Lower Trail Lake and Vagt Lake

On Sunday August 30 we are starting to  near the end of our vacation.  This is the day we were supposed to do a sea kayak trip to Kanai Fjords, paddle around glaciers and possibly see some wildlife.    We tried the kayak trip two days but it was canceled both days due to high winds and ten foot waves.  We were really looking forward to that part of our trip.  We had been training in a kayak at home to prepare for the all day trip.  We brought rain pants, paddling gloves and extra layers of quick dry clothing for that adventure.  I even had a waterproof camera from my friend John Barrett. This will have to be something we try again on our next trip to Alaska.

Instead we decided to explore some of the area around Moose Pass.   We picked the Lower Trail Lake and Vagt Lake.  That's not a typo, the name of the lake is Lower Trail Lake.

Lower Trail Lake

Looking for Wildlife

What a cold day!   The winds were pretty strong and created white caps on that little lake.   This was not the day for photographing beautiful reflections in the surface of a calm lake. We walked along the shore for a while watching for wildlife.  All we saw were some Sea Gulls and dead fish washed up on shore.   I think the sea gulls were there for an easy meal.

Leprechaun?

We left the shores of Lower Trail Lake and headed up the Vagt Lake Trail.  This easy 4 mile hike took us through forests carpeted with green plants and plenty of mushrooms. Some of the online reviews of this trail say it's only for fishermen to get to Vagt Lake, but we found it to be interesting and had some pretty spots along the way.

Sometimes it's difficult to stop and set up to take macro (close up) photos along a trail like this.   When I set up my tripod will often block the path.  I have to set up and make the shot before having to move the tripod to let another hiker pass by.   This was not a problem on this hike.   We had the forest and trail to ourselves.

I think this would be a great place for the mythical little men known as Leprechauns.  According to legend, they eat nettles and berries.  Leprechauns love Mushrooms especially mushroom tea. We had all three in abundance. We didn't see any.  Maybe they saw us first?

Mushrooms and Bunchberries

The Bunchberries were plentiful along the trail.   A member of the dogwood family, these grow close to the ground.  In the early summer they have white flowers like the dogwood tree and in late summer their berries turn bright red.

Field of Cotton-Grass

After taking a fisherman's trail part of the way around Vagt Lake, we back tracked and found a nice little beach area.  It was obviously used for camping and fishing at times.  Still no one in sight.  We did see plenty of animal tracks all along the trail. We were certainly staying alert for bear on this trail!

Not Exactly A Sea Kayak

Vagt Lake

It was still pretty windy and while there were no white caps on Vagt Lake, we weren't going to see any reflections of the mountains in the lake today.   There were these beautiful grasses growing along the lake shore.  They were swaying in the wind like wheat in a field.

After a lunch break at the fisherman's camp, we headed back down the trail and out.

Tomorrow's blog post will be about Tonsina Point,  Tonsina Creek, and hundreds of salmon.

Four Nights on Kenai Lake

Cabin on Kenai Lake

After a few days off to visit our son in Michigan, I'm back to blogging about our recent Alaska vacation.   I hope you get something out of these posts.   If you want to know more about the places we visited just drop me a note at r.siggins@charter.net

You can view the photos full size by clicking on them.

Kenai Lake

During the second half of our vacation we were blessed to be able to spend four nights on the shore of Kenai Lake at Renfros Lakeside Retreat.  With the Kenai mountains as a backdrop it was beautiful place to spend some relaxing times in the mornings and evenings. Our cabin was situated right on the lake shore with only a handful of other cabins for neighbors.   Most of the time the only sound was water lapping on the rocks and drift wood just outside.  But there were a few times with some excitement.

One day a float plane pilot was practicing takeoffs and landings on the lake just outside our door.  We sat in the chairs with hot coffee in one hand and a camera in the other.  We watched as he made several passes landing on the surface of the lake then taking off again.  It was almost as if we had our own (very) little airshow right there on the lake.

Touch and Go

A couple times we saw a Bald Eagle at the lake flying by just above the tree tops.  I didn't have my camera ready either time.  Later when I went outside to wait and watch for an Eagle, there were none in sight.   I didn't get any Eagle shots but we both have great memories for those magnificent birds flying over our heads.

Renfros Lakeside Retreat is on the main highway between Anchorage and Seward.  In fact, Seward Highway Scenic Byway is the only road between these to cities.   The Alaska Railroad also passed by on the run between Anchorage and Seward.  One day June was outside with my camera watching for the Eagle and captured the train as it passed by on the far side of the lake.

Alaska Railroad

Stars Starting To Come Out

The last day there we noticed the lake level seemed to be higher than it had been.   What had happened is a glacier that had dammed up the Snow River released and all that water that had built up behind the glacier was flowing down the Snow River into Kenai Lake.   This is a naturally occurring process.  In the headwaters of the Snow River the Snow Glacier creates a lake.  Over time precipitation and melting glacial ice cause the lake level to raise.  When the lake is sufficiently filled it causes a small part of the Glacier to lift, thus draining the lake.  It never reached flood stage but it was interesting to see the water rise so quickly.

When we made our travel plans I was excited about being able to photograph the stars out away from light pollution created by city lights.  I even rented a special lens just to take star photos while in Alaska.   I knew I was going to get spectacular shots of the Milky Way and a dark star filled sky!  The anticipation and expectations were running pretty high.

The first half of the trip in Denali National Park was cloudy and I never had a clear night.  When we were on Kenai Lake the skies were clear with only a few passing clouds.  Now's my chance for that Milky Way photo.  An hour or so after sunset I set up my camera, figured out where the Milky Way was going to appear and prepared to make some spectacular photos of the stars.

I had neglected to take the moon into account and within a short few minutes a very bright full moon popped up above the mountains and illuminated everything in sight.  All but the brightest stars became invisible in the glare of the full moon.  After a while it was bright enough to read a newspaper by moonlight.

The Moonlight Scene photo below had a 4 minute exposure time.  You can see the few bright stars became streaks of light as they traveled across the sky in those 4 minutes.   If it wasn't for the stars, this could pass for a daytime scene. It was that bright.

Moonlight Scene

Milky Way in Tennessee

I carried that lens around for almost 2 weeks and never did get the stars or Milky Way photos I dreamed of while we were in Alaska.   After I got home and the day before I had to ship the lens back I took it up to Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain and got this shot.  I made my Milky Way photo about 30 miles from home instead of 4,268 miles and four time zones away.

The Milky Way and trying to find a Bald Eagle were just two more examples of me making plans for things I have no control over.   I'm sure God was chuckling and shaking his head saying "Here he goes again with his master plan."   I couldn't do anything about the eagles, clouds or the moon, but I got some completely unplanned photos that I'm just as excited about.

It's a good thing I'm not in charge.

Tomorrow we climb a glacier!