Taku Lake - Campbell Creek Trail

10 moms, 2 dads, 1 grandma and about 18 kiddos hit the trail today. We took the Campbell Creek Trail from Taku Lake (Corner of King St. & 76th) and headed west as the snow was falling all around us. Yes glorious beautiful snow! We've had very little so far this winter, a stark contrast to the record breaking load we had last year. What snow we did have melted with the recent warm spell and rain.


Despite my oldest son throwing up his hands and exclaiming"It's a snowy snowland out there Mommy!" when he looked out the window this morning, today was one of those days, when I almost called the whole Trek off. I didn't get much sleep last night due to a teething infant. I didn't want to clean off my truck. I wasn't excited about locating all our gear, something I usually do the night before, but hadn't. I didn't know how the roads were going to be. My husband is going to be home for a long weekend tomorrow and I wanted to clean... I had a long list of "didn'ts...." BUT... we did. I know that the days I most want to stay home are the days I most need to go out, especially in the winter to ward off the onset of the Winter Blues.

When I arrived at the parking lot and saw all the cars parked with their hatches up, sleds and gear strew about and kids playing, my heart did jumping jacks! All these people wanting to hit the trail in this "snowy snowland" with each other and their kids, brought joy to every fiber of my being. Parents pulled each other's kids in sleds. Boys pretended to be dragons. Parents meeting for each other for the first time  immediately started exchanging stories of parenthood. One wise mama knew she wasn't going to get far down the trail with her two year old who was reveling in the freshly fallen chrystals. She didn't rush him and let him do his thing. It was simply beautiful and so worth the pushing through beyond my snowy morning urge to hibernate!

2nd Anniversary Trek and Potluck

What a brilliant morning to celebrate two years of trekking together! The sun greeted us with warmth and the mountains provided a stunning backdrop. There was an amazing turnout of parents and kids, some whom have been with us from the beginning and for some it was there very first time out. When we returned to the parking lot and playground we had an outside potluck of the most scrumptious treats ever made.

We took a moment to send some positive healing energy to our fellow Trekker mama Casey who is in Texas receiving treatment for lymphoma. I know our thoughts had enough power to travel across the continent to her!

Thanks to all the amazing AOFN families present today and who couldn't be here, for making this such an amazing group! The relationships formed here are ones that are so treasured and important to surviving this beautiful and challenging part of life called parenting. Seeing all the friendships and bonds between the kids themselves is truly heartwarming.

The Three Amigos!

Pussy willows - a sure sign of spring!

The Campbell Creek Bridge - an icon of the Anchorage Trail system.

This is just half of the delicious treats at our potluck!

Coastal Trail from Kincaid Park

Holding hands was a theme today among some of our little ones. Preschool choices vs. unschooling vs. homeschooling was the topic among parents. We all concurred that no matter your choice it is a healthy thing to have some "me" time.

The Coastal Trail from Kincaid Park starts behind the Chalet. Like the rest of the Coastal Trail it is paved, making it a fantastic thoroughfare for strollers. The big hill at the beginning takes you down through lush vegetation and out of the wind. Raspberries were abundant on the trailside. From there the path parallels the coastline. There are a few off shoots to go down to the beach and others that lead to benches set in front of world class views of the inlet.

Along the trail the group broke up into their usual subgroups loosely based on age. The toddlers anxious to do their own hiking served as the caboose of our train. On the way back the hill was a butt-buster. Everyone was rewarded at the end with time at the playground. We picnicked and played.

Campbell Creek Trail from... Campbell Creek Park

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, you can almost hear the chorus of angels singing as the skies opened up and let the sun shine down us for our Trek yesterday morning. Not long after I returned home we were back to the rain we've been experiencing all week. As usual mother nature showed us her approval, and welcome the about 20 parents with their kids into the woods and on the trail for another wonderful hike with our friends. 

This week was a stroller friendly week, so we headed out on the Campbell Creek Trail from... you guess it, the Campbell Creek Park near the corner of Lake Otis & Tudor. This is a portion of the paved bike trail that weaves in and around Anchorage. It was recently added on to over the past year and now connects to the Chester Creek Trail. We traveled along on an old section and then along some of the newer connector route. We did not spot any wildlife on the trail. Typically you can see salmon in the creek, when looking from above on the many bridges, or moose, but nothing on this early August morning. Before and after the trek the kids played at the playground and some took a dip in the watering hole along the creek.

While some looped around to Elmore Rd and back to the park, the family that was going the same pace as me and my kiddo hit the Tudor overpass walkway and then retraced our steps back. Of course I did not turn my Garmin on when we left, but the full trip back was recorded. Double what you see on the map for accurate distance. Much of that was impressively done by these two toddlers on their own feet, with some stroller breaks in between.

Ship Creek Trail

About 17 parents + 1 friend +1 grandma/sherpa + 22 kids beautiful weather + a moose+ salmon swimming up stream+ a new trail + 5.5 miles of exercise and fresh air = a fantastic morning!

Ship Creek is a new trail for both me and the Taiga Trekkers. We began at William Tyson Elementary and  turn around under the C st Bridge, downtown, all the while meadering along Ship Creek on a paved bike trail that links to the Coastal Trail. 

On the way there there was mostly blue sky, but a few drops of rain hit my windshield. I was wondering if this amazing stretch of weather would hold out another day for us, the weather forecast wasn't so sure, but mother nature seems to be on our side. Salmon were spotted in the creek, a moose made its way off the trail for us, the Chugach Mountains loomed in the near distance and wildflowers decorated the shoulder, making it a perfect morning in Anchorage, Alaska. It was so nice to meet new parents and kids.

Next week we will have a giveaway: The first five people to RSVP "Yes" to next week's Trek (7/28/11) will get a free craft kit from Green Kid Crafts, a local business owned and operated by two wonderful Taiga Trekker mamas! You have to be there to pick it up. Thanks Penny & Sue!

You may have noticed that we no longer post upcoming Treks on this site and direct everyone to RSVP at the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network. We did this for two reasons. 1) It is really helpful to get an idea of how many people are coming and we can wait for those who might be running a few minutes late. 2) There's the added security for our children that the locations are only viewable by members of AOFN.

Here's the data from the trail (I actually remembered to turn it on when we started today!).