Mountain Echoes - The ECHO

Having grown up in the seaport city of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, the 4th of July celebration in that community is close to my heart.

Though dandelions have been around a lot longer than me, their reach in southcentral Alaska has expanded dramatically during my lifetime.

I have returned to my home many times over the years to rediscover the subtle magic I knew as a child. That place is the town of Seward.

I find low-angled trails that would still take me into the mountains. Here are some relatively easy trails for summer and fall hiking.

This year’s Citywide cleanup is April 27 to May 4, and I strongly urge everyone to get out and clean anywhere you see garbage.

According to NWS records dating back 65 years for the Anchorage area, only 13 snowfalls greater than eight inches are recorded for April.

If you’ve hiked in our state’s backcountry you’ve probably found the ruins; decaying artifacts from Alaska’s golden age of mining.

The sun was bright and the air warm April 14 of this year as we hiked the three miles from the Eagle River Nature to Echo Bend.

On an assignment in Argentina for the oil and gas company, BP, several years ago, we included the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia.

Brent Voorhees and I were pleased to find a recently made snowmachine trail as we skied north on Caribou Creek.

Conditions on Eklutna Lake during the first two weeks of February had been perfect for skiing, skating, biking, hiking and snow machining.

Our world of ice is beautiful. I can remember as a child in Seward staring at the colorful prism created by sunlight striking ice sickles.

Violence, greed, corruption, and oppression of people seem unending, but I now have a robust and enduring faith in humanity.

What follows are female mountaineers, primarily Alaskans, who have and are continuing to make extraordinary achievements in the mountains.

I’ve always loved the quietness of Hope, which I can guess is the exact opposite of what it was like back in the early 1900s