The Mint Hut
When we arrived in Anchorage, we had plans to continue down the Kenai Peninsula towards Seward with hopes of camping along the water, hiking along the glacier and more whale watching. What we failed to realize was how serious these Alaskans take their fishing and their annual salmon derby. It was the busiest weekend of the year and everything was booked. Once again, we had to alter our plans.
Grant knows me very well and has learned how to entice me into doing things. By showing me a picture a quaint red hut surrounded by massive peaks, he knew I would be eager to go and not concerned about the 9.5 miles (one way) hike. With the increasingly hot temperatures in Anchorage, we were happy to go deeper into the wilderness in search of cooler temperatures.
As we loaded up our packs, Grant didn’t understand why his pack was so heavy until I reminded him off all of his camera gear he chose to bring. Lhotse and I enjoyed our relatively light packs as we began our journey up through the valley. The first five miles of the hike were quite enjoyable as we hiked amongst the beautiful fire weeds, the roaring river, and the low hanging clouds.
As we continued up the valley, the trail became overgrown with willows and slick mud from the rain the night before resulting in wet and muddy pants. The thick vegetation meant our visibility was pretty limited and I began to grow concerned with the idea of wandering into an unsuspecting grizzly bear. Fortunately, most of my worries are just worries. Around mile eight, we began to ascend the steep rocky slope and things became a bit sketchy for two out of the three of us. As I slowed down on the steep slippery sections, Lhotse became to a full on stop, refusing to jump from boulder to boulder. Luckily, we had our “Grizzly Adams” to help encourage us along the way. About half a mile to the top, the trail becomes an exposed narrow section that wraps around the mountain top. As a local described it, “its not a trail you can fall on.” With his advice, we ended up taking a longer route to avoid the exposed section. Once Grant lifted a terrified somewhat stubborn pup over a large boulder, we were on our way in search of the cute red hut. After nine and half miles, we finally arrived to our destination.
Grant and I admired the rugged peaks of the Talkeetna range while Lhotse slept the night away, exhausted from the mentally, physically, and emotionally draining day. When the sun began to set, Grant grabbed his camera and I was the model to demonstrate the scale of the mountains and the hut. Even though Grant’s takes wonderful photos and his mom thinks all of his photos should be in National Geographic, he was distracted by this incredible place and didn’t realize the placement I was in. After examining his work, he realized he placed me right in front of a distant waterfall appearing that I was throwing up. After a good laugh at his expense, he luckily was able to reshoot it.
The next morning, we loaded up our packs on our sore hips and began the journey down the valley knowing that Qdoba was our prize. Once again, Grant had to encourage Lhotse and I both to overcome our fears on the steep sections. I don’t know which one of us was more relieved to be down. We continued to hike through the meadow until we arrived safely back to the van.
Once again, Alaska had a different plan for us. Fortunately for us, we were able to experience the Mint Hut and the surrounding peaks before the smoke covered the valley.
