Lost Hope

Hi Blog!

On Friday, July 1, 2016, we had a great hike to the Lower Russian Lake in the Chugach National Forest. We still had about an hour or more drive to get back to Anchorage. After hiking over 9 miles, we were in need of some sustenance. We checked our Milepost Guide and it mentioned that the historic town of Hope had several cafes. Hope was Alaska's first gold rush town and has a little museum. We decided that ,after lunch, we would explore some of the historic buildings. We got our hopes up only to to have them brutally dashed. Both restaurants were closed and our truck would not fit into the (very) tiny museum's parking lot. We decided there was no hope, so we left Hope.

Here is a view down the main street toward the south shore of Turnagain Arm, with the road out of Anchorage on the far shore in the background:

Our journey to Hope was not a complete bust. We were afforded great views of Turnagain Arm!

We will soon be driving down the other side of the arm.

As we worked our way back up the Hope Highway, we saw large patches of snow. We were curious, so we stopped to investigate. We followed a narrow dirt road down to the banks of Six Mile Creek.

Once a lucrative gold-panning spot, Six Mile Creek now lures people with challenging Class IV and V rapids, winding through a stretch of canyons to Turnagain Arm. Named by rum-soaked prospectors, this extraordinary waterway is neither 6 miles long, nor a creek.

To get a feel of the white water adventure, click the link to travel down Sixmile Creek.

We stopped at the rest area at the top of Hope Highway to take a walk over the pedestrian bridge over Canyon Creek, a tributary of Sixmile Creek, just above where it joins Sixmile Creek.

In a little over another hour, we arrived back in camp just in time for Happy Hour! We discovered that our brother-in-law left us The Great One from 49th State Brewery. Thanks Tom - you are The Great One!