Tide Travels: An early spring hike in Southeast Alaska

As you may have read, it's been a late spring and a long winter here in Juneau. And it could have been the sunny weather or just overly optimistic thinking, but when the day arrived to make the trek to Peterson Lake Cabin, I didn't even consider canceling. We hadn't been out to any local cabins since December and I was more than ready to get back on the trail. And after all, it was April 20, high time to say goodbye to winter... or so I thought when we booked it a few months earlier.

Instead, when the day arrived this was the wintry reality:

Peterson Lake trailhead- April 20, 2013

Recent months have seen steady snowfall around here, especially back in the woods 24 miles north of downtown Juneau where the trail begins heading east.

The popularity of overnight stays at the Forest Service cabins in our area require reservations made well in advance, especially for Saturdays. Sometimes each Saturday is booked out six months in advance- the entire booking window of availability. Canceling a reservation means either forfeiting $10 to reschedule for a different date or to request a refund. There's no allowance for inclement weather, nor do I think there should be- it's just part of the deal.

The Peterson Lake Trail is a familiar one, 4.3 miles each way to cabin and gaining only 700 feet in elevation from sea level. It meanders along the high loamy banks of Peterson Creek through forests of hemlock and spruce.

Narrow, slippery planking and considerable tree roots make it a good idea to pay close attention to one's feet. And to wear the right footwear! Here we used Xtra-tuffs (me) or Bogs (Scotty) with pull-on Micro-Spikes.

At around Mile Marker 2, the forested trail gives ways to a meadows of muskeg. In warmer months, this means a few miles of mostly flat, but sometimes slippery, wooden planking. Here, the path consisted of trampled-down snow.

At the end of the meadow, Peterson Creek widens as it feeds into Peterson Lake. The sight of it means that the cabin is just under a mile away.

In some patches near the lake, the snow had begun to melt giving way to one of the first signs of spring in Southeast Alaska: the first bright yellow shoots of skunk cabbage, a plant ubiquitous in the Pacific Northwest.

The cabin still had quite a bit of snow around it, but inside we spent the night warm and dry thanks to just enough firewood someone kindly left behind and the cabin's propane heater. The next day, the sun came out again for the return hike; two days of sunshine in a row around here is always something to celebrate! ;)