Silvis Lake Hike

I should have been doing my 1,000 words a day for the women's novel I'm working on (a goal I've only met a couple of times - but I still try...), but when I saw that sunshine, I knew I had to get outside. I called a new friend who lives by the water in bear country. She had suggested a hike to Silvis Lake earlier in the week, and today seemed liked a great day to do it.

From her house at the other end of the island, she scooped up her Jack Russell, and we drove down an unpaved road for about ten minutes, parking near the hydro electric plant. The trail was a gravel road that was mostly straight up! Directly straight up - so that talking, initially (for me, anyway...) was hard. My friend is in great shape and seemed fine to talk.

She pointed out all kinds of interesting botanical information like what a muskeg is and where the wild huckleberries and blueberries are. I had a small container filled with water which I emptied. We loaded it with huckleberries so I could take some home. The trees I thought were birches were actually mature alders. They're the ones which turn yellow.

I was reminded of how much I liked the change of seasons in NJ and MA because of the differences in the wetlands. It's similar here in AK. The foliage display is minimal because of the number of conifers. But the rest of the landscape - shrubs, muskeg (sort of like a cranberry bog/marsh, but not as firm), berry bushes, moss, and lichen - turns shades of red and gold which are very pretty.

The Silvis trail meanders past the pipeline through which the water runs to the hydro plant. There are holding ponds which can be dammed up, depending on the amount of water. But one of the best sights was the snow on the mountains. It's new snow because it wasn't there last weekend, and this week is the first time the temperature has dropped into the thirties at night in town.

The hike up took about an hour. We were rewarded at the end with a spectacular view of lower Silvis Lake as well as upper Silvis Lake in the distance. Apparently, you can hike way up there, over the mountains and eventually get into town. Maybe next summer as once it snow up there, it's not as safe to hike.

When Robert came home from work, there was a nice surprise - a sherry glass full of fresh wild huckleberries.