Moose Pass

After leaving Valdez, we camped at the Bear Creek campground, right on the Blue Ice Trail.  The campground had warnings posted that a black bear had been raiding several campgrounds, including ours.  All food was to be left in bear proof containers.

We were shocked when Roxanne quickly located nearly a cup of trail mix neatly piled at our campsite.  Much to Rox's chagrin, David scooped it up, along with any contaminated dirt, to toss it in the bear proof garbage bins.

We visited the Wildlife Conservation Center to see a pacing brown bear, dismal moose, and sleeping black bears, along with other creatures no longer able to survive on their own.  All of the moose had been orphaned and brought to the Center.  I admit that not all the animals seemed hopelessly misplaced.  However, after seeing so many animals thriving in their natural habitat in Valdez, it was difficult to watch these.

We drove into Seward on Sunday morning.  Cruise ships had arrived and the town bustled with tourists.  Not wanting to fight the crowds, we left, deciding to go back to Moose Pass.  We took the Ptarmagin Trail late Monday morning.

It felt great to be hiking again.  We laugh and say that Alaska miles must be longer than those at home.  We spent over an hour hiking a trail that was only suppose to be three miles long.  The forest became more dense, and we finally turned around after seeing an enormous pile of bear scat, never reaching the lake.  On our return trip by Moose Pass, we found a cabin for the night and relished the hot shower.

With the incredible abundance of seafood in this area, amazingly, we have found very few grocery stores that sell fresh seafood.  Most restaurants only serve fried fish.  I have missed fresh seafood greatly.  That evening we learned that one of the restaurants in Seward serves grilled seafood.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner at Christo's Palace.

Moose Pass on Dwellable