That noise you hear is me letting out a loud, contented sigh.  Finally, after five long months, I made it back into the mountains of Alaska.  My main goal as I was rehabbing my Achilles tendon was to heal well enough and quickly enough to do some peak-bagging before summer was over. If I could just bag a peak or two, summer would not be a total loss.   By early August, I was feeling ready and the weather was looking good. So Tim Kelley and I got together for a hike.

Tim suggested Bard Peak, which he had done before.  If you’ve ever gone to the Portage Glacier Visitors Center and looked across Portage Lake, you’ve seen Bard Peak. Here’s a picture of it in winter time. Bard Peak is the pointy one on the left.

Bard Peak is fairly close to home and seen by hundreds of people every day, but rarely climbed.  It would provide enough vertical gain, bushwhacking, and rock scrambling to give my legs a good test without too many unknown-territory variables.

We accessed the peak by paddling across Portage Lake. The paddling made for great bookends to a spectacular hike.  Check my photos below, and of course also check Tim’s trip photos.

It feels good to be back at home with sore muscles and a few scrapes on my arms and legs, enjoying the afterglow of a long-awaited peak-bagging outing.

April 29: This was one of those ski routes that I have drooled over for a couple of years. Always wanted to do it, but needed to go with guys who know more about glacier travel than I do. Tim Kelley and Tim Miller gave me that chance on Saturday. As always, you can also see Tim Kelley’s pics from the trip on his website.