Bird to Gird
Photos & Story by Kyla
We generally say Alaska has only two seasons: winter and not winter. A beautiful spring day in Alaska is a rare thing and must be taken advantage of. My girlfriends and I did just that a few weeks ago. We had been planning a bike ride on the popular "Bird to Gird" bike trail, which is a 13-mile National Recreation Trail which follows the Seward highway from Bird Creek to Girdwood along Turnagain Arm. There are picnic pavilions and interpretive signs, as well as constant ocean views and possible wildlife sightings (moose, bear, belugas).
I woke up Saturday morning to sunshine streaming in my window and birds singing. I gathered my friends Anne and Nicole and we loaded our bikes in the truck and headed out of town, full of coffee and excitement. We parked at the Bird Creek parking lot, which is usually packed during salmon season, but pleasantly quiet this time of year. I had been asking around if people thought the trail would be clear, and was warned that it would probably be a bit snowy.
The answer was yes, there were quite a few snow patches that we had to portage. But, there were also long clear segments that made up for it. There had been quite a few avalanches the month before, but luckily most of the snow had melted and only large sticks and jagged rocks were strewn across the path. Well, we thought we were lucky.
About a 2 miles before Girdwood, we were on the part of the trail that is actually the old Seward Highway and runs higher up in the mountains. We had just portaged about 4 really long snow patches when we rounded a corner and were confronted by a wall of snow.Gulp! This avalanche was probably a few weeks old and covered the trail in about 15 - 30 feet of snow. We didn't really want to turn back, so after investigating, we found that i
t was about 100 feet wide.... and crossable. Adrenaline took over for me, as we were walking on icy snow right along a steep drop off, awkwardly carrying our bikes. Using teamwork and muscle we made it across, although we were a bit muddier on the other side.
We rode on to Girdwood and continued up to the Alyeska Resort where they were having their annual spring carnival. My favorite local band, H3, was playing in the sunshine outside by the slush cup pond, so we enjoyed a tasty beverage and some tunes before heading back. We decided to ride on the road for the first part of the way, because I wasn't about to get on that avalanche again, and the motorists were respectful of us. That was when we saw the "Pathway Closed Avalanche Danger" sign when we got back on the trail. Whoops!