Devil's Pass Trail
Gilbreth Girls 2012
Outing: Day 4
(Horseback Riding/Cabin Camping near Resurrection Trail in the Kenai
Mountains)
July 22-26
Devil's
Pass Trail
I got up a little earlier the next
morning to pack up, taking all my
gear onto
the porch to sort through while the others were still in bed.
Since we'd
hardly put anything into the "extra bags" that go on the pack horses,
I was more casual about packing, keeping everything I wanted on hand in
my
saddle bags and stowing the rest in an extra bag. I needn't have
hurried,
as it was a slow morning. We had our usual coffee/tea near the
campfire,
in the sunshine again, and pancakes for breakfast. We also all
put on the
fantastic shirts 
Jeannette and Ben gave us and posed for photos in front of
the
cabin. We filled canteens at the creek, stowed the sleeping bags,
pads,
cot, and pillows in the attic, swept out and spruced up the cabin (it
looked
much tidier than when we'd arrived, though I'm sure the squirrels will
take
care of that!). Once the horses were wrangled, we brushed them
and helped
however we could, getting down the blankets and putting on our own
saddle bags
once the saddles were on. We didn't actually get underway until
shortly
after noon, heading over the edge of the ridge, down to a creek, and
up the
other side to meet up with Resurrection Trail, somewhat grateful then
for the
uniform path. The scenery was even more spectacular under a clear
blue
sky, the wildflowers still in riotous colors all over the alpine.
We
encountered more people on the trail this time (the first day we had
seen only one
couple, if I remember right), mostly mountain bikers. It wasn't
always
easy to pass nine horses on a narrow trail on the side of a mountain,
so people
coming up behind us sometimes simply had to wait for a more opportune
location.
At Devil's Pass I spotted a herd of either goats or sheep in the
distance (see photo to right); as
we drew closer, they moved slowly 
down the green slope, then bolted for
a creek
at the bottom of the other valley. If I knew the two species
better, I
could probably tell what they were by their gait, but it remains a
mystery. We also saw quite a few more ptarmigan on the ride down,
but the
marmots must have been holed up to escape the heat. And the heat
was
blistering. By the time we'd crossed Devil's Pass (perhaps not
quite half
way back), I was overwhelmed. The horses drank at a lot more
streams than
on the way up. Although it wasn't like tropical humidity, the air
was
full of the moisture evaporating from the damp earth, which probably
didn't
help. Actually, I was generally feeling poorly, having woken up
with the
beginnings of a cold; to top things off, an intense stomach ache came
on as we
crossed Resurrection Pass and caused me great pain periodically through
the
afternoon. I think the ride was grueling to all of us in
different
ways. It was incredibly beautiful, and the horses were, for the
most
part, wonderful, but six and a half hours is a long ride no matter how
you look
at it! The intermediary section below the alpine and above the
forest
was the
most difficult for me, as the alders and 
salmonberry bushes were more
familiar
and less interesting than the alpine plants, and did little to shelter
us from
the sun. Once we descended into aspen, Bree turned around and
said
"One hour!" with a tone and smile that suggested we would all be
thrilled at the news, but I'm afraid our faces told another
story! Once
in the forest, I would have been far perkier had my stomach not been
debilitatingly
painful--a product, I think, of eating too fast while riding earlier in
the
day. The horses, on the other hand, seemed to feel differently,
browsing
whenever possible as the day wore on; twisted stalk (a.k.a. watermelon
berry)
was the favorite on my end of the herd; on the way up, only Max was
targeting
it, but on the way down, Max, Orca, and Ranger were all twisted stalk
fans.
So I'm afraid we weren't pictures of enthusiasm when we did finally
arrive at
the trailhead at 6:45. With a drive back to Anchorage ahead of
us, we
assembled our gear and tried to get it into some kind of order for
storage in
the camper, helped brush a few of the very sweaty horses, took a few
final
photos, said goodbye to our horses, and goodbye to our guides who by
then
felt like family.
Summary
In trip reports such as this I usually try to provide more general
comments
about the operation, accommodations, etc. for would-be travelers.
Suffice
to say that Bree did a phenomenal job as guide, managing everything
with laid
back ease and good humor. Her teenage assistant Jessica was also
sweet
and helpful, and they both became part of our group as we sat together
around
the campfire. The cabin we stayed at was extremely rustic, which
suited me
just fine, but the trip is not for someone uncomfortable sleeping on
old bunk
bed pads
in a dusty cabin, taking water straight from a creek, or using
an
outhouse. We were a fairly
competent
and practical group, so we cleaned our own cabin when we arrived,
prepped the
bedding, and lit the fire. I know that Bree and Jessica would have done
these
things had we needed/wanted them to, but we took it upon ourselves, as
we did
in putting it all away. Breakfasts and dinners were delicious and
ample
and our bag lunches were adequate (if a little lacking on the ride
down). However, I think that too would have been fleshed out if
we'd
asked. The horses were wonderful, obviously well cared for, and a
joy to
ride. If you want a rustic adventure in isolation on the Kenai
among
spectacular scenery, I highly recommend this trip! The photos
tell the
story much better.
 Morning horses |
 Scout |
 Guest/cook cabin |
 The inside of our cabin |
 Antler handle made by Harry A. Johnson |
 The horses get a morning meal before we leave (Vicki) |
 The outhouse |
 Jessica, Bree, and Gunny (Valerie) |
 Our backs (Valerie) |
 Fisco seems to admire himself in the window (Vicki) |
 Valerie and Kona |
 Mom and L'amor |
 We head out toward Resurrection Trail |
 At Resurrection Pass |
 Past Resurrection Pass (Mom) |
 About to meet Devil's Pass Trail |
 Looking down the valley in the direction of Cooper Landing (Mom) |
 Near Devil's Pass |
Devil's Pass Trail alpine |
 Entering the scrub |
 Entering the forest (Mom) |
