Homestead Trail, Alaska

Sunday, July 1st, was a slow day at work and I got off early. I made plans to go hiking with Bekah and her friend Craig. She picked me up and we dropped off the car at a trail-head for the Homestead Trail.

Craig was leading the way because he has hiked the trail before and it is not clearly marked. We soon found that the trail had not been maintained yet this year and was covered with fallen trees and overgrown with Fireweed.

Alaska wilderness

Bekah crossing a raging creek!

With our 3 sets of eyes we spotted the indention in the tall grass and made our way. We finally came across an old homestead cabin after two miles. The front porch was falling in, but there was a nice stove pipe so we wondered if anybody was home. We called out to show our presence with no response so we checked the door..unlocked. I let Bekah go first in case a barrel of a shotgun was waiting on the other side. We noticed belongings and quickly closed the door. Luckily, no one was home and we didn't bother anyone.

Old Homestead Cabin

After taking a nice break we headed off toward the reservoir. We were at a crossroads and didn't know which way to go when a older man in a pickup pulled up and gave us directions. We had a nice chat and he invited us to his cabin for some tea. After a group consensus of no creepy vibe of the man we accepted. Keep in mind we are in the middle of nowhere Alaska. There is a reason people live this far away from town, out in the bush. Did I mention he looked like Santa? So we had tea in his small 16x16 (?) cabin and talked about life in the 70s and books. It was getting to be late and we had to go so we thanked him and hit the trail. Glad we made it out of there alive! Just kidding, but you always have to be cautious in those kind of situations. Then we hiked the remaining two miles to the reservoir. It was almost 9PM and the sun was still shining up above us and it was a lovely clear day. It was nice to get out and hike!