Bird to Gird and Winner Creek Sunday

We took advantage of the sunshine Sunday.  I got out of the car with my bike at Bird Point and biked to the Forest Service Office in Girdwood, where J was waiting to pick me up.  A woman was getting ready to ride back as well and we agreed to go together.  But as soon as we started - the first mile or so is uphill at a more than gentle incline - I was going really slowly and it was clear that she could do this much faster with her rented electric bike.  So I told her to just take off and she pushed the button and zoomed up the hill.  

This ride goes along the route of the old road above Turnagain Arm.  It was narrow, steep, and curvy.  There were lots of crashes.  Now it's down to bike path  width, not that curvy, and with great views.  Here's a cliche Alaska photo of blooming fireweed with mountains, water, blue sky and clouds.  Lots of views like this on the path.  

Another view of Turnagain Arm without the foreground fireweed.  The tide seemed to be going out.  

Here we're down back to the new road level - but well separated.  This valley goes into Girdwood.  

And just for fun, I tweaked this with curves Mac Photos, just to remind everyone that if a picture looks too good (or weird) to be true, it probably isn't.  

Then a pick up at the Forest Service Office and a short drive up to the Prince Hotel and the Winner Creek trail behind the ski tram.  

When I first attempted this trail, it was several inches deep in mud.  But even with rubber boots it quickly became impossible to go further.  That was in the early 80's  Alaska Airlines had sold Alyeska to Seibu/Prince Hotels, and if the Prince Hotel had been imagined then, it was only on paper.  This is a beautiful natural spot that over the years has gotten lots of attention.  Perhaps too much.  I'm ok with the various boardwalk sections that have been put in.  But the ski-loop that has been put in nearby has cut an ugly dirt road through the previously lush landscape.  

This is near the beginning of the trail.  No hint of the muddy past.

And there are a few long sections of boardwalk through the woods.  

And here again I played with curves.

I've always admired the calculations it takes to do curves (actual curves, not digital ones) in boardwalks, so here's a focused look at a curve.  

One of several creeks that intersect the trail.  Lots of Devil's Club.  

The trail itself is just a beautiful place to walk in the woods.  And compared to the trails along the Seward highway, which go steeply up, this trail is relatively level.  Some ups and downs, but nothing drastic.  The key destinations on this trail have been the small gorge with water squeezed into a roaring torrent and the hand tram.  

Here's the bridge over the torrent.  

And here's looking from the bridge as the water roars by below.  

The hand tram is a quarter mile beyond this gorge.  It has a metal cage and ropes and pulleys to take you across a much bigger gorge.  But someone working the ropes to get people across fell to his death a couple of years ago and the tram is no longer open to use.  We didn't go the extra way to see exactly what's still there.  

A good day of enjoying Alaska on a beautiful sunny, then cloudy day.     Here's a better view of the water rushing through the gorge.   Or maybe not.  (It's not working in the preview.)  I'll try to fix it later.  Nope, not working.  Tried Blogger's upload video directly from my computer and that doesn't seem to have worked.  Maybe I can figure it out. Or just upload it to YouTube.  It's just a few seconds.