Girdwood - Part 2

  Later in the evening I decided to take the tram at the Alyeska Princes Hotel which takes you to the observation deck shown in the picture.  The cost of the tram is $20.00 or only $10.00 after 7pm or if you decide to hike up the ride down is free!  It takes a conditioned hiker about 1.5 hours to do the hike.

At the observation deck there is a skiers cafeteria which is open during the season and there is the Seven Glaciers, a five star restaurant which as expected is a bit pricy.   After roaming around at the top for a while I stopped in and enjoyed an Alaskan White beer and was tempted to order their salmon dinner but decided against it.




This is the view of the resort from the top using a 300mm lens.  If you look close you can see my truck in the parking lot.  Last row, third from the left.









You can see these reminders occasionally.  Should go without saying, one would think.  They are used when the snow builds up, avalanche control.  Duds are supposed to be reported at the time but unexploded shells are still found occasionally.  One shell was recently found by a hiker in a different area and fortunately by somebody that was smart enough not to take it home as a souvenir.

A couple ways down Tram, Walking or flying!











Now this is what I was waiting for, my first sunset that I have seen since last May.  Not bad.

Girdwood, AK

Girdwood like so many cities here in alaska got their start as a mining town with stakes on Crow Creek, Virgin and California Creeks.  Girdwood was originally named Glacier City but later re-named after James Girdwood who was an Irish immigrant and linen merchant with four gold claims on Crow Creek.

Like Vladez, AK when the earthquake of 1964 hit with a magnitude of 9.2 the city had to be moved because it was built on unstable ground but in the case of Girdwood the earthquake caused the coastal edges along the Turnagain Arm 8-10 feet!  The town now sites 2.5 miles up the valley.


A little more history can be found by clicking on this link.  GIRDWOOD HISTORY

This is just going to just be a little day trip to hike the Winner Trail.



The parking area for the Winner Creek Trail is at the Alyeska Resort and a walk through the main lobby, up the stairs and out the back door.











The trail is wide and easily walked by anyone taking you through a mature forest of spruce-hemlock, extensive boardwaks over bogs.








This is Winner Creek Gorge












The most interesting part of this trip is the hand tram car over Glacier Creek

This is the view down from the hand tram, quite a ways down and yes the tram does shake and sway a little.

 This is the trail head at Crow Pass Road where we had bikes stashed in the woods for a easy ride back into town and a little lunch at Chair 5.  Next time I want to try their pizza.