| Trip | Days | Weekdays | Dates | Month | Region | Miles | Class | Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | Friday | 9 | May | Talkeetnas | 5 | B | dayhike | finished |
| B | 2 | Sat-Sun | 17-18 | May | Talkeetnas | 5 | B | dayhike | finished |
| C | 1 | Wednesday | 2 | July | Talkeetnas | 0 | A | dayhike | postponed |
| D | 3 | Fri-Sun | 23-25 | May | Talkeetnas | 10 | C | fossils | finished |
| E | 4 | Mon-Thu | 26-29 | May | Talkeetnas | 40 | D | fossils | finished |
| F | 2 | Fri-Sat | 30-31 | May | Talkeetnas | 30 | E | backpack | finished |
| G | 1 | Sunday | 1 | June | Talkeetnas | 10 | B | dayhike | finished |
| H | 4 | Tue-Fri | 3-6 | June | Talkeetnas | 50 | E | backpack | finished |
| I | 6 | Tue-Sun | 10-15 | June | Talkeetnas | 70 | D | backpack | finished |
| J | 2 | Mon-Tue | 23-24 | June | Talkeetnas | 30 | E | backpack | finished |
| K | 3 | Fri-Sun | 27-29 | June | Talkeetnas | 10 | B | fossils | finished |
| L | 4 | Fri-Mon | 4-7 | July | Talkeetnas | 20 | C | explore | finished |
| M | 2 | Wed-Thu | 9-10 | July | Wrangells | 10 | D | minerals | finished |
| N | 5 | Fri-Tue | 11-15 | July | Wrangells | 35 | C | minerals | finished |
| O | 1 | ??? | ?? | ???? | Interior | 0 | A | dayhike | postponed |
| P | 4 | Thu-Sun | 17-20 | July | Interior | 25 | E | explore | finished |
| Q | 8 | Mon-Mon | 21-28 | July | Brooks | 20 | C | backpack | finished |
| R | 4 | Wed-Sat | 30-2 | July/August | Wrangells | 10 | D | minerals | finished |
| S | 4 | Mon-Thu | 4-7 | August | Alaska Range | 15 | C | explore | finished |
| T | 7 | Thu-Wed | 7-13 | August | Alaska Range | 35 | B | explore | finished |
| U | 3 | Tue-Thu | 19-21 | August | Talkeetnas | 40 | D | fossils | finished |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
That does it for following a schedule!! I still have a few more trips to do
this "summer", but I'm no longer following the list.
This has been the
COLDEST and WETTEST summer on record here in Alaska, and I would add DARKEST.
(Global Warming??)
Since April, I've backpacked 470 miles (750 km), and I expect to reach 500
miles (800 km) before storing my gear for the winter.
But 70% of these
miles have been ALONE! The weather has been terrible, so it has been
difficult to find interested hiking partners.
Due to both wet weather and lone hiking (I hike faster when alone), trip time
lengths have often been shortened by a day or so,
though distances have
either remained the same or increased. Compressing the trips bumps up their
class by a level or two.
Trips are free (except shared travel costs) and limited to 3 persons.
For more information call Curvin Metzler at (907)
333-8766.
If no answer, leave voice mail message, include phone number.
For photos see Backpacking under
www.RedundancyDept.com
[mid-June] Early trips this year were delayed about two weeks because of the unusually late start of summer. In Anchorage, there was a large record late snowfall of 1½ to 2 feet on the 25th and 26th of April, which still lingers in the surrounding mountains at about the 2000 foot level. Normally, people would be sunbathing at Goose Lake already during the first week of May, but this year the air is still cold and the sun keeps hiding behind clouds. The Talkeetna Mountains received very little snow this winter, but much of it still hangs on above the 4000 foot level, and some lakes are still frozen. Midway up Boulder Creek valley, the leaves haven't come out yet on the cottonwoods [as of June 15]! It's now official, this has been the coldest and wettest summer on record in Alaska! (Where's global warming when you would be glad for it?)
| C a t e g o r y | B a c k p a c k i n g | D a y h i k i n g | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Difficulty | Daily Miles | Elevation Gain | Daily Miles | Elevation Gain |
| A | Easy | up to 3 | up to 500 | up to 5 | up to 1000 |
| B | Moderate | 3 to 6 | up to 1200 | 5 to 10 | up to 2200 |
| C | Difficult | 6 to 10 | up to 2000 | 10 to 16 | up to 3500 |
| D | Strenuous | 10 to 15 | up to 3000 | 16 to 24 | up to 5000 |
| E | Extreme | over 15 | over 3000 | over 24 | over 5000 |
| F | Float | varies | minimal | varies | minimal |
| G | Glacier | over 10 | about 1500 | over 16 | about 2500 |
| Status | Explanation |
|---|---|
| current | trip taking place at current time |
| available | trip currently has no participants |
| half full | trip not full but has participants |
| wait list | trip is full but waiting list is open |
| reserved | trip reserved for a special group |
| postponed | trip postponed due to conditions |
| finished | trip has already been completed |