Middle fork and Williwaw Lake

     So another sunny day with no snow left me wondering what to do.  With noticeably cooler temps I figured water in the mountains must be frozen enough to walk on by now.  I decided to give wilder-skating a try with a back-up plan of moose antler hunting if there was no ice given the mild fall so far.
     I went out of Glen Alps, cut up O'Malley Gully and over the ballfield, dropping down to Black Lake.  This was my goal skate destination but upon investigating the ice was uncomfortably thin for me being alone.  It was about a 1.5-2 inches thick and I was able to send out some cracks just by walking on it. On to Williwaw Lake which looked like it might be thicker, though lower in elevation.  Travel at this point is still most efficient on foot, I saw no need for gators or foot gripping devices.  Maybe so if you were attempting a peak but even then one could easily argue against it.


The martian-like landscape of the ballfield.

     Once I got to Williwaw Lake I strapped on the skates and checked the ice which was satisfactorily thick on the west 2/3 of it.  I skated around for awhile and got a kick out of Lucy-dog's lack of traction.  The weather couldn't have been better, neither could the backdrop of Mt Williwaw.  It looked like early fall back there with just a hint of ice on the fringes of the streams and most mud-holes frozen enough to not sink in but not all of them.
     On the way back I took the Middle Fork trail around.  I saw ~12 bull moose in the valley closer to Williwaw Lake but not a cow in sight.  The usual goats were hanging out on the south side of Rusty.  The lower slopes of Denali were glazed with a hint of pink alpenglow and the sun was popping out over south Anchorage and the arm. 
     I'm still waiting to ski, and I might be desperate enough to drive out to Hatcher Pass tomorrow again.  I tried to see this "lightning bolt" couloir mentioned on the Harder Blog but couldn't see it, maybe there isn't enough snow yet.  I still scoped out a few goals for the coming season.


My ice skating backdrop



Black Lake, one of my favorite views.