Photo by BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily News
Bicyclists ride the Indian-to-Girdwood bike trail along Turnagain Arm next to the Seward Highway. Start and finish your day adventure at the Indian Creek ball fields.
Biking, hiking and boarding in one Girdwood day
Get outside and do something
Published: July 6, 2006
Last Modified: August 14, 2006 at 03:42 AM
When we reached the high point of our hike along the Winner Creek Trail in Girdwood last week, my friend Dee gave me a lesson in "hand-tram etiquette."
As I sat idly by with a goofy smile, watching hikers pull their way across Glacier Creek, Dee hopped onto the loading platform and began tugging the giant rope to help hoist them in.
My first instinct was to think we were interrupting the other party's fun, but once I was on the hand tram myself, poised precariously more than 100 feet above the creek, I had a serious appreciation for what Dee had been doing. While using the hand-pulley system to bring yourself across the creek is perfectly doable on one's own, it really does help to have someone on the other side helping you along.
With Girdwood's annual -- and wildly popular -- Forest Fair under way this weekend, it is the perfect opportunity to explore the Winner Creek Trail's hand tram and about a half dozen other outdoor options in this funky ski town. Not only are there such basics as hiking and biking, but for those with a little cash to burn, there are also tandem paragliding, glacier trekking, dog mushing and even summertime snowmachining. Call it the ultimate Girdwood adventure. Our version is for the budget-conscious -- even saving you gas money.
First, start early. You want plenty of time to play outdoors and also take advantage of the beer garden at the Forest Fair. You'll be biking for the majority of this outing so bring a backpack for all those deals you'll be bringing back from the fair.
Park your car near Mile 103 of the Seward Highway, and bite the bullet to pay the $5 fee at the Indian Creek ball fields. Just think of it as your contribution to the continuation of the Alaska State Parks. From there, hop on your bike and begin the ride southward. Most everyone knows about the 13-mile Indian- to-Girdwood bike path by now, which was completed in 2005 and just last month designated a National Recreation Trail.
To say the trail is scenic is a gross understatement. It skirts along Turnagain Arm for the first third of the ride, then crosses underneath the Seward Highway and edges along the hillsides for the remaining miles into Girdwood. The headwinds can be torturous, but remind yourself that you'll soon be listening to great live music and enjoying fresh local microbrew.
Time your arrival in Girdwood for 11 a.m. Saturday -- that's when the Alyeska Highway will shut down for the 31st annual Girdwood Forest Fair parade. The theme is "Forest Fairies and Elves," and everyone is invited to take part -- including you on your bike. After the parade is over, your outdoor adventure is not done yet. In fact, it has just begun.
Remember that hand tram? Well, now is the time to check it out. While the bike ride to Girdwood is really nice and all, there is not a prettier path around than the Winner Creek Trail.
Chugach National Forest folks completed upgrades on this 5.5-mile round-trip hike last year, and the results are astounding. Miniature excavators turned the once rooty, rutty trail into a smooth, boardwalked affair that still somehow manages to maintain a rustic feel, surrounded by giant Sitka spruce trees and ferns growing three feet tall.
The short hike to the hand tram and the postcard-scenic gorge nearby -- almost 3 miles -- is popular with day-trippers. This is the section you'll want to hike for your ultimate Girdwood adventure. Continue riding along the Alyeska Highway and lock your bike at the Alyeska hotel. Walk through the back of the hotel and follow the trail to the left under the tram toward the beginning of the Winner Creek Trail. From here, it is boardwalked and heavily traveled by tourists and locals alike. Signs tell you not to ride your bikes here. It's not that fun anyway, with all the hikers.
After a mile or so, the people thin out and the dense undergrowth of ferns and mosses overtakes the surroundings. It's as if sound is absorbed in the greenery and silence overtakes the place. It's a gradual climb to the gorge and the hand tram.
After experiencing the thrill of dangling in a metal box connected to safety only by pullies and thick rope, you can now begin to shift to the more relaxing side to this ultimate day trip to Girdwood. If you hike just another mile, you can exit the trail on Crow Creek Mine Road and continue along the road until you hit the main road again and are conveniently just minutes from the Forest Fair.
If it's still early, you'll have time to dawdle and browse the artist booths, chow on some vendor food and listen to the music. And don't forget the beer garden, in a cordoned-off section of the fair open only to those with valid IDs.
Just be sure to finish your drinks in time for the 6 p.m. BMX/Skateboard competition in the community skateboard park. The all-ages competition is open to anyone who is brave enough to try a few tricks, said Warren Rowe, operator of Downhill Division, which offered lift-assisted downhill mountain biking at the resort for the past two years. (That white-knuckle adventure is no longer available, however. Rowe is offering private guiding these days.)
By now, you may remember that you still have a bike back at Alyeska. You have ridden 15 miles, hiked about five and easily walked another five. And you still have 15 miles to return, this time carrying the goodies you found at the fair.
Calling a cab may not seem too absurd, but don't give in. Your adventure is not complete without the round trip.
Meanwhile, I'll be at the beer garden.
• Daily News reporter Melissa DeVaughn be reached at mdevaughn@adn.com.
Ultimate day trip
Indian to Girdwood bike path: 13-mile one-way trip. Park near Mile 103 of the Seward Highway, $5 parking fee at the Indian Creek ball fields.
Winner Creek Trail: 5.5-mile round-trip hike with hand tram; trailhead at Alyeska Resort hotel.
BMX/Skateboard competition: 6 p.m. Saturday, Girdwood community skateboard park.
