
Pour des amoureux de la nature comme nous, l'Alaska c'est quand même formidable. Il ne nous avait pas fallu beaucoup de recherche pour trouver plusieurs randonnées à faire durant notre séjour. Lors de notre dernière escale, dans la petite ville de Skagway, nous avions l'ambitieux projet de nous rendre à Upper Dewey Lake. Seulement 10km aller-retour mais avec tout de même 1000m de dénivelé positif. Dés le départ nous avons compris qu'il allait falloir beaucoup monter.
For nature lovers like us, Alaska is fantastic. It didn't take us much research to find several hikes to do during our stay. On our last stop, in the little town of Skagway, we had the ambitious plan to go to Upper Dewey Lake. Only 6 miles round trip but with 3000ft of positive elevation change. As soon as we started we understood there would be a lot of uphill.
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
After the warm up of the first up hill there was some flatter ground around the water reservoir. The temperature was far more pleasant than in the town itself. I think the forest was protecting us while in Skagway the Northern wind blew hard.
Behind the lake we came across an enchanting creek. The milky water crossing quickly through the forest seemed to have magical powers, moss covered the banks, trees were covered with lichens, were we in the land of the forest spirits?
We quickly understood the water pressure. As soon as we got to the trail intersection and took the direction of Upper Dewey Lake that we faced the uphill. The miles to come would only be switch-backs going along the Dewey creek. But is creek the right word? Had we been in North Carolina this would have been called a waterfall. The numerous brakes to admire it were no luxury.
Along the trail we found all sorts of moss and lichens with interesting shapes.
Sometimes the forest opened up enough to see the fjord/channel below us. the surrounding mountains, just as steep as the one we were on. When on thinks it's the site of the Klondike Gold Rush, it's easy to understand how hard it was for the gold miners to make their way through. It made me want to read The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
Skwagway seen half-way through our hike.
The switchbacks gave way to what seemed to be a steam bed, a not so dry bed in fact. Our pace slowed down, it was now a bit of an obstacle course and having no waterproof soes I found myself looking more often at the ground than the landscape.
A clearing offered us a view over the surrounding summits. According to the pictures, I thought I remembered the lake to be at the feet of the summit in front of us. But how far were we? My sister-in-law had promised her husband she would be back by noon and our time window was slowly closing on us.
A few end of summer flowers decorated the trail that keep on going up.
Then we got to a flatter area. We could see a waterfall and the mountains seemed to gather into a bowl. But here it was, the time to turn around; to be satisfied with the view of the promise of a lake. I had a hard time swallowing the decision but was going to follow them when another hiker came down and told us the lake was a hundred yards away. The distance of a football field. I'm my father's daughter, I couldn't stop so close to the lake. Used to run on the trail alone and with the promise of a lake that was calling me I turned to Hubby and his sister and told them to start going down because I was going to go to the lake. I didn't even wait for an answer.
I felt freed by this decision. In less then 10 minutes I was in front of a beautiful cotton-grass field, a plant I nickname Marsh Linen since a trip to Scandinavia.
In front of me a cabin.
In front of the cabin was Upper Dewey Lake. I let my sense absorb the beauty of the site, giving myself just a few minutes to take pictures.
At the end of the valley I could see a glacier, certainly the one feeding the lake in which I would not have dared to dip a toe.
The clouds lifted just enough to admire the landscape, I could have spent hours there but I had to turn around.
Si je ne regrette pas ma décision, il m'en reste quand même un souvenir doux-amer. Que dire, je n'aime pas mettre les gens en colère.
It so happen that Hubby and my sister-in-law, afrait that I could get hurt had decided to follow me. To tell you my SIL was angry would be an understatement, she did not appreciate that I didn't respect the group's decision. I can tell you that her icy glare scolded me and spoiled my little moment by the lake. Suddenly my decision didn't seem worth it anymore. I turned around and started going down, feeling like a scolded child. I barely spoke on the way down. They called her husband to tell her we would be late. It's only by the time we got to the reservoir that I found the strength to apologize. I did not regret that, not only did she say she appreciated it but also that she had been happy to see the lake when she thought it was much farther than that.While I don't regret my decision, it still remains a bit of a bitter-sweet memory. What can I say, I don't like to make people angry.
Si vous allez un jour a Skagway, je recommande de lire ce petite guide qui donne quelques bonnes ballades et randonnées facilement accessibles depuis la ville: Skagway Trail Map.
Our hike ended as we saw the train entering Skagway.
If you ever go to Skagway, I recommend to read this little guide which give a few good walks and hikes easily accessible from the city: Skagway Trail Map.