Granite Creek Trail

If it feels like it's been a while since I've posted, it's because it's been a while since I've done anything worth blogging about.  Since early May, it has been raining practically non-stop.  I knew it was coming, but I didn't realize it would be so soon.  I was quite disappointed at how short the summer was, and I expected to not see sun again until March.  I started off being quite bummed about the weather, but I decided to try to deal with it by looking for new ways to entertain myself besides hiking.  I joined the gym at work, went swimming couple times at the city pool, and let my husband talk me into going halves on an Xbox.  Just as I had finally found ways to cope with the bad weather here, I get a weekend full of blue skies.  I spent the Saturday checking the Eagle Crest Ski area and found that to be a great place to hike also.  I didn't hike all the way to the top though because I knew I had a long hike the next day on Granite Creek Trail.  I had heard it was a nice trail, but I didn't realize what an understatement that was.  It was an absolutely gorgeous hike.



The trailhead to 3.5 mile Granite Creek begins about 2 miles into Perseverence Trail.  Once turning onto the trail, you go up some narrow switch backs until you get to a snow bridge (pile of unmelted snow over the creek).  The trail from here gets a bit muddy in places, like most Juneau trails, but it's not too long before you gain elevation and start getting some nice views of the mountains.  Your first wow factor comes at the large water fall.  After admiring the falls a bit, you continue on until you reach what looks like your destination - an open view of lakes, creeks, and mountains.  Then you realize you've only travelled about a mile in so you know you're not there yet and keep going.  However, the view is just so amazing I kept taking photos. 



A little more ways in, I turn around and am amazed at the view again.  We stopped for lunch, but had to keep going afterwards since we weren't at the end.  We weren't quite sure how far to go, but we saw another big waterfall ahead and went closer.  There was a steep trail that went up to the top of the falls, and once there, it was just wow again.  Maybe because we just had so much rainfall, there were waterfalls everywhere and a large stream flowing.  I would rank this hike up there with those I've done in Banff, New Zealand, or Nepal.  I don't think my pictures do it much justice, but I thought it was just beautiful. 



I think we reached about 2300 feet (from 83 feet at start of Perseverence Trail), but we still had maybe a mile to go and another 200 feet to climb.  Unforunately, we spent too much time enjoying the scenery and had to turn around because my friend had to get back by a certain time.  I'm not sure what's up there at the end, but I'm looking forward to finding out next time I go.  I'd also like to try to get out there a bit earlier to see more wild flowers.

For those of you who are quite fit, there is an option to hike up Mount Juneau (trail up also starts from Perseverence), hike along the ridge, and come down the Granite Creek basin to the trail.  I bet that would be an awesome hike.