourselves next to a swamp which wasn't on the map. This setback and the trillions of mosquitoes weren't really motivating. We had to backtrack a bit and find another way towards the lake. We did find a traversable stretch of land between the swamp and the steep mountain side which took as ever closer to the maintained trail. We still had to go over the brushes and through the trees, over the rocks, under the branches to find our way. Pauli's legs started cramping and Nina felt blisters growing and her stre
ngth vanishing.
Finally, we found another trail but couldn't afford to hope too much after so many disappointments. The trail did take us to the lake so we had reasons to believe this was the right trail. Nevertheless, Nina was in doubt.
After crossing a stream and walking around the lake, we were certain that we had found the right trail. The relieve of finding the right trail was tremendous! We still had 1 1/2 hours to walking ahead of us but it seemed easy on this trail even though we had to cross another swamp.
Towards the end we grew more tired and wanted the hike to end. Shortly before reaching the end we heard a crack in the woods which scared us. We didn't want to meet Nalle right before the end nor a moose or even a rabbit. We just wanted to get back. And we did. Tired but happy and relieved. The 8 hour hike had stretched into an almost 12 hour adventure! This was an outdoor experience we had never expected.
Smelly as we were we went to a campground, erected our tent and tried to take a shower at a pu
blic shower place but it was close. So we washed the smell of blood, sweat, mosquito repellant and despair and fear with the cold water of the campingground's toilet sink. In the end we went to bed at midnight and woke with aching legs and feet feeling the same as we did after running the marathin about a year ago.
Days before the hike the weather was unstable and Pauli still felt a bit ill after the canoe-trip. This made us a bit worried if we could make it or not. Fortunately, the day we scheduled the hike the weather forecast promised that it was not going to rain and Pauli felt good enough to give it a go; so we went.
After an hour drive we got to the trail head. Backpacks packed with high energy food and plenty of water we started hiking up the mountain. In the
beginning, we realized that the climb was going to be longer and steeper than we expected. Nina, being a lady of the flat lands, was amazed by the view and the height of the mountains. The higher we hiked the less trees we saw and the more spectacular the view became.Being in bear country and being warned of bears by many Alaskans we made plenty of noise by talking to each other and calling for the Nalle (Finnish for Teddy).
Finally, after 1 1/2 hours of hiking we reached the top of the first mountain at around 3200 feet/1 km. That meant the end of maintained trail and for us to set our foot on a less used and not so well defined path. The trail followed the Mystery Mountains mountain range. From peak to peak we walked. The terrain was mostly loose rocks, shale, mud, moss and a few pink flowers. Upon the mountain above the tree line we could see very far and felt little more secure because we didn't see any bears or other wild animals.
Before the third peak we lost our trail for the first time. Something strange happened: we heard a whistle or a bird from somewhere down below us as if it was trying to tell us that we were going the wrong way. Once we changed our direction and climbed up the mountain the whistling stopped. Strange, indeed. Was someone
watching us? On top of the third out of seven peaks we were confident that we we going the right way even though we were not on any path. No trail in sight we had to start climbing down a very steep and long hill in rough terrain. Being unaccustomed to such steep downhills our legs got quite tried so we decided to have a lunch break around 2 o'clock. Sweaty from climbing and the cold wind and air up in the mountains where the snow lies got us cold fast whenever we stopped. So breaks including the lunch break had to be as short as possible. But the view was great: turquoise rivers and lakes, snowy mountain tops on our eye level, clouds above and below us and helicopters flying far below us. It was just great.After eating and resting for a few minutes we went on climbing slightly refreshed. Four more peaks before reaching the relatively easy Fuller
Lake Trail. The highest peak was still ahead of us. A couple of hours later we finally reached top of the final and highest mountain. When we reached the top a most peculiar thing happened! When Nina set foot on the grassy top sun broke out between the clouds. Before it had been cloudy and grey. Being on top of the final mountain peak was the breaking point of the hike. We had beaten the trail. From now on it was only going to be downhill.It was 4:30 and we were still in good health, good spirit and had lots of strength left. So down the mountain we went.
At first, it was very rocky and our going was slow. It was as we were in Mordor. Fortunately, we stumbled upon a few patches of snow which we could slide down. It was both handy and fun, at least for Pauli. We followed the trail down to the mountain ridge like our map told us to. We knew that at some point we trail was going to make a sharp right turn and take us to the Fuller Lakes Trail. But either we missed the turn or it had disappeared. So we just kept on going straight and down hoping to catch the trail somewhere. Looking back, we realize that we should have paid more attention to the map and our surroundings. But we just kept on going. Our downhill journey was made faster by a couple more stretches of snow we found in the midst of pine trees. We slid down the snow and found the mou
ntain on top of us but there was no trail in sight. It was a bit worrying but at least we knew the general direction where to go. We decided to go cross country to find the trail and not to go back up. Cross Country is easier in movies than in real life: thick brushes and tall trees slowed us down and prevented us from seeing where to go. We tried to keep on the open as much as possible because it was easier to walk an we could see our surroundings better while calling for the Nalle to let him know that we were coming.In the beginning Pauli was confident that we would find the trail easily. We came across a couple of trails but they all vanished as fast as they had appeared. At this point Nina started to feel afraid with no trails to be found and Nalle possibly anywhere. We followed the open terrain back upwards the mountain towards the direction of Fuller Lake Trail hoping that the higher ground would provide us with a better view and give us a hint of our exact location. But then the open terrain turned into thick brush and we had to go up back through the woods. This procedure repeated itself a couple of times; going up and down wherever it was easiest to walk. With every step we took Nina got more and more freaked out which made Pauli nervous, too. We were worried about getting hurt and that the sun would go down and wild animals would come out. Luckily, the only animals we saw were trillions of mosquitoes harassing us. Even though we were exhausted we couldn't stop due to the blood suckers and the fact that we had to get back as soon as possib
le.Finally, we got to a point where we could see the lake where the trail was starting. There we found a crevasse carved into the mountain side covered with snow. The vegetation in front of us was so thick that it was impossible to go through. At this point we had to make THE decision: to go up or down. Pauli thought that the trail was somewhere above us. But it would be hard to find it in the thick terrain. If we had gone up and hadn't found the trail it would have been extremely difficult to come back down because the mountain side became steeper and steeper as we got closer to the trail. So we went down. Down where the ground seemed relatively flat and open and easy to travel cross country. In addition, the crevasse provided us with a easy way down the already steep hill. We slid down the snow and when it ended we found our way through thick bushed to the open we had seen from above. In the open we found a trail we thought might be one of the Fuller Lake Trails. We followed the trail but after a while it turned into a muddy slush and soon we found ourselves next to a swamp which wasn't on the map. This setback and the trillions of mosquitoes weren't really motivating. We had to backtrack a bit and find another way towards the lake. We did find a traversable stretch of land between the swamp and the steep mountain side which took as ever closer to the maintained trail. We still had to go over the brushes and through the trees, over the rocks, under the branches to find our way. Pauli's legs started cramping and Nina felt blisters growing and her stre
ngth vanishing.Finally, we found another trail but couldn't afford to hope too much after so many disappointments. The trail did take us to the lake so we had reasons to believe this was the right trail. Nevertheless, Nina was in doubt.
After crossing a stream and walking around the lake, we were certain that we had found the right trail. The relieve of finding the right trail was tremendous! We still had 1 1/2 hours to walking ahead of us but it seemed easy on this trail even though we had to cross another swamp.
Towards the end we grew more tired and wanted the hike to end. Shortly before reaching the end we heard a crack in the woods which scared us. We didn't want to meet Nalle right before the end nor a moose or even a rabbit. We just wanted to get back. And we did. Tired but happy and relieved. The 8 hour hike had stretched into an almost 12 hour adventure! This was an outdoor experience we had never expected.
Smelly as we were we went to a campground, erected our tent and tried to take a shower at a pu
blic shower place but it was close. So we washed the smell of blood, sweat, mosquito repellant and despair and fear with the cold water of the campingground's toilet sink. In the end we went to bed at midnight and woke with aching legs and feet feeling the same as we did after running the marathin about a year ago.
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