ChillyChugach

East Twin Peak 8/30/2017 - All Killer, No Filler 8.3 Mi/4:13:54/4544 ft gained    I had several goals with this hike: enjoy a sunny (for once) day off, keep it short to keep my IT band happy, and test out my chest mounted gimbal on a scramble.  Sounds like a job for East Twin! Obligatory Civic shot with the Twins lurking in the background    I'd climbed West Twin a few weeks ago and was quite pleased with how short the approach is.  Basically, you just park at Eklutna, head up the Twin Peaks Trail, pass one bench, pass another, and boom - just head over to the Twins.  Easy peasy! View from bench numero uno.  Bold is back there - in the cloud. The twins coming into view on the way to bench two. Bench two.  Take the trail on the right to climb Pepper Peak. Stream crossing and East Twinny. Oooohhh ahhhh it's getting nicer!    The standard route for East Twin follows the south gully, and this is where I headed, noting that it wasn't really a

Koktoya and The Tanainas - 8/23/2017 20.4 miles/7:58:20/7858ft    Once again, a typical late summer forecast - showers and rain.  Hmm.  What to do?  Bag some front range 5000ers is what! My typical transition season gear.      I had the ambitious goal of heading up Near Point, jogging back toward Koktoya, and following the connecting ridges to Temptation, East and West Tanaina.  All of which had eluded me until this point.  At 6:18AM, I was at Prospect and ready to roll, rain or shine. Civic - AKA adventure MACHINE    I jogged to the Near Point/Wolverine intersection, then proceeded to slip and slide my way up to the top, getting plenty wet in the process.  It wasn't raining though, just morning dew, and the temperature was surprisingly mild. Not looking too bad for a day that was supposed to rain, eh? That nice looking trail dries up for a while...  Trust me. Looking back toward Anchorage    As I began descending the back side of Near Point towa