Hatcher Pass Escape

After about 4 months post-surgery and 3 weeks of consistent rain, Jess was ready to take advantage of a sunny weekend to get out and do a little bit of hiking.  We went up to Hatcher Pass for a short trip around Archangel Road.

Our first leg of the hike was up toward Reed Lake.  Jess' knee still isn't 100%, so we went until we hit a rock scramble.  Here's Jess wondering what's taking me so long.

 From the Reed Lakes trail looking back toward Archangel Road.  The leaves were just starting to turn, and blueberries were plentiful in spots.

  I left Jess down at camp and did a short climb up to an unnamed peak.  This is on the way up.

 Some poor route-finding left me on this knife-edge ridge, just wide enough for me to straddle and scoot from one foothold to the next.  The drop on either side was about 40 feet, but going back down where I'd come from wasn't a great option.  Things got better once I got off it, though.

 Mix of stone and verdant green formed in this post-glacial wonderland.

 After we turned back on the Reed Lakes trail, we headed to the end of Archangel Road.  About 6.5 miles in total - a pretty good post-surgery jaunt.

 Panorama from our campsite.  We'd previously headed up this way in winter on our way to the Lane Glacier hut.

Jess in her happy place, post hike and blueberry picking.

 Panorama from the top of the peak of the Talkeetnas.  That night we saw amazing stars and returned the next day under a similarly bluebird sky.  Pretty awesome.