Hike to Agamgik Bay

Several weeks ago, a woman posted on Facebook, "Is there a hiking club in town?"  The answer was no; though many people hike and there have been some organized hikes in the past, there's no actual "club."  Mary Ellen is new in Unalaska and jumped right in, deciding to start a club herself.  Rich and I joined a few other people at the organizational meeting and we scheduled a hike for each Sunday in September "weather permitting."  The weather didn't "permit" on the first week, but last Sunday was one of the most gorgeous days we've had all summer.  Rich and I ended up being the only ones to join Mary Ellen and Bert for the hike to Agamgik Bay and we enjoyed getting to know them a little while making our way along the trail.  We'd attempted this hike once before but the weather was terrible, windy, rainy and cold, and we turned back.  Not to mention the fact that we somehow got off the trail and were climbing up and down the hills in the rain, trying to figure out where were!

 It's an 8 mile round trip hike, which we didn't think would be any big deal but it ended up taking us a lot longer than we thought it would!  And my muscles were sore for almost a week!

 Still, it was sunny and warm and the lovely fall scenery is in its beginning phase.

Yes, we even had to climb down a rope and then back up another rope on the other side of a stream.  We didn't remember  the rope being there before and when I mentioned it to a friend (a much hardier Alaska girl), she laughed and said, "you don't need the rope, just walk down!"  And she said that she didn't like the ropes and was sorry someone put them there.  But I kinda liked having the extra help, truth be told.

 Beautiful colors!

 Mary Ellen and Bert, who just moved here from a very small village near Barrow.  And they got married the day after the hike! 

 Rich and me

 We made it to the bay!

 Rich got these great panorama shots on the way back.

Passing Summer Bay Lake on the drive home

We started the hike at 1 PM and didn't get home till almost 8!  I definitely had a few "what were we thinking?" moments.  Sometimes I think something will be so much fun and after about an hour, I am over it!  But there's not much you can do when you are already 4 miles in and you have to do the other 4 miles back.  By the time we got to the end, I was kinda dreading the whole return trek, especially since there were a couple of pretty steep inclines to climb.  Happily, it was not as hard as I expected it to be.  And there's that little sense of accomplishment that makes the sore muscles worthwhile.

Life has been pretty busy here in the last month.  I keep looking at the blog and then closing it out and vowing to write another day.  I'm working on two different projects/events at work and Rich has had a lot going on at the hotel with no sign of a let up any time soon.  My ESL/GED classes started  and we are meeting two nights a week again; I had 16 students from the get-go and have had a couple more join in since the first week.  As always, I am enjoying the class and it keeps me on my toes!

Summer in the Aleutians is beautiful, short, and fleeting.  It's always nice to take the time to get out and actually enjoy it while it's here.  I am not quite ready for the cold but I can feel it coming!